DEVELOPMENT OF LITERATURE IN 1700 – 1730

(LITERATURE OF PETER'S ERA)

Russian literature of the 18th century grew on the soil prepared by ancient Russian writing and oral folk art. Russian literature of the 18th century, both chronologically and essentially, begins with the era of Peter I. The enormous economic and social changes that took place in the Russian state at the beginning of the century could not but affect the spiritual needs of society. The art and literature of the medieval type that dominated Rus' could no longer satisfy these demands. The first decades of the century were the time of the formation of new art, the time of the creation of literature that was qualitatively different from the works of ancient Russian literature.

The most important sign of something new in literary creativity was the writers’ view of reality from a national point of view. The horizon of the author's vision is expanding. Literary heroes now live not only in Russia - they often go to “foreign countries”, and the very image of other countries is gradually freed from the touch of fantasy. The number of translations from modern Western European literature is growing. More and more often we hear in Russian literature the words that every person is a member of society, that this imposes certain responsibilities on him: a person must bring real benefit to society, the state (one of the ideas of Kantemirov’s satires). State institutions become the subject of poeticization (“Tilemakhida” by Trediakovsky, solemn odes of Lomonosov).

At the beginning of the century, other, deep-seated trends appeared in verbal art: an attempt was made to reflect human psychology. Such attempts were also made in prose (“Ride to the Island of Love” by Trediakovsky based on Talman’s novel). But a particularly significant result was the development love lyrics. An entire sphere of human life, previously almost unknown to literature, has now become accessible to artistic depiction.

These new literary trends largely contradicted each other, entered into struggle with each other and did not always find their complete stylistic face. Along with attempts to portray reality as truthfully and accurately as possible, there also arose a desire to go into the world of fantasy (usually drawn from folklore), into the realm of the exotic, the bizarre and the unexpected (in the plays of the Kunst Theater, partly in stories - “histories”).

If Russian literature XVIII century in general can be called creative laboratory, who prepared artistic achievements XIX century, the experimental principle was especially evident in the literature of the first decades of the century. Most fully this feature literary process 1700-1730 expressed in his work by V.K. Trediakovsky.

Thus, the work of writers of the beginning of the century is not united by any one or even several literary trends in the modern understanding of this word (as it will be characteristic of the literature of the second half of the 18th century and subsequent times). As in the 17th century, literary life still developing spontaneously. Writing has not yet become a large and internally organized part of ideological struggle, has not yet become a profession. There are also no clearly understood literary theoretical programs, no literary manifestos (which in general will be destined to play a lesser role in the history of Russian literature than in the history of Western literatures). There are, however, various ideological and stylistic trends, which in their totality prepare the ground for Russian literary classicism.

Against what historical and cultural background did Russian literature develop at the beginning of the century? What was the general state of the country's culture at that time?

This time went down in history under the name “the era of Peter’s reforms.” Peter I, as you know, did a lot to bring Russian culture closer to European culture. A.S. Pushkin said this well: “Russia entered Europe like a deflated ship, with the sound of an ax and the thunder of cannons.” And this huge ship was built thanks to the efforts of Peter I. Although in Russia, as D.S. Likhachev notes, there was no revival, renaissance, in the European sense of the word, nevertheless, the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries. can rightfully be considered equivalent to the European Renaissance for Russia. From a monarchy of the old type, from a state bound by outdated class prejudices, from a state in which the ruling class was the boyars, Russian society came to a powerful state of a different, European type, to an “enlightened” monarchy, where the master was the nobility, which united the old clan nobility - the boyars with the new nobility that arose relatively recently or even just arose, with the nobility in the proper sense of the word.

The new state consists of landowners who own the land, and peasants, finally enslaved, living on this land. These are, finally, merchants, now, during a rapid economic recovery, Agriculture and industry, which became an important force in social development, and the clergy.

The West, which was largely oriented towards Russian state beginning of the century, was also, of course, heterogeneous. In Western Europe there was a counter-reformation, but there was also enlightenment, and there was also Renaissance humanism. If Simeon of Polotsk in the 17th century had not yet clearly defined his position: either he was closer to the Enlightenment, or to Renaissance humanism (this probably was not clear to him either), then Peter I in his transformations, in his reforms clearly and definitely gravitated towards the educational, humanistic West. This was inevitable historically.

In accordance with these new trends, a completely new worldview took shape in Russia. Interest in sciences, which had previously been considered as something bordering on sorcery, witchcraft, and mysticism, manifested itself with enormous force; Interest in the exact sciences especially increased. In connection with this, faith in the power of the human mind is gradually being established. Reason becomes the measure of everything (this is how the ground is prepared for the emergence of classicism). And this criterion is gradually, imperceptibly pushing into the background many traditional religious ideas. The authority of the church is replaced by the authority of the state, a state that has subordinated church authority to itself. Serving the state becomes a criterion of a person’s value, his moral qualities. Social benefit is gradually becoming the highest ethical standard. And these new ideas, which originally arose in the West, along with new concepts enter Russian everyday life: public benefit, public cause, citizen, patriot. There is a belief that civil laws are not written by inspiration from above, but are created according to the laws of reason, determined by “natural law” and not by “divine providence.”

