The history of the creation of the poem “To whom in Russia it is good to live. The history of the creation of the poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” Writing a poem to whom it is good to live in Russia

Nekrasov gave odes of life to work on a poem, which he called his “favorite brainchild”. “I decided,” said Nekrasov, “to state in a coherent story everything that I know about the people, everything that I happened to hear from their lips, and I started “Who in Russia should live well.” It will be the epic of modern peasant life.” The writer accumulated material for the poem, according to his confession, "word by word for twenty years." Death interrupted this gigantic work. The poem remained unfinished. Shortly before his death, the poet said: “One thing that I deeply regret is that I didn’t finish my poem “Who Lives Well in Russia”.
Nekrasov began work on the poem in the first half of the 60s of the XIX century. The manuscript of the first part of the poem was marked by Nekrasov in 1865. In that year the first part of the poem had already been written, although it had evidently begun a few years earlier. The mention in the first part of the exiled Poles (chapter "Landowner") allows us to consider 1863 as the date before which this chapter could not be written, since the suppression of the uprising in Poland dates back to 1863-1864.
However, the first sketches for the poem could have appeared earlier. An indication of this is contained, for example, in the memoirs of G. Potanin, who, describing his visit to Nekrasov’s apartment in the autumn of 1860, conveys the following words of the poet: poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia". It was out of print for a long time after that.”
Thus, it can be assumed that some images and episodes of the future poem, the material for which was collected over many years, arose in the creative imagination of the poet and were partially embodied in verses earlier than 1865, which dated the manuscript of the first part of the poem.
Nekrasov began to continue his work only in the 70s, after a seven-year break. The second, third and fourth parts of the poem follow one after another at short intervals: "Last Child" was created in 1872, "Peasant Woman" - in July-August 1873, "Feast - for the whole world" - in the autumn of 1876.
The publication of the poem Nekrasov began shortly after the completion of work on the first part. Already in the January book of Sovremennik for 1866, the prologue of the poem appeared. The printing of the first part lasted for four years. Fearing to shake the already precarious position of Sovremennik, Nekrasov refrained from publishing the subsequent chapters of the first part of the poem.
Nekrasov was afraid of censorship persecution, which began immediately after the release of the first chapter of the poem (“Pop”), published in 1868 in the first issue of the new Nekrasov magazine “Domestic Notes”. The censor A. Lebedev gave the following description of this chapter: “In the aforementioned poem, like his other works, Nekrasov remained true to his direction; in it, he tries to present the gloomy and sad side of the Russian person with his grief and material shortcomings ... in it there are ... places that are sharp in their indecency. The censorship committee, although it allowed the book “Notes of the Fatherland” to be printed, nevertheless sent a disapproving opinion about the poem “Who Lives Well in Russia” to the highest censorship authority.
The subsequent chapters of the first part of the poem were published in the February issues of Notes of the Fatherland for 1869 (Country Fair and Drunk Night) and 1870 (Happy and Landowner). The entire first part of the poem appeared in print only eight years after it was written.
The publication of The Last One (Notes of the Fatherland, 1873, No. 2) caused new, even greater cavils from the censors, who believed that this part of the poem “is distinguished ... by the extreme disgrace of the content ... is in the nature of a libel on the entire nobility.”
The next part of the poem, “Peasant Woman”, created by Nekrasov in the summer of 1873, was published in the winter of 1874 in the January book “Notes of the Fatherland”.
Nekrasov never saw a separate edition of the poem during his lifetime.
In the last year of his life, Nekrasov, having returned seriously ill from the Crimea, where he had basically completed the fourth part of the poem - “Feast - for the whole world”, with amazing energy and perseverance entered into combat with censorship, hoping to print “Feast ...”. This part of the poem was especially virulently attacked by the censors. The censor wrote that he finds “the entire poem “Feast for the Whole World” extremely harmful in its content, since it can arouse hostile feelings between the two estates, and that it is especially insulting to the nobility, who so recently enjoyed the rights of landowners ...”.
However, Nekrasov did not stop fighting censorship. Bedridden by illness, he stubbornly continued to seek the publication of "The Feast ...". He alters the text, shortens it, crosses it out. “Here it is, our craft as a writer,” complained Nekrasov. - When I began my literary activity and wrote my first thing, I immediately met with scissors; 37 years have passed since then, and here I am, dying, writing my last work, and again I encounter the same scissors!”
Having “spoiled” the text of the fourth part of the poem (as the poet called the alteration of the work for the sake of censorship), Nekrasov counted on permission. However, "Feast - for the whole world" was again banned. "Unfortunately," Saltykov-Shchedrin recalled, "it's almost useless to bother: everything is so full of hatred and threats that it's hard to approach even from a distance." But even after that, Nekrasov still did not lay down his arms and decided to “approach”, as a last resort, the head of the Main Directorate for Censorship V. Grigoriev, who, back in the spring of 1876, promised him “his personal intercession” and, according to rumors, came down through F. Dostoevsky, allegedly considered “Feast for the Whole World” “totally possible for publication”.
Nekrasov intended to bypass censorship altogether, with the permission of the tsar himself. For this, the poet wanted to use his acquaintance with the Minister of the Court, Count Adlerberg, and also resort to the mediation of S. Botkin, who was at that time the court physician (Botkin, who treated Nekrasov, was dedicated to “Feast - for the whole world”). Obviously, it was precisely for this case that Nekrasov inserted into the text of the poem “with gnashing of teeth” the well-known lines dedicated to the tsar “Glory to the people who gave freedom!”. We do not know whether Nekrasov took real steps in this direction or abandoned his intention, realizing the futility of the hassle.
“Feast - for the whole world” remained under censorship until 1881, when it appeared in the second book of “Notes of the Fatherland”, albeit with large reductions and distortions: the songs “Merry”, “Corvee”, “Soldier”, “ There is an oak deck ... ”and others. Most of the excerpts from “Feast for the Whole World” thrown out by censorship were first made public only in 1908, and the entire poem, in an uncensored edition, was published in 1920 by K. I. Chukovsky.

