The main idea of ​​the ode is felitsa. Literary analysis of the ode "felitsa" by gavriil romanovich derzhavin

In 1782, the still not very well-known poet Derzhavin wrote an ode dedicated to the "Kirghiz-Kaisak princess Felitsa". Oda was called that "To Felitsa" ... A difficult life taught the poet a lot, he knew how to be careful. The ode glorified the simplicity and humanity of Empress Catherine II's treatment of people and the wisdom of her reign. But at the same time ordinary, and even rude spoken language she narrated about luxurious amusements, about the idleness of Felitsa's servants and courtiers, about "murzas" who are by no means worthy of their ruler. In the murzas, Catherine's favorites were transparently guessed, and Derzhavin, wishing that the ode would fall into the empress's hands as soon as possible, was at the same time afraid of this. How the autocrat will look at his bold trick: a mockery of her favorites! But in the end, the ode was on Catherine's table, and she was delighted with her. Far-sighted and intelligent, she understood that the courtiers should be put in their place from time to time and hints of an ode are an excellent occasion for this. Catherine II herself was a writer (Felitsa is one of her literary pseudonyms), which is why she immediately appreciated the artistic merits of the work. Memoirists write that, having summoned the poet to her, the empress generously rewarded him: she presented a golden snuff-box filled with gold ducats.

Derzhavin became famous. The new literary magazine "Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word", which was edited by the empress's friend Princess Dashkova, and published in it by Catherine herself, opened with the ode "To Felitsa". They started talking about Derzhavin, he became a celebrity. Was it only the successful and bold dedication of the ode to the Empress? Of course not! The reading public and fellow writers were struck by the very form of the work. The poetic speech of the "high" odic genre sounded without exaltation and tension. Lively, figurative, mocking speech of a person who understands well how real life works. The empress, of course, was talked about commendably, but also not pompously. And, perhaps, for the first time in the history of Russian poetry as about a simple woman, not a celestial:

Your Murzas are not imitating, You often walk on foot, And the food is the simplest Happens at your table.

Enhancing the impression of simplicity and naturalness, Derzhavin dares to make bold comparisons:

You don't play cards like me, from morning to morning.

And, moreover, he frivolous, introducing details and scenes that were indecent by the secular norms of that time into an ode. Here is how, for example, a courtier-murza, an idle lover and an atheist spends his day:

Or, sitting at home, I will leper, Playing fools with my wife; Now I get along with her on the dovecote, Sometimes we frolic in blind man's buff, Sometimes I have fun with her, Now I’m looking for it in my head; I love to rummage through books, I enlighten my mind and heart: I read Polkan and Bova, I sleep over the Bible, yawning.

The work was filled with funny and often sarcastic hints. For those who love to eat and drink well Potemkin ("I drink champagne waffles / And I forget everything in the world"). At Orlov, boasting lush exits ("a magnificent train in an English, golden carriage"). On Naryshkin, who is ready to give up all business for the sake of hunting ("I take care of all matters / Leaving, I go hunting / And amuse myself with barking dogs"), etc. In the genre of a solemn meritorious ode, it has never been written like that. Poet E.I. Kostrov expressed a general opinion and at the same time a slight annoyance at the successful opponent. In his poetic "Letter to the creator of an ode composed in praise of Felitsa, princess of Kirghizkaisatskaya" there are lines:

Frankly, it is clear that the hovering odes have already gone out of fashion; You knew how to lift yourself up among us with simplicity.

The Empress brought Derzhavin closer to her. Remembering the "fighting" properties of his nature and incorruptible honesty, he sent him to various revisions, which usually end in noisy indignation of the tested. The poet was appointed governor of Olonets, then Tambov provinces. But he did not hold out for a long time: he too zealously and imperiously cracked down on local officials. In Tambov, things went so far that the governor of the region, Gudovich, filed a complaint to the empress in 1789 about the "arbitrariness" of the governor who did not take into account anyone or anything. The case was referred to the Senate Court. Derzhavin was dismissed and ordered to live in Moscow, as they would say now, under recognizance not to leave until the end of the trial.

