“To be in the world and not have anything to indicate your existence - it seems terrible to me.” N.V. Gogol.

Genius of classical literature

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is known to the world as a writer, poet, playwright, publicist and critic. A man of remarkable talent and an amazing master of words, he is famous both in Ukraine, where he was born, and in Russia, to which he eventually moved.

Gogol is especially known for his mystical heritage. His stories, written in a unique Ukrainian language, which is not literary in the full sense of the word, convey the depth and beauty of Ukrainian speech, known throughout the world. Viy gave Gogol his greatest popularity. What other works did Gogol write? We will look at the list of works below. These are sensational stories, often mystical, and stories from school curriculum, and little famous works author.

List of works by the writer

In total, Gogol wrote more than 30 works. He continued to complete some of them, despite publication. Many of his creations had several variations, including Taras Bulba and Viy. Having published the story, Gogol continued to reflect on it, sometimes adding or changing the ending. Often his stories have several endings. So, next we will consider the most famous works of Gogol. The list is in front of you:

1. "Hanz Küchelgarten" (1827-1829, under the pseudonym A. Alov).
2. “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka” (1831), part 1 (“Sorochinskaya Fair”, “Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala”, “Drowned Man”, “Missing Letter”). Its second part was published a year later. It included the following stories: “The Night Before Christmas”, “Terrible Revenge”, “Ivan Fedorovich Shponka and His Aunt”, “ Enchanted place».
3. "Mirgorod" (1835). Its edition was divided into 2 parts. The first part included the stories “Taras Bulba” and “Old World Landowners”. The second part, completed in 1839-1841, included “Viy” and “The Story of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich.”
4. "The Nose" (1841-1842).
5. "Morning business man" It was written, like the comedies “Litigation”, “Excerpt” and “Lackey”, in the period from 1832 to 1841.
6. "Portrait" (1842).
7. “Notes of a Madman” and “Nevsky Prospekt” (1834-1835).
8. "The Inspector General" (1835).
9. The play "Marriage" (1841).
10. « Dead Souls"(1835-1841).
11. Comedies "The Players" and "Theatrical Tour after the Presentation of a New Comedy" (1836-1841).
12. "Overcoat" (1839-1841).
13. "Rome" (1842).

These are published works that Gogol wrote. The works (list by year, more precisely) indicate that the heyday of the writer’s talent occurred in 1835-1841. Now let’s take a little look at the reviews of the most famous stories Gogol.

"Viy" - Gogol's most mystical creation

The story of “Viy” tells about the recently deceased lady, the centurion’s daughter, who, as the whole village knew, was a witch. The centurion, at the request of his beloved daughter, makes the funeral student Khoma Brut read over her. The witch, who died due to Khoma’s fault, dreams of revenge...

Reviews of the work “Viy” are complete praise for the writer and his talent. It is impossible to discuss the list of Nikolai Gogol’s works without mentioning everyone’s favorite “Viy”. Readers note bright characters, original, unique, with their own characters and habits. All of them are typical Ukrainians, cheerful and optimistic people, rude but kind. It is impossible not to appreciate Gogol's subtle irony and humor.

The writer’s unique style and his ability to play on contrasts are also highlighted. During the day, the peasants walk and have fun, Khoma also drinks so as not to think about the horror of the coming night. With the arrival of evening, a gloomy, mystical silence sets in - and Khoma again enters the circle outlined in chalk...

A very short story keeps you in suspense until the last pages. Below are stills from the 1967 film of the same name.

Satirical comedy "The Nose"

“The Nose” is an amazing story, written in such a satirical form that at first it seems fantastically absurd. According to the plot, Platon Kovalev, a public person and prone to narcissism, wakes up in the morning without a nose - his place is empty. In a panic, Kovalev begins to look for his lost nose, because without it you won’t even appear in decent society!

Readers easily saw the prototype of Russian (and not only!) society. Gogol's stories, despite the fact that they were written in the 19th century, do not lose their relevance. Gogol, whose list of works can mostly be divided into mysticism and satire, felt very subtly modern society, which has not changed at all over the past time. Rank and external polish are still held in high esteem, but no one is interested in the inner content of a person. It is Plato’s nose, with an outer shell, but without internal content, that becomes the prototype of a richly dressed man, intelligently thinking, but soulless.

"Taras Bulba"

"Taras Bulba" is a great creation. When describing Gogol's works, the most famous, the list of which is provided above, one cannot fail to mention this story. The plot centers on two brothers, Andrei and Ostap, as well as their father, Taras Bulba himself, a strong, courageous and extremely principled man.

Readers especially highlight the small details of the story, which the author focused on, which enliven the picture and make those distant times closer and understandable. The writer spent a long time studying the details of everyday life of that era, so that readers could more vividly and vividly imagine the events taking place. In general, Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich, the list of whose works we are discussing today, always attached special meaning little things.

