It is symbolic that “I erected a monument to myself…” was written just a few months before the tragic death of the poet, in 1836. The poem was not published and was not known even to Pushkin's closest friends - it was discovered after his death, when they began to sort out the papers left by Alexander Sergeevich.

The history of the creation of the "Monument" remains a mystery to this day. Some researchers argue that Pushkin's poem is an imitation of similar works that were created in abundance by the writers of the 18th century (including Derzhavin and Lomonosov, so valued by Pushkin). Others - and this opinion was shared by most of the poet's friends - believed that by writing lines about the monument, Pushkin was making fun of his own plight. Despite the fact that the poet received recognition during his lifetime, this did not bring him wealth, and Pushkin was forced to constantly mortgage and re-mortgage property in order to provide funds for his family. “Not made by hands” in this case is not self-praise, but subtle irony.

There is a third option: it is assumed that the poet somehow managed to foresee his own imminent death, and with a poem he drew a line under his creative heritage and vibrant literary life.

The main theme of the poem

First of all, “I am a monument to myself ...” is a hymn of poetry, glorifying a person who composes poetry, marking his high significance in the life of the whole society. In this, the work is somewhat similar to the poems of the already mentioned Lomonosov and Derzhavin.

But despite the fact that the external form is very similar, Pushkin analyzed creativity more deeply, putting forward his own understanding of the creative process, its outcome and evaluation. Compared with the poets of past centuries, Pushkin is less elitist, his lyrics are addressed to the broad masses, which he emphasizes in the line "The folk path will not overgrow to him." Rebellious, near-Decembrist elements in his work are also reflected here - Pushkin mentions that his miraculous monument ascended “the head of the rebellious” higher than the Pillar of Alexandria, a symbol of royal power at the beginning of the 19th century.

The theme of the increased interest of people in poetry runs through the entire poem - Pushkin says that his poems are read not only in the upper strata of society, listing some nationalities living on the territory of the Russian Empire.

Another important problem that the poet focuses on is the existence of the creative heritage after the physical death of the creator, the immortality of poetry. “No, I won’t die all of me,” Pushkin asserts, once and for all solving this question for himself. The great Russian writer was sure that his work would reverberate through the centuries - and he turned out to be right.

The problem of freedom, which was also not without mention in the era of censorship and reaction, is adjacent to the theme of mercy, which is so important for Pushkin. On the one hand, the poet clearly did not agree with the reactionary policy and decisions of the emperor regarding the Decembrists, on the other hand, at the end of his life, he was inclined to believe that Christian, true mercy is more important than any political and social manifestations.

Structural analysis of the poem

In a small - only 5 stanzas - ode of his own poetry, Pushkin actively uses complex sentences, inverse word order and high vocabulary, thereby creating an elevated mood. The rich use of epithets, allegories, some archaism (piit, accepted, etc.), many personifications - all this creates an atmosphere of grandeur, emphasizes the special place of poetry in the world.

The work is written in iambic 6-foot with cross rhyming.

"Monument" occupies, of course, a special place in the poetic heritage of Alexander Sergeevich. He sums up his many years of work, at the same time elevating Russian poetry to a height that for a long time remained practically unattainable.

As if fixing the results of his poetic creative activity. He makes it clear that his poetry will be famous among the surrounding people for a long time, everyone will be proud of his written masterpieces and praised by his poetry.

The poet writes in lines about the “Monument”, which he erected to himself and which is distinguished by the ability to feel his freedom, regardless of anyone, as it is written in the lines: “He ascended higher as the head of the recalcitrant Pillar of Alexandria.” Pushkin wants to show that his work will forever remain in the hearts of many people with whom he is close in spirit, whom he loves and composes his works for them.

All his works were not created so that later in the future he would enjoy great fame, but his goal was the universal appreciation and love of readers, which was priceless happiness for him. After all, poetry for our writer was considered gratuitous work for the entire subsequent generation.

