Love in the life of Oblomov. Oblomov and Agafya Pshenitsyna

Relations between Oblomov and Agafya Pshenitsyna were friendly. Oblomov saw that the hostess was involved in his affairs, and invited her to take care of all the worries about his food, thereby saving the master from the hassle. Agafya agreed, she was even glad that Oblomov made her such an offer. Therefore, they lived as one friendly family.

After the separation of Olga and Oblomov, Agafya became not herself, scolded Akulina and Anisya if they did something wrong. Then, the next day, she herself goes and checks whether the girls did something like that. When Oblomov left somewhere and did not return for a long time, she could not close her eyes all night, “toss and turn from side to side” and be baptized. And when something knocked on the street, she could run up to the window and see if it was him. When Oblomov was ill, she did not let anyone into his room, but she herself sat with him and treated him, even when the kids start making noise, she will scold and scold them.

Outwardly, Agafya changed when Oblomov's attitude towards her changed. When he was silent and gloomy, she became different - thoughtful, sad, she loses weight and turns pale. And when he is cheerful and kind, the hostess changes before our eyes, and the whole life becomes just as cheerful and measured.

Agafya Matveevna had almost never seen people like Oblomov before, most likely she liked him because he was not from her circle, and they never had to meet. She compares him with her late husband and with Tarantiev, but he, in her opinion, is a completely different person, he has other movements, poses, phrases, he seems to shine with calmness, beauty and kindness.

Agafya hid her feelings from everyone, could not flirt with Oblomov, an invisible hand kept all the secrets of Pshenitsyna in her soul.

But Oblomov treated her differently, she reminded him of a picture of childhood, the village of Oblomovka. She inspired him with calmness and tranquility, he could endlessly lie on the sofa and watch her white elbows when she embroidered something. He was grateful to her for everything: for the fact that she quilted all the pillows and blankets for him, for her warm welcome, for her care, for the fact that she reminded him of his childhood, for the fact that she guessed his desires. “Every day he became more and more friendly with the hostess: about love, it didn’t even enter his mind,” or rather, about the love that he felt for Olga. Maybe he loved Agafya, but these feelings were friendly, she became his mother. He was also satisfied that she was caring for him, cherishing him, he saw such a life in his dreams.

Having married Agafya, Oblomov did not change his attitude towards her, he also thanked her with friendly gratitude, because she brought peace and tranquility into his soul, which he had been looking for for so long. It seemed that he returned to Oblomovka again, where the inhabitants were separated from the outside world, where silence reigns and eternal sleep, which envelops and leaves Oblomov in his arms.

Agafya Matveevna Pshenitsyna, the landlady of the apartment that his fellow countryman Tarantiev found for Oblomov, is the ideal of Oblomovism in the broadest sense of this concept. She is as "natural" as Oblomov. One can say about Pshenitsyna in the same words that Stolz says about Olga about Oblomov: "... An honest, faithful heart! This is his natural gold; he carried it unscathed through life. He fell from jolts, cooled down, fell asleep, finally, killed, disappointed , having lost the strength to live, but did not lose honesty and fidelity. Not a single false note was issued by his heart, dirt did not stick to him ... This is a crystal, transparent soul; there are few such people, they are rare; these are pearls in the crowd! "

The features that brought Oblomov closer to Pshenitsyna are indicated here exactly. Most of all, Ilya Ilyich needs a feeling of care, warmth, demanding nothing in return, and therefore he became attached to his mistress, as to a dream come true of returning to the blessed times of a happy, well-fed and serene childhood. With Agafya Matveevna, as with Olga, thoughts about the need to do something, somehow change life around and in oneself, are not connected. Oblomov explains his ideal to Stolz simply, comparing Ilyinskaya with Agafya Matveevna: "... she will sing "Casta diva", but she can't make vodka like that! And she won't make such a pie with chickens and mushrooms!" And therefore, realizing firmly and clearly that he has nowhere else to strive, he asks Stolz: “What do you want to do with me? to this pit is a sore spot: try to tear it off - there will be death.

In the house of Pshenitsyna, the reader sees Oblomov more and more perceiving "his real life, as a continuation of the same Oblomov existence, only with a different color of the area and partly of time. And here, as in Oblomovka, he managed to get rid of life cheaply, to bargain with her and insure unperturbed peace."
Five years after this meeting with Stolz, who again pronounced his cruel sentence: "Oblomovism!" - and leaving Oblomov alone, Ilya Ilyich "died, apparently, without pain, without torment, as if a clock that had been forgotten to start had stopped." The son of Oblomov, born Agafya Matveevna and named after his friend Andrei, is taken up by the Stoltsy.

Pshenitsina Agafya Matveevna - the widow of an official, left with two children, sister of Ivan Matveevich Mukhoyarov, godfather Tarantiev. It was Tarantiev who settled Oblomov, who was forced to look for a new apartment, in Pshenitsyna's house on the Vyborg side. "She was about thirty years old. She was very white and full in her face, so that the blush, it seems, could not break through her cheeks. She had almost no eyebrows at all, and in their places there were two slightly swollen, shiny stripes, with rare blond hair, grayish simple-minded eyes, like the whole expression, hands white, but hard, with large knots of blue veins protruding. Pshenitsina is taciturn and used to live without thinking about anything: “Her face took on a sensible and caring expression, even stupidity disappeared when she spoke about a subject familiar to her. For every question that did not concern any positive goal known to her, she answered smile and silence. And her grin was nothing more than a form that covered up ignorance of the subject: not knowing what she should do, accustomed to the fact that her “brother” decides everything, Pshenitsyn reached perfection only in skillful housekeeping. Everything else for years and decades passed by the undeveloped mind.

