There are many examples in Russian literature when artists were inspired by historical events and personalities and wrote their works about them. Moreover, it often happens that several authors write about one person. This happened with the uprising, which was expressed through the image of Pugachev in the works of Pushkin and Yesenin. An essay-comparison on this topic is often asked to write to schoolchildren.
Genres of works about Pugachev Pushkin and Yesenin
Two great poets, Pushkin and Yesenin, each at one time took on the task of consecrating the Pugachev rebellion. It would seem that the view on the same events should be the same, but they turned out to be a lot of differences. Among other things, the use of different tools for this purpose.
Pushkin used the image of Pugachev in the work "The Captain's Daughter." It is a historical novel, i.e. the book describes a specific historical era. The author from the side observes the development of actions.
Yesenin chose the genre of dramatic poem for his narrative. He deeply felt the spirit of that uprising and the personality of Pugachev, admired him.
We can say that the image of Pugachev in the works of Pushkin and Yesenin is already different from the genres of their works, which is surprising, because both studied almost the same historical evidence.
Pugachev in the work of Pushkin
Pugachev in “The Captain's Daughter” by Pushkin appears more like the leader of a band of robbers than the leader of the uprising. He wants to be like Grishka Otrepyev, a cruel adventurer. Ready to kill innocent people who stand in his way. He is fully aware that the uprising is doomed to defeat, and from this behaves like a driven beast.
Nevertheless, even Pushkin cannot deny that there is generosity and kindness in Pugachev. For example, he could not harm Grinev, who once helped the leader of the uprising. This is a mature, experienced person whom people are ready to listen to and who they are ready to follow. It is the versatility of the image that gives life to the hero. This is how Pushkin Pugachev saw it, studying historical documents.
Pugachev in the work of Yesenin
Yesenin also studied historical documents, but his Pugachev turned out to be much more attractive. Yesenin endows his hero with such a feature as reverie, Pugachev really wants to be free in the Kazakh steppes. The leader of the rebellion of the poet now has a romantic soul. He is very kind and forgives even his fellow traitors, who betray him to the authorities.
Slightly spoils the image of Yesenin Pugachev’s self-confidence. He believes that everyone is always welcome to him. The poem also says that people love him for a riot, but, obviously, it is fair, otherwise everyone would simply be afraid of him.
Comparison of the image of Pugachev in the works of Pushkin and Yesenin
An essay on this topic should begin with a review of the images separately, which we did above. Then, according to ready-made descriptions, it will be very easy to draw up a comparative description.
The image of Pugachev in the works of Pushkin and Yesenin is similar in some character traits. So, they have in common cruelty towards the guilty and innocent, as well as sometimes manifested kindness. Both poets find that Pugachev is a strong, extraordinary personality, however, in Yesenin he is almost a genius. The authors give Pugachev the gift of foresight, the hero knows for sure that his attempts to create an uprising and free the peasants will fail.
Note that the image of Pugachev in the works of Pushkin and Yesenin has quite strong differences. The most important of them is to understand the role of the Pugachev uprising. Pushkin did not understand and believed that this was only an isolated case, that the uprising could not end in a different way. Yesenin saw all the Russians in Pugachev, the peasantry and felt a kinship with them, it was just a popular uprising. It is not for nothing that the author describes nature so much, as if connecting the rebellion and Pugachev with it. For Yesenin, he is endowed with a poetic soul, while for Pushkin he is simply an intelligent, but not too deep person.
Reasons for such different opinions
There are several reasons why the image of Pugachev in the works of Pushkin and Yesenin turned out differently.
First, Pushkin belonged to the highest, noble estate. He looked at this uprising as a threat, a mistake on the part of the indignant and did not understand for what purpose it was done. He calls this rebellion “meaningless and merciless”. Yesenin, on the other hand, grew up in a village among peasants, so we can say that he is from the lower class, from which the rebels came. That is why both the goal and the means are close to him and understandable. This explains why the image of Pugachev in Pushkin’s works turned out to be so negative, and for Yesenin he is much more pleasant.
Secondly, the great poets lived a hundred years apart. During this time, the political situation changed, serfdom and tsarist power were abolished . At this time, there was a revision of all historical events, including the Pugachev uprising. His work was magnified and chanted, many works on this subject were created.
Pugachev in history
An image of Pugachev in the works of Pushkin and Yesenin would be incomplete without a historical review. An essay on this subject may well end with a brief historical background.
Emelyan Ivanovich Pugachev was born in the Don region and possessed all the features of a real Cossack. He always had the special qualities of a leader, as well as ingenuity. After two wars, Pugachev went to the Yaik River and there declared himself killed by Peter III. The place was chosen with intent, because shortly before this, there were violent clashes between peasants and the ruling elite in this place. We can say that Pugachev only led this uprising. He was able to assemble a solid army, more than once, but the organization of the army was clearly not enough. As a result, the 9,000th rebel army was defeated by only 3,000 regular troops. Pugachev himself was extradited to the authorities by his own comrades-in-arms. He was executed in 1775 in Moscow.
The image of Pugachev in the works of Pushkin, Yesenin can help to better understand the essence of the uprising and the character of the leader in studying the historical aspect of the topic. In general, such works make it possible to look at events from a different, human side.