Connections with Europe are being established very quickly. The dam that for many centuries separated Russia from Western culture. Russian people, mainly young people, are urgently “sent” by the government to “foreign lands”; quite a large number of educational books appear, both translated and their own in Russian. L. Magnitsky writes Arithmetic, remarkable for its time, with poetic inserts. The significance of this book (1703) went beyond the study of mathematics. The first Russian printed newspaper Vedomosti was published, the circulation of which sometimes rose to several thousand copies. Introduced new calendar(1700). A new civil font was approved, which greatly facilitated book printing and increased the possibility of disseminating literacy among the wider population.

Attaching great importance to the publication of educational books and the development of exact sciences, Peter I and his associates encouraged the development applied arts. The first gymnasiums, still few in number, appeared. Thus, in 1703, the Ernst Gluck gymnasium was founded in Moscow. Peter I widely, sometimes going to extremes, attracted foreigners for such purposes. Quite a number of “digital schools” are being created – schools in which the teaching of exact sciences occupies the main place. Zaikonospasskoe Moscow school transforms into higher educational institution– Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. New, more qualified teachers are attracted here and training rises to a higher level.

Interest in ancient culture. In this regard, in 1705, a curious book with the Latin title “Symbols and Emblems” was published. This book contained over eight hundred allegorical emblems and symbols most commonly used in Western European literature and mainly associated with Greek and Roman mythology. Such a book is a kind of ABC of mythology, an introduction to the world of conventional images, so characteristic of the culture of European Baroque and Classicism, and turned out to be very useful for the Russian reader. The book “The Library, or about the gods” by Apollodorus is also being published. Its translation into Russian pursued the same goals and also contributed to familiarizing the Russian public with ancient culture.

A need arose to publish a collection of rules of good manners and other books that could introduce the Russian average person to Western European culture. Such books sometimes bore a satirical imprint. An example is the collection “The Honest Mirror of Youth,” which contained numerous advice on behavior in public places; the life of a Russian person was brought out from the chambers and chambers into meetings and into the public. “Don’t spit on the floor in society,” “Mirror” taught the Russian young man dressed in a European caftan, “don’t blow your nose loudly, hold back your hiccups in front of the ladies,” etc.

All this was absolutely necessary to instill in young people who had never previously attended crowded meetings in the presence of women and were not familiar with European rules of polite behavior. Such advice was not harmful to the female part of society.

Russian people also had to learn a lot of new things about the rules of postal correspondence, especially love correspondence. “Examples of how different compliments are written” was the title of a collection of sample texts of postal correspondence, which explained in detail what formulas should be used to begin a letter, how to speak in a message about your feelings for a lady, and how to end the letter.

Samples were also provided business letters, messages from a husband to his wife, from a wife to her husband, etc. It is worth emphasizing the desire to affirm human dignity, characteristic of Butts. Here we find a decisive statement against derogatory signatures, so common in pre-Petrine Rus', such as “your bridegroom”, “your Ivashko”.

In 1724, the “Academy of Sciences and Curious Arts” was founded, and thus the development of science in Russia was finally centralized and taken under the care of the state. Literature acquires a purely secular character. Of the 600 books printed during the reign of Peter I, only 48 were church books.

Peter's economic reforms, his administrative reforms, the introduction of ministries, the construction of a fleet, the development of industry were of great importance - the whole life, all the ideas of the Russian people were turned upside down, radically changed. New customs, a new way of life required other words to be reflected in literature, a new literary language, new genres, new forms. Under Peter, a new intelligentsia, albeit small in number, but very active, quickly emerged. Among them were commoners, i.e. came from the third estate, as well as from the minor clergy. A very prominent figure among these people was Ivan Tikhonovich Pososhkov, who died in 1726, a self-taught peasant, an extremely gifted scientist-economist, who superbly studied the structure of the Russian economy of his time, its way of life, and in his old age wrote the famous “Book of Poverty and Wealth”, in which completely new, sometimes very bold ideas of economic and political transformations with patriarchal remnants and traditions are surprisingly intertwined. For this book, the “seditious” (author) was imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress, where he died. Pososhkov's book was published only in the 19th century.

Another major cultural figure of the beginning of the century was Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev, a famous historian, famous for his “History of Russia from the most ancient times” in five books. A man of a completely new mindset, he was, in principle, an opponent of serfdom, although he did not yet know specific ways to eliminate serfdom.

A number of major churchmen should also be included among the people who energetically supported Peter’s reform activities. This is the Ryazan Bishop Gabriel Buzhinsky, a very knowledgeable man with very progressive views, this is the Archbishop of Novgorod Feofan Prokopovich, encyclopedic educated, who also fully supported the reforms of Peter I, especially the reform of church government carried out by the latter (the abolition of the patriarchate and the establishment of the Synod), and who became “the first member of the Synod " Feofan Prokopovich developed a “spiritual regulation” that determined the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church under Peter I.

Another major figure who supported Peter I was Theophilus Rabbit. The result of these efforts major representatives Russian culture was the emergence of an advanced group of intelligentsia of various ranks, the traditions of which were continued in the 60s by publishers of satirical magazines and authors of stories aimed at third-class readers (M. Chulkov, V. Levshin). In the 20s - 30s, such intelligentsia rallied around Feofan Prokopovich into the well-known “Scientific Squad”. The “Scientific Squad” also included the wonderful Russian satirist poet Antioch Dmitrievich Kantemir.