Essay on literature on the topic: The history of the creation of the poem “Who lives well in Russia”

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Nekrasov's poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" occupies a special place both in the history of Russian classical literature and in the creative heritage of the poet. It is a synthesis of Nekrasov's poetic activity, the completion of many years of creative work of the revolutionary poet. Everything that Nekrasov developed in Read More ......
Disputes about the composition of the work are still ongoing, but most scholars have come to the conclusion that it should be as follows: “Prologue. Part One”, “Peasant Woman”, “Last Child”, “Feast for the Whole World”. The arguments in favor of just such an arrangement of the material are as follows. In the first part Read More ......
This question is still the subject of heated debate. Nekrasov, changing the way of implementing the theme, strictly subordinated the architectonics of the poem to a single ideological concept. The compositional structure of the work is intended to emphasize the main idea: the inevitability of the peasant revolution, which will become possible on the basis of the growth of the revolutionary consciousness of the people, Read More ......
Artistic Features of the Poem “Who Lives Well in Russia”. Having decided to create a book about the people and for the people, Nekrasov subordinates the entire artistic structure of the work to this goal. In the poem, the real linguistic element of folk speech. Here is the speech of wanderers, seekers of the happy, and the rich Read More ......
The compositional pattern of parts of the poem is extremely varied; they are all built in their own way, one part is not like the other. The most widely represented form of plot development in the poem is the story of a “lucky man” met by wanderers who answers their question. This is how the chapters “Pop”, “Happy”, “Landowner”, Read More ......
The question of the first "Prologue" deserves special attention. There are several prologues in the poem: before the chapter “Pop”, before the parts “Peasant woman” and “Feast - for the whole world”. The first "Prologue" differs sharply from the others. It poses a problem common to the entire poem “To whom on Read More ......
Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov worked on his work “To whom it is good to live in Russia” for many years, giving him part of his soul. And throughout the entire period of the creation of this work, the poet did not leave high ideas about a perfect life and a perfect person. Poem “To Read More ......
The meaning of the poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” is not unambiguous. After all, the question is: who is happy? evokes others: what is happiness? Who is worthy of happiness? Where should you look for it? And the Peasant Woman not so much closes these questions as it opens them up, leads to them. Read More ......

The history of the creation of the poem “To whom in Russia it is good to live”

From 1863 to 1877, Nekrasov wrote "Who in Russia should live well." The idea, the characters, the plot changed several times in the process of work. Most likely, the idea was not fully revealed: the author died in 1877. Despite this, "To whom it is good to live in Russia" as a folk poem is considered a completed work. It was supposed to be 8 parts, but only 4 were completed.

With the introduction of the characters, the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" begins. These heroes are seven men from the villages: Dyryavino, Zaplatovo, Gorelovo, Crop failure, Znobishino, Razutovo, Neelovo. They meet and start a conversation about who lives happily and well in Russia. Each man has his own opinion. One believes that the landowner is happy, the other - that the official. A merchant, a priest, a minister, a noble boyar, a tsar, a peasant from the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" is also called happy. The heroes began to argue, lit a fire. It even came to a fight. However, they fail to come to an agreement.