Almost immediately after Oblomov moved to the Vyborg side, Pshenitsyna begins to arouse some interest in Ilya Ilyich, which can be regarded as purely erotic (the round white elbows of the hostess constantly attracting Oblomov's attention). But the solution awaits at the end of the novel, when, shortly before his death, Ilya Ilyich has a dream where his mother, pointing to Pshenitsyna, whispers: "Militrisa Kirbityevna." She names the name of his dream, inspired by Ilya Ilyich in early childhood nursery tales.

The image of Pshenitsyna never aroused particular interest among critics of the novel: her nature is rough, primitive, which people used to look at only through the eyes of Stolz, as terrible woman, symbolizing the depth of the fall of Ilya Ilyich. But it is no coincidence that Goncharov gives this simple woman a name close to the name of his beloved mother - Avdotya Matveevna Goncharova, a merchant widow who for many years lived in the same house with Goncharov's godfather, nobleman N.N. Tregubov, who raised her sons and gave them education.

Pshenitsyna is in constant motion, unlike Oblomov, realizing that "there is always work" and that it is the true content of life, and not at all a punishment, as they believed in Oblomovka. Her incessantly flashing elbows attract Oblomov's attention not only by her beauty, but also by the heroine's activity, which he is not fully aware of. Outwardly, Pshenitsyna is perceived as a kind of perpetuum mobile, without thought, without a glimmer of feeling, the "brother" calls her nothing more than a "cow" or "horse", seeing in her sister only gratuitous labor power. “At least hit her, at least hug her - everything is grinning like a horse on oats,” he says about her godfather Tarantiev, preparing, on the advice of the latter, to track down Pshenitsyna’s relationship with Oblomov and demand money from Ilya Ilyich “for dishonor”.

Gradually, as Oblomov realizes that he has nowhere else to strive, that it is here, in the house on the Vyborg side, that he has found the coveted way of life of his native Oblomovka, a serious internal change takes place in the fate of Pshenitsina herself. In constant work on the arrangement and care of the house, in household chores, she finds the meaning of her existence. In Pshenitsina, something unknown to her before began to awaken: anxiety, glimpses of thoughts. In other words, love, more and more deep, pure, sincere, unable to express itself in words, but manifested in what Pshenitsina knows and knows well: in caring for Oblomov’s table and clothes, in prayers for his health, in seats but at night at the bedside of the sick Ilya Ilyich. “All this household ... has received a new, living meaning: the peace and comfort of Ilya Ilyich. Before she saw it as a duty, now it has become her pleasure. She began to live in her own way, fully and variously ... another faith and began to profess it, not arguing what kind of faith it is, what dogmas are in it, but blindly obeying its laws.

Oblomov for Pshenitsina is a man from another world: she had never seen such people before. Knowing that ladies and gentlemen lived somewhere, she perceived their life in much the same way as Oblomov listened to the fairy tale about Militris Kirbityevna in childhood. The meeting with Oblomov served as an impetus for rebirth, but the culprit of this process "did not understand how deeply this meaning took root and what an unexpected victory he made over the heart of the hostess ... And Pshenitsina's feeling, so normal, natural, disinterested, remained a mystery to Oblomov for those around her and for herself." Oblomov "approached Agafya Matveevna - as if he was moving towards the fire, from which it becomes warmer and warmer, but which cannot be loved." Pshenitsina is the only absolutely disinterested and decisive person surrounded by Oblomov. Without delving into any difficulties, she does what is necessary at the moment: she pawns her own pearls and silver, she is ready to borrow money from the relatives of her late husband, only so that Oblomov does not feel a lack of anything. When the intrigues of Mukhoyarov and Tarantiev reach their peak, Pshenitsina resolutely renounces both "brother" and "godfather". Having devoted herself to taking care of Oblomov, Agafya lives as fully and diversely as she has never lived before, and her chosen one begins to feel as if in his native Oblomovka: "... he quietly and gradually fit into the simple and wide coffin of the rest of his existence, made by his own hands, like desert elders who turn away from life and dig their own graves.

Pshenitsina and Oblomov have a son. Understanding the difference between this child and the children from her first husband, Pshenitsina, after the death of Ilya Ilyich, resignedly gives him up to be raised by the Stolts. The death of Oblomov brings a new color to the existence of Pshenitsina - she is the widow of a landowner, a gentleman, which her "brother" and his wife constantly reproach. And although Pshenitsina’s lifestyle has not changed in anything (she still serves the Mukhoyarov family), the thought constantly pulsates in her that “her life has lost and shone, that God put her soul into her life and took it out again ... now she already knew why she lived and that she had not lived in vain ... Beams spilled over her whole life, a quiet light from seven years that had flown by, as if in an instant, and she had nothing more to wish for, nowhere to go.

The disinterestedness of Pshenitsina is given to understand in the finale of the novel and Stolz: she does not need his reports in the management of the estate, just as she does not need the income from Oblomovka, put in order by Stolz. The light of life of Pshenitsina died out together with Ilya Ilyich.