The charismatic characters also made a lasting impression on readers. Tough, merciless Taras, ready to do anything for the sake of the Motherland, brave and courageous Ostap and romantic, selfless Andrey - they cannot leave readers indifferent. In general, the famous works of Gogol, the list of which we are considering, have interesting feature- a surprising but harmonious contradiction in the characters’ characters.

"Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka"

Another mystical, but at the same time funny and ironic work by Gogol. The blacksmith Vakula is in love with Oksana, who promised to marry him if he gets her slippers like the queen herself. Vakula is in despair... But then, quite by chance, he comes across evil spirits having fun in the village in the company of a witch. It is not surprising that Gogol, whose list of works includes numerous Mystic stories, this story involved a witch and a devil.

This story is interesting not only because of the plot, but also because of the colorful characters, each of whom is unique. They, as if alive, appear before the readers, each in their own image. Gogol admires some slight irony He admires Vakula, and teaches Oksana to appreciate and love. Like a caring father, he chuckles good-naturedly at his characters, but it all looks so soft that it only evokes a gentle smile.

The character of the Ukrainians, their language, customs and foundations, so clearly described in the story, could only be described in such detail and lovingly by Gogol. Even making fun of the “Moskalyama” looks cute from the lips of the characters in the story. This is because Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, whose list of works we are discussing today, loved his homeland and spoke of it with love.

"Dead Souls"

Sounds mystical, don’t you agree? However, in fact, Gogol this work did not resort to mysticism and looked much deeper - into human souls. Main character Chichikov seems like a negative character at first glance, but the more the reader gets to know him, the more positive traits notices in him. Gogol makes the reader worry about the fate of his hero, despite his unpleasant actions, which already says a lot.

In this work, the writer, as always, is an excellent psychologist and a true genius of words.

Of course, these are not all the works that Gogol wrote. The list of works is incomplete without the continuation of Dead Souls. It was its author who allegedly burned it before his death. Rumor has it that in the next two volumes Chichikov was supposed to improve and become a decent person. Is it so? Unfortunately, now we will never know for sure.

The life of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is so vast and multifaceted that historians are still researching the biography and epistolary materials of the great writer, and documentarians are making films that tell about the secrets of the mysterious genius of literature. Interest in the playwright has not waned for two hundred years, not only because of his lyric-epic works, but also because Gogol is one of the most mystical figures of Russian literature of the 19th century.

Childhood and youth

To this day it is unknown when Nikolai Vasilyevich was born. Some chroniclers believe that Gogol was born on March 20, while others are sure that the true date of birth of the writer is April 1, 1809.

The master of phantasmagoria spent his childhood in Ukraine, in the picturesque village of Sorochintsy, Poltava province. He grew up in big family- in addition to him, 5 more boys and 6 girls were raised in the house (some of them died in infancy).

The great writer has an interesting pedigree, dating back to the Cossack noble dynasty of the Gogol-Yanovskys. According to family legend, the playwright’s grandfather Afanasy Demyanovich Yanovsky added the second part to his surname to prove blood ties with the Cossack hetman Ostap Gogol, who lived in the 17th century.

The writer's father, Vasily Afanasyevich, worked in the Little Russian province in the postal department, from where he retired in 1805 with the rank of collegiate assessor. Later, Gogol-Yanovsky retired to the Vasilyevka estate (Yanovshchina) and began farming. Vasily Afanasyevich was known as a poet, writer and playwright: he owned the home theater of his friend Troshchinsky, and also performed on stage as an actor.

For productions, he wrote comedy plays based on Ukrainian folk ballads and tales. But only one work by Gogol the Elder has reached modern readers - “The Simpleton, or the Cunning of a Woman Outwitted by a Soldier.” It was from his father that Nikolai Vasilyevich adopted his love for literary art And creative talent: It is known that Gogol Jr. began writing poetry since childhood. Vasily Afanasyevich died when Nikolai was 15 years old.

The writer’s mother, Maria Ivanovna, née Kosyarovskaya, according to contemporaries, was pretty and was considered the first beauty in the village. Everyone who knew her used to say that she was a religious person and was involved in the spiritual education of children. However, Gogol-Yanovskaya’s teachings were reduced not to Christian rituals and prayers, but to prophecies of the Last Judgment.

It is known that the woman married Gogol-Yanovsky when she was 14 years old. Nikolai Vasilyevich was close to his mother and even asked for advice on his manuscripts. Some writers believe that thanks to Maria Ivanovna, Gogol’s work is endowed with fantasy and mysticism.

Nikolai Vasilyevich’s childhood and youth were spent surrounded by peasant and gentleman’s life and were endowed with those bourgeois characteristics that the playwright meticulously described in his works.

When Nikolai was ten years old, he was sent to Poltava, where he studied science at school, and then learned to read and write from a local teacher, Gabriel Sorochinsky. After classical training, the 16-year-old boy became a student at the Gymnasium of Higher Sciences in the city of Nizhyn, Chernihiv region. In addition to the fact that the future classic of literature was in poor health, he was also not strong in studies, although he had an exceptional memory. Nikolai’s relationship with the exact sciences did not work out, but he excelled in Russian literature and literature.