In this poem, there are two manifestations of the intonation of the written and a different characteristic of the spoken word is implied. On the one hand, one can be glad that the mastery of the art of poetry can be deposited in the hearts of many people and it will live forever, as it sounds in the lines “A folk path will not overgrow to it”, but on the other hand, this was Pushkin’s last statement, almost before his death where he sums up his work.

This work was written with infinite devotion to his people, as well as to Russia, and, undoubtedly, he can proudly say that he fulfilled all the obligations, in which he invested a large share of responsibility for everything he did. Once again, looking back, Pushkin says with confidence that his soul, absorbed in the ability to write and compose, will sweep through a huge number of years, not even feeling for a minute that the poet is gone. He is and will be in his poems and works, which are unique and unrepeatable, carrying a vital energy, beckoning with its unquenchable attraction.

Pushkin in his poem "Monument" also evaluates his creations as a respectful and humane attitude towards all those around him, a freedom-loving atmosphere of life, and he extolled freedom, although at that time it was a rather dangerous moment in the whole country. Here the poet is trying to tell us that he is independent in making decisions and is not influenced by other people. He has his own opinion, which he defends to the end.

I believe that Pushkin's creative process deserves respect, as he teaches us to love our life and live in goodness and peace, asking nothing in return, but simply doing everything humanly, without harming anyone.

The poem “I erected a monument to myself not made by hands” is often called the poetic testament of A. S. Pushkin. It is perceived as such because it was written six months before the poet's death, in August 1836.

The poem "I erected a monument to myself not made by hands" consists of five solemn stanzas and is a real hymn to poetry.

Its main theme is the glorification of true poetry and the affirmation of the high appointment of the poet. Pushkin revealed this topic, being the direct heir to the poetic traditions of M. V. Lomonosov and G. R. Derzhavin.

According to genre features, Pushkin's poem is an ode (odes are solemn verses glorifying an event).

As an epigraph, Pushkin took the lines from the ode of the ancient Roman poet Horace "To Melpomene" - "I erected a monument." Horace in this work appreciated his poetic merits. And in the future, the creation of poems in the genre of a poetic "monument" became a literary tradition.

Such a tradition was introduced into Russian literature by M. V. Lomonosov, who was the first to translate Horace's ode. In 1795, a free translation of the same
poems, but G. R. Derzhavin made an assessment of his merits in poetry. It was in Derzhavin's work that the main genre features of poetic "monuments" were determined. But finally the genre of "monument" was formed in Pushkin's poem.

By construction, Pushkin's poem is close to Derzhavin's "Monument", but at the same time, in many respects, he deliberately deviates from the outstanding model and highlights the features of his work.

Like Derzhavin, Pushkin divides his poem into five stanzas, using a similar form and meter. In the first three lines, like Derzhavin, Pushkin uses the traditional meter of the ode -
iambic six-foot (Alexandrian verse), but the last line is written in iambic tetrameter, which makes it stressful and puts a semantic emphasis on it.

In the first stanza, Pushkin traditionally asserts the importance of a poetic monument. But he also introduces here the theme of freedom, which can be called a cross-cutting one in all his work. He emphasizes that his "monument" is very high:
He ascended higher as the head of the recalcitrant pillar of Alexandria.

The Alexander Pillar (Alexander Column on Palace Square in St. Petersburg) - the tallest column in the world - was a symbol of royal power in Russia.

Pushkin was a courtier of the lowest rank and at the same time was a poet of genius. The poet won the monument to autocracy with the power of his poetic word and high spirituality: he is not familiar with fear and slavish obedience to power.

The second stanza of all the poets who created such poems affirms the immortality of poetry. Pushkin also affirms this:

No, all of me will not die - the soul is in the cherished lyre

But unlike Derzhavin, Pushkin, who experienced misunderstanding and rejection in his life, says that his poetry will find a wider response in the hearts of people close to him in terms of spirituality, and we are talking not only about domestic literature, but also about poets from all over the world. :

And I will be glorious as long as in the sublunar world
At least one piit will live.