Sections: Literature

Explanatory note

The content and structure of Kutuzov's program is based on the concept of literary education based on creative activity. In general, the program is focused on the basic component of literary education, developed by the Ministry of Education of Russia, according to which two concentres are allocated in literary education (grades 5-9 and grades 10-11), which corresponds to the basic secondary and complete levels. high school, as provided for in the Law on Education.

Literary education is understood as the development of literature as the art of the word. A literary work is studied as a result of creative activity, as a culturally significant phenomenon, as an aesthetic transformation of reality.

In accordance with this, the goal of literary education is the formation of a reader capable of a full perception of literary works in the context of the spiritual culture of mankind and prepared for independent communication with the art of the word.

Tasks of literary education:

• the formation of ideas about literature as cultural phenomenon, which occupies a specific place in the life of a nation and a person;
• comprehension of literature as a special form of development of cultural tradition;
• formation of a system of humanitarian concepts that make up the ethical and aesthetic component of art;
• the formation of aesthetic taste as a guideline for independent reading activity;
• the formation of an emotional culture of the individual and a socially significant value attitude to the world and art;
• formation and development of skills of competent and freehold oral and writing;
• the formation of basic aesthetic and theoretical-literary concepts as conditions for the full perception, analysis and evaluation of literary and artistic works.

The means of achieving the goals and objectives of literary education is the formation of a conceptual apparatus, emotional and intellectual spheres of the reader’s thinking, therefore, a special place in the program is given to the theory of literature (grade 5 - genres, grade 6 - genders and genres, grade 7 - character - hero - image, 8 class - literature and tradition, grade 9 - author - image - reader, grades 10-11 - literary process).

Shakespeare's work "Romeo and Juliet" according to the program of Kutuzov is studied in the 9th grade.

The life of the great English playwright is full of secrets. There is hardly a person who has never heard this name. But the most important thing is to learn to correctly understand his immortal works. Shakespeare's work played a huge role in the world culture of subsequent centuries. It was translated into many languages, many plays were filmed (“Hamlet”, “King Lear” - directed by G.M. Kozintsev), became the basis of ballets (“Romeo and Juliet” - music by S.S. Prokofiev). The tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" found a long life in art and in the surrounding reality. As long as there is a wonderful feeling in the world - love, it is eternal.

lesson planning ( learning Shakespeare at school)

1. Biography of Shakespeare and the “Shakespeare Question”. The main themes and features of the construction of English sonnets. Shakespeare's sonnets. poetic skill. Translations of sonnets by different poets (2 hours) – Grade 8

Theoretical concepts: English type of sonnet, compositional solution of the topic: thought - development - denial or doubt - conclusion;

Moral potential: richness of expression of feelings in Shakespeare's sonnets;

Literary History: Shakespeare - A Study of Personality.

W. Shakespeare "Romeo and Juliet". The main conflict of the tragedy. "Eternal" problems and their resolution in the work (2 hours) - Grade 9

Theoretical concepts: literary conflict, motives, problems, heroes; tragedy as a genre;

Moral potential: love is stronger than death; the enmity of childbirth, the relationship of fathers and children;

Literary history: "Romeo and Juliet" is a source of inspiration for many generations of musicians, artists, choreographers.

TOPIC: W. Shakespeare "Romeo and Juliet". The main conflict of the tragedy. “Eternal” problems and their resolution in the work (2 hours)

Methods: explanatory and illustrative, partially exploratory, elements of problem presentation, ICT.

Forms: student messages, conversation, group work, discussion, test

Purpose: To introduce students to the tragedy of W. Shakespeare "Romeo and Juliet"

Tasks:

• Consider the features of the time, the history of the creation of Shakespeare's tragedy;
• Reveal the influence of others on the main characters;
• Develop the ability to evaluate the read text, systematize lecture material, compare, analyze, creatively comprehend the material;
• To create motivation for further study of Shakespeare's work, to cultivate interest in creativity and personality;
• To cultivate aesthetic feelings through the perception of classical music, works of art; ability to communicate when working in groups.

LESSON DESIGN:

• portrait of W. Shakespeare (slide No. 1);
• computer, slides (Rower, Point, Excel);
• in the lesson, as musical accompaniment, you can use the music from the ballet "Romeo and Juliet".

PREPARATION FOR THE LESSON:

• repeat the theme: Biography of Shakespeare and the “Shakespeare Question”; prepare for a statement on the topic: features of the Renaissance; main events and heroes of Shakespeare's tragedy; follow the text changes in the characters of the main characters;
• individual creative messages of students

LESSON PLAN

1. Organizing time(emotional mood: music from ballet

"Romeo and Juliet"; epigraph entry).