Self-assembly tablecloth

Suddenly, Pahom quite unexpectedly caught a chick. The little warbler, his mother, asked the peasant to set the chick free. She prompted for this, where you can find a self-assembled tablecloth - a very useful thing that will certainly come in handy on a long journey. Thanks to her, the men during the trip did not lack food.

Pop's story

The following events continue the work "To whom it is good to live in Russia." The heroes decided to find out at any cost who lives happily and cheerfully in Russia. They set off on the road. First on the way they met a pop. The men turned to him with the question of whether he lives happily. Then the pop spoke about his life. He believes (in which the peasants could not disagree with him) that happiness is impossible without peace, honor, wealth. Pop believes that if he had all this, he would be completely happy. However, he is obliged day and night, in any weather, to go where he is told - to the dying, to the sick. Every time the priest has to see human grief and suffering. He even sometimes lacks the strength to take retribution for his service, since people tear the latter away from themselves. Once upon a time, everything was completely different. Pop says that rich landowners generously rewarded him for funerals, baptisms, and weddings. However, now the rich are far away, and the poor have no money. The priest also has no honor: the peasants do not respect him, as many folk songs speak of.

Wanderers go to the fair

Wanderers understand that this person cannot be called happy, which is noted by the author of the work "Who Lives Well in Russia". The heroes set off again and find themselves on the road in the village of Kuzminsky, at a fair. This village is dirty, although rich. There are a lot of establishments in which residents indulge in drunkenness. They drink their last money. For example, the old man did not have money left for shoes for his granddaughter, since he drank everything. All this is observed by wanderers from the work "To whom it is good to live in Russia" (Nekrasov).

Yakim Nagoi

They also notice fairground entertainment and fights and talk about the fact that the peasant is forced to drink: this helps to endure hard work and eternal hardship. An example of this is Yakim Nagoi, a peasant from the village of Bosovo. He works to death, "drinks half to death." Yakim believes that if there were no drunkenness, there would be great sadness.

The wanderers continue on their way. In the work "To whom it is good to live in Russia," Nekrasov says that they want to find happy and cheerful people, they promise to give these lucky people water for free. Therefore, a variety of people are trying to pass themselves off as such - a former courtyard suffering from paralysis, for many years licking plates for a master, exhausted workers, beggars. However, travelers themselves understand that these people cannot be called happy.

Ermil Girin

The men once heard about a man named Yermil Girin. His story is further told by Nekrasov, of course, he does not convey all the details. Ermil Girin is a burgomaster who was highly respected, a fair and honest person. He intended to buy the mill one day. The peasants lent him money without a receipt, they trusted him so much. However, there was a peasant revolt. Now Yermil is in jail.

Obolt-Obolduev's story

Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev, one of the landowners, spoke about the fate of the nobles after They used to own a lot: serfs, villages, forests. Nobles could invite serfs to the house on holidays to pray. But after the master was no longer the full owner of the peasants. The wanderers knew perfectly well how difficult life was in the days of serfdom. But it is also not difficult for them to understand that it became much harder for the nobles after the abolition of serfdom. And the men are no longer easy. The wanderers understood that they would not be able to find a happy man among men. So they decided to go to the women.

Life of Matrena Korchagina

The peasants were told that in one village there lived a peasant woman named Matrena Timofeevna Korchagina, whom everyone called the lucky one. They found her, and Matrena told the peasants about her life. Nekrasov continues with this story "Who lives well in Russia."

A brief summary of the life story of this woman is as follows. Her childhood was cloudless and happy. She had a working, non-drinking family. Mother cherished and cherished her daughter. When Matryona grew up, she became a beauty. A stove-maker from another village, Philip Korchagin, once wooed her. Matrena told how he persuaded her to marry him. This was the only bright memory of this woman in her entire life, who was hopeless and dreary, although her husband treated her well by peasant standards: he hardly beat her. However, he went to the city to work. Matryona lived in her father-in-law's house. Everyone treated her badly. The only one who was kind to the peasant woman was the very old grandfather Savely. He told her that for the murder of the manager he got to hard labor.

Soon Matryona gave birth to Demushka, a sweet and beautiful child. She could not part with him even for a minute. However, the woman had to work in the field, where her mother-in-law did not allow her to take the child. Grandfather Savely watched the baby. He once missed Demushka, and the child was eaten by pigs. They came from the city to sort it out, in front of the mother's eyes they opened the baby. This was a severe blow for Matryona.