Like Derzhavin, Pushkin devotes the entire third stanza to the theme of wide posthumous fame. He foresees the development of interest in his poetry among the widest sections of the people:

The rumor about me will spread throughout the great Rus',
And every language that is in it will call me,
And the proud grandson of the Slavs, and the Finn, and now Wild
Tungus, and a Kalmyk friend of the steppes.

The fourth stanza is given the most important semantic load - Pushkin defines the essence of his work. He explains why he has the right to hope for his poetic immortality - because he is proud of the humanism of his works:

and for a long time I will be kind to the people,


And he called for mercy on the fallen.

From Pushkin's point of view, the "good feelings" that art awakens in readers are more important than all its other virtues. This problem will become the subject of heated discussions for the literature of the second half of the 19th century.
disputes between representatives of democratic criticism and the so-called pure art.

It is important that in Pushkin’s drafts, instead of the words “In my cruel age I glorified freedom,” it was written: “following Radishchev, I glorified freedom” - a direct indication of the political meaning of the poem.

In the last, fifth stanza, as was customary, the poet addresses the Muse:
By the command of God, O Muse, be obedient,
Not afraid of resentment, not demanding a crown,
Praise and slander were accepted indifferently
And don't argue with the fool.

These lines bring the reader back to the idea already expressed by Pushkin in the poem "Prophet". It lies in the fact that a real poet has a high destiny, he is chosen by God, and therefore is responsible for his art not to people who are often unable to understand it, but to the Creator.

The significance of the theme, high pathos, solemn sound - these are the main features of the poem.

Slow, majestic rhythm is created due to the size (iambic with pyrrhic). For the same purpose, the author widely uses anaphora (And I will be glorious; And he will call me; And the proud grandson of the Slavs; And for a long time
I will be so kind; And mercy to the fallen .. ") and invesia: "He ascended higher as the head of the rebellious ...".

It should also be noted the introduction of syntactic parallelism and rows of homogeneous members into the text: "And the proud grandson of the Slavs, and the Finn, and now the wild Tungus, and the Kalmyk friend of the steppes."

The poet chooses sublime epithets (a monument not made by hands; a rebellious head; a cherished lyre; a sublunar world; a proud grandson of the Slavs). The poem uses a large number of Slavic words (erected, head, piit, until, every being).

There is no present tense in the text, only past and future. The poet affirms the greatness of poetry and puts it above the glory of kings and generals. And the main value of poetry for Pushkin is to carry
people are good.

This work of the great poet is filled with boundless love for Russia, for readers, an unshakable faith in the power of the poetic word and with the knowledge of a duty done.

Genre: ode.
COMPOSITION AND PLOT
The poem is an imitation of Horace's ode and echoes G. R. Derzhavin's "Monument". It's peculiar
a poetic testament, where the future posthumous glory is associated by the poet with poetry.

1st stanza
Assertion of the significance of a poetic monument:
I erected a monument to myself not made by hands,
The folk trail will not overgrow to it.

2nd stanza
Affirmation of the immortality of poetry:
All I will not die - the soul in the cherished lyre
My ashes will survive and decay will flee.

3rd stanza
Confidence that the poet will be heard in the most remote corners of Russia:
Rumors about me will spread throughout all of Great Rus'...

4th stanza
A. S. Pushkin sums up his creative path:
And for a long time I will be kind to the people,
That I aroused good feelings with lyre,
That in my cruel age I glorified freedom
And he called for mercy on the fallen.

5th stanza

Appeal to the muse: “To the command of God, O muse, be obedient…”

IDEA AND THEMATIC CONTENT

⦁ Topic: the purpose of the poet.
⦁ Idea: the poet fulfilled his duty, his divine calling, so his work will be immortal.