Statement of the educational problem; ______________________5 minutes

(determination of the topic, objectives of the lesson)

2. The main part. _____________________55 minutes

a) Data collection:

• conversation on previously studied material; _____________5 minutes

(scheme “Periodization of Shakespeare's work);

Shakespeare time

• student message

English theater in Shakespeare's time

The origins of the genre and plot of the tragedy; the fate of the play ______8 minutes

• conversation on the issue: the main events and heroes of the tragedy _________________ 6 minutes

b) Putting forward a problem on the topic of the lesson. _________________3 minutes

c) Hypothesis testing:

• independent work in groups _______ _______________ 10 minutes

MINUTE REST _________________3 minutes

discussion presentation of the groups with the rationale for their conclusions:

The image of Juliet; withdrawal ________________________ 10 minutes

The image of Romeo; withdrawal ________________________ 10 minutes

3. Test on the topic __________________________ 12 minutes

4. The result of the lesson. _____________________8 minutes

Grading. Application “my assessment”

5. Homework. _________________2 minutes

(composition-reasoning: What is the relevance of the tragedy )

Only 80 minutes

Literature

1. W. Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet. M .: AST Publishing House, 2001 - 368s
2. Ivanova E.I., Nikolaeva S.A. The study of foreign literature at school. M .: Bustard, 2001 - 384s
3. Mikhalskaya N.P. Foreign literature. 8-9 grade. Literary aid. Moscow: Bustard, 2005-317s
4. Seregina L.N. Thematic planning Literature grade 5-9 (according to the program of A.G. Kutuzov) Volgograd: Teacher, 2004-128s
5. Timofeev L.I., Turaev S.V. Dictionary of literary terms. M.: Enlightenment, 1974-509s

DURING THE CLASSES

TOPIC: W. Shakespeare "Romeo and Juliet". The main conflict of the tragedy. “Eternal” problems and their resolution in the work

1. Organizational moment

(Music sounds) Today's lesson we dedicate to Shakespeare's tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" (Shakespeare's portrait appears) What do you think: what is the topic of our lesson? What are our goals?

Recording the topic, epigraph of the lesson

2. The main part.

• Conversation based on previous lessons

(scheme “Periodization of Shakespeare’s work) – based on the scheme, reveal the topic.

• What can you tell about Shakespeare's time? (student story, simultaneous viewing of the “Appendix”)

Students' message (in the course of the message, in notebooks, students should draw up an answer plan)

(record check - slide number 4)

(record check - slide number 5)

• Conversation on the issue: the main events and heroes of the tragedy

Where does the tragedy take place? (Italian city of Veron, then in Mantua)

Time of action? (5 days, from Sunday to Friday)

With this is connected the swiftness of the action, its intensity.

What, according to the author's intention, is important in the play? (a fatal accident, the predestination of the fate of the heroes: “Fate is playing me,” says Romeo (act 3, scene 1). “My soul is full of gloomy forebodings!” - these are the words of Juliet (act 3, scene 5). And very accurately waiting for the heroes the end is predicted by Lorenzo: “The end of such passions is terrible, / And their death awaits in the midst of triumph” (act 2, scene 6). And here the fate of the heroes is spoken of as “terrible fate.” Thus, the motive of fate and fate resounds in the tragedy “Romeo and Juliet” from the very beginning, predetermining the denouement of events.)

Pay attention to act 2 of the tragedy (Here again it comes to the fact that passion leads to the grave: “The former passion is swallowed up by the grave - a new passion awaits her inheritance ...”)

Why do you think there are no prologues in the other three acts of the tragedy? (They are no longer needed, the outcome of events is determined)

And, nevertheless, not fate and not fatal passion are to blame for the death of Romeo and Juliet. What destroyed them? (They were destroyed by the existing order, the moral principles that were adopted in their midst, a fatal enmity, the cause of which has long been forgotten, the idea of ​​\u200b\u200ba bloody revenge, the memory of which is still alive.)

And yet love prevails. How does the author show that love conquers enmity? (Families are reconciled, the Montagues and the Capulets extend their hands to each other over the graves of their children. The tragedy ends with the affirmation of the power of love that transforms life and people.)

At one time, Dante completed the poem with words about the all-conquering power of love: “Love that moves the sun and the luminaries.” But Dante called his poem "Comedy" because it has a happy ending. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy. But the tragedy of "Romeo and Juliet" is lyrical, it is permeated with the poetry of youth and the all-conquering power of love. The final words of the play are fanned with lyrical tragedy:

But there is no sadder story in the world,

Than the story of Romeo and Juliet.

Proposing a problem on the topic of the lesson.

What do you think is the main conflict of the tragedy?

(1: love is above all, it is all-conquering; but others constantly interfere in their fate => the theme of fate, a fatal accident.

2: the clash of generations (the attitude of the fathers of children) is an eternal conflict that is relevant at all times.

3: senseless feud of births.)

Your task, while working in groups, is to trace how the problems put forward affect the main characters of the play.

Hypothesis testing:

• independent work in groups (dividing into groups by gender: group 1 - boys, group 2 - girls)
• image of Juliet Capulet
• image of Romeo Montague

MINUTE REST

Discussion presentation of the groups with the rationale for their conclusions:

• in the image of Juliet; conclusion

For Juliet, love is a feat. She opposed the established rules, defied the laws of blood feud. Juliet's courage and wisdom manifested itself in the fact that she rose above the age-old strife between two families. Having fallen in love with Romeo, she rejected the cruel attitudes of social traditions. Respect and love for a person is beyond convention for her. She is not afraid to go against the will of her parents, who promise her a brilliant Paris as her suitor. She is driven by a sincere and deep feeling for the exile Romeo. Practicality is alien to her, she does not want to listen to the advice of the nurse. From a naive girl, having fallen in love with Romeo, she grows into a beautiful woman in her devotion. In love, the beauty of the heroine's soul is revealed, Juliet attracts with her sincerity, intelligence and tenderness.

