In Pushkin’s work it is customary to highlight several large themes. Along with the themes of “poet and poetry”, love and civil lyrics“philosophical lyrics” are also distinguished. It includes poems in which the poet expresses his view on the nature of the universe, on the place of man in it.
One of the works related to “philosophical lyricism” is the poem “The faded joy of crazy years...”
The form of this poem is an elegy. This is a traditional genre romantic poetry, the poet’s sad reflection on life, fate, his place in the world. Nevertheless, Pushkin fills the traditional romantic form with completely different content.
Compositionally, the poem is divided into two parts, meaningfully opposed to each other. In the first part, the poet says that the “crazy years of faded fun” have become hard for him, that he is overcome by the “sadness of days past,” that his path is sad, and the future promises him only “labor and grief.” In the second part, he states his reaction to a similar situation. Despite the hardships of life, the burden of years, the author wants to live “to think and suffer.” At the same time, he expresses the hope that “among sorrows, worries and worries” both “pleasures” and the joy of creativity (“harmony”, “fiction”), and love will come to him.
The contrast between the two parts of the poem has a deep, fundamental meaning for understanding the ideological orientation of the poem. In the first part
are a situation and a set of themes quite typical for romantics: fatigue from life, disappointment in past ideals, dissatisfaction with the results of one’s work and interaction with society. However, in the second part of the poem, all these collisions are resolved in a manner completely opposite to romanticism. Unlike the romantics, Pushkin does not see anything tragic in this state of affairs, makes no claims to the world and nature, and does not blame anyone. According to Pushkin, youthful illusions, and subsequent disappointment, and fatigue from life are natural, integral signs of life. Therefore, his memories of the past are bright, his attitude towards the future is calm. The poet sees the guarantee of this peace and hope that without love, creativity, joy (as without suffering, disappointment, pain) life does not exist. According to Pushkin, God’s world is blessed in its essence and created for happiness, and therefore the poet’s hopes are not groundless. The heart, as he says in his other poem (“On the hills of Georgia...”), “burns and loves because it cannot help but love” - this is an integral property of being. Getting ready to “shed tears” “over the fiction,” the poet does not take it seriously at all. In this case, “fiction” (like “harmony”, meaning creativity) is the same manifestation of life, the embodiment of the “divine game”.
To give greater expressiveness to the language, Pushkin uses such figurative means as metaphors (“crazy years of faded fun”, “the troubled sea of the future”, “revel in harmony”), epithets (“past days”, “farewell smile”), personification (“ love will flash with a smile”), detailed comparisons (“but, like wine, the sadness of the past days in my soul, the older it is, the stronger”).
So, the main meaning of the poem, its humanistic pathos is that the author accepts the natural laws of existence and blesses nature, which for him is the embodiment of the eternal flow of life, beyond the control of man. Birth, childhood, youth, maturity, old age and death are perceived by the poet as natural things sent down from above, and man is perceived as part of a wise and fair nature. Even spiritual wounds, for the bitterness of past grievances, one should thank fate, since these feelings are an integral part of life. The original goodness of the world gives birth in the human soul to hope for renewal, for joy and happiness - and this is what makes the world live and move.
Poem "Crazy years of faded fun..." was written by Pushkin on September 8, 1830 in Boldino. Alexander Sergeevich gave it the genre name “Elegy”. At this time, the poet proposed his hand and heart to Natalya Goncharova for the second time and received consent. To put things in order before marriage, he went to his father’s estate. There Pushkin was forced to stay for three whole months due to a cholera epidemic. This was a very fruitful period in the poet’s life, which went down in history as the Boldino autumn.
The basis of the work “The Faded Fun of Crazy Years...” is Pushkin’s philosophical reflections on the end of bachelorhood and a new stage life path. “Elegy” consists of two parts, contrasting in meaning. In the first stanza, the poet regrets the past days of his stormy youth and realizes that now "the coming troubled sea" doesn't bode well for him. The fact is that the financial affairs of the Pushkins and Goncharovs left much to be desired. The poet understood: he would have to work hard to provide for his family.
Fleeting youth causes sadness not only because it has passed. The older the poet gets, the more he realizes his mistakes and wasted time. The sadness about this is becoming more and more intense.
But the second stanza unexpectedly sounds optimistic. Despite the life ahead “between sorrows, worries and worries”, the lyrical hero believes that pleasure, harmony and love still await him. The last two lines of the poem combine the sadness of the first part and the optimism of the second into a beautiful final chord: “love will flash with a farewell smile”.
A positive ending is not typical for a romantic elegy, but is traditional for Pushkin, who accepted life with all its troubles and joys. Any event could become a source of inspiration for the poet. To create, he needs changes in life, even suffering. Therefore the hero proclaims: “I want to live so that I can think and suffer”.