Great importance had the creation of Russian printed newspaper"Vedomosti", published from the end of 1702 to 1727. The newspaper was filled with newsreels and also published official documents. Fiction, articles, and essays were not published in the newspaper. The volume of the newspaper was unstable and ranged from two to twenty-two. The circulation also fluctuated sharply from thirty to four thousand. This newspaper published various reports about wars, popular uprisings, unrest, the activities of schismatics, and what was said and written about Russia abroad. The editor was Polikarpov, the translators were Volkov and Sinyavich. “Vedomosti” existed for a quarter of a century, “outliving” Peter I for two years. After 1727, “Vedomosti” was replaced by another newspaper, “Petersburg Vedomosti”.

In the 17th century, an attempt was made to give the Russian reader some idea of ​​what they thought abroad about the Russian state. It was a handwritten newspaper, Kuranty, which was written in one copy, by hand, and distributed only among the tsar’s close associates, so that the scope of action was incomparably narrower than the scope of Vedomosti.

At the end of 1702, a certain Johann Kunst, a German from Danzig, a man knowledgeable in theater and possessing well-known organizational skills, on Peter’s initiative, recruited a troupe of “comedians” and prepared several plays. These plays were performed in accordance with the traditions of traveling acting troupes. The plays were originally staged on German, then in Russian. But the Kunst Theater did not last very long: the very next year Kunst died and the performances stopped. These performances were full of bizarre, spectacular episodes and featured colorful characters unusual fate designed to capture the viewer's imagination. Melodramatic plots were full of horror, murders and duels, and unexpected turns of action. The rules for conducting the performance were very unique. Female roles performed by male actors. The actors themselves introduced each other to the audience. Due to the extreme simplicity of the scenery, and sometimes the absence of it, the actors announced the name of the scene and the city. The curtain was mostly not used. These theaters did not last long. By the end of the first decade of the 18th century. their popularity declined.

The Russian professional theater was to emerge and finally strengthen only at the beginning of the second half of the century through the efforts of Feodor Volkov. Only this birth of professional theater in Rus' will lead in the 50-60s to the complete establishment of a new art form in cultural life Russia.

Lyric poetry of this time, weak in artistically, is extremely important in the historical and literary sense, because it opened up to the reader, opened up to Russian word art a completely new, previously unknown area of ​​human life - the sphere of personal experiences. In Old Russian, in medieval Russian literature, as well as in folklore creativity(with the exception of love “lingering” songs) the theme of lyrical, in the proper sense of the word, experiences was absent. Descriptions of the love experiences of the heroes did not occupy any important place. If there was talk about love, then it was not the feeling of love itself that was described, but the emphasis was placed on the economic significance of the marriage union. Love was usually replaced by predestination, fate, which linked the destinies of people. In pre-Petrine literature, we were talking about carnal attraction, cynical attraction, devoid of any spirituality. The feeling of love was not depicted in all its meaning, i.e. like a feeling that transforms everything spiritual world person, as a feeling that plays a huge role in a person’s life. This is exactly how, in a new way, only poets of the 18th century spoke about love. In their “songs” and “arias” love not only becomes driving force work, the basis of its conflict, but love here is exalted in the artistic sense of the word, poeticized, almost deified. But book lyrics were still artistically helpless and attracted readers only with their innovative content.

Literary language came into a chaotic state due to the fact that life had radically changed, a mass of new concepts appeared, for the expression of which the old language of class, caste medieval Rus' was completely unsuitable. Neither Old Church Slavonic was suitable here language style, no style business documents, nor folk style. It was necessary to look for a completely new fusion of verbal elements. Of course this is extremely difficult task could not be resolved immediately. At the beginning of the century, such a task was only posed.

Of great importance for the development of poetry in Russia was the craze for writing syllabic and pre-syllabic poems - verses, characteristic of seminary life at that time. The writing of poetry was included in the curriculum of seminaries, and at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries the main attention was paid to the purely external, graphic form of a poetic work. It was assumed that it was the visual symmetry of the text set out on paper that was a manifestation of the highest artistic and poetic mastery. Hence the poems in the shape of a cross, heart or some other shape. Such poems were called figured poems. Acro- and meso-verses are also written, where either the initial letters of the lines, read from top to bottom, or the middle letters of the verses, highlighted in capitals, are formed into some meaningful word, the name of the person to whom this poem was dedicated. Much attention attention was also paid to writing so-called “crawfish poems,” or werewolf poems, which could be read in the usual order, from left to right, and vice versa, and the meaning of the verse did not change.

