Literature lesson in 6th grade on the topic:

Historical poem “Grandfather” by N. A. Nekrasov.

Lesson objectives:

1.Introduce students to the historical poem; talk about the fate of the Decembrists in Siberia;show how much attention the writer paid to depicting the life of the common people in the era of serfdom.

2.develop the ability to analyze a work and formulate conclusions and assumptions after reading.

3. Cultivate a conscious attitude of students towards the historicalthe country's past.

During the classes.

1. Class organization
2. Repetition of what has been learned.

Let's remember which writer we met in previous lessons?

Remember and name the works of N. A. Nekrasov known to you (Poem Peasant Children, “On the Volga”, “Grandfather Mazai and the Hares”, poem “Frost, Red Nose”, “Railroad”)

What is the theme of the poem “Railroad?”(hard labor workers)

Nekrasov made the fate of the worker, the fate of the Russian people, the main theme of his work. His poems are imbued with deep sympathy for the peasant, the working man.

1. Lesson topic message

Today in class we will get acquainted with another work by Nekrasov, written in 1870, with the historical poem “Grandfather”.

VI. Learning new material

Open your workbooks, write down the date and topic of the lesson.

Definition of the word “poem” (slide No. 2)

A) Identifying the level of primary perception of the poem.

What is the plot of the poem?

What lyrical heroes are we talking about?(boy Sasha, grandfather a) (slide No. 3)

What does the text say about the boy? (he lives with his dad and mom, shown in the process of growing up from 3 to 10 years)

What is said about grandfather at the beginning of the poem?(see chapters 1-4)

(in my father’s office there is a portrait of him, no one knows anything about him, everyone cries when anyone talks about him, while waiting for his grandfather, a lot of cleaning begins, everyone has happy faces, the grandfather has a big cross on his chest (researchers believe that this cross was melted down from his shackles), his leg was erased (maybe from the shackles), his hand was wounded (probably from a shot), the author calls him “mysterious grandfather.”)

So, who is this “mysterious grandfather?”(Decembrist)

Read the first 2 paragraphs of K.I. Chukovsky’s article on page 237

Who are the Decembrists?(slide number 4)

(Decembrists are the people who took part in the uprising on Senate Square on December 14, 1825 in St. Petersburg. For the most part, the Decembrists were nobles, well educated, many were military men. They really wanted to change Russia. They fought for the abolition of serfdom, the abolition of royal power and the creation of a constitution. The Decembrist Society was formed after the Patriotic War of 1812.)

In November 1825, during a trip to the south of Russia in Taganrog, Emperor Alexander I unexpectedly died. He had no children, and Alexander’s brother, Constantine, was to inherit the throne. But during Alexander’s lifetime, he abdicated the throne in favor of his younger brother Nicholas. Constantine's abdication was not announced. The troops and population were sworn in to the new emperor. But he confirmed his renunciation of the throne. The re-oath was scheduled for December 14, 1825.

Before the senators and members of the State Council took the oath, the Decembrists wanted to force them to sign the “Manifesto”, liquidate the existing government, abolish serfdom, proclaim freedom of speech, religion, freedom of occupation, movement, equality of all classes before the law, and a reduction in military service.

On the morning of December 14 The rebel officers brought their regiments to the square in front of the Senate; the plan developed earlier could not be implemented: the Senate and the State Council had already taken the oath before the arrival of the regiments.

Several times Nicholas I sent generals and metropolitans “to exhort”; several times the cavalry attacked the rebel regiments. By evening, the king gave the order to shoot the rebels.

The tsarist government brutally dealt with the Decembrists. More than 100 Decembrists were exiled to Siberia, many were sentenced to death by hanging.

Why do we need to know about the Decembrist, about the December uprising in the work? (this is our story, understand this type of people, know their life)

Who is Sergei Grigorievich Volkonsky?(partly a prototype of the hero of the poem)(slide number 5)

S.G. Volkonsky is a hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, a Decembrist. Prince. At one time he participated in all military campaigns, was wounded, and received awards. For participation in the uprising, in 1826 he was arrested and sentenced to death, then the sentence was commuted to 20 years of hard labor in Siberia. In 1856, a manifesto was announced for the release of all convicts and he was allowed to return to European Russia. 5 days before his arrest, Maria Raevskaya (Volkonskaya) gave birth to his son and soon follows her husband.

Probably every person who can read Russian knows about the feat of Maria Volkonskaya, about her decision to share fate with her husband and follow him to Siberia for hard labor and exile. “The sight of his shackles excited and touched me so much that I threw myself on my knees in front of him and kissed him.first his shackles, and then himself,” Maria Volkonskaya recalled when she arrived in the Nerchinsk mines after separation.

Tell me, is there a story about the Decembrists, about the uprising in the work?(not clear, sounds muffled).

What happens in the poem after the grandfather arrives? (Through individual events, the grandson recognizes his grandfather’s character)

Now we will try to figure out the character of the grandfather and that difficult period of time from the events, from the conversations that are presented in the poem.(entry in notebook) - Chapter 5

1) “Sasha became friends with grandfather,

The two of them walk forever,

They walk through meadows, forests,

Cornflowers are tearing among the fields.”

2) Description of the grandfather:

“Grandfather is ancient for years,

But still cheerful and handsome,

Grandfather's teeth are intact

Walk, posture is firm,

The curls are fluffy and white,

Like a silver head

Slender, tall,...

3) The speech is “apostolically simple”

4) “I’m glad I see the picture

Sweet to my eyes since childhood.

Look at this plain -

And love her yourself!”

5) He talks about peasant farming that only then “There will be joy in the song, / Instead of despondency and torment,” when there is a large farm.

6) “Grandfather praises nature,

Petting the peasant boys."

