The theme is an ode to rulers and judges. Analysis of the poem "To the Rulers and Judges" by Derzhavin

G.R. Derzhavin. "Lords and Judges"

History of creation

From 1786 to 1788 Derzhavin served as governor in the Tambov province. As in other service, here he showed vigorous activity, tried to change a lot in the existing orders of the region. But he soon realizes that his transformations interfere with the local nobles, and the ideals of education, duty and justice cause open hostility of officials. He sees how high government positions the law is broken, and the violators receive no punishment. He tries to restore order, but does not find like-minded people. It was at this time, in 1787, that he wrote civic ode"Lords and Judges"

Derzhavin took as the basis of this work a previously written poem on a biblical theme, which was called "Psalm 81".

Psalm - This bible song to god. The Old Testament king David is considered to be the author of such songs.

Derzhavin translated the ancient work into modern language, filled with accusatory content and gave the poem a new name: "To the Rulers and Judges."

The main themes and ideas of the poem

Based on the biblical text, the author speaks of modern life Russian state. In his native country, laws are violated with impunity, the weak are oppressed, untruth and evil triumph, and there is nowhere to seek justice. It remains to rely only on God, only he will be able to restore order in the country. And if the Lord asks the rulers, how do they enforce the laws established by him?

The Almighty God has risen, let him judge

Earthly gods in their host;

How long, rivers, how long will you be

Spare the unrighteous and evil?

Your duty is: to guard the laws,

Do not look at the faces of the strong,

No help, no defense

Do not leave orphans and widows.

Your duty is to save the innocent from troubles,

Cover the unfortunate;

From the strong to protect the powerless,

Break the poor out of their fetters.

Do not heed! They see and don't know!

Hair covered with bribes:

Atrocities shake the earth

Falsehood shakes the sky.

The poet angrily denounces the "unrighteous and evil." The author reminds them that people endowed with power are still people, and not omnipotent gods. Therefore, they should remember the highest punishment, how they easily violated the law of justice, established by God himself. This is the main idea of ​​the poem.

And you will fall like that.

How a withered leaf falls from the trees!

And you will die like this

How your last slave will die!

Of course, this work was taken as a revolutionary proclamation. Indeed, in the last quatrain, the poet calls for a trial of an unjust government.

Resurrect, God! God right!

And heed their prayer:

Come, judge, punish the evil ones

And be one king of the earth!

Artistic originality of the poem

On the one hand, this the work can be attributed to spiritual odes, because it is based on the biblical text. The vocabulary and imagery of the poem, indeed, resemble a psalm, for example, the following words are used: in the host; do not heed; covered with bribes of tow; heed their prayer. Author includes rhetorical exclamations, questions, appeals:“How long will you have mercy on the unrighteous and evil?”; "Kings! I thought you gods are powerful...”; "Rise God! Good God!" Thanks to these methods an oratorical sound is created, convincing readers that the poet is right.

On the other hand, this poem is aimed at awakening the consciousness of the reader, causing a desire to correct vices, it is a kind of warning, instruction of the "rulers".

What is the meaning of this ode? Of course, Derzhavin was not a revolutionary, he was a monarchist, and his poem was not going to cause a revolt in society. But the lack of justice in the country greatly resented him. In the future, a similar theme will sound in the work of Pushkin, Lermontov and other poets.

Derzhavin in this ode acts as an innovator: he combines Old Slavonic vocabulary with commonly used words, speaks of power from the point of view of universal, moral ideals. The poet does not glorify the ruler, as it should be in an ode to classicism, but exposes the vices of kings and nobles.

Always strives to be in the thick of events concerning the fate of the country and people. Many poets dedicate poems to their homeland, praise or reproach the authorities, express their opinion about any events. At the end of XVIII - early XIX century, the authorities in Russia completely ceased to understand the people, and such an attitude towards people could not but be reflected in the work of many poets. The favorite of Empress Catherine II also could not stand aside. The poet was distinguished by a hot and fair character, so he was outraged by the lawlessness that was happening around him.