Some biographers argue that the gymnasium itself is to blame for such an inferior education, rather than the young writer. The fact is that in those years the Nizhyn gymnasium had weak teachers who could not provide students with decent education. For example, knowledge in lessons moral education were presented not through the teachings of eminent philosophers, but with the help corporal punishment rod, the literature teacher did not keep up with the times, preferring the classics of the 18th century.

During his studies, Gogol gravitated toward creativity and zealously participated in theatrical productions and improvised skits. Among his comrades, Nikolai Vasilyevich was known as a comedian and a perky person. The writer communicated with Nikolai Prokopovich, Alexander Danilevsky, Nestor Kukolnik and others.

Literature

Gogol began to be interested in the writing field back in student years. He admired A.S. Pushkin, although his first creations were far from the style of the great poet, but were more like the works of Bestuzhev-Marlinsky.

He composed elegies, feuilletons, poems, tried himself in prose and other literary genres. During his studies, he wrote a satire “Something about Nezhin, or the law is not written for fools,” which has not survived to this day. It is noteworthy that the young man initially regarded his craving for creativity as a hobby rather than as his life’s work.

Writing was for Gogol “a ray of light in dark kingdom"and helped to distract from mental torment. Then Nikolai Vasilyevich’s plans were not clear, but he wanted to serve the Motherland and be useful to the people, believing that a great future awaited him.

In the winter of 1828, Gogol went to the cultural capital - St. Petersburg. In the cold and gloomy city, Nikolai Vasilyevich was disappointed. He tried to become an official and also tried to join the theater, but all his attempts were defeated. Only in literature was he able to find opportunities for income and self-expression.

But failure awaited Nikolai Vasilyevich in his writing, since only two works by Gogol were published in magazines - the poem “Italy” and romantic poem"Hanz Küchelgarten", published under the pseudonym V. Alov. “Idyll in Pictures” received a number of negative and sarcastic reviews from critics. After his creative defeat, Gogol bought all editions of the poem and burned them in his room. Nikolai Vasilyevich did not abandon literature even after a resounding failure; the failure with Hanz Küchelgarten gave him the opportunity to change the genre.

In 1830, it was published in the eminent journal Otechestvennye zapiski mystical story Gogol "The Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala".

Later, the writer meets Baron Delvig and begins to publish in his publications “ Literary newspaper" and "Northern flowers".

After creative success Gogol was warmly received in the literary circle. He began to communicate with Pushkin and. The works “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”, “The Night Before Christmas”, “Enchanted Place”, seasoned with a mixture of Ukrainian epic and everyday humor, impressed the Russian poet.

Rumor has it that it was Alexander Sergeevich who gave Nikolai Vasilyevich the background for new works. He suggested plot ideas for the poem “Dead Souls” (1842) and the comedy “The Inspector General” (1836). However, P.V. Annenkov believes that Pushkin “did not quite willingly cede his property to him.”

Fascinated by the history of Little Russia, Nikolai Vasilyevich becomes the author of the collection “Mirgorod”, which includes several works, including “Taras Bulba”. Gogol, in letters to his mother Maria Ivanovna, asked her to talk in more detail about the life of the people in the outback.

Still from the film "Viy", 2014

In 1835, Gogol's story "Viy" (included in "Mirgorod") about the demonic character of the Russian epic was published. In the story, three students lost their way and came across a mysterious farm, the owner of which turned out to be the most real witch. The main character Khoma will have to face unprecedented creatures, church rituals and a witch flying in a coffin.

In 1967, the first film was staged by directors Konstantin Ershov and Georgy Kropachev. Soviet film horror based on Gogol's story "Viy". The main roles were played by and.

Leonid Kuravlev and Natalya Varley in the film "Viy", 1967

In 1841, Gogol wrote the immortal story “The Overcoat”. In the work, Nikolai Vasilyevich talks about the “little man” Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin, who becomes poor to such an extent that the most ordinary thing becomes a source of joy and inspiration for him.

Personal life

Speaking about the personality of the author of "The Inspector General", it is worth noting that from Vasily Afanasyevich, in addition to the craving for literature, he also inherited a fatal fate - psychological illness and fear early death, which began to appear in the playwright from his youth. Publicist V.G. wrote about this. Korolenko and Doctor Bazhenov, based on Gogol’s autobiographical materials and epistolary heritage.

If during times Soviet Union It was customary to keep silent about Nikolai Vasilyevich’s mental disorders, but today’s erudite reader is very interested in such details. It is believed that Gogol suffered from manic-depressive psychosis (bipolar affective personality disorder) since childhood: a cheerful and perky mood young writer gave way to severe depression, hypochondria and despair.

This troubled his mind until his death. He also admitted in letters that he often heard “gloomy” voices calling him into the distance. Because of life in eternal fear, Gogol became a religious person and led a more reclusive life as an ascetic. He loved women, but only from a distance: he often used to tell Maria Ivanovna that he was going abroad to visit a certain lady.