"Grandfather's first order of business

Talk to a guy:

"Soon it will not be difficult for you,

You will be a free people!” - How do you understand these lines? (believes in change)

Slide number 13. Chapters 9-1 1.

Describe the life of peasants in the village of Tarbagatiy

a) Russian men were driven into a terrible wilderness on infertile lands, and given freedom and land.

b) a year later the commissars arrived - a village and a mill had already been built.

c) a year later they arrived - peasants with barren land

lands harvest, etc.

Thus, over the course of 50 years, “a huge planting grew up.”

– Why does grandfather talk about the life of peasants?(He points out to Sasha that a free, hardworking person will not disappear anywhere. He says that “The will and labor of man/Wonderful wonders are created.” And if the family’s life is organized, the children are healthy, that means it’s a happy family. And the peasants can be happy, they can live rich.)

(The image of this emaciated man is contrasted with the well-fed, comfortable life in Tarbagatai. A lot still has to be done to achieve such a life for the peasants. A person should not disdain any kind of work. Labor adorns a person.)

What kind of national disasters does the grandfather talk about? Chapter 13?

(He recalls a peasant wedding, where the young people “forgot to ask permission” from the master. He separated the newlyweds and punished everyone. Grandfather says that landowners have no soul. He takes pity on the peasants, accuses the powers that be of tyranny)

Read the episode of the meeting with the soldier. Chapter 16-17.

What does your grandfather say about serving in the army during his time? (He talks about what kind of drill there was in the army, assault, obscenity in addressing a junior in rank, Teaches his grandson that one must value honor,)

Read the episode about life in hard labor from the words “…. Deaf, deserted...” to the words “Slowly, slowly you melt…”(chapter 20)

What does grandfather remember? (He remembers that terrible life. No heroism. Ordinary person)

How does the work end? How does Sasha understand his grandfather’s attitude to life, to people, to the history of Russia?

Conclusion: Throughout the entire poem, Sasha asks questions to both dad and mom, and then to grandfather. One way or another they are connected with the Decembrists, with the uprising.
He is also interested in how his grandfather lived in Siberia.

VI. Summing up (slide number 14)

1. What work of N. A. Nekrasov did we get acquainted with in class?
2. What is the main idea of ​​the poem?

VII. Homework (slide number 15)

Nekrasov's poem "Grandfather" was written in 1870. It tells about a little inquisitive boy who has never seen his own grandfather in his life. When their long-awaited meeting occurs, it turns out that grandfather was once a Decembrist. Now he is returning from distant exile.

The plot of the poem

The main character of Nekrasov's poem "Grandfather" is a boy named Sasha. In the first stanzas of the work, he carefully studies the portrait of his ancestor. In the picture he is in the uniform of a general, and a very young man at that. But in his entire life, Sasha had never seen him like that.

At the same time, the main character is interested in the fate of his relative. He regularly asks his parents why he can’t see his grandfather. There is only one answer to this. You will know and understand when you grow up.

After some time, a joyful event occurs in Sasha’s life. His father finally tells him that very soon they will be able to see their grandfather. The boy is all impatient, he wants to see the old man and talk to him. But we must wait, grandfather has a long way to go before they meet.

Meeting with a relative

The long-awaited meeting in Nekrasov's poem "Grandfather" finally takes place. A retired general who has arrived from afar is greeted with joy by all his relatives. Sasha immediately wonders where he has been for so long.

But, surprisingly, he answers exactly the same as the boy’s parents. Like, you will know and understand only when you grow up. Over time they become very close. It turns out that despite the large age difference, grandfather and grandson have many common topics and interests. They often spend time together, walk a lot and communicate.

Grandfather's story

In Nekrasov’s poem “Grandfather,” a summary of which you are now reading, it is said that the elderly general spent many years in a village called Tarbagatai. It was located in the wilderness, far from capitals and large cities. The authorities exiled all the citizens they disliked there en masse.

According to the old man himself, this is an area located beyond Lake Baikal, which few people know or have ever heard of.

Living in such a settlement is not easy for anyone. But the old general was helped by the fact that, despite his high rank, he never shied away from the most ordinary work. In the summary of Nekrasov’s poem “Grandfather,” it is necessary to describe how he once amazed a frightened peasant: he asked him for a plow, masterfully demonstrating how he handled it. These stories are now very surprising to his grandson.

The grandfather in N. A. Nekrasov’s poem is very worried about the common people. Noting, however, that now he has become a little easier, and in the future his fate should become even more beautiful. He has no doubt about this.

As a result, the former general awakens in his young and inquisitive grandson a real thirst for science and knowledge, the boy begins to study with interest. Soon the first successes come.

At the very end of N. Nekrasov’s poem “Grandfather,” the old general admits that now the boy is ready to learn his sad story, which is directly related to the country’s past. So all readers of the poem “Grandfather” by N. A. Nekrasov understand what the general’s secret was. He sided with the Decembrists. After this he was sent into exile for many years.

How the poem was created

In 1870, Nikolai Nekrasov's poem "Grandfather" was published for the first time. The beginning of the action of this poetic work sends us back to 1856, when a manifesto was published, according to which the Decembrists received the right to return to their hometowns and settlements from a long exile.

The elderly hero finds himself in the same situation. It is worth noting that this is a collective image. Although, according to researchers, it has a specific prototype. This is Sergei Volkonsky, who came from exile at the age of 68, being a very old man. But at the same time, as those around him recognized, he remained stately and handsome.

Ex-General Volkonsky, who naturally returned demoted, loved to talk with men, which was noted by many around him. It is interesting that the peasant children called him that - grandfather.

Another prototype of the character in Nekrasov’s poem “Grandfather,” the analysis of which is given in this poem, is Mikhail Bestuzhev. He also returned from a long exile. In 1869, Nekrasov communicated closely with him for some time.

It is noteworthy that the poem has a dedication to Zinaida Nikolaevna Nekrasova. At that time she was the common-law wife of the poet.