Literary creativity had great internal resistance and was difficult to update. Stylistic traditions that were very strong in ancient Russian literature lived for a long time in XVIII literature century. In the first decades, genres characteristic of the 16th-17th centuries also retained their importance. In the 17th century, the genre of the story was most widespread in Russian literature. It remains popular in the first decades of the new century. In an old, familiar genre, the old, both in content and in stylistic form, begins to come into conflict with the new, while at the same time continuing to generally coexist with this new. This phenomenon can be traced through the example of the most widespread story of Peter’s time - “The History of the Russian sailor Vasily Koriotsky, about the beautiful princess Irakli of the Florensky land.” The fashionable word “historia” or “history” is very often introduced into the title of such works. This, of course, is the spirit of the times, and not only lexical: with this word, the anonymous authors of the stories wanted to emphasize the authenticity, truthfulness, and typicality of the events depicted in the works. This work develops a conflict familiar to the stories of the 17th century. Here we also have a clash of old and new ideas about the purpose of life, about moral values, about the moral foundations of society, about the clash of the ideologies of fathers and sons. But if in the stories of the 17th century such a clash usually acquired a very acute character and was depicted as an antagonistic conflict, then here there is no direct clash, a plot conflict between father and son, the hero of the work. On the contrary, the hero of the story, Vasily, always remembers his father, sends him money from abroad, there is no enmity between father and son. Moreover, the father does not prevent his son from living by his own mind and even sympathizes with such filial behavior. But the ideological content of the story as a whole reflects the impossibility of living in the old way, represents the denial of all old life, its entire way of life, its morality. And the hero, living in a new way, actively building his destiny, wins and reaches the highest rung of the social ladder. This did not happen in the stories of the 17th century. This is a fundamentally new solution to the conflict - quite in the spirit of the turbulent times of Peter the Great. Vasily enjoys great sympathy from the author. His image primarily emphasizes purposefulness, initiative, an active attitude to life, and the ability to “live with one’s own mind” (a skill that previously destroyed the hero of the story “About Grief-Misfortune”). Vasily treats “notable persons” with respect. But at the same time he has an independent character and always maintains human dignity. The hero at the end of the story reaches highest position in society not thanks to the merits of his father, not the nobility of his family, but solely due to his own outstanding qualities. The end of the story also differs from the endings of stories of the 17th century - hopeless ones - not the departure to a monastery, not the death of the hero, but his triumph as a winner in the struggle of life, and a winner in moral terms. The love conflict plays a big role; it is she who drives the action throughout the predominant part of the plot. At the same time, love is idealized as opposed to its condemnation as a demonic or antisocial principle in the stories of the 17th century.

In compositional terms, “The History of Vasily Koriotsky” is perhaps the most perfect of all the stories of Peter the Great’s time. Other works of this genre are distinguished by the complexity of the conflict and uncoordinated composition. To a lesser extent this applies to the parody “The Story of Russian merchant John", the hero of which is not a nobleman, but a merchant. He goes to Paris to “taste the pleasure social life" Much attention in the story is paid to the description of love flirtation, the vicissitudes of John's courtship with Eleanor. Love notes are introduced into the text for the first time. But everything is painted in ironic tones. The appearance of a work clearly tinged with parody is evidence that the genre of “history” has begun to become obsolete to some extent.

The most significant in volume, and at the same time the least coherent compositionally, of all the stories of Peter the Great’s time, is undoubtedly “The Tale of Alexander, the Russian Nobleman.” Here one can feel the strong influence of popular print novels, as well as Russian folklore works, in particular adventurous Russian fairy tales.

Alexander, the hero of this work, like Vasily and John, goes to Europe, which appears to the reader as a land of pleasure and gallantry, and in the second part of the work - as a world of adventure and knightly tournaments. In the city of Lille, Alexander falls in love with the beautiful Eleanor, their romance continues for a long time, but the heroes lose each other more than once, while the disguise of the heroes, which the author resorts to, does not allow the heroes to recognize each other. Alexander is a rather frivolous gentleman and Eleanor, having learned about his betrayal, dies of grief. Alexander falls in love with Hedwig-Dorothea, then with Tirra, who at the end of the story stabs herself to death over the body of the deceased Alexander out of grief.

A comic parallel to the main characters of the story, Alexander and Eleanor, is Vladimir with his many lovers.

The Story of the French Son enjoyed some popularity. All these stories portrayed the Russian person as a European, giving him qualities alien to the old Russian story: independence, resourcefulness, gallantry - what was imperiously demanded new life, new reality.

Standing somewhat apart from the “stories” is “Excerpt from a Novel in Verse,” which is an autobiographical story of a young woman about the collapse of her hopes of being united in marriage with her loved one. For the first time in Russian literature, on behalf of a woman, free love is spoken openly, fearlessly, and the parental domostroev power, which opposes this feeling and ultimately destroys it, is openly condemned.

All these works were closer to folklore than to books literary tradition. They were not published, but, having pleased the readers, were distributed in lists and varied, which brought them closer to folklore and contributed to their images acquiring a touch of traditionalism and saturating the works with commonplaces.

Lecture 2

FEOFAN PROKOPOVYCH

(1681 – 1736)

One of the most educated people of his time, Feofan Prokopovich was the first to feel and comprehend the need for the Russian state to make fundamental changes in the field of politics, ideology and art, and to fight for the implementation of Peter’s reforms. Feofan Prokopovich, according to N.K. Gudziya, this “enlightener in a cassock” devoted all his vigorous energy and all his talent to the cause of enlightening Russia.

The son of a small Kyiv merchant, Feofan Prokopovich experienced poverty in childhood, but managed to become a student at the Kiev-Mohyla Academy. However, the knowledge he received was not enough, and he, without much hesitation, accepted Unianism (the Uniate Church is a Christian association created by the Union of Brest in 1596, subordinate to the Pope, recognized the basic tenets of the Catholic Church while maintaining Orthodox rituals), in order to be able to continue his education in the West. He studied for some time in Poland, and then in Rome, at the Collegium of St. Athanasius (opened specifically for the training of propagandists of Catholicism among the Slavs and Greeks). His path to knowledge speaks of the thoroughness of his knowledge and the independence of his judgment and tolerance. This was typical for the era of Peter the Great's reforms - a time of revision of all traditional ideas.