• in the image of Romeo; conclusion

Romeo grows up in the play before our eyes, successively going through three stages. At first, before meeting with Juliet, this is a naive young man who himself does not yet understand his nature and his spiritual needs. He tells himself that he is in love with the black-eyed Rosalind, for whom he sighs languidly. In fact, this is purely a “brain”, far-fetched hobby that does not really touch his heart. But, seeing Juliet, Romeo is immediately reborn. He instantly feels that she is his chosen one, that his fate is connected with her. Romeo becomes an adult, a mature person who not only dreams, but is already acting, fighting for his living feeling. From that moment on, all his words and deeds are full of energy and determination, and at the same time of great inner simplicity and sincerity.

Finally, when Romeo receives the false news of Juliet's death, he is transformed once more. He feels that life is over for him; he seems to rise above himself and everyone around him in order to look at the world from the outside, from a great height. Romeo acquires that insight and wisdom, that detachment and objectivity that are sometimes characteristic of old people who have experienced and thought a lot.

4. The result of the lesson.

The main conclusion on the educational problem posed.

Grading Students (My Grade App)

5. Homework.

In "Romeo and Juliet" there is a tangible connection with Shakespeare's comedies. Proximity to comedy is reflected in the leading role of the theme of love, in the comic character of the nurse, in the wit of Mercutio, in the farce with the servants, in the carnival atmosphere of the ball in the Capulet house, in the bright, optimistic coloring of the whole play. However, in development main topic- love young heroes- Shakespeare turns to the tragic. The tragic beginning appears in the play in the form of a conflict of social forces, and not as a drama of an internal, spiritual struggle.

The cause of the tragic death of Romeo and Juliet is the family feud of the Montague and Capulet families and feudal morality. The strife between families takes the lives of other young people - Tybalt and Mercutio. The latter, before his death, condemns this strife: "A plague on both your houses." Neither the duke nor the townspeople could stop the enmity. And only after the death of Romeo and Juliet comes the reconciliation of the warring Montagues and Capulets.

The high and bright feeling of lovers marks the awakening of new forces in society at the dawn of a new era. But the clash of old and new morality inevitably leads the heroes to a tragic end. The tragedy ends with a moral affirmation of the love of life of the beautiful human feelings. The tragedy of "Romeo and Juliet" is lyrical, it is permeated with the poetry of youth, the exaltation of the nobility of the soul and the all-conquering power of love.

In the characters of the tragedy, the spiritual beauty of a man of the Renaissance is revealed. Young Romeo is a free person. He has already moved away from his patriarchal family and is not bound by feudal morality. Romeo finds joy in communicating with friends: his best friend is the noble and courageous Mercutio. Love for Juliet illuminated the life of Romeo, made him a courageous and strong person. In the rapid rise of feelings, in the natural outburst of young passion, the flowering of the human personality begins. In his love, full of victorious joy and foreboding of trouble, Romeo acts as an active and energetic nature. With what courage does he endure the grief caused by the news of Juliet's death! How much determination and valor in the realization that life without Juliet is impossible for him!

For Juliet, love has become a feat. She heroically fights against her father's Domostroy morality and defies the laws of blood feud. Juliet's courage and wisdom manifested itself in the fact that she rose above the age-old strife between two families. Having fallen in love with Romeo, Juliet rejects the cruel conventions of social traditions. Respect and love for a person is more important for her than all the rules consecrated by tradition.

In love unfolds beautiful soul heroines. Juliet is captivating with sincerity and tenderness, ardor and devotion. In love with Romeo her whole life. After the death of her beloved, there can be no life for her, and she courageously chooses death.

The monk Lorenzo occupies an important place in the system of images of the tragedy. Brother Lorenzo is far from religious fanaticism. This is a humanist scientist, he sympathizes with new trends and freedom-loving aspirations emerging in society. So, he helps, than he can, Romeo and Juliet, who are forced to hide their marriage. Wise Lorenzo understands the depth of feelings of young heroes, but sees that their love can lead to a tragic end.

16. "Hamlet": the construction and development of the conflict

The second period of Shakespeare's work opens with the tragedy Hamlet (Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, 1600-1601). The sources of the tragedy were the "History of the Danes" by Saxo Grammar, "The Tragic Tales" by Belforet, "The Spanish Tragedy" by Thomas Kyd, and Thomas Kyd's play about Hamlet, which has not come down to us.

In different eras, Shakespeare's "Hamlet" was perceived differently. The point of view of Goethe is known, expressed by him in the novel “The Years of the Teaching of Wilhelm Meister” (1795-1796). Goethe viewed tragedy as purely psychological. In the character of Hamlet, he emphasized the weakness of the will, which did not correspond to the great deed entrusted to him.

VG Belinsky in the article “Hamlet, Shakespeare's drama. Mochalov as Hamlet (1838) expresses a different view. Hamlet, according to V. G. Belinsky, defeats the weakness of his will, and therefore the main idea of ​​the tragedy is not weakness of the will, but “the idea of ​​disintegration due to doubt”, the contradiction between dreams of life and life itself, between the ideal and reality. Belinsky considers the inner world of Hamlet in the making. Weakness of will, therefore, is regarded as one of the moments of the spiritual development of Hamlet, a man who is strong by nature. Using the image of Hamlet to characterize the tragic situation thinking people Russia in the 30s of the 19th century, Belinsky criticized reflection, which destroyed the integrity of an active personality.

