The work of A. S. Pushkin "Mozart and Salieri": genre, summary

The work “Mozart and Salieri”, whose genre is a little tragedy, belongs to the pen of the famous Russian poet, writer and playwright A.S. Pushkin. The author conceived the writing of a new play in 1826, but created it in the most fruitful period of his work - during the so-called Boldin Autumn. The play was published in 1831, immediately giving rise to one of the most well-established myths that the composer Salieri killed his friend Mozart. The text of the drama became the basis for the libretto of the opera of the same name by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, as well as for film scripts.

The idea

The play "Mozart and Salieri", the genre of which is somewhat specific in comparison with other works of the author, was ready five years before its publication, about which there is written evidence of friends of the poet and some of his contemporaries. But the poet was afraid of official criticism, so he was in no hurry to publish it. He even tried to publish his new works anonymously or to hide his authorship, indicating that he had translated foreign works. The work was written under the strong influence of his previous major historical drama Boris Godunov.

While working on it, Pushkin wanted to write a series of plays devoted to historical episodes of other countries. And if in the first case he was inspired by the work of W. Shakespeare, then this time he took as a model the drama of the French author J. Racine, who preferred the plot in terms of harmony and syllable.

Plot features

One of Pushkin's most famous works was the play Mozart and Salieri. The genre of this drama is very specific, as it enters the cycle of so-called small tragedies, which as such do not exist in the literature, but were developed by the author himself exclusively for new works, of which there were only four. One of the main distinguishing features of the genre of the work is the intentional simplification of the plot. In this play, there are only two characters (not counting the blind violinist who appears in one episode).

The whole composition of the play is monologues and dialogues in which their characters are nevertheless fully disclosed. The composition “Mozart and Salieri” is distinguished by carefully prescribed psychology of the characters. The genre of the play defined its chamberness: the action takes place in a confined space, which, as it were, shades and emphasizes the dramatic nature of the story. The finale of the work is quite predictable: the plot intrigue is practically absent. The main plot is a demonstration of the inner world of the heroes, an attempt to explain their behavior and motives.

Tongue

The drama Mozart and Salieri is very simple, but at the same time rich in vocabulary. Pushkin refused complex literary turns, which he resorted to when writing his previous tragedy, when he imitated Shakespeare. Now he was interested in the light, graceful language of Racine. He sought to ensure that the reader (or viewer of a theatrical production) was not distracted from the essence of the conflict and opposition of the characters.

Therefore, he deliberately narrowed the scope of the narrative and sought maximum conciseness in dialogues and monologues. And in fact, both heroes immediately become very understandable, since from the very first appearance they clearly, clearly and accurately state their motives and goals of life. Perhaps, it was in small tragedies that the author’s talent for captivating simplicity in vocabulary was especially pronounced. This attracts the reader to the drama “Mozart and Salieri”. Pushkin wanted to make the meaning of the conflict as accessible as possible, so he avoided anything that could distract the reader. At the same time, the speech of the heroes is not without some elegance: close to conversational, it nevertheless sounds very melodic and harmonious. In the work under consideration, this feature is manifested especially convexly, since its two heroes are the composer, people of mental labor who have a refined taste.

Introduction

One of the most famous writers and poets is Pushkin. “Mozart and Salieri” (the short content of the play is distinguished by its apparent simplicity and comprehensibility) is a drama that is interesting for its dramatic nature and complex psychological plot. The beginning is opened by Salieri's monologue, which speaks of his devotion and love to music, and also recalls the efforts that he made to study it.

At the same time, he expresses his envy (by the way, that was exactly one of the draft titles of the play) to Mozart, who with ease and virtuosity composes brilliant works. The second part of the monologue is devoted to the disclosure of his plan: the composer decided to poison his friend, guided by the fact that he wastes his talent in vain and does not know how to find him worthy use.

The first conversation of the heroes

Like no one else in a short work, Pushkin was able to convey the whole depth of psychological experiences. “Mozart and Salieri” (a brief summary of the play is the best proof of this) is a verbal duel between two characters in which their interests and life goals collide. However, outwardly they communicate in a very friendly manner, but the author constructed their speeches so that each phrase proves how different they are and how irreconcilable the contradictions between them are. This is already evident in their first conversation.

The theme “Mozart and Salieri” is perhaps best described in the appearance of the first on the stage, which immediately demonstrates his light and laid-back disposition. He brings with him a blind violinist who plays his composition poorly, and the mistakes of the poor musician amuse him. Salieri is indignant because his friend taunts his own ingenious music.

The second meeting of the characters

This conversation finally strengthened the composer's decision to poison his friend. He takes the poison and heads to the restaurant, where they agreed to have dinner together. Between both again a dialogue takes place, which finally places all the dots on i. Such laconic action distinguishes all of Pushkin’s little tragedies. “Mozart and Salieri” is a drama that is no exception. This second conversation of composers is central to the narrative. During this evening, their interests and life motives directly clash.

Mozart believes that a true genius cannot do evil, and his interlocutor, although struck by this thought, still brings his plan to the end. In this case, the reader sees that Mozart is doomed. Pushkin builds his work in such a way that there is no doubt about it. He is primarily interested in what led to this drama.

The image of the protagonist

The tragedy of “Mozart and Salieri” is interesting in terms of the psychological confrontation of these people. The first hero is very simple and direct. It never crossed his mind that his friend was jealous of him. But as a real genius of art, he has an unusual flair that tells him a quick end, which he tells him about. Mozart tells Salieri a story about a strange customer who ordered him a requiem and has not since appeared.

Since then, it seemed to the composer that he was writing a memorial mass for himself. In this short story, one senses a premonition of an impending end, although he does not realize how exactly this will happen.

Salieri's Image

This composer, on the contrary, is even more determined to carry out his cunning plan. This is especially pronounced in the scene when Mozart plays him requiem passages. This moment is one of the strongest in the play. In this episode, Mozart again appears before the reader as the genius of music, and Salieri as the personified evil. Thus, the author clearly demonstrated his idea that these two concepts are incompatible with each other.

Idea

The work “Mozart and Salieri” is the most philosophical work in the cycle of small tragedies, since it most fully expresses the problem of the opposition of good and evil embodied in the great composer and his envious. Pushkin ideally selected the heroes for the realization of his ideas: after all, it is real, true creativity that becomes the scene of the struggle of these two opposite principles. Therefore, this drama has an existential meaning. And if other works of the cycle under consideration have a fairly dynamic plot that moves the main idea, then in this play the opposite is true: the author put forward the philosophical idea that real creativity is the meaning of life, and the plot plays a supporting role, shading the writer's idea.