The poem “The faded joy of crazy years...” is a monologue lyrical hero, who is completely identified with the author. It is written in the most convenient way for philosophical lyrics size – “slow” iambic pentameter with alternating feminine and men's rhymes. Traditionally, in such poems, poets use stilted book vocabulary. Pushkin did not break tradition by using the following words in the text: “promises”, “past”, “friends”, “future”, “I know”, “anxiety”. However, the poem is easy to read and understand.
Pushkin used very original symbols romantic poetry: stormy sea, wine, hangover, sunset. Everything seems to be mixed up here. A comparison of fun with wine suggests itself, and in Pushkin - "vague hangover", and even "extinct", although youth is usually associated with dawn, morning or afternoon. At the same time, sadness is compared to wine. Word "excited" is more suitable for the hero’s youth and past. And for the poet it correlates with "by the coming sea". But these inconsistencies echo the images of the second stanza and create a coherent impression. In the future, the poet will begin to revel not in the follies of youth, but in harmony. The sunset of life will be colored with love.
In the work “The Faded Fun of Crazy Years...” Pushkin could not do without his favorite technique - antitheses. Sadness here is contrasted with fun, death with life, pleasure with worries. The images in the first stanza have a mostly negative connotation, while in the second stanza they are filled with positivity.
The first part of “Elegy” is dedicated to the past and is static. Therefore, there is only one verb in it - "promises". But there are many epithets: “crazy years”, “vague hangover”, “faded joy”, “turbulent sea”. In the second stanza, many verbs give the author’s thoughts liveliness and optimism: “I don’t want to die”, “think”, “suffer”, “I know”, “will be”, “will shine”. Almost all the nouns in the poem are abstract: sadness, work, grief, love, fun, worries, fiction. This is due to the depth of philosophical generalization in the poet’s thoughts.
Like most of Pushkin’s poems, “The Faded Fun of Crazy Years...” is surprisingly musical. The vowels “o”, “u”, “e” predominate over the dull and hissing consonants, and their sequential alternation creates a beautiful, thoughtful rhythm.
As you know, in his young years Pushkin wrote many romantic elegies. “The Faded Fun of Crazy Years...” is rightfully considered the pinnacle among the works of this genre.
- “The Captain’s Daughter”, a summary of the chapters of Pushkin’s story
- "Boris Godunov", analysis of the tragedy of Alexander Pushkin
- “Gypsies”, analysis of the poem by Alexander Pushkin
The poem “Elegy” was written in 1830. It refers to. Pushkin turned to this genre as an already middle-aged poet, wise in life and experience. This article describes in detail the analysis of this work.
Full text of the poem “Elegy” Pushkin A.S.
Crazy years of faded fun
It's hard for me, like a vague hangover.
But like wine - the sadness of days gone by
In my soul, the older, the stronger.
My path is sad. Promises me work and grief
The troubled sea of the future.
But I don’t want, O friends, to die;
I want to live so that I can think and suffer;
And I know I will have pleasures
Between sorrows, worries and worries:
Sometimes I’ll get drunk again with harmony,
I will shed tears over the fiction,
And maybe - at my sad sunset
Love will flash with a farewell smile.
A brief analysis of A. S. Pushkin’s poem “Elegy”
Option 1
“Elegy” was created immediately after “Demons”, in the fall of 1830. When published, Pushkin gave this poem the genre subtitle "". As you know, in his youth the poet preferred this genre. However, it was the analyzed poem that became the pinnacle of it.
Composition. The poem consists of two stanzas that form a semantic contrast: the first deals with the drama of life’s path, the second sounds the pathos of life’s activity and personal will.
In “Elegy” the same theme is picked up and developed. as in - concentrated pathfinding. The poem begins with a reassessment of the past, which left an indelible trace of sadness in the hero’s soul. Thoughts about the future seem to leave no room for hope:
My path is sad. Promises me work and grief
The troubled sea of the future.
But in the second stanza, such a pessimistic and passive worldview is replaced by the opposite. After rather gloomy lines, which seem to beat out the rhythm of a funeral march, suddenly a light takeoff follows:
And I know I will have pleasures
Between sorrows, worries and worries:
The soul of the lyrical hero is filled with longing for days gone by; it is intensified by a feeling of anxiety and uncertainty about the future, in which one sees “labor and grief.” But it also means movement and full life, in which “there will be pleasures among sorrows, worries and anxiety.” They bestow new creative fruits and - “maybe” - love:
I will shed tears over the fiction,
And maybe - at my sad sunset
Option 2
The famous Boldino autumn of 1830, which played a very important role in the work of Alexander Pushkin, gave the world a huge amount literary works. These include the poem “Elegy,” written in a philosophical vein. In it, the author sums up the period of carefree youth and says goodbye to it on the verge of entering into new life.