Analysis of the poem "Grandfather" by Nekrasov

The work to which this article is devoted is classified by researchers as realistic poems. Moreover, for reasons of censorship that existed in Russia at that time, the author does not directly indicate that the elderly hero is a Decembrist. Formally, their activities were banned at that time, because they were accused of attempting to overthrow the state system.

However, all readers understand what is at stake. The reader is given some clues by the fact that grandfather constantly dreams of freedom and that the Russian people will be rich. At the same time, he promises that both soldiers and peasants will soon heal much easier. This part of the poem contains a direct hint at the upcoming reforms of Alexander II, which were expected by many representatives of the progressive public at that time.

Characteristics of the main character

Nekrasov uses an interesting literary device in his poem. The reader sees the Decembrist grandfather through the eyes of his grandson. Moreover, the whole life of a valiant soldier passes before the boy.

First, he is one of the heroes of the liberation Patriotic War of 1812, when the Russian army managed to defeat the French. In their house hangs a portrait of a young grandfather, in which he is already standing in a general’s uniform.

Over time, the main character becomes aware that his grandfather is surrounded by some sad and unknown secret. So, through the eyes of the main character, a young boy, we get to know another main character - his grandfather. We can understand and guess who he really was.

Over time, Sasha’s mother begins to tell him in detail about what qualities his grandfather has. This is courage, kindness, but at the same time a deep inner tragedy.

When he finally arrives from somewhere far away, it becomes clear to everyone at first that he has come to terms with everything. But all further events that occur in this work lead to the idea that this is not at all the case.

Decembrists

Thanks to the historical basis of Nekrasov's poem "Grandfather", which is well known to us from the school history course, we know who the Decembrists were. One of their main differences from other revolutionaries and opponents of the regime is that almost everything was built solely on ideological and idealized considerations.

Therefore, even after many years, the grandfather is haunted by the thought of revenge and the much-needed universal freedom of the people. Therefore, he even somehow calls on Sasha himself to take care of his honor and take revenge for the insults inflicted on him many years ago. To some researchers of Nekrasov’s work, he resembles a biblical hero who suffers for his people. All his relatives in reality treat him subserviently. His own son falls at his feet, Sasha’s mother begins to carefully and neatly comb her gray curls. Sasha asks with interest and reverence about the wounds that grandfather has on his arm and leg.

Describing the portrait of the elderly hero, the poet does not spare vivid epithets. He mentions that his grandfather was ancient in age, but was still handsome and vigorous. Almost all his teeth were intact, and his posture and gait had not lost any of their firmness during the years of exile. Gray curls and beard, a sincere smile gave his image a special charm.

By the way, there are some features in the poem’s description of the hero that also coincide with the appearance of the biblical character. In particular, there are rehashes with biblical phrases that he who has ears will definitely hear, and he who has eyes will definitely see.

Nature in the poem

Close attention in Nekrasov's poem is paid to the surrounding nature. The grandfather takes long walks with his grandson, comparing the beauty that surrounds them with the desolate and deserted nature in the places where he served his exile. At the same time, the former general, despite his high status in the past, behaves very simply. Willingly communicates with men. At the same time, he can’t remain idle for almost a minute. He is constantly fixing something, repairing something, plowing, digging beds, weaving, and weaving. He got used to always being busy with something during all the time he spent in exile.

He is also drawn to the people thanks to his soulful songwriting. At times he starts singing songs about the Decembrists and their exile. It is worth noting that Nekrasov himself dedicated more than one of his poetic works to Volkonskaya or Trubetskoy, and the poem “Grandfather” itself opens a whole cycle of his poems dedicated to the Decembrists.

Nekrasov puts his innermost thoughts into the lips of his grandfather. Thus, the old man argues that only a successful country is one in which the population does not know what stupid obedience is. And he believes only in good and true strength, reason and unanimity. With the help of his elderly hero, Nekrasov himself appeals to the reader, noting that grief and misfortune await the backward and ruined country.

Negative characters

It’s interesting that there are a lot of negative characters in this poem. Describing their injustices towards the people, the poet often resorts to metaphors. For example, he writes that gentlemen and officials of various stripes are simply squeezing the juice out of the people.

But the clerks, as he aptly put it, are vile.

Artistic media

Describing clerks and other people in power, he compares them to a greedy pack of predators who set off on an unrighteous campaign against the people, bringing their own homeland closer to inevitable destruction.

The military commanders also get it from Nekrasov in this work. They, according to him, commit atrocities in vain, driving the souls of the soldiers into the heels so that after this the teeth of their subordinates rain down like hail. And in the ranks they don’t even allow them to breathe. In this case, Nekrasov uses such a common poetic device as hyperbole.

The main idea of ​​the poem

The description of Nekrasov’s historical poem “Grandfather” helps to understand the main idea of ​​this work. Its key theme is the need to convey to new generations the values ​​that are true from the point of view of the author and the main characters, first of all, the retired general himself. And this is happiness and absolute people's freedom, wealth and prosperity of the state.

Nekrasov is trying to convey to the reader his main idea - the cause of the Decembrists did not die. It is still alive and has a large following. It continues to be led by new, no less educated and patriotic youth representatives.

Composition of the poem

The poetic work of Nikolai Nekrasov consists of 22 small chapters. It’s interesting that several of them end with the same refrain: “When you grow up, Sasha, you’ll know.” And several more chapters with various rhetorical questions: “Who? Who, having a soul, could bear this?”

The poem is relatively small in size, but its action covers several years. It all starts with a question that a very little boy Sasha asks about his grandfather, whom he saw in a portrait.

The poem ends with Sasha’s sincere desire to know the sad story of his elderly relative.

There are several inserted episodes in the poem in which the grandfather launches into stories about the settlements in Siberia that he met there.