And although the poet was acquitted, he was left without a position and without the favor of the empress. Again, one could rely only on oneself: on enterprise, talent and good luck. And do not lose heart. In the autobiographical Notes, compiled at the end of his life, in which the poet speaks of himself in the third person, he admits: “There was no other way but to resort to his talent; as a result, he wrote the ode“ The Image of Felitsa ”and the number of September, that is, on the day of the coronation of the empress, he handed her over to the court<…>The Empress, having read it, ordered her favorite (meaning Zubov, Catherine's favorite - LD) to invite the author to dinner with him the next day and always take him into her conversation. "

Read also the other topics in Chapter VI.

Derzhavin's ode "Felitsa" made a strong impression at the court of Catherine II, primarily due to the admiration of the empress herself, but the empress's attitude only gave way to the work, and the ode took its well-deserved place in Russian poetry thanks to its merits.

The idea of ​​an ode was prompted by The Tale of Tsarevich Chlorus, written by the Empress to her grandson Alexander and published in 1781. Derzhavin used the names and motives of this tale in order to write an ode that is sharp in content and instructive in purpose, in which he went beyond the traditional praise of a person clothed with power. Having written the work in 1782, Derzhavin did not dare to make it public, but the ode fell into the hands of Princess E.R. Dashkova, Director of the Academy of Sciences. Dashkova, without his knowledge, published an ode in the magazine "Interlocutor of lovers of the Russian word" entitled "Ode to the wise Kirghiz-Kaisak princess Felitsa, written by some Tatar Murza who had long settled in Moscow, and who lived in St. Petersburg for their business. Translated from Arabic 1782 ". This is followed by the addition that the ode was nevertheless composed in Russian and its author is unknown.

The ode is built on contrast: it contrasts princess Felitsa, by whose name Derzhavin means Empress Catherine II herself, and her depraved and lazy subject - Murza. Allegorical images in the ode were too transparent, and contemporaries easily recognized who was behind them and for what purpose they were used. It was convenient for Derzhavin, without falling into primitive flattery, to glorify the dignity of the empress, referring to the Kirghiz-Kaisak princess, this gave him great freedom to express thoughts. Calling himself a Murza, the poet uses a subtle technique: on the one hand, Derzhavin has the right to do this, because his family comes from the Tatar Murza Bagrim, on the other hand, the poet means Catherine's nobles who surrounded her throne. Thus, Derzhavin's murza in "Felitsa" is a collective portrait of the court nobles - "murz": idle, "transforming everyday life into a holiday", spending their lives in feasts and luxury "among wines, sweets and aroma", in entertainment and laziness. Describing the uselessness of the nobles, Derzhavin draws a conclusion concerning the general morals that need to be corrected, as if prompting his sovereign what needs to be changed in the state:

Such is, Felitsa, I am depraved!

But the whole world looks like me

Whoever is noble in wisdom,

But every person is a lie.

The next, large part of the ode is devoted to the description of the virtues of Catherine II, but here Derzhavin's praise is intended to give advice, to indicate the correct behavior in government and relations with subjects, extolling simplicity, diligence, justice, virtue, sanity and other qualities of the queen. At the end of the ode, Derzhavin proclaims the ideal way of government and state life,

Whose law, right hand

They give both mercy and judgment.

Prophetic, wise Felitsa!

Where is the rogue different from the honest?

Where does old age not roam the world?

Does he get the merit for his bread?

Where revenge does not drive anyone away?

Where does conscience with truth dwell?

Where do virtues shine? -

At the throne is it yours!

It is not surprising that after such a wise and passionate treatment, the Empress distinguished Derzhavin by making him an expensive gift and bringing him closer to her. Catherine II was so impressed with the loyalty of Derzhavin's characteristics of her nobles that she sent them lists of odes, noting on the copies which place in the text refers to the addressee. Derzhavin, in addition to poetical recognition, won a reputation as an honest citizen-citizen.