Then five children were born to her, all boys. Matryona was a kind and caring mother. One day Fedot, one of the children, was tending sheep. One of them was carried away by a she-wolf. The shepherd was to blame for this, who should have been punished with whips. Then Matryona begged to be beaten instead of her son.

She also said that they once wanted to take her husband into the soldiers, although this was a violation of the law. Then Matrena went to the city, being pregnant. Here the woman met Elena Alexandrovna, a kind governor who helped her, and Matrena's husband was released.

The peasants considered Matryona a happy woman. However, after listening to her story, the men realized that she could not be called happy. There was too much suffering and trouble in her life. Matrena Timofeevna herself also says that a woman in Russia, especially a peasant woman, cannot be happy. Her lot is very hard.

Out of his mind landowner

The path to the Volga is held by wandering men. Here comes the mowing. People are busy with hard work. Suddenly, an amazing scene: the mowers are humiliated, pleasing the old master. It turned out that the landowner He could not understand what had already been canceled. Therefore, his relatives persuaded the peasants to behave as if it was still valid. They were promised for this. The men agreed, but were deceived once again. When the old master died, the heirs gave them nothing.

The Story of Jacob

Repeatedly on the way, wanderers listen to folk songs - hungry, soldier's and others, as well as various stories. They remembered, for example, the story of Jacob, the faithful serf. He always tried to please and appease the master, who humiliated and beat the serf. However, this led to the fact that Yakov loved him even more. The master's legs gave up in old age. Yakov continued to take care of him, as if he were his own child. But he didn't get any credit for it. Grisha, a young guy, Yakov's nephew, wanted to marry one beauty - a serf girl. Out of jealousy, the old master sent Grisha as a recruit. Jacob from this grief hit drunkenness, but then returned to the master and took revenge. He took him to the forest and hanged himself right in front of the master. Since his legs were paralyzed, he could not go anywhere. The master sat all night under Yakov's corpse.

Grigory Dobrosklonov - people's protector

This and other stories make men think that they will not be able to find happy people. However, they learn about Grigory Dobrosklonov, a seminarian. This is the son of a sexton, who has seen the suffering and hopeless life of the people since childhood. He made a choice in his early youth, decided that he would devote his strength to the struggle for the happiness of his people. Gregory is educated and smart. He understands that Russia is strong and will cope with all troubles. In the future, Gregory will have a glorious path, the big name of the people's intercessor, "consumption and Siberia."

Men hear about this intercessor, but they still do not understand that such people can make others happy. This won't happen soon.

Heroes of the poem

Nekrasov depicted various segments of the population. Ordinary peasants become the main characters of the work. They were emancipated by the reform of 1861. But their life after the abolition of serfdom did not change much. The same hard work, hopeless life. After the reform, moreover, the peasants who had their own land found themselves in an even more difficult situation.

The characterization of the heroes of the work "To whom it is good to live in Russia" can be supplemented by the fact that the author created surprisingly reliable images of peasants. Their characters are very accurate, although contradictory. Not only kindness, strength and integrity of character is in the Russian people. They retained at the genetic level obsequiousness, servility, readiness to submit to a despot and tyrant. The advent of Grigory Dobrosklonov, a new man, is a symbol of the fact that honest, noble, intelligent people appear among the downtrodden peasantry. May their fate be unenviable and difficult. Thanks to them, self-consciousness will arise in the peasant masses, and people will finally be able to fight for happiness. This is what the heroes and the author of the poem dream about. ON THE. Nekrasov ("Who Lives Well in Russia", "Russian Women", "Frost, and other works) is considered a truly folk poet, who was interested in the fate of the peasantry, its suffering, problems. The poet could not remain indifferent to his hard lot. The work of N. A. Nekrasov "Who in Russia is good to live" was written with such sympathy for the people, which makes even today to empathize with their fate at that difficult time.

"To whom in Russia it is good to live"- a poem by N. A. Nekrasov. It tells about the journey of seven peasant men throughout Russia in order to find a happy person. The action takes place shortly after the abolition of serfdom in the Russian Empire.

History of creation

N. A. Nekrasov began work on the poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” in the first half of the 1860s. The mention of the exiled Poles in the first part, in the chapter "The Landowner", suggests that work on the poem was started no earlier than 1863. But the sketches of the work could have appeared earlier, since Nekrasov had been collecting material for a long time. The manuscript of the first part of the poem is marked 1865, however, it is possible that this is the date when work on this part was completed.

Shortly after finishing work on the first part, the prologue of the poem was published in the January issue of the Sovremennik magazine for 1866. Printing stretched for four years and was accompanied, like all of Nekrasov's publishing activities, by censorship persecution.