The poem itself is written by the poet in dactyl trimeter. Female rhyme in it alternates with male rhyme.

In the early 70s, Nekrasov worked on a cycle of poems dedicated to the fate of the Decembrists: “Grandfather” (1870), “Russian Women”, consisting of two parts: “Princess Trubetskaya” (1871) and “Princess M.N. Volkonskaya" (1872). At first glance, turning to Decembrist themes may seem uncharacteristic of Nekrasov with his indifference to historical subjects. However, as N. L. Stepanov wrote: “This (...) is not just an appeal to the past, but to the revolutionary pages of history, a reminder of the first attempt at revolution in Russia and its selfless heroic figures.” 515 .

As you know, the plot basis of “Grandfather” is the story of the arrival of an old Decembrist man, who was freed from Siberia according to the manifesto of 1856, to his son’s estate. The prototype of the hero of the poem is considered to be the famous Decembrist, former major general, Prince Sergei Grigorievich Volkonsky (1788 - 1865). .) 516 . In the summer of 1857, S. G. Volkonsky visited the Kostroma province. On August 13, 1857, the governor of the Moscow province sent a special message to his Kostroma colleague, Major General A.F. Voitsekh, about establishing supervision over S.G. Volkonsky, who had gone to his daughter’s estate in Buisky district. The statement said: “The political criminal Sergei Volkonsky, returned from Siberia, living in the specific village of Alekseevskoye, Moscow district, on the 8th of this month left the Kostroma province of Buysky district to the village of Leontyevo to visit his daughter, Molchanova. I have the honor to inform Your Excellency about this for your appropriate disposal.” 517 .

The Mrs. Molchanova mentioned in relation is the daughter of S. G. and M. N. Volkonsky, Elena Sergeevna Volkonskaya (1835 - 1916), in Molchanov’s first marriage. In August 1857, S. G. Volkonsky visited his daughter’s family, who lived in the village of Leontyevo in Buysky district (now the village of Leontyevo in the Susaninsky district). By this time, his daughter was already widowed; her first husband, Dmitry Vasilyevich Molchanov, who served as an official on special assignments under the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia N. N. Muravyov-Amursky, died in 1856. 518 In 1854, Elena Sergeevna had a son, named after his grandfather Seryozha A. Thus, the main plot line of the poem “Grandfather”, that a grandfather comes from Siberia to his grandson’s estate, was clearly taken by Nekrasov from life - from S. G. Volkonsky’s trip to Leontyevo.

Nekrasov could have learned about S. G. Volkonsky’s trip to the Kostroma province from S. G. Volkonsky’s son, his old friend Prince M. S. Volkonsky (1832 - 1902), with whom he often traveled from St. Petersburg on winter hunting.

According to the fair opinion of Yu. V. Lebedev, one of the main sources of the poems “Grandfather” and “Princess Volkonskaya” was the book by S. V. Maksimov “Siberia and hard labor,” published in Nekrasov’s “Notes of the Fatherland” in 1868-1869. Yu. V. Lebedev writes: “...at the time the poet was working on the first two poems of the Decembrist cycle, the most reliable sources he had were information from the third part of Maximov’s book “Siberia and hard labor” - “State criminals.” This part was published in the September and October issues of Otechestvennye zapiski for 1869 and contained detailed descriptions of the exile and Siberian life of the Decembrists. (...) Maksimov visited not only all the places of exile of the Decembrists, but also visited the famous Tarbagatai, the story of which was the ideological seed of Nekrasov’s poem “Grandfather”" 519 .

Nekrasov and “Walking among the People”

As you know, in 1874, members of revolutionary youth circles made an attempt to rouse the peasant masses to an uprising, which went down in history as “going to the people.” “Walking among the people” did not escape the Yaroslavl and Kostroma provinces. In August 1874, in Chudovskaya Luka, Nekrasov wrote a poem related to one of the episodes of the “walk” - “The Grief of Old Naum.” Most of all, “The Grief of Old Naum” is known from its passage, which is not directly related to the main part of the poem, where the poet dreams of the future of the Volga:

Other times, other pictures

I'll see the beginning

In the random life of the shores

My beloved river:

Freed from shackles,

Tireless people

Will ripen, populate densely

Coastal deserts;

The science of water will deepen:

Along their smooth plain

Giant ships will run

Countless crowd

And vigorous work will be eternal

Above the eternal river... (II, 384).

Much has been written about “The Mountain of Old Nahum,” but it seems to have never become the object of historical study. After all, it was not by chance that Nekrasov gave it the subtitle - “Volga true story”. The hero of the poem is the rich peasant Naum, the owner of a molasses factory and an inn. It is believed that the prototype of Naum was the former serf Nikita Petrovich Ponizovkin, who received his freedom from the landowner in 1849 and settled not far from Greshnev. N.P. Ponizovkin was an Old Believer who, it is believed, believed in the consent of wanderers 520 . The rise of this man is amazing: already in 1850 he became a merchant of the Second Guild, in 1863 - of the First Guild 521 . On the banks of the Volga, not far from Greshnev, an entire industrial town grew up - Ponizovkino (after the revolution, renamed “Red Profintern”). Ponizovkin’s career developed before Nekrasov’s eyes; it is possible that he knew him personally. Of course, the breeder N.P. Ponizovkin was for the poet a sworn enemy, a people's oppressor, a spider.

Naum lives not far from the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery and Big Salts. The poem says:

Nearby is the “Babai” monastery,

Village "Big Soli"

Kostroma is also nearby (II, 382).