The trip to Boldino, where Pushkin was forced to stay for three long months due to cholera quarantine, was caused by the need to enter into inheritance rights to the estate. The poet, who had never burdened himself with resolving such issues, set out to put all his affairs in order.
And this is not surprising, since after re-matching Natalya Goncharova, he still received a positive response and began to prepare for the wedding. However, the poet subjected a thorough revision not only business papers, but also his own soul, realizing that from now on his life is changing irrevocably.
It was then that the lines were born that “the faded joy of the crazy years” left in the poet’s soul the bitterness of regret and the pain of loss. Pushkin understands that nights out with friends and visiting gambling houses are now the lot of younger people who are still learning the joys of life. The poet prophesies a very sad future for himself. “My path is sad. The troubled sea promises me the work and grief of the future,” writes the author.
What should make a person be in such a gloomy mood on the eve of his own wedding? The thing is that Pushkin’s financial affairs leave much to be desired, and he understands perfectly well that in order to provide a decent life for his family, he will have to work a lot. It was during this period that he carried on a stormy correspondence with his future mother-in-law, bargaining over the size of the dowry.
But, in essence, he is trying to win back not money, but his own freedom, which he is deprived of after marriage, even with a beloved woman. However, in the poet’s words there is still hope that he can be happy. “And I know that I will have pleasure in the midst of sorrows, worries and anxiety,” notes Pushkin. Indeed, like anyone normal person, he dreams of finding happiness in his family and hopes that in his life “love will flash with a farewell smile.”
Thus, the poet renounces possible relationships with other women who have always been his muses, and expects to become an exemplary husband, realizing that marriage takes away from him a piece of the joy and inspiration that he drew from freedom.
Option 3
This work is a monologue; it reflects many personal words that describe inner world hero. Therefore, the image of the lyrical hero is one with the image of the author himself. In the poem the poet addresses himself. But then the poetic confession turns into a kind of original testament addressed to friends and descendants.
The elegy consists of two interconnected parts. In the first, the lyrical hero is presented as very depressed. He thinks about the past, creates disturbing images - vague premonitions, grief and tries to look into the future, but for him it is dull and gloomy.
The past youth, awareness of his mistakes and lost time, makes the hero feel sadness, melancholy and spiritual heaviness. But the uncertainty of the future, in which the hero sees “work and sorrow,” also frightens him. Labor is the poet’s creativity, grief is his inspiration and imagination. Thinking is what is important for him, this is the desire for development, and therefore for perfection. But despite this, the author wants to convey to us that life is beautiful even if you have to face trials and sorrows.
In the second part of the poem, the hero experiences harmony and pleasure, creative impulses, love, and the hope that he can still be happy does not leave him. The poet wants to live life to the fullest, feel and enjoy all its diversity.
The poem is given contrast and brightness by the epithets used by the author: “faded fun”, “crazy years”. At the phonetic level, the poem is smooth and mellifluous. The author also uses Slavic words: “promises”, “future”. This gives the poem grace and lightness. Many words are used to convey the movement of the soul: “suffer”, “think”, “live”, “die”.
The poems of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin leave a bright light in the soul, make you think and inspire with their art, and this work shows us good and shining example that nothing, neither trials nor difficulties, should break or plunge a person into despondency.
Poem “Elegy” - analysis according to plan
We offer according to plan.
Option 1
Perception, interpretation, evaluation
The poem was written by A.S. Pushkin in 1830. The genre of the work is indicated in the title, the style is romantic. We can classify this poem as philosophical poetry.
Compositionally, it consists of two parts, antithetical in meaning. The first part is a poetic analysis of the past and a look into the future. Here the poet also uses an antithesis: in the past there was everything - sadness and joy. But the fun is over, youth with its follies is gone forever, leaving behind only a “vague hangover.”
The sadness of the past is still alive in the soul of the lyrical hero. That's why there are melancholy notes in his voice. He tries to look into the future, but it is dull and gloomy, full of work that, it seems, will not give due satisfaction. The lyrical hero looks forward with anxiety, his soul is dominated by melancholy, despair, he anticipates grief, thinks about death. In a word, the hero’s worldview here fits well within the framework prescribed by the genre of romantic elegy.
However, in the second part of the poem, according to the precise remark of T.P. Buslakova, the antithesis “to die - to live” is removed thanks to the choice of the hero: “I want to live in order to think and suffer.” Real life turns out to be wider, richer and more diverse than romantic consciousness. Along with suffering, it includes pleasure, a harmonious state of mind, creative impulses, and love. At the end of the poem, the lyrical hero again remembers death, but he is reconciled with life: love, in his opinion, is the highest manifestation of life.