I.S. Turgenev in the 60s of the XIX century. refers to the image of Hamlet in order to give a socio-psychological and political assessment of the "Hamletism" of "superfluous people". In the article "Hamlet and Don Quixote" (1860), Turgenev presents Hamlet as an egoist, a skeptic who doubts everything, does not believe in anything, and therefore is not capable of action. Unlike Hamlet, Don Quixote in Turgenev's interpretation is an enthusiast, a servant of an idea who believes in the truth and fights for it. I.S. Turgenev writes that thought and will are in a tragic gap; Hamlet is a thinking man, but weak-willed; Don Quixote is a strong-willed enthusiast, but half-mad; if Hamlet is useless to the masses, then Don Quixote inspires the people to action. At the same time, Turgenev admits that Hamlet is close to Don Quixote in his implacability to evil, that people perceive the seeds of thought from Hamlet and spread them around the world.

In Soviet literary criticism, a deep interpretation of the tragedy "Hamlet" was given in the works of A. A. Anikst, A. A. Smirnov, R. M. Samarin, I. E. Vertsman, L. E. Pinsky, Yu. .* * See: Anikst A.A. The work of Shakespeare. - M., 1963; his own. Shakespeare: The Dramatist's Craft. - M., 1974; Smirnov A.A. Shakespeare. - L.; M., 1963; Samarin P.M. Shakespeare realism. - M., 1964; V e r c m a n I.E. Shakespeare's Hamlet. - M., 1964; Pinsky L.E. Shakespeare: Fundamentals of Dramaturgy. - M., 1971; Shvedov Yu.F. The evolution of Shakespeare's tragedy. -M., 1975.

A student at the University of Wittenberg, Hamlet at the court of the Danish king Claudius in Elsinore feels lonely. Denmark looks like a prison to him. Already at the beginning of the tragedy, a conflict is indicated between the humanist thinker Hamlet and the immoral world of Claudius, between a freedom-loving personality and absolutist power. Hamlet perceives the world tragically. The Prince deeply understands what is happening in Elsinore. Conflicts at the court of Claudius, he comprehends as a state of peace. Hamlet's intellect, his wise aphoristic judgments reveal the essence of relations in the society of that time. In Hamlet, as a tragedy of a thinking person in an unjust society, the hero's intellect is poeticized. The mind of Hamlet is opposed to the unreasonableness and obscurantism of the despotic Claudius.

Hamlet's moral ideal is humanism, from the positions of which social evil is condemned. The Ghost's words about the crime of Claudius served as an impetus for the beginning of Hamlet's struggle against social evil. The prince is determined to take revenge on Claudius for the murder of his father. Claudius sees Hamlet as his main antagonist, so he tells his courtiers Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on him. The perceptive Hamlet unraveled all the tricks of the king, who tried to find out about his plans and destroy him. The Soviet literary critic L. E. Pinsky calls Hamlet the tragedy of the knowledge of life: “... A hero who is active by nature does not perform the expected act because he knows his world perfectly. This is a tragedy of consciousness, awareness ... "*

The tragic outlook of Hamlet, his philosophical reflections are caused not so much by what happened in Elsinore (the murder of Hamlet's father and the marriage of his mother Queen Gertrude with Claudius), but by the consciousness of the general injustice prevailing in the world. Hamlet sees the sea of ​​evil and reflects in his famous monologue "To be or not to be" about how a person should act when faced with rot in society. The monologue "To be or not to be" reveals the essence of Hamlet's tragedy - both in relation to the external world and in his inner world. The question arises before Hamlet: how to act at the sight of the abyss of evil - to reconcile or fight?

To be or not to be - that is the question; What is nobler - to submit in spirit to the slings and arrows of a furious fate, Or, taking up arms against the sea of ​​troubles, to defeat them with Confrontation? (Translated by M. Lozinsky)

Hamlet cannot submit to evil; he is ready to fight against the cruelty and injustice reigning in the world, but he is aware that he will perish in this struggle. Hamlet has the idea of ​​suicide as a way to end "anguish and a thousand natural torments", however, suicide is not an option, since evil remains in the world and on the conscience of a person ("That's the difficulty; what dreams will be dreamed in a death dream..." ). Further, Hamlet speaks of social evil, causing indignation in an honest and humane person:

Who would take down the whips and mockery of the century, The oppression of the strong, the mockery of the proud, The pain of contemptible love, the slowness of judges, The arrogance of the authorities and insults, Inflicted on meek merit ...

Reflections on the long-term disasters of mankind, on the sea of ​​evil, make Hamlet doubt the effectiveness of those methods of struggle that were possible at that time. And doubts lead to the fact that the determination to act for a long time is not realized in the action itself.

Hamlet is a strong-willed, energetic, active nature. With all the strength of his soul, he is directed to the search for truth, to the struggle for justice. Hamlet's agonizing thoughts and hesitations are the search for a surer way in the fight against evil. He hesitates in fulfilling his duty of revenge also because he must finally convince himself and convince others of Claudius' guilt. To do this, he arranges a “mousetrap” scene: he asks itinerant actors to play a play that could expose Claudius. During the performance, Claudius betrays himself with his confusion. Hamlet is convinced of his guilt, but continues to delay revenge. This causes in him a feeling of dissatisfaction with himself, mental discord.