Derzhavin's ode has a strong impact on the reader and listener with its structure, sonority of language, sharpness of expressions and phrases, energetic rhythm, which the poet based on iambic tetrameter. Derzhavin achieved amazing unity of seemingly mutually exclusive registers poetic speech: solemnity of the syllable and colloquial intonation in the addresses. The ode seems to flow forward thanks to a cascade of anaphores and syntactic parallelisms, as, for example, in the sixth stanza, in which the three-fold beginning of the lines “where-where-where” is also replaced by the three-fold “there-there-there”. Finally, everyday descriptions real life so detailed that, reading, you become, as it were, a witness of that time.

The title of Derzhavin's famous ode reads as follows: “An ode to the wise Kirghiz-Kaisak princess Felitsa, written by some Murza who has lived in Moscow for a long time, and who live on business in St. Petersburg. Translated from Arabic in 1782 ". Felitsa (Latin felix - happy) meant Catherine II, and "murza" appeared in the ode either as the author's own "I" or as a collective name for Catherine's nobles. Derzhavin's authorship was disguised. When typing the ode (see its full text and summary), the editors of "Interlocutor" made a note to the title: "Although we do not know the name of the author, we know that this ode was definitely composed in Russian."

Derzhavin. Felitsa. Oh yeah

For all the "laudable" tone, Derzhavin's poems are very sincere. He speaks to the Empress, lists positive sides her reign. Catherine is credited, for example, with the fact that she does not destroy people like a wolf destroys sheep:

You rule by condescension;
You don't crush people like a wolf, sheep ...
...........................................
Are you ashamed to be reputed to be that great
To be terrible, unloved;
The she-bear is decently wild
Vomit animals and drink their blood.

In the ode "Felitsa" Catherine received no less edification than her nobles. Derzhavin clearly told her that the tsar must observe laws that are the same both for him and for his subjects, that these laws are based on "divine will," and therefore are generally binding. Derzhavin never tired of reminding the three tsars with whom he had to deal with this.

Derzhavin spoke very freely about the previous reigns, comparing the reign of Felitsa with them:

There are no buffoonery weddings,
They are not fried in ice baths,
Do not snap into the mustache of nobles;
Princes do not cackle hens,
Pets don't laugh at them
And they don't smear the face with soot.

It was here - as contemporaries understood - about the morals at the court of Anna Ioannovna. The names of the jester princes were still remembered.

Derzhavin showed the new monarch in an unusual way - as a private person:

Without imitating your murzas,
You often walk
And the food is the simplest
Happens at your table;
Do not value your peace
You read, write in front of the tax ...

Following this, a number of allusions to great nobles were scattered in the ode. Their whims and favorite pastimes were immortalized in verses:

Or a magnificent train,
In an English carriage, golden,
With a dog, a jester or a friend,
Or with some beauty
I walk under the swing;
I drop into the shanks to drink honey;
Or, as it bores me,
According to my inclination to change,
With a hat on its back,
I'm flying on a high-spirited runner.
Or music and singers
By organ and bagpipes all of a sudden,
Or fist fighters
And with a dance I amuse my spirit ...

Derzhavin in his "Explanations" indicated that he observed the nobles familiar to him - Potemkin, Vyazemsky, Naryshkin, Orlov, saw the addiction of one to fist fights and horses, the other to horn music, the third to panache, etc. and depicted them whims in verse, creating a generalized portrait of a courtier, collecting typical features together. Later, in the ode to The Nobleman, he will take special care of this topic and give a sharp satirical picture in which one can guess the characteristics of individual figures of the era.

In "Felitsa" Derzhavin's penchant for accurate descriptions of everyday life and his ability to create vivid, multi-colored pictures, inaccessible to other contemporary poets, were manifested:

There is a glorious Westphalian ham,
There are links of Astrakhan fish,
There are pilaf and pies, -
I wash down the waffles with champagne
And I forget everything
Amid wines, sweets and aroma.
Or in the midst of a beautiful grove,
In the gazebo where the fountain is making noise,
At the sound of a sweet-voiced harp,
Where the breeze barely breathes
Where everything represents luxury to me ...

Derzhavin introduced into his ode another, domestic, way of life, typical for some provincial nobleman, although living in the capital:

Or, sitting at home, I will leper,
Playing fools with his wife;
I get along with her on the dovecote,
Sometimes we frolic in blind man's eyes;
I’m having fun with her,
Then I'm looking for it in my head ...