The writer began to continue working on the poem only in the 1870s, writing three more parts of the work: “The Last Child” (1872), “Peasant Woman”, “Feast - for the whole world” (). The poet was not going to limit himself to the written chapters, three or four more parts were conceived. However, the developing disease interfered with the ideas of the author. Nekrasov, feeling the approach of death, tried to give some "completion" to the last part, "Feast - for the whole world."

The poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” was published in the following sequence: “Prologue. Part One”, “Last Child”, “Peasant Woman”, “Feast for the Whole World”.

The plot and structure of the poem

It was supposed that the poem would have 7 or 8 parts, but the author managed to write only 4, which, perhaps, did not follow one after another.

The poem is written in iambic trimeter.

Part one

The only part that doesn't have a title. It was written shortly after the abolition of serfdom (). According to the first quatrain of the poem, it can be said that Nekrasov initially tried to anonymously characterize all the problems of Russia at that time.

Prologue

In what year - count
In what land - guess
On the pillar path
Seven men got together.

They got into an argument:

Who has fun
Feel free in Russia?

They offered six answers to this question:

Roman: to a landowner;
Demyan: to an official;
brothers Ivan and Mitrodor Gubin: merchant;
Pakhom: minister, boyar;

The peasants decide not to return home until they find the right answer. In the prologue, they also find a self-assembled tablecloth to feed them, and set off on their journey.

Chapter I. Pop

Chapter II. Village fair.

Chapter III. Drunk night.

Chapter IV. Happy.

Chapter V. Landowner.

Last (from the second part)

In the midst of haymaking, wanderers come to the Volga. Here they become witnesses of a strange scene: a noble family swims up to the shore in three boats. The mowers, who have just sat down to rest, immediately jump up to show the old master their zeal. It turns out that the peasants of the village of Vakhlachina help the heirs to hide the abolition of serfdom from the landowner Utyatin, who has lost his mind. For this, the relatives of the last-born Utyatin promise the peasants floodplain meadows. But after the long-awaited death of the Afterlife, the heirs forget their promises, and the whole peasant performance turns out to be in vain.

Peasant woman (from the third part)

In this part, the wanderers decide to continue their search for someone who can “live happily, freely in Russia” among women. In the village of Nagotino, the women told the peasants that there was a “governor” Matryona Timofeevna in Klin: “there is no wiser and smoother woman.” There, seven men find this woman and convince her to tell her story, at the end of which she reassures the men of her happiness and of women's happiness in Russia in general:

Keys to female happiness
From our free will
abandoned, lost
God himself!

Prologue
Chapter I. Before Marriage
Chapter II. Songs
Chapter III. Savely, hero, Holy Russian
Chapter IV. Dyomushka
Chapter V. She-wolf
Chapter VI. Difficult year
Chapter VII. Governor
Chapter VIII. woman's parable

A feast for the whole world (from the fourth part)

This part is a logical continuation of the second part ("Last Child"). It describes the feast that the peasants threw after the death of the old man, the Last. The adventures of the wanderers do not end in this part, but at the end one of the feasters - Grisha Dobrosklonov, the son of a sexton, the next morning after the feast, walking along the river bank, finds the secret of Russian happiness, and expresses it in a short song "Rus", by the way, used by V. I. Lenin in the article "The main task of our days." The work ends with the words:

To be our wanderers
Under the native roof
If they could know
What happened to Grisha.
He heard in his chest
Forces are immeasurable
Sweetened his ears
blessed sounds,
Sounds radiant
Noble hymn -
He sang the incarnation
Happiness of the people! ..

Such an unexpected ending arose because the author was aware of his imminent death, and, wanting to complete the work, logically completed the poem in the fourth part, although at the beginning N. A. Nekrasov conceived 8 parts.

List of heroes

Temporarily liable peasants

Novel,
Demyan,
Luke,
Ivan and Mitrodor Gubin,
groin,
Prov.

Peasants and serfs

Artem Demin,
Yakim Nagoi,
Sidor,
Egorka Shutov,
Vlas,
Agap Petrov,
Ipat,
Jacob,
Gleb,
Proshka,
Matryona Timofeevna,
Savely Korchagin,
Ermil Girin.

landowners

Obolt-Obolduev,
Prince Utyatin (late son),
Vogel (German, manager of the landowner Shalashnikov)
Shalashnikov.

Other heroes

Elena Alexandrovna - the governor who took the birth of Matryona,
Altynnikov - merchant, possible buyer of Ermila Girin's mill,
Grisha Dobrosklonov.

The poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” is Nekrasov’s favorite work, the idea of which he hatched for more than one year, dreaming of reflecting in the poem all observations about peasant life. A considerable period - 14 years - took the writing of the work, and in the process of working on it, the poet changed the original idea several times. It is not surprising that the composition of the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" is considered complex, and sometimes it is spoken of as loose and not fully formed.

However, considering the features of the composition “To whom it is good to live in Russia”, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the genre of the poem itself. The genre “To whom it is good to live in Russia” is defined as an epic poem, i.e., this is a work that describes the life of an entire people during some significant historical event. To portray folk life in its entirety, an epic composition is required, which includes many characters, the presence of several storylines or inserted episodes, as well as some kind of understatement.

The plot of Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Russia” is linear, it is based on the description of the journey of seven temporary men in search of a happy person. Their meeting is described in the exposition of the poem: "On the pillar path / Seven men met."

It is immediately noticeable that Nekrasov is trying to stylize his work as folk: he introduces folklore motifs into it. Fairy-tale elements are guessed in the exposition and the subsequent plot: the uncertainty of the place and time of the action (“in which land - guess”), the presence of fairy-tale characters and objects - a talking bird, a self-assembled tablecloth. The number of men is also significant - there are seven of them, and seven in fairy tales has always been considered a special number.

The plot of the poem is an oath of the met peasants not to return home until they find a happy man in Russia. Here Nekrasov describes the further plan of the main plot motif “Who should live well in Russia”: a journey of peasants throughout Russia with successive meetings with a landowner, merchant, priest, official and boyar. Initially, Nekrasov even planned an episode in which his heroes would reach the king, but illness and impending death forced the writer to change plans. The fairy-tale motifs introduced into the poem allowed Nekrasov to freely, according to fairy-tale laws, handle time and space, without focusing on movements that are not necessary for plot development. Nowhere is the exact time of the wanderings of the peasants mentioned, and the problems with food and drink are solved with the help of a magic self-collection tablecloth. This allows the reader to focus all the attention on the main idea of the poem: the problem of true happiness and its understanding by different people in different ways.

In the future, Nekrasov does not clearly adhere to the original plot plan: a number of episodes, for example, with a merchant, the reader will never meet, but many peasants will appear, each with their own unique fate. This may seem strange: after all, there was no talk of a happy peasant life in the plot. Nevertheless, it is not so important for the author to quickly bring the action of the poem closer to the natural denouement: the found happy person. Nekrasov wants, first of all, to depict a picture of people's life in a difficult post-reform period. It can be said that the seven main characters are in fact not the main ones at all and serve, for the most part, as the addressees of numerous stories and the “eyes” of the author. The main characters and true heroes of the poem are either those who tell stories, or those about whom they are told. And the reader gets to know a soldier, happy that he was not killed, a serf, proud of his privilege to eat out of the master's bowls, a grandmother, in whose garden, to her joy, a turnip mutilated ... A people's face is formed from a large number of small episodes. And, while the external plot of the search for the happy, it would seem, stands still (chapters "Drunken Night", "Happy"), the internal plot is actively developing: a gradual but steady growth of people's self-consciousness is depicted. The peasants, still bewildered by the unexpected acquisition of freedom and not fully decided on what good deed to use it for, nevertheless do not want to give it back. From random conversations, from briefly described human destinies, a general picture of Russia grows before the reader: impoverished, drunk, but still actively striving for a better and just life.

In addition to small plot scenes, the poem contains several rather large-scale inserted episodes, some of which are even placed in autonomous chapters (“Last Child”, “Peasant Woman”). Each of them brings new facets to the overall plot. Thus, the story of the honest burgomaster Ermil emphasizes the people's love for truth and the desire to live according to their conscience, so that it would not be a shame to look into people's eyes after. Only once Yermil retreated from his conscience, wanting to save his brother from the army, but how hard it was to pay for it: the loss of self-esteem and the forced resignation of the burgomaster. The life story of Matrena Timofeevna introduces the reader to the difficult life of a woman in Russia in those days, showing all the hardships she had to face. Overwork, the death of children, humiliation and hunger - no happiness fell on the lot of peasant women. And the story about Savely, the Holy Russian hero, on the one hand, contains admiration for the strength of the Russian people, and on the other hand, emphasizes the deep hatred of the peasants for their tormentors-landlords.