ARTISTIC MEDIA

⦁ Epithets: a monument not made by hands, with a rebellious head, in a cherished lyre.
⦁ Anaphora: and I will be glorious, and will call me, and the proud grandson of the Slavs, and for a long time I will be kind, and called for mercy on the fallen.
⦁ Old Slavonicisms: erected, head, piit, corruption, existing.

5 / 5. 2

Composition

A. S. Pushkin’s poem “I erected a monument to myself not made by hands ...” (1836) is a kind of poetic testament of the poet. In terms of theme, it goes back to the ode of the Roman poet Horace "To Melpomene", from which his epigraph is taken. It is interesting that the first translation of this ode was made by M. V. Lomonosov, then its main motives were developed by G. R. Derzhavin in his poem "Monument" (1796). But all these poets, summing up their creative activity, assessed their poetic merits and the meaning of creativity in different ways, formulated their rights to immortality in different ways. Horace considered himself worthy of fame for writing poetry well, Derzhavin for his poetic sincerity and civic courage.

The lyrical hero of A.S. Pushkin also connects his “monument not made by hands”, his future posthumous fame with the existence of poetry:

And I will be glorious as long as in the sublunar world

At least one piit will live.

He speaks of himself not only as a national Russian poet who left a mark in the memory of the people. He is sure that "the folk trail will not overgrow" to his monument. The poet, as it were, outlines the geographical boundaries of his fame, prophetically predicts that his poetry will become the property of all the peoples of Russia:

The rumor about me will spread throughout the great Rus',

And every language that is in it will call me,

And the proud grandson of the Slavs, and the Finn, and now wild

Tungus, and a Kalmyk friend of the steppes.

Moreover, in this poem the lyrical hero, with a clear awareness of his right, expresses hopes for immortality:

No, all of me will not die - the soul is in the cherished lyre

My ashes will survive and decay will flee ...

In the fourth, most important, in my opinion, stanza, Pushkin gives an accurate assessment of the ideological meaning of his work. He claims that he deserved the right to popular love by the humanity of his poetry, by the fact that with his lyre he aroused "good feelings." Therefore, one involuntarily recalls the words of V. G. Belinsky, said just ten years after Pushkin wrote the poem “I erected a monument to myself not made by hands ...”: “The general color of Pushkin’s poetry, and especially lyrical poetry, is the inner beauty of a person and the humanity that cherishes the soul.”

In the same stanza, Pushkin emphasizes that all his poetry was imbued with freedom-loving moods, the spirit of freedom, to glorify which in the "cruel age" of the Nikolaev regime was an incredibly difficult and not always safe task. It is no coincidence that they also speak of mercy “to the fallen,” that is, most likely, of their futile attempts to obtain from Nicholas I the release of the Decembrists exiled to Siberia.

The ending of the poem is the poet's traditional address to the Muse. According to Pushkin, the Muse should be "obedient" only to "God's command", that is, to the voice of inner conscience, the voice of truth. It must follow its own high destiny, paying no attention to the "praise and slander" of ignorant fools.

Interestingly, the theme of the poet's loneliness among the secular crowd, "the mob" is an important theme in Pushkin's work. She rose to them earlier in a number of poems. So, in the poem "To the Poet" (1830), Pushkin wrote:

Hear the judgment of a fool and the laughter of the cold crowd,

But you remain firm, calm and gloomy.

And this sense of personal dignity, proud self-affirmation found its full embodiment in the solemnly majestic final lines of the "Monument":

By the command of God, O muse, be obedient,

Not afraid of resentment, not demanding a crown,

Praise and slander were accepted indifferently

And don't argue with the fool.