With a feeling of freedom and ease, Derzhavin talked in his ode about a wide variety of subjects, spicing up moralizing with a sharp word. He did not miss the opportunity to speak out about literature. The fifteenth stanza of the ode is devoted to this theme. Derzhavin says to the queen:

You think sensibly about merit,
You give honor to the worthy,
You do not count him as a prophet,
Who can weave only rhymes ...

Of course, Derzhavin attributed these lines to himself, he considered himself "worthy", because he knew how to do something besides weaving rhymes, namely, he was an official and an administrator. Lomonosov once said about Sumarokov that he, "apart from his poor rhyme, knows nothing." Derzhavin also argued that a person, first of all, should be an employee in the state, and poetry, poetry - this is what you can do "during free hours."

The definition of poetry, included by Derzhavin in the ode to Felitsa, is widely known:

Poetry, beloved to you
Nice, sweet, useful,
Like delicious lemonade in summer.

The poet talks about the view of literature that Catherine could have. But Derzhavin himself set before poetry the task of being pleasant and useful. In A Letter on Historical Anecdotes and Notes (1780), the poet praises this kind of writing, saying that it is “pleasant and useful. It is pleasant because the selected and briefly described narrative does not make any reader bored, but, so to speak, consoles him in passing. It is useful for the fact that he brings history to life, decorates it and contains and makes his notes conveniently the longest in memory. " This formula goes back to Horace, who said: "Omne tulit punetum, qui miscuit utile dulci" (Everything brings that which combines business with pleasure).

In a letter to Kozodavlev, Derzhavin remarked about the ode "Felitsa": "I don’t know how the public will think of such a composition that has not yet been in our language." In addition to the boldness of the conversation with the empress and the nobles, Derzhavin also had in mind the literary features of the ode: the combination of satire and pathos, high and low words, topical allusions, the convergence of verses with life.

The innovative meaning of "Felitsa" was perfectly understood and formulated by the poet Yermil Kostrov in his "Letter to the creator of an ode composed in praise of Felitsa", published in "Interlocutor".

You have found a new path and a new one, -

he says, referring to Derzhavin, who guessed that Russian poetry needs a new direction.

Our ears are almost deaf from loud lyre tones,
And it's full, it seems, for the clouds to fly ...
Frankly, it is clear that out of fashion
Soaring odes were already hatched.
You knew how to lift yourself up among us with simplicity!

Kostrov believes that Derzhavin "restored a new taste to poetry,"

Without a lyre, without a violin,
And not saddle, moreover, the Parnassian runner, -

that is, without needing the obligatory attributes of odic poetry, playing not on the "lyre", but on the whistle - a simple folk instrument.

The success of Felitsa was complete and brilliant. O. Kozodavlev, M. Sushkova, V. Zhukov wrote welcoming poems to Derzhavin, in addition to Kostrov. There were also critical remarks - they found their place in the same magazine "Interlocutor", but with Derzhavin's objections.

The Empress sent Derzhavin a gold snuffbox sprinkled with diamonds with five hundred ducats - "from Orenburg from the Kirghiz princess." In response to the gift, Derzhavin wrote a poem "Thanks to Felice", in which he noted what might have liked in his ode - "in an unhypocritical syllable, simplicity is pleasing." This simplicity, unexpected combination of satire and pathos, lofty odic concepts and everyday colloquial speech were confirmed in the poet's further work.

In a desire to please the empress, he took her own work, not long before published in a small print run. Naturally, this story began to play with more juicy colors for a brightly talented poet, in addition, having introduced into the history of Russian versification new style and made the poet famous.

Ode analysis

"Felitsa" has a subtitle that clarifies the purpose of this work. It speaks of an appeal to the wise princess of the Tatar Murza, who settled in Moscow, but is on business in St. Petersburg. The reader is also mystified by the fact that the ode was allegedly translated from the Arabic language. The analysis of the ode "Felitsa" should be started with a name that does not sound familiar to either Russians or Arabs.