Also, among the compositional features of the poem, a large number of poetic fragments stylized as folk songs should be noted. With their help, the author, firstly, creates a certain atmosphere, making his poem even more "popular", and, secondly, introduces additional storylines and additional characters with their help. The songs differ from the main narrative in size and rhythm - both of which were borrowed by the author from oral folk art. Separately, there are songs by Grisha Dobrosklonov, which are not related to folklore; the author put his own poems into the mouth of this hero, expressing his ideas and convictions through them. The saturation of the poem with such inserts, as well as numerous folk sayings, sayings, proverbs, skillfully woven into the text, creates a special atmosphere of the narrative and brings the poem closer to people, giving it the full right to be called folk.

The plot “Who should live well in Russia” Nekrasov remained unfulfilled, but the main task - to depict the life of the Russian people - the author nevertheless decided in the poem. Moreover, the last part, "A Feast for the Whole World", brings the reader to the expected climax. A happy man in Russia turns out to be Grisha Dobrosklonov, who, first of all, wants not his own, but the happiness of the people. And it’s a pity that the wanderers don’t hear Grisha’s songs, because their journey could already be over.

Understanding the storyline and composition of Nikolai Nekrasov's poem will be especially useful for 10th grade students before writing an essay on the relevant topic.

Artwork test

Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov is known all over the world for his folk, unusual works. His dedications to the common people, peasant life, the period of a short childhood and constant hardships in adulthood arouse not only literary, but also historical interest.

Such works as "To whom it is good to live in Russia" is a real digression into the 60s of the XIX century. The poem literally immerses the reader in the events of the post-serf times. A journey in search of a happy person in the Russian Empire reveals numerous problems of society, paints a picture of reality without embellishment and makes you think about the future of the country that dared to live in a new way.

The history of the creation of the Nekrasov poem

The exact date of the start of work on the poem is unknown. But the researchers of Nekrasov's work drew attention to the fact that already in his first part he mentions the Poles who were exiled. This makes it possible to assume that the idea of the poem arose from the poet around 1860-1863, and Nikolai Alekseevich started writing it around 1863. Although the sketches by the poet could have been done earlier.

It is no secret that Nikolai Nekrasov has been collecting material for his new poetic work for a very long time. The date on the manuscript after the first chapter is 1865. But this date means that work on the chapter "Landlord" was completed this year.

It is known that since 1866 the first part of Nekrasov's work tried to see the light. For four years, the author tried to publish his work and constantly fell under discontent and sharp condemnation of censorship. Despite this, work on the poem continued.

The poet had to print it gradually all in the same magazine Sovremennik. So it was printed for four years, and all these years the censorship was unhappy. The poet himself was constantly criticized and persecuted. Therefore, he stopped his work for a while, and was able to start it again only in 1870. In this new period of the rise of his literary creativity, he creates three more parts to this poem, which were written at different times:

✪ "Last Child" -1872.
✪ "Peasant Woman" -1873.
✪ "Feast for the whole world" - 1876.

The poet wanted to write a few more chapters, but he was working on his poem at the time when he began to fall ill, so the illness prevented him from realizing these poetic plans. But still realizing that he would soon die, Nikolai Alekseevich tried in his last part to finish it so that the whole poem had logical completeness.

The plot of the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia"

In one of the volosts, on a wide road, there are seven peasants who live in neighboring villages. And they think about one question: who lives well in their native land. And their conversation reached such a point that it soon turns into an argument. The matter went on towards the evening, and they could not resolve this dispute in any way. And suddenly the peasants noticed that they had already traveled a long distance, carried away by the conversation. Therefore, they decided not to return home, but to spend the night in a clearing. But the argument continued and ended in a fight.

From such a noise, a chick of a warbler falls out, which Pahom saves, and for this an exemplary mother is ready to fulfill any desire of the men. Having received a magic tablecloth, the men decide to go on a journey to find the answer to the question that interests them so much. Soon they meet a priest who changes the opinion of the men that he lives well and happily. Heroes also get to the village fair.

They try to find happy people among the drunks, and it soon turns out that a peasant doesn’t need much to be happy: eat enough to protect himself from troubles. And in order to learn about happiness, I advise the heroes to find Yermila Girin, whom everyone knows. And here the men learn his story, and then the gentleman appears. But he also complains about his life.

At the end of the poem, the heroes try to look for happy people among women. They get acquainted with one peasant woman Matryona. They help Korchagina in the field, and for this she tells them her story, where she says that a woman cannot have happiness. Women only suffer.

And now the peasants are already on the banks of the Volga. Then they heard a story about a prince who could not come to terms with the abolition of serfdom, and then a story about two sinners. The story of the son of the deacon Grishka Dobrosklonov is also interesting.

You are wretched, You are plentiful, You are powerful, You are powerless, Mother Russia! In slavery, the saved Heart is free - Gold, gold The heart of the people! The strength of the people, the mighty strength - the conscience is calm, the truth is tenacious!