Challenge to autocracy and lawlessness

The analysis of "Lords and Judges" shows how unusual it was for that time to argue with the authorities, to show one's disobedience. From the first lines of the work, it becomes clear that it is impossible to live like this any longer, even God is unable to look at earthly rulers. The author believes that kings should help widows, orphans and other unfortunates, but they only hear and protect the strong. The homeland is shaking from villainy, but government officials do not see this.

The analysis of "Lords and Judges" suggests that Gavriil Romanovich wanted to reveal all the vices of power. For the Russian people, a monarchy that is indifferent to the lives of ordinary people is a real tragedy. Kings are not like gods either in their actions or in their lives. At the end of the poem, the poet lost faith that everything can be fixed by bringing the monarchs to their senses, because the concepts of honor and conscience are not familiar to rulers and judges. shows: the poet is convinced that only God's judgment can save Russia.

Artistic originality of the verse

An analysis of "The Rulers and Judges" allows us to understand what kind of innovator Gabriel Derzhavin was. In his time, most lyricists wrote poetic works for certain sections of society. Ordinary people did not understand the lofty and pathos speeches, so Gavriil Romanovich decided to simplify the language a little and add to his poems that most people can understand. The author himself called the work “To the Rulers and Judges” an angry ode. He took as a basis the biblical text - Psalm 81.

The poet created a solemn style with the help of appeals, questions, an abundance of Slavicisms. An analysis of "Lords and Judges" shows that the author managed to achieve oratorical sound. In his ode, the poet expressed bitterness from depravity modern world, he tried to awaken in the reader not only anger, but also the desire to purify and change life for the better.

The meaning of the poem "Lords and Judges"

Derzhavin (analysis shows that the author did not put any revolutionary impulse into his work) was a monarchist in his convictions and had a very good attitude towards Empress Catherine II. Even when writing an ode to “Lords and Judges,” he did not oppose the ruler, because he was convinced of her virtue. The officials surrounding the empress are to blame for the lawlessness reigning in the country - this is exactly what Gabriel Romanovich wanted to warn her about. Despite this, many perceived the poem as a call for a change of power. The trend found continuation in the works of Pushkin, Lermontov and others. poets of the 19th century.

Righteous anger is inherently destructive. After all, he carries the wind of justice. And if he is also backed up by the mystical power of poetry, nothing can stop his impulse. Gabriel Derzhavin's poem "To Rulers and Judges" shows the reader an example of just such righteous anger.

The fact is that the verse was written at a time when the author worked in the provinces as a military official. He saw there how much high society does not care about the simple people who hold the country on their strong shoulders. Derzhavin tried to somehow rectify the situation, he petitioned the highest officials of the state about lawlessness, but heard only ridicule in response. Anger needs to be thrown out somewhere, and the poet found a way out in poetry.

The work begins with an almost biblical appeal to the earthly rulers of fate, the powerful of this world. But Derzhavin in the very first line goes to the level, he calls them "earthly gods" to denote all the power over a simple Russian person that is available to them. Important point in the fact that from the biography of the writer we know that he considered royal family a model of morality and righteousness, and all the troubles in Russia were due to their environment, which constantly brought lies to their ears. That is why he wonders how long the "earthly gods" will spare evil.

In general, the entire first part of the poem is programmatic, the author lists the duties that he carries sovereignty. It is to help the poor, the weak and the innocent. It would seem an obvious thing, but those to whom Derzhavin is addressing do not see it. the main idea simple to infinity: power is always accompanied by great responsibility.

"Kings! I thought you gods are powerful.

Here he will express an idea, to which, obviously, he was going very long time. Despite all the power that they possess, even if the whole world is in their hands, they are also people. They are made of blood and flesh. Kings will also stand before God in judgment, and they will be judged according to the same laws as village peasants or city harlots. And the Almighty alone knows who will receive from Him the greatest indulgence. He sums up this thought with a very powerful line:

"And you will die like this
How your last slave will die!

Sooner or later earthly life come to an end and will have to answer for their sins, their power and its use.

At the end of the poem, the desperate Derzhavin turns to God himself:

"Rise, God! god right!

