The work “The Bronze Horseman” is one of the most famous in the poetic work of A. S. Pushkin. In it, the poet reflects on the reign of Peter the Great, on the state, the tsarist autocracy, on the role of the common man in history. The main idea of the work is the conflict between the authorities and the "little man" from the common people. The genre of the work The Bronze Horseman is not defined unambiguously, since Pushkin very skillfully combined various writing styles in it.
History of creation
The date of writing "The Bronze Horseman is considered the fall of 1833. This is the period of the so-called Boldin autumn of Pushkin, when his work reaches its peak. Having written a poem, the poet could not publish it - a ban was imposed on the printing of this work by Nicholas I.
Only in 1837, after the death of the poet, was it published in Sovremennik. However, censorship in the person of V. A. Zhukovsky introduced a number of changes to the text that distorted the idea of the work. For the first time in the original version, without amendments to censorship, it was printed only many years later, in 1904.
Content
In the plot of the poem "The Bronze Horseman", the author describes the real events of 1824, when the most devastating flood occurred in St. Petersburg, which caused enormous damage to the city and claimed a huge number of lives.
The work begins with the glorification of Peter the Great and the city of St. Petersburg, its "creation". Then the reader gets acquainted with the main character - a small official Eugene. This is an ordinary person from the people, with simple dreams of a modest happy family life with his beloved Parasha. He lives with these thoughts, goes to bed and wakes up with them.
Once upon a time a terrible bad weather falls upon Petersburg. The city suddenly finds itself under water. Only the monument to Peter majestically rises above the devastation. The house, located near the river in which Parasha lived, is flooded and collapses. A girl with her mother dies. Upon learning of this tragedy, Eugene goes crazy.
One night, Eugene walks past the monument to Peter I. Looking at him, he saw in him the culprit of his troubles. Deprived of reason, Eugene whispered evil words to the monument, and the poor imagination painted the poor fellow, as an angry horseman began to pursue him on a bronze horse in response. After a short time, Eugene died.
Thus, in the work of A. S. Pushkin, two very different characters collide: one is a powerful ruler who continues to live in the image of a monument even after death, the other is a modest tradesman, a “little man”. Their fates collide, creating conflict. The culmination of the work becomes the threat of a madman and retaliatory royal anger.
The image of Eugene
Describing the main character, Pushkin pays more attention to the inner world of the hero, creating his psychological portrait. This young, at first glance, unremarkable man has very good spiritual qualities. It belongs to a ruined noble family. His dreams are limited to dreams of a simple family life with his girlfriend. Eugene is ready to work all his life, thereby providing for his family.
The death of a lover deprives him of meaning in life. His mind cannot cope with such a tragedy. He turns into a patient, causing a ragged compassion.
The fate of the hero is the fate of the "little man" in history. The author showed his helpless attempt to confront the state system in the form of a monument. As a result, the hero is defeated. Pushkin emphasizes the hopelessness of the position of an ordinary person in front of the authorities.
The image of Peter
The second main character becomes Peter the Great in the image of the Bronze Horseman. The author’s attitude towards him is ambiguous. He admires the will of the creator of the history of the state. But at the same time, Pushkin was tormented by doubts: who was Peter I - the tyrant or savior of Russia. Having studied in detail the history of the reign of this monarch, the author recognizes his strength, patriotism, and the progressive nature of Peter's reforms. Without diminishing the merits of Peter at the beginning of his reign, Pushkin also speaks of the shortcomings of his late reign - cruelty and despotism. It is no accident that the author associates the image of Peter in the poem The Bronze Horseman with a monument - proud, cold and soulless. And here the monarch acts as a negative hero. This is especially clearly defined in the culmination of the work, when Eugene protests to the ruler, but in response does not receive compassion. On the contrary, the Bronze Horseman pursues him, inspiring fear and demanding humility.
Pushkin admires Peter the Great, but at the same time he loves the Russian people. In his work, he talks about the shortcomings of government that led to devastating events. The great city of St. Petersburg, created by Peter, destroyed all the hopes of ordinary people with streams of water. The author deeply sympathizes with the common people, at the same time emphasizing the unquestioned authority of the monarch.
The protagonist Eugene dies sick and miserable. Peter, in the image of the Bronze Horseman, has stood unshakable for centuries. A horse standing on its hind legs represents the state, and the horseman holding it by the bridle represents the power of power.
The genre of the work "The Bronze Horseman"
In literary criticism, it is customary to call this work a poem. The poet himself called him the "St. Petersburg story." However, the definition of the genre of the work The Bronze Horseman gives rise to much controversy among critics.
The writing style of this work combines a pompous, epic style when describing Peter and the philistine, prosaic, with colloquial episodes - at the mention of Eugene. Thus, defining the genre of the work The Bronze Horseman, literary critics agree that it represents a whole genre combination in which completely different styles are combined surprisingly harmoniously.
Appeal to the poem
The theme of the work “The Bronze Horseman” by Alexander Pushkin inspired the Russian Soviet composer R. M. Glier to create the ballet of the same name. It is no accident that a fragment from it, “Anthem to the Great City,” became the anthem of St. Petersburg. After all, all the events that occur in this plot are connected with the history of the city, therefore they are very close and understandable to every Russian person.