He corresponded with lovely girls of different classes (with Maria Balabina, Countess Anna Vielgorskaya and others), courting them romantically and timidly. The writer did not like to advertise his personal life, especially his amorous affairs. It is known that Nikolai Vasilyevich has no children. Due to the fact that the writer was not married, there is a theory about his homosexuality. Others believe that he never had relationships beyond platonic ones.

Death

The early death of Nikolai Vasilyevich at the 42nd year of his life still excites the minds of scientists, historians and biographers. Mystical legends are written about Gogol, and the true cause of the visionary’s death is still debated to this day.

IN last years In his life, Nikolai Vasilyevich was overcome by a creative crisis. It was associated with the early death of Khomyakov’s wife and the condemnation of his stories by Archpriest Matthew Konstantinovsky, who sharply criticized Gogol's works and besides, he believed that the writer was not pious enough. Gloomy thoughts took possession of the playwright's mind, and from February 5 he refused food. On February 10, Nikolai Vasilyevich, “under the influence of an evil spirit,” burned the manuscripts, and on the 18th, continuing to observe Lent, went to bed with a sharp deterioration in health.

The master of the pen refused medical help, expecting death. Doctors, who diagnosed him with inflammatory bowel disease, probable typhus and indigestion, eventually diagnosed the writer with meningitis and prescribed forced bloodletting, dangerous to his health, which only worsened Nikolai Vasilyevich’s mental and physical condition. On the morning of February 21, 1852, Gogol died in the count's mansion in Moscow.

Memory

The writer's works are required for study in schools and universities. educational institutions. In memory of Nikolai Vasilyevich in the USSR and other countries were issued stamps. Streets are named after Gogol Theatre of Drama, a pedagogical institute and even a crater on the planet Mercury.

Based on the works of the master, hyperbole and grotesque are still created theatrical performances and works of cinematic art are filmed. Thus, in 2017, Russian viewers can expect the premiere of the gothic detective series “Gogol. The Beginning" with and starring.

The biography of the mysterious playwright contains Interesting Facts, it is impossible to describe all of them even in a whole book.

• According to rumors, Gogol was afraid of thunderstorms because a natural phenomenon affected his psyche.
• The writer lived poorly and wore old clothes. The only expensive item in his wardrobe is a gold watch, donated by Zhukovsky in memory of Pushkin.
• Nikolai Vasilyevich's mother had a reputation strange woman. She was superstitious, believed in the supernatural and constantly told amazing stories, embellished with fiction.
• According to rumors last words Gogol were: “How sweet it is to die.”

Monument to Nikolai Gogol and his bird-troika in Odessa

• Gogol's work was inspiring.
• Nikolai Vasilyevich loved sweets, so he always had sweets and pieces of sugar in his pocket. The Russian prose writer also loved to roll bread crumbs in his hands - this helped him concentrate on his thoughts.
• The writer was sensitive to his appearance; he was mainly irritated by his own nose.
• Gogol was afraid that he would be buried while in lethargic sleep. The literary genius asked that in the future his body be buried only after the appearance of cadaveric spots. According to legend, Gogol woke up in a coffin. When the writer’s body was reburied, the surprised those present saw that the dead man’s head was turned to one side.

Bibliography

• “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka” (1831–1832)
• “The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich” (1834)
• "Viy" (1835)
• "Old World Landowners" (1835)
• "Taras Bulba" (1835)
• "Nevsky Prospekt" (1835)
• "The Inspector General" (1836)
• "The Nose" (1836)
• "Notes of a Madman" (1835)
• "Portrait" (1835)
• "The Carriage" (1836)
• "Marriage" (1842)
• "Dead Souls" (1842)
• "The Overcoat" (1843)

In this publication we will consider the most important things from the biography of N.V. Gogol: his childhood and youth, literary path, theater, last years of life.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (1809 – 1852) – writer, playwright, classic of Russian literature, critic, publicist. He is primarily known for his works: the mystical story “Viy”, the poem “Dead Souls”, the collection “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”, the story “Taras Bulba”.

Nikolai was born into the family of a landowner in the village of Sorochintsy on March 20 (April 1), 1809. The family was large - Nikolai eventually had 11 brothers and sisters, but he himself was the third child. Training began at the Poltava School, after which it continued at the Nizhyn Gymnasium, where the future great Russian writer devoted his time to justice. It is worth noting that Nikolai was only strong in drawing and Russian literature, but did not work out with other subjects. He also tried himself in prose - the works turned out unsuccessful. Now it is perhaps difficult to imagine.

At the age of 19, Nikolai Gogol moved to St. Petersburg, where he tried to find himself. He worked as an official, but Nikolai was drawn to creativity - he tried to become an actor in the local theater, and continued to try himself in literature. Things weren't going very well for Gogol at the theater, but civil service did not satisfy all of Nikolai's needs. Then he made up his mind - he decided to continue to engage exclusively in literature, to develop his skills and talent.

