Freedom-loving poetry is lyrics dedicated to the problems of will, freedom in its various manifestations, proclaiming the ideas of humanism and the desire for independence. In Russian literature, perhaps, it is most richly represented in the works of the great Russian poet of the 19th century Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin.
The freedom-loving lyrics of Pushkin was formed during the period of the rise of the civil consciousness of the inhabitants of our country after the Patriotic War (1812), as well as before the Decembrist uprising (which took place on December 14, 1825). The life-affirming pathos of the poetry of this author was a consequence of these events. Among the large number of different motives of the poetry of Alexander Sergeyevich, one of the most important places is the theme of freedom, the motive of "holy liberty."
The term "freedom"
To answer the question of what freedom-loving poetry is, it is necessary to determine first what the term "freedom" means. For the generation of the 10s – 20s of the 19th century, this is both an independent spirit of friendly unions, and liberation from the so-called “oppression of fatal power”, and enjoyment of the magnificent expanse of the nature of Russia, and a sense of our poetic freedom, freedom to create.
Throughout Pushkin's life, the evolution of the creative method of this author, an approach to the depiction of reality, and hence the image of his lyrical hero, was observed.
Lyric hero of Pushkin
In Alexander Sergeyevich, he is a freedom-loving and spiritually rich person, ready to sacrifice personal freedom in the name of a common cause, devoted to her, feeling the contradictions between reality and romantic dreams, protesting against all kinds of despotism, believing in the inevitable triumph of justice, and also philosophically interpreting the problem of freedom . All these are the features of the lyrical hero, expressing himself in the lyrics and raising certain problems. This is what freedom-loving poetry is.
"Liberty" and "To Chaadaev"
So, in the ode "Liberty", created in 1817, shows the struggle against tyranny, which is conducted in the name of the triumph of freedom. "Rise, fallen slaves!" - calls the author.
The call for the struggle for freedom is also heard in another poem written in 1818 and addressed to the "comrade" of the poet and ally in opposition to despotism, Pyotr Yakovlevich Chaadaev. By genre, it is a message in which political notes are clearly heard. The author calls for devoting to the Fatherland "souls beautiful gusts."
All progressive people, contemporaries of Alexander Sergeyevich, are waiting for a minute of holy liberty, like a young lover - "minutes of a good date." In this message, you can find two images: the Fatherland and the "fateful power." Thanks to them, a picture of the difficult situation of the homeland looms before the reader’s mind. The word "star" is mentioned in the poem, which means revolution in the political vocabulary of those years, a symbol of the victory of the cause of liberation.
"Village"
During a trip to the village of Mikhailovskoye in 1819, the poet writes another of his works, "The Village", which is directed against serfdom - another great evil in Russia. The lyrical hero of this work everywhere observes "ignorance is a murderous shame." The "Village" is being built on the principle of antithesis: an idyllic description of the beauties of nature in the spirit of sentimentalism in the first part, and in the second, the character of the verse and rhythm change dramatically. This part is accusatory, it presents generalized images of serfs and landlords: “skinny slavery” and “wild nobility”.
Other poems of 1820-1824
In the next work, written in 1820, “The Daylight Soon”, a mood of disappointment is heard in the voice of the lyrical hero. The author calls on the ship with a call to carry it "to the far reaches" on the "whim of the deceptive seas."
Other freedom-loving poems of Pushkin are “The Prisoner” (1822), as well as the elegy “To the Sea” (1824), in which there is a motive of freedom related to the problem of bondage. In the last work, the sea represents absolute independence for man - both poetic and internal.
Fracture in creativity
Since 1825, the author noted a turning point in the poetic work associated with the gradual formation of realism in his works, and with it the evolution of the freedom-loving theme in the poetry of A.S. Pushkin. The transformation in the poems of those years of the image of the lyrical hero also seems logical. He is now experiencing the defeat of the Decembrists, his friends, is faithful to their lofty ideals. Freedom-loving poetry is no longer a romantic celebration of the independence of a creative person. Alexander Sergeyevich had already parted with the illusions of his young years, passed a harsh but well-deserved sentence to the social system, and divided society into obedient slaves and sovereigns. Now the lyrical hero is convinced that civil liberty cannot be achieved without a sense of inner freedom of the individual.
Anchar
In the poem "Anchar" written in 1828, Pushkin denounces the manifestations of tyranny, which suggests that it also belongs to the section "freedom-loving poetry." This work is essentially tragic. Anchar stands alone in the universe, like a formidable sentinel, in a mean and stunted desert. Even nature rejects him; he does not accept this "tree of poison", the "tree of death." But "man-to-man" sent to anchor, and he returned with poison. The slave does not protest against the will of his master, who has increased evil by using the poisonous sap of the tree for his arrows and sending them to neighboring lands.
Poems of 1829-1835
The philosophical motifs of the lyrics associated with the theme of freedom reflect such freedom-loving poems of Pushkin as "Am I Wandering ..." (1829), "Elegy" (1830), "I Visited Again" (1835).
In the first poem, Pushkin thinks of a "secluded oak", which is destined to survive his age, as he survived the "age of fathers."
"Monument"
A peculiar result of his creative activity is summarized by the poet in the poem written in 1836, "I have erected a monument to myself ...". And here, freedom-loving poetry sounds a little different. This work is a translation of one of Horace's odes. Alexander Sergeyevich notes his services to descendants and people in that he praised the ideals of freedom and called for "mercy for the fallen."
Genre features of freedom-loving poetry
It is necessary to note the genre diversity of the poet’s lyrics, called freedom-loving: this is elegy, and ode, and sonnets, and messages, and lyric poems. In these works, Pushkin managed to combine book and colloquial elements of speech based on a living folk language. In the poems, Alexander Sergeyevich professed the style of draft oratory, and for this purpose included in the texts of the appeal, as well as verbs in the imperative mood. Artistic techniques such as symbols (ocean, sea, star - symbols of freedom), comparisons, anaphora, etc. are used.
In the lyrics of this author, the motives of freedom are diverse and embodied originally in the artistic form of his poems. Thanks to this, his works survived centuries and immortalized the name of their creator. Freedom-loving poetry - this is, in short, a call to freedom, a dream of it.
The value of freedom-loving poetry of Pushkin
The life and work of Alexander Sergeyevich did not pass without a trace. The freedom-loving lyrics of Pushkin played a very important role in the social and political life of that time. His work greatly influenced the further development of civic poetry: the work of Pushkin was continued by Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov, Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov and others.
This is what freedom-loving lyrics of Pushkin are. This article does not indicate all the poems related to this section, therefore, the study of the creative heritage of Alexander Sergeyevich can be continued, drawing on other sources.