In 1704, he returned to Kyiv and taught poetry and rhetoric for some time at the Kiev-Mohyla Academy. Having become a personal friend of the tsar, Prokopovich was confirmed in the position of “prefect” - rector of the Kyiv Academy. He was distinguished by an extraordinary breadth of interests; he was interested in history, philology, theology, philosophy and even mathematics. Together with Kantemir, Tatishchev and Golitsyn, he entered the “scientific squad” that formed at the end of the 20s and became the leader of this circle of Russian enlighteners - champions of the affairs of Peter I.

Prokopovich entered Russian literature as the author of lyrical poems and the creator of the tragic-comedy “Vladimir”, where, using material borrowed from the chronicle, an attempt was made to show the struggle of an enlightened monarch with the ignorant clergy, and also as the author of the treatise “De arte poetica” - a textbook on poetry .

He was an outstanding speaker and left many sermons in which he glorified the external and domestic policy government of Peter I. As a prominent figure in the church (he had the rank of Archbishop of Novgorod), Feofan actively supported Peter I in the reorganization of the Russian church. It was precisely this support that Peter I owed to a large extent for his success in eliminating the patriarchate, which had always competed with the royal power, and creating a kind of collegium for managing church affairs - the Holy Synod. Prokopovich became the leading member of the Synod. He wrote the so-called “Spiritual Regulations”, which determined the activities of the Russian Church for decades. In his work and in his sermons, Prokopovich expressed the ideology of the advanced part of the nobility and the various intelligentsia of Peter the Great's time. In “A Homily for Concluding Peace with Sweden,” Prokopovich meaningfully wishes “for the people’s burdens to be diminished.” A wonderful speaker, Feofan knew how to make the language of his sermons colorful and varied.

In the field of poetic form, Prokopovich introduced the octave into Russian poetry, which he used quite often. Often in his poems he used approximate rhyme and consonance: it is visible - it is very poor, the viewer is virtue. Prokopovich wrote his lyrical poems in syllabic verse, which was then widespread in Ukraine and Belarus. But the influence of the folk song element is also felt. This is explained by his organically inherent lyricism. As if aware of the insufficient rhythmic organization of a long syllabic verse, Prokopovich often alternated verses of different lengths in his works and widely used short, unsyllabic verses that sounded almost like syllabic-tonic ones.

For example: “Behind the Pockmarked Grave”:

Behind the pockmarked grave

Above the Prutova River

There was an army in a terrible battle.

On a weekday from noon

It has become a very difficult time for us -

A crowded Turchin arrived.

Or “Cossack repentant”:

I don't know what to do.

And I die unknown:

Wandered into impenetrable forests,

To countries that are smooth and waterless;

Atamans and hetmans,

I fell into your deceptions.

You will disappear beyond the thresholds,

Just not to go astray.

I wish I could not fall into strong hands,

I wouldn't accept the terrible torment.

This is a short syllabic verse (octyllabic), in which the stress is often placed in syllabic-tonic order (trochaic - as in folk dance songs). Sometimes there are Ukrainianisms. Some of his poems are autobiographical. For example, “The shepherd boy cries in long bad weather.” This poem was written on the fifth anniversary of the death of Peter I (“the fifth day has passed”) and testifies to the close connection that existed in the poet’s mind between personal experiences and political life country, how close he took to heart the political reaction and the collapse of his educational hopes.

Prokopovich also turned to the odic genre. This is his poem “Epinikion, or a victorious song about the same glorious victory.” Here, widely using Old Church Slavonicisms, Prokopovich glorifies the victory over the “Svei armies” won near Poltava. In this work, Prokopovich appears as a master of high style. We find a strict distinction between high and ordinary, non-elevated style already in the work of Feofan Prokopovich.

Prokopovich’s tragic-comedy “Vladimir” is one of the most significant dramatic works beginning of the century. Here the writer turned to the time of the baptism of Rus' under Vladimir Svyatoslavich, using as historical source chronicle information about this event. On this plot basis he superimposed contemporary socio-political material, revealing two main themes that always worried him: the struggle for the spread of education in Russia and the struggle within the church between progressive and reactionary church leaders. During Prokopovich's time, these two aspects of ideological life were closely connected.

Grotesque images of dull, stupid and greedy priests with characteristic names: Zherivol, Kuroyad, Piyar - are undoubtedly depicted by the hand of a gifted master. This group of ignorant priests (symbolizing everything that is inert in Russian life) strongly opposes Vladimir’s intention to accept Christianity, which brings with it a higher morality, a higher culture. The shadow of Yaropolk, who died at the hands of Vladimir, also comes to the aid of the priests in their struggle for antiquity. But Vladimir, in spite of everything, supported by his sons and like-minded people, accepts Christianity and crushes pagan idols. Here Prokopovich also seeks to show the inconsistency of human character. So, his Vladimir hesitates: to accept Christianity or not, because it is difficult for him to give up his habitual polygamy. But Vladimir overcomes these hesitations, this human weakness. Here we can already talk about some realistic tendency in the writer’s work.

The tragic comedy was presented in the same year 1705 by students of the Kiev-Mohyla Academy. This was the only performance of the play.

Prokopovich acts as a satirist writer, the immediate predecessor of Antioch Cantemir. Prokopovich’s satirical pathos appeared in places in “Spiritual Regulations.” Here there are vivid sketches of the morals of people who are opposed to the restructuring of Russian life in a new way and the renewal of the Russian church. About the court flatterers, he writes: “When the rumor gets around that the Emperor shows his love to someone special, everyone goes to the court, everyone congratulates, gives gifts, bows to and die for him as if ready.”