The first work of Nikolai Vasilyevich that was published was “Basavryuk”. Later this story was revised and received the title “The Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala.” It was she who became the starting point for Nikolai Gogol as a writer. This was Nikolai's first success in literature.

Gogol very often described Ukraine in his works: in “May Night”, “Sorochinskaya Fair”, “Taras Bulba”, etc. And this is not surprising, because Nikolai was born on the territory of modern Ukraine.

In 1831, Nikolai Gogol began to communicate with representatives of the literary circles of Pushkin and Zhukovsky. And this had a positive impact on his writing career.

Nikolai Vasilyevich’s interest in theater never faded, because his father was a famous playwright and storyteller. Gogol decided to return to the theater, but as a playwright, not an actor. His famous work“The Inspector General” was written specifically for the theater in 1835, and a year later it was staged for the first time. However, the audience did not appreciate the production and responded negatively to it, which is why Gogol decided to leave Russia.

Nikolai Vasilyevich visited Switzerland, Germany, France, and Italy. It was in Rome that he decided to work on the poem “Dead Souls,” the basis of which he came up with back in St. Petersburg. After completing work on the poem, Gogol returned to his homeland and published his first volume.

While working on the second volume, Gogol mastered spiritual crisis, which the writer never coped with. On February 11, 1852, Nikolai Vasilyevich burned all his work on the second volume of “Dead Souls,” thereby burying the poem as a continuation, and 10 days later he himself died.

The influence of Gogol’s creativity on the development of Russian literature.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol - the most mysterious star in the Russian sky literature of the 19th century and XX centuries - still amazes the reader and viewer and magical power figurativeness, and the most unusual originality of his path to the Motherland, to the solution and even... the creation of a future for it. A bias towards the Future... Gogol - let us remember once again Pushkin’s dream “The rumor about me will spread throughout Great Rus'”, and Mayakovsky’s bashful hope that sounded a hundred years later “I want to be understood” home country“- completed the idea of ​​​​moving into the Future, into the alarming and, as many believed, into the “beautiful Dapyoko”, which will not only be cruel to people. And in this regard, it is closest to much in Russian folklore, in folk songs

“It is impossible to forget anything that Gogol said, even little things, even unnecessary things,” noted F. M. Dostoevsky. “Gogol had the chisel of Phidias,” wrote the philosopher and critic of the 20th century V.V. Rozanov. - How many words are dedicated to Petrushka, Chichikov’s lackey? And I remember no less than Nikolai Rostov. And Osip? In fact... The melancholy Osip, Khlestakov’s servant in “The Inspector General,” says just that, warning his master, the inspired writer of the poem about his own importance: “Leave from here. By God, it’s time,” and accepts gifts from merchants, including... a commemorative rope (“give me a rope, and the rope will come in handy on the road”). But this “string in reserve” was remembered by many generations of Russian viewers.

And with what supernatural completeness were combined in Gogol two of the most beautiful qualities that live separately in many, with the exception of Pushkin: exceptional observation of life and equally rare power imagination. If artistic image as the main exponent of the spiritual life of Russia, the concentration of its spiritual life was, before Gogol, as if distant from facts, from factuality, then in Gogol’s work - long before M. Gorky! — the fact seemed to have moved deeper into the image, sharpened the image, made it heavier.

From Gogol’s reality, incredibly wide trousers, the fatal pipe, Taras Bulba’s “cradle”, and the dried-out “singing doors” in the idyllic house of “old-world landowners” will forever appear in memory. And the mysterious melody of “a string ringing in the fog,” from Poprishchin’s St. Petersburg fantastic dreams (“Notes of a Madman”), which amazed even A. Blok.

To this day it is difficult to decide whether we “remember” in detail even the magical bird-three itself, this “simple, it seems, road projectile”? Or, each time, together with Gogol, do we “compose” this winged troika in our own way, “complement” it, decipher the transcendental mystery of the indomitable, terrifying movement? The immense mystery of the “smoking road”, the secret of horses unknown to the world with incredible, but seemingly visible “whirlwinds in their manes”? Probably, Gogol’s contemporary I. Kireevsky was right when he said that after reading“Dead souls” give us “hope and thought about the great purpose of our fatherland.”

But to this day the unanswered question remains mysterious - the epigraph to all post-Gogol literature - “Rus, where are you rushing to? Give an answer. Doesn't give an answer! And what could be the answer if the Rus'-troika rushes “through Korobochek and Sobakevich” (P.V. Palievsky)? If two most famous writer beginning of the twentieth century, creating their own image of Gogol, close to symbolism, they made up this Rus'-troika “of the crazy Poprishchin, the witty Khlestakov and the prudent Chichikov” (D.S. Merezhkovsky) or?. “Gogol the rich: not one, but two troikas - Nozdryov - Chichikov - Manilov and Korobochka - Plyushkin - Sobakevich... Nozdryov - Chichikov - Manilov soar through the forests and mountains of life under the clouds - an airy troika. They don’t build life, but the owners - another trio: Korobochka - Plyushkin - Sobakevich.”