Hamlet resorts to bloodshed only in exceptional cases, when he cannot but react to obvious evil and baseness. So, he kills Polonius, sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern spying on him to death, and then kills Claudius himself. He speaks harshly and cruelly to his loving Ophelia, who turned out to be a tool in the hands of his enemies. But this evil of his is not intentional, it is from the tension of his consciousness, from confusion in his soul, torn apart by conflicting feelings.

The noble character of Hamlet, poet and philosopher, seems weak from the point of view of those who stop at nothing to achieve their goals. In fact, Hamlet is a strong man. His tragedy lies in the fact that he does not know how to change the unjust state of the world, that he is aware of the ineffectiveness of the means of struggle that he has, that an honest, thinking person can prove his case only at the cost of his death.

Hamlet's melancholy arises as a result of the understanding that "time has gone out of its joints" and is in a state of disorder and trouble. In the composition of the tragedy, the prince's lyrical and philosophical monologues occupy a large place, in which a deep awareness of the spirit of the times is expressed.

The general philosophical nature of Hamlet's reflections makes this tragedy close to other epochs as well. Hamlet realizes that he cannot overcome the evil that reigns in the world; knows that after the death of Claudius, evil will not disappear, for it is contained in the very structure of the social life of that time. Referring to those around him, Hamlet says: "Not one of the people pleases me." And at the same time, for Hamlet the humanist, the ideal is a beautiful human personality: “What a masterful creation - a man! How noble of mind! How boundless in his abilities, forms and movements! How precise and marvelous in action! How like an angel he is in deep insight! How like a god he is! The beauty of the universe! The crown of all living! Hamlet sees the embodiment of this ideal in his father and in his friend Horatio.

The development of the plot in the tragedy is largely determined by the feigned madness of the prince. What is the meaning of Hamlet's supposedly insane actions and statements? In order to act in the crazy world of Claudius, Hamlet is forced to put on a mask of madness. In this role, he does not need to be hypocritical and lie, he speaks the bitter truth. The mask of madness corresponds to the spiritual discord of the prince, the impulsiveness of his actions, the insane courage in the struggle for truth under the tyranny of Claudius.

Tragic accident plays a big role in the plot. At the end of the tragedy, a cluster of accidents is given - the heroes participating in the duel exchange rapiers, a glass with a poisoned drink falls to the wrong person, and so on. The tragic outcome approaches with inexorable inevitability. But it comes in an unexpected form and at an unforeseen time. The unreasonableness of the social structure confuses both reasonable and reckless plans and causes the tragic inevitability of "accidental punishments, unexpected murders."

Hamlet is slow in fulfilling his duty, but he is ready to act at any moment, and in the final scene for him "readiness is everything." Hamlet is a heroic personality. He is ready to fight against evil and affirm the truth even at the cost of his own death. It is no coincidence that after all the tragic events of the deceased Hamlet, at the behest of Fortinbras, they are buried with military honors. Before his death, Hamlet expresses his wish that people know about his life and struggle. He asks Horatio to reveal to the world the causes of the tragic events, to tell the story of the Prince of Denmark.

Hamlet is a realistic tragedy that reflected the complexity of the time when Renaissance humanism entered a time of crisis. The tragedy itself expresses the idea of ​​the need for an objective depiction of life. In a conversation with the actors, Hamlet expresses views on art that are fully consistent with the aesthetic positions of Shakespeare. First of all, the flashy effects of those who are ready to "regenerate Herod" are rejected; it is proposed to conform "action with speech, speech with action" and "not overstep the simplicity of nature"; the essence of art is formulated; “to hold, as it were, a mirror in front of nature, to show the virtues of her own features, arrogance - her own appearance, and to every age and estate - its likeness and imprint.”

The main historical collision of the end of the XVI century. - the conflict between the world of knightly heroism and the criminality of absolutist power - is respectively embodied in the images of two brothers, Hamlet's father and Claudius. Hamlet admires his father-hero and hates the hypocritical, treacherous Claudius and everything that stands behind him, i.e. a world of vile intrigues and general corruption.

17. Shakespeare's tragedies "Othello", "King Lear", "Macbeth"

Othello also shows the conflict between the individual and the surrounding society, but in a more disguised form. In Act I, the theme of "Romeo and Juliet" passes, as if from an angle: love, struggling with the opposition of others, who are in the grip of old, medieval concepts. But here love immediately turns out to be victorious, and its victory is all the more brilliant because it is won over one of the most tenacious prejudices - racial. Brabanzio does not believe that his daughter could love the “black -fashioned” without the help of witchcraft. In the court scene, Othello explains how this love came about. It originated from Othello's stories about his exploits and trials to which he was subjected while serving in the troops of the Venetian Republic: "She fell in love with me for the dangers that I endured, and I loved her for compassion for them." They were connected not by calculation, not by the will of their parents, not even by a spontaneous impulse towards each other (like Romeo and Juliet), but by deep mutual understanding, inner rapprochement, that is, the highest form of human love. This love perishes from a collision with the world of ambition and self-interest, embodied in Iago. Othello and Desdemona do not find support in others who are morally unequal to them: such are the impeccably honest, but weak Cassio, the insignificant Rodrigo, Iago's wife, Emilia, obsequious and frivolous before the onset of the disaster.

The catastrophe that occurs is due equally to the actions of Iago and the character of Othello. By his own admission (at the end of the play, before he kills himself), Othello "was not inclined to jealousy, but, having flared up, he went to the limit." He rejected Iago's suggestions for a long time, maintaining his composure and all clarity of mind, until he was forced to surrender to the seemingly irrefutable arguments that he presented.