He comes to the conclusion that normal life will never come in this sinful world until Jesus himself rises again, replaces and unites all the thrones of the world under the single authority of the Kingdom of God. This idea shows how tragic this verse is in its essence. It reflects the spirit of the time troubled age, dark and difficult, where no one sees a way out of the darkness.

The accusatory ode to “Lords and Judges” is one of the most important works in Derzhavin’s work, which in an expressive and emotional manner draws the attention of society to the problem of corrupt officials. Can be used brief analysis“Lords and Judges” according to the plan in a literature lesson in the 9th grade and so that schoolchildren understand not only the meaning of the poem, but also the situation in Russia in the 18th century.

Brief analysis

History of creation- Gavriil Romanovich wrote his work in 1870 and with great difficulty achieved its publication in the popular newspaper of that time - the St. Petersburg Bulletin.

Composition- the poem is a whole story, not divided into certain parts, the theme develops sequentially.

Theme of the poem- the need to live according to the laws of universal human virtue, which Derzhavin is trying to convince people in power.

Genre- an ode, but an ode angry and accusatory, for its time - almost revolutionary.

Poetic size- iambic using cross rhyme.

epithets – “last slave”, “withered leaf”, “earth gods”.

Comparisons – “like a withered leaf will fall from a tree”, “you will die, as your last slave will die”.

History of creation

The poem is a sick translation of one of the psalms, which Derzhavin supplemented with his own indignation at those in power. It was written in 1870 and, after great efforts on the part of the poet, nevertheless published - in the newspaper "St. Petersburg Bulletin".

Derzhavin was not only a poet, but also a statesman who for many years held fairly high positions. And such activities showed him all the shortcomings of the management system in Russian Empire- and there were a lot of them. Over the years of his service, Gavriil Romanovich established himself in the idea that the system needed fundamental changes - this idea was expressed by him in the poem “To the Rulers and Judges”. Thus, the history of the creation of this ode is closely connected with the historical and political realities of his time.

Despite the fact that Derzhavin was a convinced monarchist, his ode was perceived by the courtiers and the empress herself, who generally favored the poet, as a revolutionary call. And, despite the fact that the poet did not put into his lines the ideas of overthrowing the existing system, simply expressing the accumulated bitterness about the reigning injustice, later the accusatory trend set by him was developed in the Russian literary tradition.

Subject

The theme of this accusatory work is the arbitrariness of officials and other statesmen who use their power to the detriment of both the people and the state. They are power-hungry, greedy, vile and unable to understand a simple person or help him. The poet appeals to the rulers, urging them to live according to their conscience, and to the judges (meaning specifically the empress), urging them to make a fair trial and punish the rulers who have become so conceited. However, at the end, the poet expresses the idea that only God can truly rule people.

Composition

It corresponds to the composition of the original source, that is, the 81st Psalm of King David, of which it is a free translation.

Throughout the verse, the poet develops the same idea and the corruption of those in power and the need for change. So, at the beginning, he expresses his views on a just social order, when those in power protect those who need it. He goes on to point out that in reality nothing of the kind is happening, everyone is just looking out for their own interests.

And in the end, firstly, he affirms the idea that such a violation of the laws of humanity cannot go unpunished, and secondly, he appeals to God as the highest authority.

Genre

It is not difficult to determine the genre of this work - it is an ode. But the ode is angry - as the author himself called it. It also contains elements of a spiritual ode, since the biblical text is taken as the basis. The ode is written in iambic and uses a cross rhyme.

Expressive means

The artistic originality of Derzhavin's work is expressed not only in the mixture of subgenres, but also in what means of expression he uses in order to convey his idea. So, it contains the usual ways:

• epithets- “the last slave”, “withered leaf”, “earthly gods”.
• Comparisons- “like a withered leaf will fall from the trees”, “you will die, as your last slave will die”.

However, they act as aids. The main ones are Slavicisms, with the help of which the poet makes his poem more solemn, and rhetorical exclamations. They play a very important role in the fabric of the work, giving it a resemblance to oratory. In this way, Derzhavin attracts the attention of readers.