Prokopovich’s “Poetics” is of interest. Such handwritten piitiks were often created in theological academies of that time. Prokopovich's treatise was published only at the end of the 18th century, but it influenced Cantemir's work. A number of his provisions anticipated the views of the theorists of romanticism and realism, although in general Feofan’s poetics are closely connected with pre-classical tendencies in European art words.

Prokopovich's treatise “On Poetic Art” consists of three books, small in volume.

The first book deals with the origin and specificity of poetry, the meaning of poetic skill. The most interesting sections are devoted to poetic fiction, where Prokopovich highlights the main specific trait artistic creativity– the use of poetic conventions, thinking in images. Other issues are treated in the first book in an idealistic spirit. For example, the divine origin of poetry is affirmed, but poetic creativity is considered as a type of ordinary labor that has no qualitative difference from other types of labor, for example, from physical labor. If to create works heroic character While the presence of “powerful inspiration” is still recognized as necessary, the creation of works of less “significant” content is accessible to any diligent author. So, great inspiration equals great physical labor, necessary for writing significant volumes heroic works. We will subsequently find the development of similar thoughts, characteristic of the theorists of pre-classicism and antiquity, in Lomonosov’s “Rhetoric”. The classicist exaggeration of the role of imitation leads Prokopovich to underestimate the creative principle, to underestimate the originality of the writer. But at the same time, he opposes “petty” imitation and plagiarism and requires conscious assimilation of the writer’s manner.

The second book deals with epic and dramatic poetry. As a figure in the Christian church, he opposes the excessive use of mythological images, reserving the right of the poet to use these images in a purely metonymic sense. Touching on the difference between a historian and a poet, Prokopovich again emphasizes fiction as the main determinant of poetic creativity. Prokopovich writes: “The historian tells about a real event, how it happened: with a poet, either the whole story is fictitious, or, even if he describes a true event, he talks about it not as it happened in reality, but as it could or should have happened."

Introduction

On January 1, 1700, by decree of Peter the Great, the advent of the “new year and centennial century” was unexpectedly celebrated for everyone.

From now on, Russians had to live according to the new calendar. The nobles were ordered to wear German dress and cut their beards. Everyday life, education and even church administration acquire a secular character. With the active support of Peter, new secular literature is being created.

“Our literature suddenly appeared in the 18th century,” wrote A.S. Pushkin.

Although by the beginning of this century Russian literature had gone through a centuries-long path of development, the creators new culture- supporters of Peter's innovations - saw in the past not a support, but something outdated that should be remade. They understood Peter's reforms as the creation of Russia from the darkness of historical oblivion. Peter's opponents, on the contrary, saw in the transformations the death of the ancient foundations of the Moscow state. But the suddenness, scale of the changes, and their consequences were felt by everyone.

Literature of Peter's time

The beginning of the 18th century was turbulent for Russia. The creation of our own fleet, wars for access to sea routes, the development of industry, the flourishing of trade, the construction of new cities - all this could not but affect the growth of national consciousness. People of Peter's times felt their involvement in historical events, the greatness of which they felt in their destinies. Boyar Russia is a thing of the past.

Time required work. Everyone was obliged to work for the benefit of society and the state, imitating the tireless “worker on the throne.” Every phenomenon was assessed, first of all, from the point of view of its usefulness. Literature could be useful if it glorified the successes of Russia and explained the sovereign's will. Therefore, the main qualities of literature of this era are topicality, life-affirming pathos and an orientation toward universal accessibility. Thus, in 1706, the so-called “school dramas” appeared, plays written by teachers of religious educational institutions.

School drama could be filled with political content. In the play, written in 1710 on the occasion of the victory at Poltava, the biblical king David is directly likened to Peter the Great: just as David defeated the giant Goliath, so Peter defeated the Swedish king Charles XII.

A large clergy class was hostile to the reforms. Peter tried unsuccessfully more than once to win over Church leaders to his side. He looked for faithful people who would have the gift of speech and persuasion and obediently carried out his line among the clergy.

Feofan Prokopovich, a church leader and writer, became such a person. Feofan's sermons are always political speeches, a talented presentation of the official point of view. They were printed in state printing houses and sent to churches. Feofan's large journalistic works - "Spiritual Regulations" (1721) and "Truth, the Will of the Monarchs" (1722) - were written on behalf of Peter. They are devoted to justifying the unlimited power of the monarch over the lives of his subjects.

Prokopovich's poetic creativity is diverse. He composes spiritual verses, elegies, epigrams. His “Victory Song for the notorious Poltava victory” (1709) marked the beginning of numerous eighteenth-century odes to the victories of Russian weapons.

Feofan was not only a practitioner, but also a literary theorist. He compiled courses on "Poetics" and "Rhetoric" (1706-1707) in Latin. In these works, he defended literature as an art that obeys strict rules, bringing “pleasure and benefit.” In his poems, he demanded clarity and condemned the “darkness” of learned poetry of the 17th century. In “Rhetoric,” he, following European authors, proposed to distinguish three styles: “high,” “medium,” and “low.” Assigning each of them to specific genres. Prokopovich's treatises were not published in a timely manner, but became known to theorists of Russian classicism - Lomonosov studied them in manuscript.

History

The composition of fiction of that era was extremely diverse. The handwritten collections contained works of various genres: adaptations of folklore - epics, historical songs, spiritual poems and fairy tales. In these alterations and retellings of the early 18th century. works of oral folk art receive new headings: “legend”, “story”, “history” (“history”). For example, “The Tale of the Seven Russian Bogatyrs” from Buslaev’s collection, “The Tale of the Glorious Mighty Bogatyr about Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber” (“The History of Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber”) and many others.