The nature of Othello's "jealousy" is consistent with the nature of his love. This is not a wounded noble sense of honor, and also not a bourgeois feeling of a husband-owner, whose right is being encroached upon; this is the feeling of the greatest insult inflicted on the absolute truthfulness and mutual trust that united Othello and Desdemona. Othello is unable to endure what he considers Desdemona's "deceitfulness", which he considers not only as an insult to himself, but also as an objective evil: therefore he kills her as a judge, as an avenger for human truth.

Othello's greatest suffering is not the pangs of jealousy, but his loss of faith in the honesty of Desdemona and in the possibility of honesty on earth in general. But after Iago's deceit was revealed, this faith returns to Othello, and he leaves life, which has lost all value for him after the death of Desdemona, enlightened and reassured.

The image of Iago is very significant in the tragedy. This is a typical representative of primitive capitalist accumulation, predatory and cynical. His "worldview" boils down to two rules. The first is "pour money into the purse" (a phrase repeated by Rodrigo many times). The second is that everything can be given any appearance and that the value of things depends on the point of view. This is the ultimate expression of moral relativism and nihilism - what philosophically (and Iago is also a kind of "philosopher") in England of that time was called "Machiavellianism". The diametrical opposite of Iago is Othello, who believes in goodness and truth, is full of spiritual generosity and gullibility. Although Othello falls victim to his gullibility, morally he nevertheless turns out to be a winner in the play.

In King Lear, the problem family relations closely intertwined with social and political issues. In these three plans, the same theme of the collision of pure humanity with callousness, self-interest and ambition runs through. Lear at the beginning of the tragedy is a king of the medieval type, like Richard II, intoxicated with the illusion of his omnipotence, blind to the needs of his people, managing the country as his personal estate, which he can divide and give away as he pleases. From all those around him, even from his daughters, he demands only blind obedience instead of sincerity. His dogmatic and scholastic mind wants not a truthful and direct expression of feelings, but external, conventional signs of humility. This is used by the two eldest daughters, hypocritically assuring him of their love.

They are opposed by Cordelia, who knows only one law - the law of truth and naturalness. But Lear is deaf to the voice of truth, and for this he suffers a cruel punishment. His illusions of king, father and man dissipate.

However, in his cruel downfall, Lear is renewed. Having experienced the need and deprivation himself, he began to understand much of what had previously been inaccessible to him, began to look differently at his power, life, and humanity. He thought about the "poor, naked poor", "homeless, with a hungry belly, in a holey rags", who are forced, like him, to fight the storm on this terrible night (act III, scene 4). The monstrous injustice of the system he supported became clear to him. In this rebirth of Lear is the whole meaning of his fall and suffering.

Next to the story of Lear and his daughters, a second story line tragedy - the story of Gloucester and his two sons. Like Goneril and Regan, Edmund also rejected all kinship and family ties, committing even worse atrocities out of ambition and self-interest. With this parallelism, Shakespeare wants to show that the case in the Lear family is not an isolated one, but a general one, typical of the "spirit of the times." This is the time when, according to Gloucester, "love grows cold, friendship perishes, brothers rise against each other, discord in cities and villages, treason in palaces, and bonds are terminated between children and parents." This is the disintegration of feudal ties, characteristic of the era of primitive accumulation. The dying world of feudalism and the emerging world of capitalism are equally opposed in this tragedy to truth and humanity,

In "Macbeth", as in "Richard III", the usurpation of the throne is depicted, and the usurper, by his bloody actions, himself opens the way for the forces that should destroy him. This is the meaning of Macbeth's words when, still full of hesitation, he weighs the consequences of his planned assassination of the king:

But the judgment awaits us here too: as soon as it is given

Lesson bloody, immediately back

It falls on the head

Who did it. And justice

With an impassive hand a cup of our poison

Brings to our same lips.

This is not about a “future” life and “heavenly” justice, but about earthly, real retribution. The eternal fear of rebellion makes Macbeth commit more and more new crimes - for he has “went into the blood” so far that he is no longer able to stop - until, finally, the whole country and even nature itself takes up arms against him (“Birnam Forest” , moving, according to the prediction, towards Macbeth).

The center of gravity of the tragedy is in the analysis of Macbeth's emotional experiences, whose image for this reason completely overshadows all other figures in the play, with the exception of the image of his fatal assistant - his wife. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a brave and noble warrior, faithfully serving the king.

But in the depths of his soul lies the germ of ambition. Gradually, under the influence of circumstances, exciting impressions and exhortations from his wife, this ambition grows in him and, after a difficult internal struggle, leads him to crime. But, having made a decision, he no longer retreats from anything. His titanic character is manifested in the fact that he does not feel any remorse and, realizing all the horror of both what he has done and what is yet to come, he fights with desperate courage to the end.

In Macbeth, Shakespeare reflected not only the seething passions and violent political upheavals of that time, in which heroism often went hand in hand with crime, but also the reassessment of all values, the crisis of moral consciousness, characteristic of the era of primitive accumulation. This feeling is conveyed in the exclamation of the witches (“prophetic sisters”) of the opening scene of the tragedy, which serves as a prelude to it, creating a mood:

Evil is good, good is evil.

Let's fly in an unclean haze.