The poem is rich in means of artistic expression. In particular, there are quite a lot of epithets here: “cherished lyre”, “Great Rus'”, “Kalmyk friend of the steppes”, “sublunar world”. In addition, the work is full of metaphors: “the soul is in the cherished lyre”, “my soul will survive the ashes and run away from decay” and others. There are also personifications here: "Praise and slander were accepted with indifference And do not dispute the fool." There is also hyperbole in the poem: “and I will be glorious as long as at least one piit is alive in the sublunar world”; metonymy: “and every language that exists in it will call me”, “the rumor about me will spread throughout all Great Rus'”.

Of the syntactic means of expression, one can distinguish polyunion: “The rumor about me will spread throughout all of Great Rus', And every language that exists in it will call me, And the proud grandson of the Slavs, and the Finn, and now the wild Tungus, and the Kalmyk friend of the steppes”; appeal ("oh muse").

The work has a cross rhyme, is divided into quatrains (quatrains), in which male and female rhyme alternate (obedient - crown).

Thus, the poem “I erected a monument to myself not made by hands ...” is an example of the poet’s mature lyrics, in which he expresses his attitude to the problem of the poet and poetry, as well as to his own work, to his own creative destiny.

Sections: Literature

Goals:

  1. Create an image of A.S. Pushkin.
  2. Consider Pushkin's poem "I erected a monument to myself not made by hands ...".
  3. Develop comparative analysis skills.

Equipment:

  • texts of the poem by A.S. Pushkin “I erected a monument to myself not made by hands ...” and Derzhavin “Monument”;
  • a plan for comparing poems;
  • multimedia projector, an epigraph is written on the board.

Advance task: one of the students is preparing a message on the topic “The life and work of A.S. Pushkin"; Students at home should read the poem and write out incomprehensible words, try to determine their meaning.

During the classes

"We have everything from Pushkin." (F.M. Dostoevsky)

I. Org. moment.

1. Check the readiness of students for the lesson.

2. Announcement of the topic and purpose of the lesson. (See presentation, slide number 1-2)

3. Making notes in notebooks.

II. Epigraph work.

How can you comment on the epigraph to the lesson?

III. Teacher's word.

At the last lesson, we spoke to Derzhavin, who, although he lived for 16 years in the 19th century, belonged to the 18th century in all the spirit of poetry. But a man appeared who not only continued the traditions, but overturned all the canons of art, opened his eyes to Russian literature and showed all the artistic merits.

Who are we talking about?

Pushkin took over the poetic baton and made such a leap forward that Russian literature, which had recently been lagging behind in innovative searches, overtook everyone and took a leading place in world literature.

I will not retell the biography of the poet to you, you yourself know a lot, but we will highlight some facts.

IV. student performance . (Slides are shown at the same time, after the album is shown. See presentation, slides No. 4-10).

V. Analysis of the poem. (Each student should have texts of poems on the table. See Appendix 1).

The main subject of our conversation will be one of the last poems “I erected a monument to myself not made by hands ...”. You read it at home, what analogies did you have while reading it? Analogy with Derzhavin's poem "Monument".

Let us recall what Derzhavin saw as his merit as a poet. “... That I was the first to dare in a funny Russian syllable // To proclaim about the virtues of Felitsa, // To talk about God in sincere simplicity. // And tell the truth to kings with a smile.”

1. Reading a poem by a teacher. (Before reading, students should be directed to the perception of the poetic text: “Think about what this poem is about, what is its theme?”, Etc.).

What is this poem about? What's the plot? ( the plot is the fate of Pushkin, comprehended against the background of historical events).

2. Vocabulary work.

At home, you had to write down words whose meaning you do not understand.

(The words are written on the board and their meaning is determined).

a) Alexandrian pillar - 1. Alexandrian column on the square in front of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg in honor of Alexander I for the victory in the war against Napoleon. 2. Faros Lighthouse of Alexandria - a wonder of the world, pride of Alexander the Great. (See presentation, slide number 11).

b) piit - a poet.

c) “everyone that exists” - existing.

d) Tungus - the people of Eastern Siberia .

e) muse - the goddess of poetry, inspiration .