The fact is that this is what Catherine II called her heroine in her tale about Tsarevich Chlorus. Serving as a soil for the Italian language (here you can remember someone like Cutugno with the exclamation of "Felicita") Latin translates the word "felitsa" (Felitsa - felicitas) as happiness. Thus, Derzhavin, from the first line, began to extol the Empress, then could not resist from satire in the descriptions of her entourage.

Artistic synthesis

The analysis of the ode "Felitsa" shows the attitude towards the ordinary, solemn, laudatory ode to the date adopted at that time. Written in the traditional stanza of an ode - in ten verses, and, as it should be, But before Derzhavin, no one had yet dared to merge two opposing genres in terms of target orientation - a majestic laudatory ode and a caustic

The first was the ode "Felitsa". Derzhavin, as it were, "stepped back" in his innovation, judging by the precisely fulfilled conditions of the genre, at least in comparison with "Poems for Birth", which are not even separated by stanza. However, this impression disappears as soon as the reader has mastered the first few stanzas. Still, even the composition of the ode "Felitsa" is a much broader artistic synthesis.

Fairy tale "Felitsa"

It is interesting to consider what motives inspired Derzhavin to compose this "fan fiction", what served as the primary basis and whether this theme was worthy of continuation. Apparently, worthy, and quite. Catherine II wrote her tale for her grandson, who is still small, but in the future the great Alexander I. The Empress's tale is about the Kiev prince Chlor, who was visited by the Kirghiz Khan to check whether the prince is really as smart and dexterous as they say about him.

The boy agreed to pass the test and find the rarest flower - a rose without thorns - and hit the road. On the way, responding to the invitation of Murza Lentyag (a speaking name), the prince tries to resist the temptations of that luxury and idleness, which Lentyag tempts him with. Fortunately, this Kyrgyz Khan had a very good daughter, whose name was Felitsa, and an even better grandson, whose name was Reason. Felitsa sent her son with the prince, who, with the help of Reason, went out to the goal of his path.

The bridge between a fairy tale and an ode

In front of them was a steep mountain, with no paths or stairs. Apparently, the prince himself was quite stubborn, because, despite the enormous work and trials, he nevertheless climbed to the top, where he decorated his life with a rose without thorns, that is, with virtue. An analysis of the ode "Felitsa" shows that, as in any fairy tale, the images here are conditionally allegorical, but in Derzhavin at the beginning of the ode they stand up very firmly, and all the odic beginnings of classical models, where the ascent of Parnassus and communication with the muses are sure to fade away. with seemingly unpretentious images of a children's fairy tale.

Even the portrait of Catherine (Felitsa) is given in an absolutely new manner, which is completely different from the traditional ode to praise. Usually, in odes, the celebrated character appears in a slightly expressive image of a goddess, walking along solemn booming rhymes of verse with severe rhythmic dyspnea. Here, the poet is inspired, and - what is most important - is equipped with poetic skill. Poems do not lame and do not inflate with unnecessary pathos. The plan of the ode "Felitsa" is such that Catherine appears to the reader as an intelligent, but simple and active Kirghiz-Kaysat princess. It plays well on the harmony of the construction of this image and the contrast - the image of Murza, vicious and lazy, which Derzhavin uses throughout the ode. Hence the unprecedented variety of genres that distinguishes the ode "Felitsa".

Derzhavin and the Empress

The pose of the singer here also changes in relation to the subject of chanting, if we consider not only all previous Russian literature, but even the poems of Derzhavin himself. Sometimes a certain godlike queen can still slip in the ode, but with all this and with the general deference that the ode "Felitsa" demonstrates, the content also shows a certain shortness of the relationship, not familiarity, but the warmth of an almost kindred closeness.

But in satirical lines Derzhavin can sometimes be understood in two ways. The collective features of the image of the murza make fun of all in turn the nobles of Catherine, and it is here that the poet does not forget himself. Auto-irony is all the more rare in the poetry of those years. The author's "I" is not devoid of lyrics, but it is made clear that "Such is, Felitsa, I am depraved!", "Today I rule myself, and tomorrow I am a slave to whims." The appearance in the ode of such an author's "I" is a fact of a huge artistic value... Lomonosov also began odes with "I", but as a loyal slave, while Derzhavin's author is concrete and alive.

