According to the definition, lyrical digressions are some statements of the authorâs thoughts and feelings related to the depicted in the work. They help to better understand the creatorâs ideological intent and take a fresh look at the text. The writer, intruding into the story, slows down the development of the action, violates the unity of images, however, such inserts are included in the texts naturally, as they arise in connection with the depicted, are imbued with the same feeling as the images.
Lyrical digressions in the novel "Eugene Onegin" play a huge role, as you will see by reading this article. It is dedicated to their subject, function and meaning.
Features of the novel "Eugene Onegin"
The novel in question, A.S. Pushkin wrote for more than 8 years - from 1823 to 1831. He wrote to Pyotr Andreyevich Vyazemsky at the very beginning of his work on the work, which creates not a novel, but precisely a ânovel in versesâ, but this is a âdevilish differenceâ.
Indeed, thanks to the poetic form, âEugene Oneginâ is very different from the traditional genre of the novel, since it expresses the feelings and thoughts of the author much more strongly. The work is added by originality and constant participation and commenting on the author himself, about which we can say that he is one of the main characters. In the first chapter of the novel, Alexander Sergeevich calls Onegin a "good friend."
Lyrical digressions and author biography
Lyrical digressions are a means used by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, in particular, to help us get to know the personality of the creator of the work, his biography. From the first chapter we learn that the narrator left Russia and sighs about it âunder the skies of Africaâ, which means the poetâs southern reference. The narrator writes clearly about his longing and suffering. In the sixth chapter, he regrets his young years and wonders where the days of his youth have gone, what the âcoming dayâ is preparing for him. Lyrical digressions in the novel also help revive the bright memories of Alexander Sergeyevich about those days when a muse began to appear in the gardens of the Lyceum. They thus give the right to judge a work as a history of the development of the personality of Pushkin himself.
Description of nature in retreats
Lyrical digressions are not only the biographical data of the author. Many of them are devoted to the description of nature. Her descriptions are found throughout the novel. All seasons are represented: winter, when the boys joyfully cut ice with ice skates, snow falls, and the northern summer, called Pushkinâs caricature of the southern winters, and the time of love is spring, and, of course, autumn, beloved by Alexander Sergeyevich. The poet often describes different times of the day, the most beautiful of which is considered night. However, he does not at all strive to portray extraordinary, exceptional paintings. On the contrary, everything is ordinary, simple, but at the same time beautiful.
Nature and the inner world of heroes
Nature is closely connected with the inner world of the heroes of the novel. Thanks to her description, we better understand what is happening in the soul of the characters. The author often notes the spiritual closeness with nature of the main female image - Tatyana - and reflects on this, thereby characterizing the moral qualities of her heroine. The landscape often appears before us through the eyes of this particular girl. She loved to meet the "dawn sunrise" on the balcony, or suddenly saw a whitened courtyard in the window in the morning.
Encyclopedic work
V.G. Belinsky, a famous critic, called Pushkinâs novel âan encyclopedia of Russian life.â And one cannot disagree with this. After all, an encyclopedia is a certain review brought into the system, which is revealed sequentially from A to Z. The novel is just that, if you carefully examine all the lyrical digressions present in Onegin. We note then that the thematic range of the work unfolds precisely encyclopedically, from A to Z.
"Free novel"
Alexander Sergeevich calls in the eighth chapter his work "free novel." This freedom is expressed, first of all, in a relaxed authorâs conversation with the reader through lyrical digressions expressing feelings and thoughts on his behalf. This form allowed Pushkin to depict a picture of the life of modern society. We learn about the upbringing of the young generation, about how young people spend time, about balls and fashion of the times of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin.
The lyrical digressions of the novel "Eugene Onegin" cover the theater. Speaking of this amazing âmagical landâ, he recalls both the Princess and Fonvizin, but Istomin, who flies like a feather, touching one foot of the floor, draws his attention especially.
Lyrical digressions about literature
Lyrical digressions are also an opportunity to express an author's position in relation to contemporary literature and its problems. A lot of reasoning of Alexander Sergeyevich in the text of the novel "Eugene Onegin" is devoted to this. In these lyrical digressions, the narrator argues about the language, the use of various foreign words in it, which sometimes are simply necessary in order to describe certain things (for example, tailcoats, drawers, vest). Pushkin is polemicizing with a strict critic who calls for dropping a wretched wreath to poets of elegy.
Author and Reader
The novel "Eugene Onegin" is at the same time the story of its creation. The narrator talks to the reader through lyrical digressions.
The text is created as if right before our eyes. It contains plans and drafts, as well as a personal assessment by the author of the novel. Alexander Sergeevich encourages an attentive reader to co-create. When the latter is waiting for the rhyme "rose", Pushkin writes: "Take her soon." The poet himself sometimes acts as a reader and strictly revises his work. Lyrical digressions introduce copyright freedom into the text, thanks to which the narrative movement unfolds in many directions. The image of Alexander Sergeyevich has many faces - he is both a hero and a narrator at the same time.
If all the other characters of the novel (Onegin, Tatyana, Lensky and others) are fictitious, then the creator of this entire art world is real. He evaluates his heroes, their actions, and either agrees with them, or does not approve, argues again in lyrical digressions. Thus constructed on the basis of an appeal to the reader, the novel tells about the fabrication of what is happening, it seems that this is just a dream that resembles life.
Features of lyrical digressions
Often lyrical digressions in "Eugene Onegin" arise before the climax of the story, forcing the reader to be in suspense, waiting for the further development of the plot. So, the authorâs monologues are encountered before the explanation of Onegin and Tatyana, before her sleep and duel, in which Evgeni Onegin takes part.
The role of lyrical digressions, however, is not limited to this. They are also used so that the reader can better understand the essence of certain heroes. That is, they not only introduce new layers of ârealityâ into the art world, but also create a unique authorâs image that mediates between the space in which the characters live and the real world, of which the reader is representative.
The lyrical digressions in "Eugene Onegin", therefore, are very diverse in scope and purpose of their inclusion in the text of the story. They give the creation of Pushkin a special depth and versatility, scale. This suggests that the role of lyrical digressions in the work is very large.
The novel, based on the authorâs appeal to the reader, was a new phenomenon in the history of Russian literature of the 19th century. As time has shown, this innovation did not pass without a trace, it was noticed and appreciated by both contemporaries of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin and his descendants. "Eugene Onegin" is still one of the most famous works of Russian literature, not only in our country, but also abroad.