Then, throughout the entire 18th century, and especially in its first half, various ancient Russian stories were rewritten many times, and many of them were subjected to creative revision. For example, stories on a military theme: “The Story of the Massacre of Mamaev” and “The Story of the Kazan Kingdom”, stories about the capture of Azov, the popularity of which in the Peter the Great era is quite understandable. Various didactic stories, such as the story of Akira the Wise, Basarga, Varlaam and Joasaph. And of course, old Russian hagiographic stories are being rewritten, such as, for example, the life of Alexei, the man of God, the life of Peter and Fevronia of Murom.

They are also found repeatedly in handwritten collections of the 18th century. came to Rus' in the 16th-17th centuries. old translated knightly tales about Bruntsvik, Peter the Golden Keys, Vasily Zlatovlas, Bova Korolevich, of which the last two are being processed. Translated legends are being rewritten ancient Russian literature, such as the legend about the proud king Haggai, about Pope Gregory. The latter also receives a new edition.

In connection with the general intensified process of Europeanization of Russia, in the literature the first thirds of the XVIII century, along with works of folklore and stories of ancient Rus', translated Western European stories are widely represented. Characters borrowed from all countries Western Europe: Germany, France (“The History of Melandra, Queen of France and the Elector of Saxony Augustus”), Spain (“The History of the Gishpan nobleman Dolthorn”), England (“The History of the English My Lord Gereon”), Italy (“The History of Prince Cylodon of Italy” ) etc. All kinds of exotic adventure stories, the action of which takes place either in Africa, or in Asia, or even in America or Lapland, are also translated many times. P. N. Sakulin conventionally divides translated stories of the first half of the 18th century into two main groups: love-adventure stories (chivalrous novels in folk processing) and sensitive and moralizing, but emphasizes that everywhere the main interest of the translated story is the external entertainingness of the plot.

Together with recordings of works of oral folk art, editing of old Russian stories and a wide stream of translated Western European literature in fiction of the early 18th century. A new original Russian story is also developing. This story creates its own special style, ideology, theme, and its own typical hero. This story is a special stage in the development of Russian literature

The most common hero is a graceful "cavalier" affected by the influence European culture a young Russian nobleman undertaking travels to “Europe”, in a foreign setting showing the proper gallantry and sophistication, in accordance with the ideal requirements of knightly traditions. The theme of love affairs begins to occupy a special place - it becomes central. "How in military stories were created constant formulas battle, so now stable formulas of love are deposited Love is an arrow (Cupid's arrow) pierced into the heart, a flame that burns it, a sweet disease that requires a doctor and medicine. The entire language of the stories is replete with barbarisms and neologisms; the Old Slavonic element of bookish speech is apparently dying out under the pressure of new elements of colloquial and business language.” 1

The most typical among the original stories of the Peter the Great era are the following: “The story of Alexander the Russian nobleman”, the story of the “Russian sailor Vasily” and “The story of the Russian merchant John”.

The first two of them reflect elements of the life and customs of the Russian nobility of the early 18th century, the third - the merchants.

“The story of the Russian sailor Vasily” is known from three lists XVIII V. The hero of this story - Vasily Koriotsky, the son of a poor nobleman - lived in “Russian Europe”. Wanting to get out of the “great poverty” that surrounded him, the young man went to “St. Petersburg”, signed up as a sailor there, and then, together with other young nobles, was sent by the government to Holland “for a better knowledge of the sciences.” There he lived and studied practically with the “Galan guest”. During these years, Vasily persistently studied maritime affairs and generously helped his parents. At the end of the business trip, despite the persuasion of his patron, the young man went home to see his father. The storm wrecked the ship and brought Vasily to the robber island. A series of adventures begins. First, the Russian sailor, out of necessity, became a robber chieftain, then, captivated by the beauty of the captive princess Irakliya, he freed her, fled with her from the robbers, wandered for a long time, defeated the treachery of an unexpected rival admiral, then married Irakliya and after the death of his father-in-law became the “King of Florence” "

The work clearly falls into two parts: the first of them is an everyday story about the life of a young nobleman sent abroad by the government to receive an education; the second is a love-adventure story, built partly on the motives of Russian so-called “robber” songs and fairy tales, partly on examples of translated Western European stories.

The first part of the “history”, due to its real-life content, provides a lot of material for clarifying the question of how typical it was for the first third of the 18th century. the image of the hero of the story: a nobleman - “Russian sailor” Vasily.

Memoirs

Sending noble youth abroad to receive an education, especially to study various branches of naval knowledge, as they said then, “navigational science” and “military articulation,” was a typical phenomenon of the Peter the Great era.

The nobility, which at first expressed dissatisfaction with Peter's drastic measures to introduce education, little by little began to understand the benefits of education and its necessity for occupying the highest government positions.

At the same time, educational activities were carried out: schools, gymnasiums and a university at the Academy of Sciences were opened, young people were sent abroad to study science and “political morals”

Becomes very popular at this time special genre memoirs, a variety of which are notes about events, autobiographies, diaries. In terms of content, these are memories of the past, written by participants or eyewitnesses of any events. They are narratives about significant events in the domestic and foreign policy life of the country, and talk about historical figures.