Narration from the author

Naturally, the composition of the ode "Felitsa" would not withstand the author's full-fledged individuality. Derzhavin most often presents under the author's "I" the conventional image of a singer, which is usually always present in odes just like in satire. But there is a difference: in the ode, the poet plays only sacred delight, and in satire, only indignation. Derzhavin combined "one-string" genres by creating a living human poet, with an absolutely concrete life, with a variety of feelings and experiences, with "multi-string" music of verse.

Analysis of the ode "Felitsa" certainly notes not only delight, but also anger, blasphemy and praise in one bottle. Along the way, he manages to dissemble, ironic. That is, he behaves throughout the entire work as a completely normal and living person. And it should be noted that this individual personality has the undoubted traits of a nationality. In ode! And now such a case would be unprecedented if someone in our time wrote odic poetry.

About genres

Ode "Felitsa", the content of which is so rich in contradictions, as if warm sunbeams warmed with light colloquial speech from the reality of everyday life, light, simple, sometimes playful, which directly contradicts the laws of this genre. Moreover, there was a genre coup, almost a revolution.

It should be clarified that Russian classicism did not know poetry as "just poetry." All poetry was strictly divided into genres and types, sharply demarcated, and these boundaries were unshakable. Ode, satire, elegy and other types of poetic creativity could not mix with each other in any way.

Here the traditional categories of classicism are completely broken after the organic fusion of ode and satire. This applies not only to "Felitsa", Derzhavin did it before and later. For example, the ode "To death is half an elegy. Genres become polyphonic with light hand Derzhavin.

Success

This ode was a colossal success immediately after its publication: "Every person who can read Russian has it in their hands," according to a contemporary. At first, Derzhavin was wary of publishing the ode widely, tried to hide the authorship (probably, the depicted and very recognizable nobles were vindictive), but then Princess Dashkova appeared and published "Felitsa" in the magazine "Interlocutor", where Catherine II herself did not hesitate to cooperate.

The Empress really liked the ode, she even cried with delight, ordered to immediately expose the authorship and, when this happened, sent Derzhavin a gold snuffbox with a dedication and five hundred ducats in it. It was after this that real fame came to the poet.

Ode "Felitsa" Derzhavin, summary which is given in this article - one of the most famous works this russian poet XVIII century. He wrote it in 1782. After the publication, Derzhavin's name became known. In addition, the ode turned into illustrative example new style in Russian poetry.

Derzhavin's ode "Felitsa", the summary of which you are reading, got its name from the heroine of "The Tale of Tsarevich Chlorus". The author of this work is Empress Catherine II.

In his work, Derzhavin calls the ruler of Russia herself by this name. By the way, it translates as "happiness". The essence of the ode comes down to the glorification of Catherine (her habits, modesty) and a caricatured, even mocking depiction of her pompous surroundings.

In the images that Derzhavin describes in the ode "Felitsa" (there is no short summary in Briefly, but it is in this article), one can easily recognize some persons close to the empress. For example, Potemkin, who was considered her favorite. And also Counts Panin, Orlov, Naryshkin. The poet skillfully depicts their mocking portraits, while demonstrating a certain courage. After all, if one of them was very offended, he could easily deal with Derzhavin.

He was saved only by the fact that Catherine II greatly liked this ode and the empress began to treat Derzhavin favorably.

Moreover, even in the very ode "Felitsa", a summary of which is given in this article, Derzhavin decided to give advice to the empress. In particular, the poet advises that she obey the law that is the same for everyone. The ode ends with the praise of the empress.

The uniqueness of the work

After reviewing the summary of the ode "Felitsa", one can come to the conclusion that the author violates all the traditions in which such works were usually written.

The poet actively introduces colloquial vocabulary, does not shy away from non-literary expressions. But the main difference is that he creates the empress in human form, refusing her official image. It is noteworthy that many were embarrassed and disturbed by the text, but Catherine II herself was delighted with it.

Empress image

In Derzhavin's ode "Felitsa", a summary of which contains the semantic quintessence of the work, the empress first appears before us in a familiar god-like image. For a writer, she is a model of an enlightened monarch. At the same time, he embellishes her appearance, piously believing in the depicted image.