In “The Mountain of Old Naum,” Nekrasov, as far as possible, showed the episode of “going to the people.” A young man and a girl propagandized among the peasants of the Yaroslavl province. They pretended to be peasants and were dressed accordingly. Already at the very beginning, their mission almost failed. The girl propagandist smoked, and one day she sat down to smoke, not just somewhere in a nook, but on the porch of the house where they were staying, in front of people. The sight of a smoking peasant girl could not help but shock eyewitnesses b. Rumors began to spread about the young people, which soon reached the right people, and only circumstances saved the propagandists from immediate arrest.

These young people's names were Pavel Semenovich Troitsky and Maria Eduardovna Geishtor. P.S. Troitsky was the son of a priest from the village. Balakhty near Krasnoyarsk. After graduating from the Tomsk Theological Seminary, he entered the law faculty of St. Petersburg University. Maria Eduardovna (Maria Yuzefa) Geishtor (1855 – 1922), Lithuanian on her father’s side and Polish on her mother’s side, was born in Minsk. On her father's side, she belonged to a Lithuanian noble family. Her father and older brother were exiled to Siberia for participating in the 1863 uprising; her mother followed her husband to Siberia, where she died. Maria Jozefa spent her childhood and youth in Siberia. In 1873, she arrived in St. Petersburg, where she began to prepare to enter women’s medical courses and joined the circle of Siberian students at the Medical-Surgical Academy. In May 1874, Troitsky and Geishtor left Rybinsk and moved parallel to the Volga, engaged in propaganda. The incident with Maria Eduardovna smoking occurred in Kostroma district, somewhere near Bolshiye Soli. Having learned that their comrade in Rybinsk had been arrested, Troitsky and Geishtor returned to St. Petersburg, where they were arrested. Maria Eduardovna was soon deported to the Kostroma province. For some time she was in the Kostroma prison on the street. Rusina, then by order of the governor she was sent to the city of Kologriv. Soon she was taken from Kologriv to Yaroslavl and put in prison. In total, Maria Eduardovna spent four years in prison (two years in Yaroslavl and two in the Peter and Paul Fortress), after which she went through the “193s” process. Her future husband, I.I. Dobrovolsky, whom she met in Yaroslavl prison, was also tried with her. At the trial, Maria Eduardovna was acquitted, and I. I. Dobrovolsky received 9 years of hard labor. However, he managed to escape, and they left for Switzerland, where Maria Eduardovna graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Geneva. In 1905, after an amnesty, the couple returned to Russia. Maria Eduardovna was an active member of the Political Red Cross and worked in a hospital during World War I. She lived until the revolution and died in December 1922 near Moscow in the town of Starye Gorki near Bolshevo station 522 .

In recent years

At the end of the 60s, Nekrasov was not yet fifty years old. He was rich, his fame grew. After parting with Polina Lefren, the poet soon met Praskovya Nikolaevna Meishen. Coming from a philistine background, Praskovya Nikolaevna was born in Yaroslavl. Very young, she married an elderly provincial mechanic, V.I. Meishen, but very soon, at the beginning of 1867, she was widowed. In the summer of 1867, Praskovya Nikolaevna became close to Nekrasov; in October of the same year, she moved with him to St. Petersburg and settled in his apartment on Liteiny. About a year later they separated, and Praskovya Nikolaevna returned to Yaroslavl. After some time, she remarried the nobleman Volkov, lived with him for ten years and was widowed again 523 .

In the spring of 1870, Nekrasov met “a young, charming and cheerful girl Feklusha Viktorova. Beautiful and modest, kind and warm-hearted, a cheerful singer and laugher, she passionately fell in love with the poet and entered his life forever. Nekrasov was then 48 years old, she was 23.” 524 . Nothing reliable is known about her origin, where she was from and under what circumstances she met the poet. It is only clear that Fekla Anisimovna Viktorova (1847 - 1915) was of “simple rank” 525 . As befits a democrat and lover of the people, Nekrasov renamed his girlfriend, replacing her common folk name and patronymic with the exquisitely euphonious Zinaida Nikolaevna (Nekrasov formed the patronymic in his own name) V. In this “renaming” one cannot help but see manifestations of the old landowner tradition of giving close serf servants or favorites “noble” names (remember how Tatyana Larina’s mother in “Eugene Onegin” called the courtyard girl Akulka Selina). Zinaida Nikolaevna settled in the former “Panaev half” of his apartment on Liteiny, which after the death of I. I. Panaev and the departure of Avdotya Yakovlevna became part of the poet’s apartment. Officially, she was listed as a housekeeper.

It was already written above that from the beginning of the 60s Nekrasov often went hunting in the Novgorod province, and from 1868 he regularly hunted in the Chudov region. In the spring of 1871, Nekrasov acquired a small estate near the village of Luka from the landowners Vladimirovs, located one mile from the Chudovo railway station (now the city of Chudovo in the Novgorod region), which is why the name Chudovskaya Luka was assigned to it. The poet's new estate on the Kerest River consisted of a two-story wooden house with an outbuilding, services, and a stable. The estate had a park with alleys of ancient linden and oak trees. The estate included 162 acres of land 526 . In Chudovskaya Luka, Nekrasov’s hunting dogs were kept at the kennel, which, when the poet traveled to Karabikha, were delivered there 527 .

Before purchasing Chudovskaya Luka, Nekrasov usually lived in Karabikha in the summer. Starting from 1871, the poet began to regularly visit Chudovskaya Luka: he came here in 1871, 1872, 1873, 1875, 1875 and 1876. In the vicinity of his new estate, Nekrasov hunted a lot, in particular bears. Nekrasov’s authority as a hunter and the fame of his dogs were already so great that in the summer of 1873, the Tsar’s brother, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, asked the poet for hounds from Chudovskaya Luka G528 .

From Chudovskaya Luka in the summer of 1875, Nekrasov came to Karabikha for the last time, visited Greshnevo with Zinaida Nikolaevna, visited the graves of his parents in Abakumtsevo, and visited his old hunting companion Kuzma Efimovich Solnyshkov in the village of Orlovo 529 .