Autobiographies view events through the lens life path author. A diary, unlike notes, consists of fragmentary entries, always recorded synchronously with events. A type of diary is travel notes - one of the most widely represented genre groups memoir literature Peter's time. In addition, travel notes, as a rule, were processed after the trip on the basis of travel diaries, therefore, they contain the author’s retrospective view of the events.

Here, first of all, we should name the works of Prince B.I. Kurakin of various genres: autobiography (1709), travel notes (1705-1710), “History of Tsar Peter Alekseevich” (1727) - a historical work with memoir elements ( notes about events). The choice of Kurakin’s works is due to his rich biography.

Boris Ivanovich Kurakin (1676-1727) was a major general, colonel of the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment, one of the first Russian professional diplomats. In his youth he was sent as a volunteer to Italy, where he studied mathematics, fortification, European languages. And also, he took part in major military battles as a military man: the Azov campaigns, the campaign near Narva, the Battle of Poltava.

Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy (1645-1729) was the steward of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, under Peter I he studied maritime affairs in Italy as a volunteer, and later served as a diplomat in Turkey and Western European countries. He was a man who had extraordinary statesmanship and diplomatic abilities, combining a brilliant memory and a sharp mind, caution and foresight in decisions political problems, high education and culture of communication, called by a contemporary “the smartest head in Russia.” His travel notes 1697-1699. are of undoubted interest.

The work of another diplomat, Andrei Artamonovich Matveev (1666-1728), represents a transitional form between article lists and travel notes, which is reflected in its title - “Archive, or Article list of the Moscow embassy, ​​which was in France from Holland incognito in the past , 1705, September 5th day." But it also reflects the author’s varied observations on the life of Western European countries.

"Walking to the Holy Land"

Also one of the outstanding literary monuments of the Peter the Great era is “Walking to the Holy Land” by Ioann Lukyanov. This is a landmark work of Russian pilgrimage literature, summing up the development of travel notes Ancient Rus' and laying the foundations of the “travel” genre of the New Age. “Walking” is of great interest to historians of language and literature, since it was created at the beginning of the 18th century. a writer developing the traditions of Archpriest Avvakum.

"Walking" is a description of the journey to Constantinople, Egypt and Jerusalem, made in 1701-1703. a Moscow priest who, after returning to his homeland, became one of the leaders of the Old Believers.

Ioann Lukyanov is a bright, gifted personality, in many ways ahead of his era. It is difficult to clearly determine who he is - a militant traditionalist or a bold innovator. His position in the religious-political struggle and literary affairs at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries was too complex and ambiguous. A Moscow priest from Arbat, who secretly professed the “old faith,” a traveler and publicist, an active preacher of the Old Believers in Moscow, on Vetka and in the Bryn forests, Ioann Lukyanov left a noticeable mark on the history of the Russian church and literature.

The literature of Peter's time did not create significant works and its main content was the assimilation of those cultural endeavors that were laid down by Peter's reforms: - the process of secularization of literature (takes on a secular character - the introduction of the civil alphabet and font, beginning 1708) The first books - educational and applied books. Fiction is presented by a few publishing houses, the goal is to acquaint the Russian reader with figurative system, figurative language of Western European literature.

“Symbols and emblems” - 1705.

The idea of ​​the ideal of a person changes, a person emerges who is actively building his own destiny, who is not afraid of change, who independently creates his own success. The features of the ideal were reflected in the popular book “The Honest Mirror of Youth,” 1717.

This book was the code of conduct for the new man in " New Russia" Life rules acquired a special meaning as signs of a new life. The book dealt with the worldview of the new man.

Literature continued to develop in those forms inherited from the 17th century, but these forms were filled with new content:

STORY

In external structure they are close to handwritten anonymous everyday stories of the 17th century. The basis of the plot is the Gospel motif of the prodigal son, which is built on a cumulative principle (stringing together episodes). The connection with folklore remains. But in the story Peter. There is a different hero of time - a man of Peter the Great's era.

Novelty of the stories: The emergence of historical and everyday realities of Peter’s time. New type hero - active purposeful, enterprising, striving to achieve success. Changing the interpretation of the plot motif of the parable about prodigal son: in the new 17th century, parting with home meant spiritual death., in Peter. time - separation is inevitable, it is the key to success.

The story lacks the psychological disclosure of the characters, the motivation of their character and actions. Only adventure attracts attention. The depiction of love feelings changes. It ceases to be perceived as sinful and unchangeable. Love is high Dutch feeling - in accordance with the spirit of Peter the Great's era.

Example: “The story of the Russian sailor Vasily Koriotsky and the beautiful Queen Heraclius of the Florentine land”

Conventionally, there are 2 parts:

1) Historical and everyday life

It begins in St. Petersburg, where the poor nobleman Vasily Kariotsky forgives his father to let him serve in the navy. He manages to master naval science. He goes to continue his studies in Holland. He manages to achieve success and the Dutch merchant decides to make Vasily his heir, but Vasily needs his father’s blessing for this. He sets off by sea to St. Petersburg, but the ships get caught in a storm and are broken; Vasily finds himself thrown onto the island.

2) Adventurous

Robbers lived on the island and V. became their chieftain. He frees the captive of the robbers, Heraclius, flees with her from the island and, after wandering, ends up with the Roman king. He hospitably welcomes them and admires their intelligence, offers V. Rule the kingdom. You and Irakl. They find themselves separated due to the machinations of the Florin admiral and meet only a year later.