At the same time, thoughts not only about the wisdom of power, but also about the dishonesty and low level of education of its performers slip through the poet's poems. Many of them are only interested in their own benefit. It should be admitted that these ideas have appeared before, but never before have real historical figures been so recognizable.

In the ode to "Felitsa" by Derzhavin (a brief summary of "Briefley" cannot yet offer) the poet appears before us as a brave and courageous discoverer. He makes an amazing symbiosis, complementing the laudatory ode with personality traits and witty satire.

History of creation

It was Derzhavin's ode "Felitsa", a summary of which is convenient for general acquaintance with the work, that made the poet's name. Initially, the author did not think about how to print this poem. He did not advertise it and concealed the authorship. He seriously feared revenge from influential nobles, whom he portrayed in a bad light in the text.

It was only in 1783 that the work became widespread thanks to Princess Dashkova. A close associate of the empress published it in the magazine "Interlocutor of lovers of the Russian word." By the way, the ruler of Russia herself gave her texts to it. According to Derzhavin's recollections, Catherine II was so moved when she read the ode for the first time that she even began to cry. It was in such touched feelings that Dashkova herself discovered her.

The Empress certainly wished to know who the author of this poem was. It seemed to her that everything in the text was depicted as accurately as possible. In gratitude for Derzhavin's ode "Felitsa", a summary and analysis of which are given in this article, she sent a golden snuffbox to the poet. It contained 500 ducats.

After such a generous tsarist gift, literary fame and success came to Derzhavin. Not a single poet knew such popularity before him.

Thematic diversity of Derzhavin's works

Giving a characterization of Derzhavin's ode "Felitsa", it should be noted that the performance itself is a humorous sketch from the life of a Russian ruler, as well as nobles especially close to her. At the same time, the text raises important issues of the state level. This is corruption, the responsibility of officials, their concern for statehood.

Artistic features of the ode "Felitsa"

Derzhavin worked in the genre of classicism. This trend strictly forbade the combination of several genres, for example, high ode and satire. But the poet decided on such a bold experiment. Moreover, he not only combined them in his text, but also did something unprecedented for the literature of that very conservative time.

Derzhavin simply destroys the traditions of a laudatory ode, actively using reduced, colloquial vocabulary in his text. He even uses frank vernaculars, which, in principle, were not welcomed in literature in those years. Most importantly, draws Empress Catherine II an ordinary person, abandoning her classic ceremonial description, which was actively used in such works.

That is why in the ode you can find descriptions of everyday scenes and even a literary still life.

Derzhavin's innovation

The ordinary, everyday image of Felicia, behind which the empress is easily guessed, is one of Derzhavin's main innovations. At the same time, he manages to create the text so as not to reduce its image. On the contrary, the poet makes him real and human. Sometimes it seems that the poet writes it from nature.

While reading the poem "Felitsa", one can be convinced that the author managed to introduce into poetry the individual characteristics of real historical characters, taken from life or created by his imagination. All this was shown against the background of everyday life, which was depicted in the most colorful way. All this made the ode understandable and memorable.

As a result, in the ode "Felitsa" Derzhavin skillfully combines the style of a laudatory ode with the individualization of real heroes, and also introduces an element of satire. Ultimately, in an ode that belongs to a high style, there are many elements of a low style.

Derzhavin himself defined its genre as a mixed ode. He argued that it differs from a classical ode in that in a mixed genre the author has a unique opportunity to talk about everything in the world. So the poet destroys the canons of classicism, the way is opened for the poem for new poetry. This literature is being developed in the work of the next generation author - Alexander Pushkin.

The meanings of the ode "Felitsa"

Derzhavin himself admitted that it was a great merit that he decided on such an experiment. The well-known researcher of his work, Khodasevich, notes that Derzhavin was most proud of the fact that he was the first Russian poet to speak in a "funny Russian syllable," as he himself called it.

But the poet was aware that his ode would be, in fact, the first artistic embodiment of Russian life, would become the embryo of a realistic novel. Khodasevich also believed that if Derzhavin had lived to see the publication of Eugene Onegin, he would undoubtedly have found echoes of his work in it.