The fable has a special place in Russian literature. A short, funny, but at the same time instructive story fell in love and took root among the people. The recognized writer of fables was Ivan Andreevich Krylov. But few know that one of the prominent Russian scientists also worked in this genre. Fables of MV Lomonosov occupy a special place among his literary work.
What is a fable?
A fable is primarily a literary work. It is characterized by brevity, capacity and expressiveness of form. As a rule, the narrative is allegorical, metaphorical. The characters may be animals. Each fable necessarily has its own morality, which, as a rule, is placed at the end of the work.
This genre is one of the oldest. The first works reminiscent of fables may have been written in ancient Egypt. Officially, its occurrence is associated with Greece and, as a rule, at the same time they recall Aesop. In the Roman Empire, the famous fabulist was the poet Fedr, who imitated his Greek predecessor in many respects. Already in modern times, in the XVII century, the Frenchman Jean Lafontaine, who glorified this literary genre, worked on fables.
Fable in Russian literature
Many Russian poets worked on translations and retelling of the popular fables of Lafontaine. But on the whole, an original style grew up on Russian soil, reflecting and ridiculing typical national vices. The fable appeared in Russia in the 15th century, penetrating from Byzantium. You can talk about its heyday in the XVIII century.
The fables were worked by V.K. Trediakovsky, A.P. Sumarokov, A.E. Izmailov, A.D. Kantemir. And, of course, the best samples belong to the pen of I. A. Krylov. Translations of foreign fables in his creative heritage occupy an insignificant place, but his own works have been translated into almost all European languages. Tried himself in this genre and Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov. Fables of an outstanding Russian scientist occupy a special place in his literary heritage.
Literary work of Lomonosov
Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov can be compared with the geniuses of the Renaissance. This is exactly the case when talent is crowded in one area. And he is trying to manifest in everything. First of all, Lomonosov is known as a naturalist, chemist, and physicist. He made a truly invaluable contribution to Russian science. But in addition to the natural sciences, the scientist was engaged in painting and literature. And in this field he achieved tremendous success. It is no coincidence that Belinsky called him the father of Russian literature.
In the “Letter on the Rules of Russian Poetry,” Lomonosov made a real revolution, pointing out the possibility of using various poetic sizes in Russian poetry, and not just the generally accepted iamba and chorea. Thus, the possibilities of literature have expanded incredibly. Lomonosov was the ancestor of the Russian ode (and, mainly, they glorified him as a poet). If many can easily recall his poems, then the fables of MV Lomonosov were completely undeservedly forgotten. Namely in them all his literary and humanistic principles were reflected.
Fables of Mikhail Lomonosov
Contemporaries recalled that Lomonosov was a wonderful person - honest, pleasant in communication, decent, ready to help. Low human vices - cowardice, hypocrisy, hypocrisy, ignorance, falsehood - abhorred him. He wanted to share this with the reader and give him food for thought. Fables of Lomonosov served as a moral mentor. It was such a genre that was the easiest to perceive and reached a large number of hearts. They are convincing and easy to read, but at the same time stunningly realistic.
Dividing the literature into three "calm", Mikhail Vasilievich attributed the fable to the "low". This stylistic group is freed from exalted formality. Therefore, Lomonosov’s fables contain the components of colloquial, everyday speech, and popular expressions. From the pen of the writer came the following works in this genre: “The Mouse”, “Marrying is good, but a lot of annoyance”, “Listen, I ask what happened to the old”, “Heaven covered with night darkness” and many others. One of the most famous is "Just the noise of the day has ceased." We’ll talk about it further.
"Just the noise of the day fell silent"
Some fables of Lomonosov were written based on the works of Lafontaine. One of them is "The Wolf Who Became a Shepherd." It is impossible to call Lomonosov's work a literal translation, it is so imbued with the “Russian manner”, a special author’s approach. Some even argue: has the original Lafontaine’s moral changed in the translated fable? As for the content, it is as follows.
The unlucky wolf decided to outwit the sheep flock, dressed up as a shepherd and taking a horn with a staff. He found sleeping sheep, a shepherd and a watchdog. But proud of his own ingenuity, he decided to cast his voice and make sure that he had everyone. However, only a howl escaped from the open wolf mouth , which was to be expected. Having alarmed all, the grievous kidnapper said goodbye to both clothes and skin. The main idea of the work of Lafontaine - the hypocrite will always give himself away. The moral of Lomonosov’s fable is that “a wolf cannot be a fox”. And do not try to squeeze into someone else's skin.
The works of Mikhail Vasilyevich have always been thought out to the smallest detail. There is nothing accidental in them. Forever they will remain among the best examples of Russian literature.