Genre and unusual composition of the poem "To whom in Russia it is good to live"

About what is the composition of the Nekrasov poem, there are still disputes between writers and critics. Most researchers of the literary work of Nikolai Nekrasov came to the conclusion that the material should be arranged as follows: the prologue and part one, then the chapter "Peasant Woman" should be placed, the chapter "Last Child" follows the content and in conclusion - "Feast - for the whole world."

Evidence of such an arrangement of chapters in the plot of the poem was that, for example, in the first part and in the subsequent chapter, the world is depicted when the peasants were not yet free, that is, this is the world that was a little earlier: old and obsolete. In the next Nekrasov part, it is already shown how this old world is completely destroyed and perishes.

But already in the last Nekrasov chapter, the poet shows all the signs that a new life is beginning. The tone of the narrative changes dramatically and now it is lighter, clearer, more joyful. The reader feels that the poet, like his characters, believes in the future. Especially this striving for a clear and bright future is felt at those moments when the main character, Grishka Dobrosklonov, appears in the poem.

In this part, the poet completes the poem, so it is here that the denouement of the entire plot action takes place. And here is the answer to the question that was posed at the very beginning of the work about who, after all, is well and free, carefree and cheerful in Russia. It turns out that the most carefree, happy and cheerful person is Grishka, who is the protector of his people. In his beautiful and lyrical songs, he predicted happiness for his people.

But if you carefully read how the denouement in the poem comes in its last part, then you can pay attention to the oddities of the story. The reader does not see the peasants returning to their homes, they do not stop traveling, and, in general, they do not even get to know Grisha. Therefore, a continuation was probably planned here.

Poetic composition has its own peculiarities. First of all, it is worth paying attention to the construction, which is based on the classical epic. The poem consists of separate chapters, in which there is an independent plot, but there is no main character in the poem, since it tells about the people, as if it were an epic of the life of the whole people. All parts are connected into one thanks to the motives that run through the entire plot. For example, the motif of a long road along which peasants go to find a happy person.

In the work, the fabulousness of the composition is easily visible. There are many elements in the text that can easily be attributed to folklore. During the entire journey, the author inserts his lyrical digressions and elements that are completely irrelevant to the plot.

Analysis of Nekrasov's poem "Who Lives Well in Russia"

It is known from the history of Russia that in 1861 the most shameful phenomenon, serfdom, was abolished. But such a reform caused unrest in society, and soon new problems arose. First of all, the question arose that even a free peasant, poor and destitute, cannot be happy. This problem interested Nikolai Nekrasov, and he decided to write a poem in which the question of peasant happiness would be considered.

Despite the fact that the work is written in simple language, and has an appeal to folklore, it usually seems difficult for the reader to perceive, since it touches on the most serious philosophical problems and issues. For most of the questions, the author himself has been looking for answers all his life. Perhaps that is why it was so difficult for him to write a poem, and he created it for fourteen years. But, unfortunately, the work was never finished.

The poet was conceived to write his poem of eight chapters, but due to illness he was able to write only four and they do not follow at all, as expected, one after another. Now the poem is presented in the form, in the sequence suggested by K. Chukovsky, who for a long time carefully studied the Nekrasov archives.

Nikolai Nekrasov chose ordinary people as the heroes of the poem, which is why he also used colloquial vocabulary. For a long time there were disputes about who can still be attributed to the main characters of the poem. So, there were suggestions that these were heroes - men who walk around the country, trying to find a happy person. But other researchers still believed that it was Grishka Dobrosklonov. This question remains open to this day. But you can consider this poem as if the protagonist in it is the whole common people.

There are no accurate and detailed descriptions of these men in the plot, their characters are also incomprehensible, the author simply does not reveal or show them. But on the other hand, these men are united by one goal, for the sake of which they travel. It is also interesting that the episodic faces in Nekrasov's poem are drawn by the author more clearly, accurately, in detail and vividly. The poet raises many problems that arose among the peasantry after the abolition of serfdom.

Nikolai Alekseevich shows that for each character in his poem there is a concept of happiness. For example, a rich person sees happiness in having financial well-being. And the peasant dreams that in his life there would be no grief and troubles that usually lie in wait for the peasant at every step. There are also heroes who are happy because they believe in the happiness of others. The language of the Nekrasov poem is close to the folk language, so there is a huge amount of vernacular in it.

Despite the fact that the work remained unfinished, it reflects the whole reality of what was happening. This is a real literary gift to all lovers of poetry, history and literature.