What did Gogol teach all subsequent Russian literature?

The usual answer is that he brought Laughter as an element of life to the fore, that viewers and readers in Russia have never laughed so much - after D. Fonvizin’s “The Minor” with his Prostakovs, Skotinins and Mitrofanushka, after A. Griboyedov’s “Woe from Wit”, - how they laughed along with Gogol, is hardly accurate in everything. Gogol’s laughter in “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” (1832) is still bright, light, and sometimes funny, although often the appearances of all kinds of sorcerers, sorcerers, and moon thieves alternate with continuous dances that are frightening in their automatism, with “hopak”, as if protecting this optimism . An uncontrollable surge of some kind of desperate mischief holds together the ideal and idyllic world.

And what is the laughter in the “Petersburg stories”, in the entire Gogolian demonology of Petersburg, this most fatal, deliberate city in Russia? Gogol removes in these stories the funny or scary figures of the bearers of evil, all the visual mischievous fantasy and devilry, removes somewhere Basavryuk, the witch lady, mermaids, sorcerers - but some kind of faceless, boundless evil reigns in his Petersburg. For the first time in Russian prose, that “diabolism” is born, that world evil, which will later be “disenchanted” by Bulgakov in “The Master and Margarita” with his Satan Woland, and Platonov in many plays, and of course, A. Bely in “Paterburg” ", F.K. Sologub in "The Little Demon" and even Shukshin in his phantasmagoria "Until the third roosters" and "In the morning they woke up...". Even Dostoevsky, and Sukhovo-Kobylin with his dramatic trilogy “The Wedding of Krechinsky”, “The Affair”, “The Death of Tarepkin”, as well as Gogol’s “The Nose” with its deceptive figurativeness, false concreteness, terrible ghostliness, came out of more than one “Overcoat”. fear of space, the desire to shield oneself from the encroaching emptiness... Squares of hypertrophied sizes in St. Petersburg... reflect incomplete habitability, little processing of space in early St. Petersburg (it is no coincidence that Shoes are not robbed in a wide square, whereas in Moscow this was done in narrow alleys). Petersburg fear, evil itself in Gogol’s “Petersburg tales” is no longer a nasty neighbor-devil, a sorcerer, not Basavryuk. The writer does not see the carriers of living evil, the carriers of witchcraft. The entire Nevsky Prospect is a continuing phantasmagoria, a deception: “Everything is a deception, everything is a dream, everything is not what it seems!” With this spell, Gogol concludes Nevsky Prospekt, an alarming story about tragic death the idealist artist Piskarev and the happy “enlightenment”, deliverance from the thirst for revenge of the vulgar lieutenant Pirogov, flogged by the German craftsmen. From this Petersburg, together with Khlestakov, it is fear, the companion and shadow of Petersburg, that will come to the prefabricated provincial city in The Inspector General.

Gogol “sang” (didn’t he sing the funeral service?) of St. Petersburg in such a unique way that many historians later unfairly blamed and reproached him: with him, Gogol, begins the well-known “tarnishing”, the darkening of the image of St. Petersburg, the clouding of its royal beauty, the protracted era of the tragic twilight of Petropol.

It was after Gogol that the tragic Petersburg of Dostoevsky appeared, and the entire disturbing silhouette of the ghost city in the novel “Petersburg” by A. Bely, and that city of A. Blok, where “Over the bottomless pit into eternity, / A trotter flies, gasping for breath...”. Gogol’s Petersburg became in the twentieth century the prototype, the basis of that grandiose stage platform for the multi-act action of revolutions, became a city “familiar to tears” (O. Mandelstam), for A. Blok in the poem “The Twelve” and many others.

The scope and depth of contradictions in an artist are often evidence of the greatness of his quest, the transcendence of his hopes and sorrows. Did Gogol, who created the comedy “The Inspector General” (1836), together with the future Khlestakov (he was called Skakunov in the first edition) understand this new, mirage space, full of echoes of the future, did he understand the whole meaning of “The Inspector General,” his brilliant creation?

The funny heroes of “The Inspector General” are extremely distinct, like sculptured figures of officials, inhabitants prefabricated city- as if they were drawn into the field of action of forces alienated, even from the author, into a field of absurdity and delusion. They are wrapped up in some kind of impersonal carousel. They even burst onto the stage, literally squeezing out, tearing down the door, just as Bobchinsky burst into Khlestakov’s room, knocking down the door to the floor, from the corridor. Gogol himself seems to be alienated from comedy, where the element of laughter, the element of action and expressive language. Only at the end of the comedy does he seem to “come to his senses” and tries to attribute both to the audience and to himself a very edifying and sad doubt: “Why are you laughing? You’re laughing at yourself!” By the way, in the text of 1836 this significant remark, a signal to stop the “carousel”, to general petrification, the transformation of sinners into a kind of “pillars of salt”, was not there. Are they, the funny heroes of The Inspector General, really villainous? Such truthful, frank, trusting “villains”, as if begging to soften the punishment, rushing about with their vices, as if laying out everything about themselves in confession, did not exist before Gogol. They behave as if they are walking under God, convinced that Khlestakov (the messenger of the terrible St. Petersburg higher power) and knows their thoughts and deeds in advance...