In 1875, Nekrasov was already suffering from a serious illness that soon brought him to his grave - rectal cancer. Suffering from pain, he wrote the great satire “Contemporaries” in Karabikha, where he mockingly depicted a number of real representatives of the highest bureaucracy and industrialists, some of whom he personally knew from the English Club. Nekrasov made the famous V. A. Kokorev one of the heroes of Contemporaries, bringing him out under the name of Savva Antichristov. Vasily Aleksandrovich Kokorev (1817 - 1889), a native of Soligalich, an Old Believer of the Pomeranian persuasion, was the brightest figure of young Russian capitalism. Suffice it to say that he was the founder of a number of joint-stock companies: the Volga-Don Railway Company, the Volga-Caspian Shipping Company "Caucasus and Mercury", the Ural Railway Company, and the Baku Oil Company. V. A. Kokorev was also the founder of the Volga-Kama Bank and the creator of the first oil refinery in Russia, which opened in 1859 near Baku (his services in this area were highly appreciated by D. I. Mendeleev). Of course, V.A. Kokorev was not an angel. Modern researchers write about him: “...we see before us a very contradictory, complex, by no means abstract image of not only a major Russian businessman and capitalist, but also an extraordinary personality, whose breadth of views and initiatives was ahead of the people of his circle, and at the same time the most typical representative of his class, his time" 530 .

In the summer of 1876, the sick poet came to Chudovskaya Luka for the last time. The ever-increasing illness caused him excruciating suffering, at times leading him to thoughts of suicide 531 .

Poems written in the last period of Nekrasov’s life, during a serious illness, made up the cycle “Last Songs”. In their declining years, philosophical motives usually predominate in the work of poets. Nekrasov, even from his deathbed, continued to denounce and call Rus' to the axe. One of the main ones in the cycle was the poem “To the Sowers,” best known for the lines:

Russian people... (II, 401).

V. E. Evgeniev-Maksimov wrote: “... the main meaning of this poem is a greeting addressed to the fighters for the liberation of the people.” 532 . In fact, Nekrasov called for “sowing” the ideas of Chernyshevsky and Dobrolyubov.

The “Last Songs” cycle was published in the January issue of Otechestvennye Zapiski for 1877 and caused a flurry of responses. On February 3, 1877, at a student evening, 395 people, mostly students of St. Petersburg University and the Medical-Surgical Academy, signed the Address to the poet. A few days later, three student representatives presented it to the sick poet. The Address said that Russian youth carry in their hearts “a mighty, holy love for the people,” and Nekrasov, “the singer of the people, the singer of their grief and suffering,” with his poetry “kindles this mighty love for the people and inflames with hatred of their oppressors.” . The Address ended with the words: “Passing the names dear to us from mouth to mouth, we will not forget your name and will hand it over to the healed and restored people, so that they will know the one whose many good seeds fell on the soil of people’s happiness. Know that you are not alone, that these seeds will be nurtured and nurtured by the Russian student youth who love you with all their souls.” 533 .

Life was passing away, it was necessary to take stock and pay off the last debts. On January 13, 1877, Nekrasov drew up an official will. There is one mystery connected with the poet's will. Its text specifically states: “He, the testator, has no capital in monetary securities at all” (XII, 100). Touching upon Nekrasov’s lack of “capital in monetary securities,” V.V. Zhdanov wrote: “This caused some surprise among his contemporaries, who considered Nekrasov’s fortune in the last years of his life to be very significant.” 534 . The researcher, in particular, refers to the entry in the diary of E. A. Stackenschneider dated October 19, 1880, which states that Nekrasov bequeathed “five hundred thousand” to the “nihilists” 535 . Commenting on the entry of E. A. Stackenschneider, V. V. Zhdanov writes: “... rumors about the bequest of money circulated, and even a certain amount was named; maybe this is where we need to look for an explanation of the mystery of where the money went (...). Didn’t this money go to support the revolutionary populist organization, to revolutionary propaganda?” 536 .

Could Nekrasov have donated a large sum of money to revolutionary causes? The answer to this question can only be in the affirmative. Surely, the poet helped revolutionaries before. Before his death, the childless Nekrasov could bequeath to them most of his fortune. For him it was a natural and logical act, which in some respect summed up his entire life.

Most likely, Nekrasov bequeathed his money to the organization of revolutionary populists - “Land and Freedom”, which arose at the end of 1876. It is unlikely that the poet’s capital went only to revolutionary propaganda. We have the right to believe that it was also used for a number of high-profile acts of terror in subsequent years.

In the spring of 1877, Nekrasov took an important step: he married Zinaida Nikolaevna. All his life, the poet tried not to introduce relationships with women into legal frameworks. Only fear for the fate of Zinaida Nikolaevna forced him to overcome his hostility to marriage. He decided to get married only on the eve of his upcoming operation, the outcome of which could not be predicted. Nekrasov was already in such bad condition that there could be no talk of any wedding in the church. At the prompting of Metropolitan Isidore of St. Petersburg, they turned to the military clergy, who had portable churches-tents. A similar tent was installed in the dining room of the Nekrasov apartment 537 . On April 4, 1877, Nekrasov was married by the priest of the Admiralty Cathedral of St. Spyridon, Fr. Mikhail Kutnevich 538 . At the decisive moment, “they took the patient by the arms and led him around the lectern three times, half dead from suffering. Eyewitnesses remembered that he was barefoot and wearing a long shirt." 539 .

A week after the wedding, Nekrasov lay on the operating table. He was operated on by the luminary of European medicine, surgeon Billroth, invited from Vienna. After the operation, which took place on April 12, 1877 at the poet’s apartment, Nekrasov lived for several more months.

