The existence of new Russian poetry owes much to the founders, among which Vasily Zhukovsky is not the last. The features of his poetic heritage were dissolved, leaving their aftertaste in the works of Tyutchev, Blok, Pushkin and many others.
What works did Zhukovsky write? His work is incredibly diverse. They are represented by almost all genres. At the same time, the poet himself considered them a powerful tool in educating a person’s spirituality. In general, he regarded poetry as the basis of popular education.
Genres in which Zhukovsky wrote
Let's talk about what works Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky wrote. He did not go in cycles in one style, aspired to creative search.
Among them:
- fairy tales;
- romances and songs;
- poems;
- poems in verses;
- ballads;
- elegy.
Each of these genres from Zhukovsky acquires his characteristic sound, which distinguishes the work from a number of the same, but under a different authorship.
Tales of V. A. Zhukovsky
Fables are considered to be a genre that is intended for children. However, Zhukovsky’s fairy tales differ from the classical, literary ones. Firstly, their plot is based on folklore, and they are not completely fictitious. Secondly, such traditions are not always intended only for children.
An example of this is the fairy tale “The War of Mice and Frogs”. This is an ostrosiric work. The comical in it balances between satire and grotesque. An allegorical depiction of the meaningless struggle of two views on the literary process in Russia. As you know, this work is not finished. As disputes in journalism will not end. Let one conflict be unleashed, but there will always be new causes and “warriors”.
Russian fairy tales of Zhukovsky are not without satire. The features created in them are not subject to objective assessment. The author portrays national color, character, often gives his assessment with the help of a comic look.
Otherwise, the situation is with translated fairy tales, for example, The Sleeping Princess. Zhukovsky introduced additional elements in the translated text. So, the princess’s pregnancy predicts cancer. In general, the structure and plot were conveyed exactly, without adding satirical details to create the character's character.
Elegy of Zhukovsky
Melancholy Zhukovsky has a special place in his work. It reflects one of the most striking features of romanticism - the consonance of the internal state of the lyrical hero with nature or their complete merger. Vasily Andreevich introduced a new technique in his elegies. Nature does not just reflect the state of the lyrical hero, but she herself is. All actions performed by the element can be repeated with accuracy by a person.
What works Zhukovsky wrote reflects the views of the writer. At that time he was a deeply religious person. Therefore, religious motives prevail in poems.
Nature in the elegy of Zhukovsky is the keeper of the mystery of being. Only being dissolved in it, you can touch the afterlife, what is the ideal of romance and the limit of his dreams.
Poems
Poems by Zhukovsky Vasily Andreevich were the first to wake up the material side of Russian art. That is, he managed to convey a palette of colors, smells, a gamut of sounds. He gave the opportunity to hear poetry, to smell and taste it. But, in addition, he endowed nature with the thought and feeling that a person experiences in relation to nature.
Zhukovsky’s poems are spared ephemerality and abstractness. All of them are real life, but which has found its appearance in the subjective reflection of the lyrical hero.
Zhukovsky Vasily Andreevich managed to push the boundaries of the intimate. If earlier the concepts of friendship, love, affection were considered only personal, then the poet insists that a person perceives everything that happens as he succeeds. And worries about politics can be no less hidden by him than love affairs.
Ballads
Zhukovsky's ballads are built on the opposition of the philosophical categories of good and evil. From this confrontation comes the problem of crime and punishment. The hero of the song is not a positive character, a young man in love or lost in his own feelings. On the contrary, the main character becomes a negative character. He goes beyond the law, spits on morality. In pursuit of satisfying his needs, he crosses the line of what is permissible and goes on a crime. Nature, as a divine principle, does not tolerate such tricks and decides to punish the attacker herself, because only she can decide human destinies on earth.
Zhukovsky’s ballads always end with the triumph of moral law. And nature does not just carry away the evil embodied in the character, but also destroys any memory of him.
Romances and songs of Zhukovsky
Song baggage appeared due to the uniqueness of the construction of Zhukovsky’s poems. It implies several elements on which the poems were based:
- words that appeal to the sensory experience of a person, that is, awaken past feelings and feelings;
- exclamations and appeals that form the melody - they are arranged in such a way that either set the tone and pace of the future song, or they mark the end and beginning of the musical phrase;
- the size of the sonnet - Zhukovsky’s poems themselves suggest associations;
- a stream of words and thoughts - meaning is learned not from decoding the semantics of each word, but exclusively in the context of the whole poem.
The reason that most of Zhukovsky’s works are put on music lies in the fact that they themselves suggested how to sing them. Size indicated the rhythm of performance, rhyme set the pace and nature of the work. But here is the minus of poems - their musicality is limited. Thus, the marching performance, which the poem requires, cannot be replaced by adagio.
Poets of Zhukovsky
The thirties were marked by the vigorous activity of Zhukovsky as a translator. And the choice fell on Schiller’s poems “The Cup” and “Byron of the Chillon Prisoner”.
His fame as the author of poems brought him his "Svetlana." It was written in the context of folk traditions, which Zhukovsky always paid attention to when writing many works, especially fairy tales.
The book is based on a ritual of fortune-telling in girls. As you know, prediction is a custom that is not welcomed by the church. And as a believer, Zhukovsky did not fail to ridicule the superstition and naivety of the girls. Despite the prophetic dream, the beloved returns to Svetlana alive to lead her to the crown.
Regardless of what works Zhukovsky wrote, it would be foolish to deny his contribution to Russian poetry. In each genre, he invented something new, which then gave rise to the work of many generations of poets.