The great fabulist of Russia, who lived in the 18-19 centuries, Ivan Andreevich Krylov, made the fable genre not only a satirical work, but also added the deepest meaning to them, raising them to unprecedented heights. He not only created highly artistic and original masterpieces, he attached importance to them that has been relevant for all time. Even now, reading any of his works, we can find something applicable to our era. For example, the Quartet fable is not in vain included in the school curriculum. She teaches us to work hard and develop our talents.
Link to a historical event
Krylov more than once in his fables criticized not only the government and greedy officials, but also the tsarist government. Masterfully wielding Aesopian language, he hid obvious truths that were easy to read between the lines. He not only satirically portrayed high-ranking individuals of that time, but also mocked specific historical events. The Quartet fable tells of the newly established State Council of Alexander I and its leaders. The latter not only turned out to be incapable and helpless in solving political problems, but also exposed themselves as talkers and ignoramuses, which Krylov drew attention to.
Story development and heroes
In the fable, four animals are mentioned, by analogy with the four noble nobles placed at the head of each of the departments. Prince Lopukhin introduced himself to Ivan Andreevich Kozl, Zavadovsky as Oslo, Mordvinov as Monkey, and Count Arakcheev himself as Medved. And so, having gathered, the heroes of the Quartet fable decide to play music, but nothing comes of it. And so they will sit up and that way, but all is no use. In fact, it was, the nobles had to change places several times and argue for a long time about who should manage which department. As a result, everyone sat down, as it seemed, as it should, but they couldn’t do anything sensible.
What is the secret?
Finally, the Nightingale comes to the rescue of desperate animals, in Krylov’s understanding this is a simple people who see what the catch is. The main condition for a correct and well-coordinated quartet game is the presence of talent among musicians. Transferring everything to the State Council is a problem in the lack of professionalism among officials, none of them understood properly in the area assigned to them. The Quartet fable has become a source of amusing aphorism; it was the Nightingale’s last words that, if not sit down, you can’t become a musician without talent and extract melodies from an instrument. Krylov, on behalf of all sane people and the people as a whole, is trying to convey a simple truth. But the essence is that it’s not enough just to be from the upper class by birth in order to
to manage state affairs and politics in general, a sharp mind, natural abilities and, of course, special education are needed. None of the above were among the nobles, which are narrated by the Quartet fable.
Veiled thoughts
There is a work that continues this theme - “Swan, Cancer and Pike.” Due to the fact that the heroes pulled the cart in different directions, they still could not move it, they lacked coherence. The fable is much smaller in size than the Quartet, but this does not make it worse; it is very capacious in terms of semantic load. The name itself sometimes tells the reader in which direction to think. Indeed, in the days of Krylov it was not so easy to express all your thoughts in the open, you had to disguise them in every possible way. The Aesopian language perfectly suited for this purpose , which the author so skillfully wields. His contemporaries perfectly understood his hidden allegories. Moreover, the writer does not even have to characterize his heroes, all the images are borrowed from folklore and, as a rule, they are associated with already established stereotypes. But the main distinguishing feature of any Krylov’s fable is its versatility, once written for a specific event, and, by virtue of its significance, is relevant even now. For example, the morality of the Quartet fable encourages us to fight hypocrisy, arrogance, unprofessionalism and irresponsibility.