On December 15, 1877, A. A. Butkevich wrote to F. A. Nekrasov in Karabikha: “Everything is the same with us, my brother is still in the same position, only he gets out of bed not three times a day, but twice, and cannot sit for a long time. In general, his situation is difficult, but looking at him makes it easier to go to bed yourself.” 540 .

Death and funeral of the poet

Nekrasov died on December 27, 1877, at 8:50 pm. The next day, a coffin was displayed in the dining room of his apartment, at which, according to tradition, the Psalter was read until the funeral. In the following days, many people visited the house on Liteiny. In particular, on December 29, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (son of Emperor Alexander II) visited the apartment of the deceased. d. Of course, after the revolution they never wrote that the Tsar’s son honored the memory of Nekrasov.

It is noteworthy that Nekrasov did not want to be buried on the Literary Bridge of the Volkov Cemetery, which by that time had become the traditional resting place for artists, or, for example, in Abakumtsevo next to his parents. According to his will dated January 13, 1877, he designated the cemetery of the Resurrection Novodevichy Convent as his burial place (XII, 100). It can be confidently assumed that his choice was due to the fact that this cemetery had an “aristocratic, closed character” 542 . The master again defeated the democrat in Nekrasov; vanity turned out to be stronger than the desire to be buried in the same graveyard with Belinsky and Dobrolyubov. In Nekrasov’s circle, the news of his choice of burial place caused mixed reactions e.

Since the 60s In the 19th century, a tradition arose in St. Petersburg and Moscow when the funerals of writers or public figures who had somehow “suffered” for their beliefs turned, in fact, into political demonstrations. Nekrasov’s funeral, which took place on December 30, 1877, became one of the most striking examples of this kind. Members of “Land and Freedom” even twice almost brought it to the point of shooting at them: the first time, when, coming to the funeral with a wreath “From the Socialists”, they surrounded those carrying it with an armed ring, the second time - during a speech at the grave of G. V. Plekhanov. In both cases, the landowners agreed in advance to defend both the wreath and Plekhanov with weapons in their hands 544 . Thus, the populists are ready to organize a massacre at the funeral of their beloved poet.

Nekrasov's funeral service took place in the Resurrection Cathedral of the Novodevichy Convent. This monastery near the Obvodny Canal was built by the labors of a native of the Kostroma region, Abbess Feofaniya (Gotovtseva) * .

Much has been written about Nekrasov’s funeral in Soviet times, but one important episode was usually hushed up. We are talking about the “Word”, which was delivered at the poet’s tomb by a native of the Kostroma region, professor at St. Petersburg University, Archpriest Mikhail Gorchakov ** .

Why exactly Fr. Mikhail had a chance to pronounce the funeral eulogy; whether he did this on his own initiative or at someone’s request, whether he was personally acquainted with the deceased, we do not know.

After the completion of the funeral service and the singing of “Rest with the Saints” in the crowded cathedral, Fr. Mikhail Gorchakov said a word about the deceased. In particular, he said: “The deceased was a bearer and spokesman for the suffering and grief of the Russian people. His poems pour out the suffering thoughts and feelings of not one class of people, not one state or title, not one circle (as some try to believe), but the thoughts and feelings of each and every one of us, who have experienced misfortune and grief without differences of rank, condition, position, age and gender. No circle of people that is part of the Russian people should or has the right to consider the deceased as their only poet, belonging exclusively to one circle. No, the deceased is dear to all Russians; he is our common, our people's poet. (...) As a truly national poet and as a member of the Orthodox Russian Church, the deceased knew where Russian grief poured out, where the Russian heart, languishing from troubles, found relief, consolation and salvation. He recognized and understood the significance and position of the great Russian national shrine, our domestic Orthodox Church. (...) He asks for forgiveness and love with emotion and repentance...

Are you, the deceased, asking for forgiveness and love? But you are given honors unprecedented among us, worthy both of you and of those giving them to you. They are rewarded to you by the thinking class and our young generation, on whom the hopes of the fatherland rest in its near future. Honors to you from the fatherland will grow over time, deep into the centuries, as the people develop the consciousness of comprehending, but suffering thoughts and feelings, the artistic expression of which you have been for several decades.

Are you asking for forgiveness and love? -Your suffering has redeemed you. Your love for others covers you. The Orthodox Church remembers the words of the Savior: “Whoever loves much will be forgiven much”; “He who endures to the end will be saved.” The Church as a society always maintains faith in its unfading future, which was presented to you in your poetic visions, and with the Orthodox Russian people will never cease to sing eternal memory to you. Amen" 547 .

The fate of the “Word” about. Mikhail Gorchakov's life was unusual. Pronounced in the presence of numerous representatives of the cultural and social elite of the capital, it was not published in its entirety either in pre-revolutionary times, much less in Soviet times. The reason for this was the unusual interpretation of Nekrasov’s work, in which for the first time Orthodox motifs were spoken of in his poetry.

In 1881, a monument with a sculptural image of the poet (sculptor M. Chizhov, architect V. Schreiber) stood at Nekrasov’s grave in the Resurrection Novodevichy Convent. On the monument were carved lines from the poem “To the Sowers,” which is rightly considered the poet’s political testament:

Sow what is reasonable, good, eternal,

Sow! Thank you from the bottom of my heart

Russian people…

Below was a phrase from the Address of St. Petersburg students in 1877: “As we pass on dear names from mouth to mouth, we will not forget your name and will hand it over to the healed and enlightened people, so that they will know the one whose many good seeds fell on the soil of the people’s happiness.” (one word on the monument was changed: instead of “to the people who have seen the light” - to “to the enlightened people” - N.Z.) 549 .

Grandfather is the main character of Nikolai Nekrasov’s poem “Grandfather”, Sasha’s grandfather, an old Decembrist. Contemporaries guessed in him the image of Volkonsky. This is a stately, wise man, passing on the “sacred word” as an inheritance to the younger generation. Sasha first saw his grandfather in a portrait in a general’s uniform. However, neither his father nor his mother wanted to tell him the sad story of his grandfather’s life. Soon the mysterious grandfather came to visit them, and he and Sasha quickly became friends.