“Dead Souls” (1842) is a lonely, even more difficult attempt by Gogol, the direct predecessor of Dostoevsky’s prophetic realism, to express in the most conceptual way the “Russian point of view” on the fate of man in the world, on all his irrational connections, to express through analysis the feelings of conscience and voice vices. The immortal poem is a synthesis of the entire artistic spiritual experience of the writer and at the same time - a sharp overcoming of the boundaries of literature, even foreshadowing Tolstoy's future renunciation of artistic word. Leo Tolstoy, by the way, will speak almost like Gogol about the spiritual exhaustion, the supertension of the cognizing thought of the Russian writer, about his suffering conscience and the torment of the word: for him in later years, on the threshold of the twentieth century, all creativity is the knowledge of the Motherland “at the limit of thought and at the beginning of prayer.”

Gogol is the founder of a great series of grandiose ethical attempts to save Russia by turning it to Christ: it was continued in the sermons of L. Tolstoy, and in S. Yesenin’s often woeful attempts to understand the fate, the whirlwind of events, the actions of those who in Russia in 1917 only “ They sprayed it all around, piled it up / And disappeared under the devil’s whistle.” And even in some kind of sacrifice of V. Mayakovsky: “I will pay for everyone, I will pay for everyone”... The death of A. Blok in 1921 at the moment when music disappeared in the era is also a distant version of “Gogol’s self-immolation.” Gogol “gogolized” many of the decisions and thoughts of writers. It was as if he was trying to move the most motionless, petrified thing, to call everyone along the path of the Rus' Troika. And the mystery of “Dead Souls,” that is, the first volume, with Chichikov’s visits to six landowners (each of them is either “dead” or more alive than the previous one), with the wreckage of the second volume, is most often solved by focusing on the image of the road, on the motives movements. As in “The Inspector General,” Gogol’s thought in “ Dead souls“It’s as if he’s rushing through sinful Rus', past the heaps of junk in Plyushkin’s house to holy, ideal Rus'. The idea of ​​God-forsaken Rus' is refuted by many insightful, mournful views in the biographies of heroes, including Chichikov. Often the writer hears and sees something that comes to the aid of his despair, his melancholy: “It is still a mystery - this inexplicable revelry, which is heard in our songs, rushes somewhere past life and the song itself, as if burning with the desire for a better homeland.” . His Chichikov, who laughed at Sobakevich’s “comments” on the list of dead souls, suddenly himself creates entire poems about the carpenter Stepan Probka, about the barge hauler Abakum Fyrov, who went to the Volga, where “the revelry of a broad life” and a song “infinite as Rus'” reign.

Gogol's works

The main themes of N.V. Gogol's works

“Evenings on a farm near Dikanka” (1831 - 32) - the work is distinguished by romantic moods, lyricism and humor.

The stories from the collections “Mirgorod” and “Arabesques” (both 1835) open the realistic period of Gogol’s work.

Theme of humiliation " little man” was most fully embodied in the story “The Overcoat” (1842).

In the poem “Dead Souls” (volume 1 - 1842), satirical ridicule of landowner Russia was combined with the pathos of the spiritual transformation of man.

The religious and journalistic book “Selected Passages from Correspondence with Friends” (1847) aroused criticism from V. G. Belinsky.

Topic 1.6 “Petersburg stories” (1835-1842)

“Petersburg Tales” (1835-1842) - “Nevsky Prospekt”, “Nose”, “Portrait”, “Overcoat”, “Notes of a Madman”, “Rome”. The works included in this cycle are united by a common location: all events take place in St. Petersburg. Each story is a combination of a fantastic incident and real-life details in a description of the life of bureaucratic Petersburg. The stories are based on grotesque .

"Portrait"

Composition. The work consists of two parts. The first one talks about tragic fate and the death of a hero, the real reason which is covered in mystery for the reader. In the second, the author explains the mysterious circumstances and causes of Chartkov’s death, without saying a word about him.

The story tells about a young artist named Chartkov, who one day, entering an art shop, discovers an amazing portrait. It depicts an old man in an Asian costume. Chartkov is simply amazed by the eyes of the old man from the portrait: they “possessed a strange liveliness.” Chartkov buys the portrait and takes it to his poor house.

The young artist goes to bed and dreams that the old man crawled out of his portrait and shows him a bag containing many bundles of money. The artist discreetly hides one of them. In the morning he actually discovers the money.

Having become rich, Chartkov hires new apartment, orders a commendable article about himself in the newspaper and begins to paint fashionable portraits.

