In the XIX century, poets wrote about the beauty of Russian nature, praised the heroism of the military, who defended their homeland, grumbled at the injustice and cruelty of the authorities, callousness, indifference to the public life of the nobility. But also a niche dedicated to the life of ordinary peasants did not stand aside.
Serfdom was canceled only in 1861, and even then only formally. The peasants lived on the rights of slaves, from their very birth their fate was predetermined, from childhood they were accustomed to hard work. It was especially difficult for women. It is precisely the difficult fate of women that Nekrasov’s poem “The Three” is dedicated to.
Nekrasov - singer of a female share
Nikolai Alekseevich devoted many of his lyric works to women's fate. From his poems, the main heroine of which is a Russian woman, mother, sister, breathes warmth and sympathy for their unfortunate share. Nekrasov was especially sorry for the young peasants whose fate was predetermined from birth. The girls did not have time to fully bloom, as they were already sluggish and turned into old women. The life of a woman in Russia was short, joyless, full of humiliation and torment. Each peasant woman dreamed of a fairy-tale prince on a white horse, but Nekrasov was a realist, he knew perfectly well that this was someone else's property and happiness was not supposed for her.
Folklore as the basis of a poem
An analysis of Nekrasov’s poem “Three” shows that the poet was one of the first to create a generalized image of a peasant woman. The work entered folklore and became a Russian song, which emphasizes its direct relationship to the nationality. The verse corresponds to the folklore canons only in the plot-compositional plan, where the author contrasts life in girlhood and after marriage. Oral folk poetry includes the phraseological cliché “raw grave” and such an ethnographic detail as “scarlet ribbon in the hair”.
In the plot-compositional plan, folklore sources are emphasized with the help of images of “cheerful friends”, from whom the main character moves away, being in the world of dreams about a happy future. Then the poet writes in his work an evil mother-in-law, an unloved, rude husband. Threes, coachmen, the road - this topic seemed exhausted and stereotyped, but nevertheless Nekrasov chose it to show an update on the social theme, the ability to beautifully and easily describe the reality that previously could not be poetized.
The interweaving of folk lyrics and romance
An analysis of Nekrasov’s poem “Three” allows us to attribute the work to a song-romance style, although romantic motifs are intertwined with folk lyrics here. Romance can be called the first part of the verse, in which there is a portrait description of the heroine, her meeting with the troika, as well as heartfelt anxiety caused by the driving cornet. "Three" is written in the form of a monologue, so all the romantic elements are embedded in the mouth of the author.
The second part of the work belongs to naturalistic poetics, therefore, it contrasts sharply with the first storyline. At first, the author shows the dreams of a young girl, her hopes for a happy future. But Nekrasov in any situation remains realistic, so he lowers the reader from heaven to earth, drawing the true prospects of the poor peasant woman. Nikolai Alekseevich does not set himself the goal of condemning popular life, he simply describes the reality that one has to put up with regardless of whether someone likes it or not.
A vivid image of a beautiful peasant woman
In the description of the image of the main character, the poet adhered to a late-romantic orientation, choosing the ideal beauty of the oriental type, as indicated by the analysis of the verse “Three”. Nekrasov portrayed a girl with black eyebrows, black long hair, in which a scarlet ribbon was woven, and a swarthy face. He agrees that it is difficult not to fall in love with such a beauty, she will find an echo in the heart of both the gray-bearded old man and the young master. But, unfortunately, the main thing is not beauty, but origin. The girl’s parents are serfs, which means that she’s someone’s property.
The bleak prospects of later life
An analysis of Nekrasov’s poem “Troika” shows that the poet wanted to warn gullible girls so that they would not dream of fairy-tale princes, but immediately reconcile themselves to their fate. The author understands perfectly well that the main character will marry an unloved, sloppy and not indifferent to a drink to her husband, who is not averse to teach his wife with his fists to the mind. The girl will move to her husband’s house, where she will have to serve all his relatives. Of particular concern is the angry and picky mother-in-law, who is ready to squeeze all the juices out of her daughter-in-law, bend her into three deaths, putting all the housework on her fragile shoulders.
An analysis of Nekrasov’s poem “Troika” leads to the idea that, sadly enough, the author advises the poor to come to terms with their fate. Very soon, the black-haired beauty will turn into a decrepit old woman, in whose eyes fear and dull patience will harden. Women in Russia do not live long, because household chores, work in the field, giving birth to children exhaust them and lead to incurable diseases. So, without knowing love and happiness, the peasant women lay down in a raw grave.
Summarizing
Nekrasov’s “Three” is a warning verse to all girls who, by their youth and inexperience, dream of a happy life with their beloved man. The poet understands that the heroine is in a hurry for the troika in the hope of appealing to the cornet, who would take her with him. The author breaks all the hopes of the unfortunate, saying that the young master is in a hurry to another. The nobles belong to another world, in which there is no hard work, hunger, cold, and they do not care about the peasants who want at least a little comfortable and relaxed life.
What else would you like to say with the poem "Three" Nekrasov? The theme of the work pushes the reader to the idea that life is short, and the person does not have time to do everything that he has planned, to somehow realize himself. The girl hurries after the three, but she has no chance to catch up with her, and she does not need to do this. Dreams of wealth - this is the only hobby of young people, making them, though not for long, but happy. Nekrasov advises to throw empty dreams out of your head, because they further darken the already difficult life of the peasant woman.