Grandfather often told him about his life in some wilderness beyond Baikal, about how it used to be hard for the people to live, but he did not go into details, but only said: “When you grow up, Sasha, you will know.” He was a tall and slender man with wise eyes and a gray beard. By nature, grandfather was simple and unpretentious. He never sat without work for a day, and was always busy with something. He often sang songs, the meaning of which was still unclear to Sasha, but he hoped to grow up and find out everything.

In Nekrasov’s poem, the grandfather is surrounded by an aura of holiness. He is like a martyr who escaped from the Siberian village of Tarbagatai. Describing this village, he takes real facts as a basis. He talks about the life of peasants, about free lands, paints a utopian country of abundance, where everyone used to live in peace and harmony. After talking with his grandfather, Sasha developed an interest in studying. When he was ten, he could already tell something about the history and life of the Russian people. By that time, grandfather was increasingly ill and understood that Sasha would soon learn about the Decembrist uprising and its tragic past.

The poem “Grandfather” was written by Nekrasov in 1870. It describes the arrival of an old Decembrist to his son’s estate. The beginning of the poem dates back to 1856, when a manifesto was published returning the Decembrists from exile.

The image of the grandfather is collective. The prototype is considered to be Sergei Volkonsky, who returned as a 68-year-old man, still handsome and stately. The demoted General Volkonsky loved to talk with the peasants, and the peasant children called him grandfather. The temperamental Mikhail Bestuzhev, with whom Nekrasov communicated in 1869, is also considered a prototype.

The poem is dedicated to Z-n-ch-e (Zinochka), that is, Zinaida Nikolaevna Nekrasova, Nekrasov’s common-law wife.

Literary direction, genre

"Grandfather" is a realistic poem. For censorship reasons, Nekrasov does not say directly that his grandfather is a Decembrist. The hero dreams of freedom and wealth of the people, promising peasants and soldiers that life will soon be easier for them (a hint at the reforms of Alexander II).

The image of the main character

The reader sees the grandfather through the eyes of his grandson. First, Sasha notices a portrait of a young general (obviously from the war of 1812). Then he learns from his parents that his grandfather is surrounded by some sad secret. Then mother reveals to Sasha that grandfather is kind, brave and unhappy. Having arrived from afar, grandfather announces that he has come to terms with everything. But subsequent events suggest that this is not the case. Grandfather lives with the thought of revenge, calls on Sasha to value honor and take revenge for insults. He is like a biblical hero who suffered for the people: his son falls at his feet, Sasha’s mother combs her gray curls, Sasha asks about the wounds on his arm and leg.

The portrait is described using epithets: “Ancient for years, but still vigorous and beautiful.” Grandfather has intact teeth, firm gait and posture, white curls, a silver beard, a holy smile.

The biblical nature of the image of the grandfather is emphasized by the hero’s repetitions of biblical phrases: “He who has ears, let him hear, and he who has eyes, let him see.”

At home, the grandfather walks with his grandson, admires nature, comparing it with the deaf, dull, deserted nature of the place of exile, “strokes the peasant children,” talks with the peasants. He cannot sit without work: he plows, digs ridges, weaves, weaves.

The song brings grandfather closer to the people. He sings about the Decembrists, about their exile. Nekrasov also sang “about Trubetskoy and Volkonskaya”: his poem “Grandfather” opened a cycle of poems about the Decembrists.

Nekrasov entrusted his innermost thoughts to his grandfather: a successful country is one in which the population is characterized not by dull obedience, but by strength, unanimity and reason. Nekrasov, in the words of his grandfather, appeals to the reader: “Woe to the devastated country, woe to the backward country.”

Negative images of the poem

Officials and gentlemen squeeze the juice out of the people (metaphor), vile clerks (epithet), go on a campaign against the army, treasury and people (metaphor), a greedy flock of predators (metaphor and epithet) prepares the death of the fatherland, “muffling out the groans of slaves with flattery and the whistling of whips "(metaphor). The military commander commits atrocities, hammers his soul into his heels, so that his teeth rain down like hail, and does not even allow him to breathe in the ranks (hyperbole).

Theme, main idea and composition

The theme of the poem is the transfer to new generations of true, from the author’s point of view, values ​​(freedom and happiness of the people, prosperity of the country).

The main idea: the cause of the Decembrists did not die. It will be continued by the next, properly educated generations.

The poem consists of 22 chapters, many of which end with the refrain: “When you grow up, Sasha, you will know...”. Others – with rhetorical questions: “Who, who has a soul, could bear this? Who?"

The action of the poem takes several years. It begins with little Sasha's question about his grandfather's portrait. The grandfather tells his grandson about the tyranny of the landowners of the past (obviously, before the Decembrist uprising), summarizing it: “The spectacle of the people’s disasters is unbearable, my friend.” The poem ends with Sasha’s readiness to find out the sad truth. He has enough knowledge and heartfelt disposition: “He hates the stupid and the wicked, he wishes good to the poor.” The poem has an open ending.

In inserted episodes, grandfather tells Sasha a story about a utopian settlement that he met in Siberia, in Tarbagatai. The Raskolnikovs were exiled to a deserted place, and a year later there was a village there, and half a century later a whole settlement grew up: “The will and labor of man creates wondrous wonders.”

Meter and rhyme

The poem is written in dactyl trimeter. The rhyme is cross, female rhyme alternates with male rhyme.

• “It’s stuffy! Without happiness and will...", analysis of Nekrasov’s poem
• “Farewell”, analysis of Nekrasov’s poem
• “The heart breaks from torment,” analysis of Nekrasov’s poem