3. Work with poetic text (reading the first stanza).

The poem begins with the words “I erected a monument to myself not made by hands ...”. What does "not made by hands" mean?

What associations arise with the word “not made by hands”? The Savior Not Made by Hands is an icon, a figurative expression of Christ, which appeared not from under the artist’s brush, but miraculously: Christ wiped his face with a cloth, and the face of Christ was imprinted on this canvas. That is, a phenomenon not subject to man. (See presentation slide #12)

What other meaning does the epithet “not made by hands” mean? Sacred, exalted.

This monument rises above the Alexandrian pillar. What does the poet say, comparing his monument with the Pillar of Alexandria ? The monument erected by the poet is more significant; what is created by hands is destroyed by time, a miraculous monument will stand forever.

Reading 2 stanzas.

Where will the poet's soul live after death? In poetry.

Pushkin's poetry is not bound by any borders: neither state, like Horace's (poetry will live as long as Rome stands), nor national, like Derzhavin's ("as long as the universe honors the Slavs").

To whom is Pushkin's poetry addressed? “…as long as in the sublunar world…” – to the entire sublunar world, i.e. to all mankind.

How much time is measured for poetry in Pushkin? As long as “at least one piit will be alive”, as long as people need poetry.

Can it happen that people no longer need poetry? What does the lyric express? Feelings, emotions, experiences - all this is expressed in lyrics. Every person has these qualities.

Reading 3 stanzas.

Why did Pushkin use the old name "Rus", and not Russia, "language", and not the people? Russia is a certain state with borders, the concept of “Rus” is much broader, poetry is the property of all mankind, and not of a particular people. Finns and Kalmyks are different peoples, they have a different way of life, but a poet lives in every person.

Reading 4 stanzas.

Let's remember what the merit of the poet Derzhavin saw ? “... tell the truth to kings with a smile.”

What does Pushkin see as the purpose of the poet? To awaken good feelings with a lyre. Do not tell people what they do not know, do not carry ready-made, even if necessary, knowledge, namely to awaken . Show that every person has something good, and this is subject only to art.

What is the purpose of poetry? Help a person to become a person with a capital letter.

To fulfill this lofty destiny, the poet must follow the path of heroic service. This is the fifth stanza.

Reading 5 stanzas

- "By the command of God, O muse, be obedient." How do you understand the meaning of these words? Submit to inspiration, and not to please someone.

What should a poet be like? Courageous - "not fearing resentment"; disinterested - "without demanding a crown"; indifferent to praise and slander - “praise and slander were accepted indifferently”,

Let's sum up a little. After carrying out, literally, a line-by-line analysis, we tried to find out what is the main thing in a poem? The poet is looking for an answer to the question: “What is the purpose of the poet?”

VI. Work with the means of artistic expression.

Such a complete understanding of a poetic work is also given to us by the means of artistic expression. What means of artistic expression are found in the poem? What role do they play?

Epithets: “not made by hands” - this word sends us to Christianity, but next to it is the epithet “rebellious” - is it also a Christian concept? How to evaluate such a neighborhood? antithesis. “The soul will survive” - the personification, “good feelings” - “cruel age” - epithets and antithesis.

What role do these tropes play in the poem? An ambiguous assessment of his own work, doubts, a tormenting poet.

Read the first and last stanza again. "I" is who ? Poet. Why does he create? This is the command of God. The first and last stanzas closed.

Why is a monument not made by hands - the creation of a higher will?

Pushkin believed that poetic talent is a gift from God, a poet is a creator who brings people a higher title and higher feelings: everything else is vanity and stupidity. Only then is a person a person when he chooses his path in accordance with his destiny. Poetry is selfless service to people.

VIII. Independent work.

Compare the poems of Pushkin and Derzhavin. (The task is displayed on the projector, see slide No. 13)

(Students use the verse matching plan. See Appendix 2).

Homework.

Learn the poem by heart.