He becomes fashionable, famous, he is invited everywhere. The Academy of Arts asks to express his opinion about the works of one young artist. Chartkov sees how wonderful creativity is young talent. He understands that he once exchanged his talent for money. And then envy takes possession of him - he begins to buy best paintings with one purpose: to cut them into pieces. Soon he dies, leaving nothing behind: all the money was spent on destroying the beautiful paintings of other artists.

A portrait of an old man is being sold at auction. Everyone wants to buy strange picture, but among others, one person says that the portrait should go to him, because he has been looking for it for a long time.

The father of the person who bought the painting was an artist. One day a moneylender asked me to draw him. When the portrait turned out to be painted, the moneylender said that he would now live in the portrait. Changes occur in the artist himself: he begins to envy the student’s talent... When the portrait is taken by a friend, peace returns to the artist. It soon becomes clear that the portrait also brought misfortune to a friend, and he sold it. The artist understands how much trouble his creation can bring. Having accepted, he was tonsured a monk, and bequeaths his son to find and destroy the portrait. He says: “Whoever contains talent must have a soul purer than anyone else.”

Illustrations by artist V. Panov

the main idea stories is that true service to art requires from a person moral fortitude and courage, understanding of the high responsibility to society for talent. “Talent is God’s most precious gift - don’t destroy it,” this is what he teaches his son old artist, this is the main idea of ​​the work.

SECTION 2. Russian literature second half of the 19th century century

Topic 2.1 Russian literature of the second half of the 19th century (characteristics)

This period is the time of the rise of Russian culture.

Realism was finally established in the fine arts. Central theme Fine art has become a people who are not only oppressed and suffering, but also a people - a creator of history, a people-fighter, a creator of all the best that there is in life. In the second half of the 19th century, Russian painting gave such wonderful artists, like V.G. Perov, I.N. Kramskoy, I.E. Repin, V.I. Surikov, V.A. Serov, I.I. Levitan.

I. Levitan. Above eternal peace V. Surikov. View of Krasnoyarsk

I.Repin. Barge Haulers on the Volga

IN musical creativity this period leading place occupied by P.I. Tchaikovsky, M.A. Balakirev, Ts.A. Cui, M.P. Mussorgsky, A.P. Borodin and N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

Of great importance in public and cultural life Russia in the second half of the 19th century. acquired literature. Abolition of serfdom, bourgeois reforms, the formation of capitalism, heavy wars, which Russia had to lead during this period, found a lively response in the works of Russian writers. Their opinions were listened to; their views largely determined the public consciousness of the Russian population of that time.

Leading direction in literary creativity was critical realism . Second half of the 19th century. turned out to be extremely rich in talent. The work of I. S. Turgenev, I. A. Goncharov, L. N. Tolstoy, F. M. Dostoevsky, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, A. P. Chekhov brought worldwide fame to Russian literature.

During this period, “new people” entered the arena of social struggle - the common intelligentsia, the nihilists. These came from poor families that did not belong to the nobility; they were well educated and engaged in intellectual work. They were united by their rejection of the existing order in Russia. The emergence of “new people” influenced literature: it became more democratic, closer to life. This type of hero is depicted in N.G. Chernyshevsky’s novel “What is to be done?” and in the novel by I.S. Turgenev “Fathers and Sons”.

The following themes developed in the literature of this period:

• Peasant theme(N.A. Nekrasov, I.S. Turgenev).
• Women's theme– the position of the Russian woman in the family, in public life(N.A. Nekrasov, I.S. Turgenev, A.N. Ostrovsky, N.S. Leskov).
• Searching for an answer to the question “what to do?”; coverage of social, political and moral life Russia.

Poetry of the second half of the 19th century is represented by the names of F.I. Tyutchev, A.A. Fet, Y.P. Polonsky, A.A. Grigoriev, A.K. Tolstoy, K.K. Sluchevsky, Vl. Solovyov, N.P. Ogareva, N.A. Nekrasova.

1840-50 passed under the sign of the struggle of Westerners (A.I. Herzen, I.S. Turgenev) and Slavophiles (A.N. Ostrovsky, F.I. Tyutchev, N.S. Leskov). The differences between them were in determining the main direction in which Russia should go:
in the western direction, focusing on life experience the civilized West, or
in Slavic, referring primarily to national characteristics Slavs

In 1860-80 XIX century two camps were more sharply defined: democrats and liberals. Democrats called for revolutionary changes, and liberals called for gradual, economic ones. At the center of the struggle between the two camps is the abolition of serfdom. Democrats: Herzen, Nekrasov, Dobrolyubov, Chernyshevsky, Pisarev and others. Liberals: Turgenev, Goncharov, Druzhinin, Fet, Tyutchev, Leskov, Dostoevsky, Pisemsky and others. Heated polemics flared up on the pages of magazines of both directions. Magazines of the time - arena socio-political struggle.
During this period, journalism began to actively develop in Russia. Magazines “Sovremennik”, “Bell”, “ Russian word", Russian Bulletin", "Bulletin of Europe" played a huge role in the development of Russian literature.

Topic 2.2 A.N. Ostrovsky (1823 – 1886). Drama "Thunderstorm".