The poem is written in iambic pentameter. The poet uses various means artistic expression: epithets (“faded fun of crazy years”, “vague hangover”), comparison (“like wine - the sadness of days gone by”), metaphor, alliteration and assonance (“love will flash with a farewell smile”).
Option 2
Alexander Pushkin loved autumn, because it inspired him to create. In 1830, it was during this magical time that the poet visited the Boldino family estate to formalize the inheritance.
There he had to stay longer than planned due to the cholera epidemic declared in Russia. The solitude and charms of autumn became the impetus for the poet’s fruitful work. In the Boldino autumn he writes many wonderful works. Of the poems, “Elegy” is of particular literary interest, which has an interesting addition to the title - the faded fun of crazy years.
As you know, elegy is a literary genre that represents the sad philosophical reflections of the author. In this case, the author already determines the genre of his creation in the title itself. And it is completely true. "Elegy" has a deep philosophical meaning. The lyrical hero pessimistically reflects that the days of his crazy youth are passing, taking with them the joy that gave him. And approaching maturity seems dull to him - fun is behind, only hard work lies ahead.
Compositionally, the poem consists of two parts that contrast each other. The first stanza talks about the hero’s life drama; in the second, optimism appears, faith in the volitional principle of man.
IN this poem Pushkin continues the theme of finding a path begun in “Demons.” The beginning of “Elegy” is sadness and regret about the faded fun. The past in the hero awakens the bitterness of nostalgia, and he sees the future in a less than favorable light. And it seems that there is no hope, but the second stanza suddenly bursts with a life-affirming key. The hero declares his desire to live, even if suffering, but continuing to think and believe in the best. He “knows” that more pleasures will appear in his life, and among the sorrows the smile of love will “shine.”
The work is written in iambic pentameter. For expressiveness, Pushkin uses a variety of artistic media: epithets (vague hangover, crazy summer, faded fun); figurative comparisons (sadness is like wine); metaphor (smile of love, revel in harmony), etc.
Forced to linger in Boldino, Pushkin begins preparations for his wedding with Natalya Goncharova. Approaching important event made him think about the future. The poetry “Elegy” reflects his thoughts that life inevitably changes, youth is replaced by maturity.
Option 3
The poem “Faded Fun of Crazy Years” was written in the famous Boldino autumn, which influenced the poet’s creative rise. In one of his letters, the poet admitted that in the fall it was unusually easy for him to write. But not only the golden season had such an impact on his mood and creativity, but also his upcoming marriage to Natalya Nikolaevna Goncharova.
The poem is written in the genre of philosophical lyrics. This is an elegy, and, despite the sadness for a lost youth, it is filled with a love of life. The poet looks forward. He is inspired by the upcoming change in life, but sad notes about his lost youth no, no, and they affect his impressionable soul. These sad notes are a kind of hangover after a fun night (youth) and influenced the creation of the work. The “turbulent sea” metaphor makes it clear to the reader that the poet does not expect a calm life. He realizes that married life is continuous waves, changes in mood in relationships, joy and anxiety, worries about tomorrow, the payment for which will be pleasure in love.
In the elegy “Crazy Years, Faded Fun,” the poet used antitheses - sadness-fun, life-death, pleasures-cares. These contrasts further emphasize the author’s mood. In a letter to Delvig, Pushkin wrote: “I’ll tell you a secret that I wrote in Boldin, as I haven’t written for a long time.” Creative upsurge testifies to spiritual upliftment, which is closely connected with his love for Natalya Nikolaevna. Love is known to be a powerful stimulus for inspiration and creativity.
According to composition, the poem is divided into 2 parts. The first part is filled with sadness for the departed teenage years. It conveys the realization that the time has come for responsibility for those around him.
But, despite the upcoming “works and grief,” the poet is full of life and energy. He realizes that not only “works” await him ahead, but also joy. He is ready to “think and suffer.”
Noteworthy is the absence of verbs in the first part. More precisely, in this part there is only 1 verb - promises, that is, foreshadows.
But the second part of the elegy is filled with verbs. She foreshadows actions: “I want, to die, to live, to think, to suffer, to get drunk, to get drunk, to shine.” The abundance of verbs changes the mood of the second stanza of the poem.
Speaking about the analysis of this work, one cannot help but recall the Old Slavonicisms and pompous words inherent in secular poetry. For example, “I know the past, the past, the future.” The symbols originally used by the poet bring this poem closer to romanticism: stormy sea, wine, hangover, sunset.
The poem is written in iambic pentameter. Each stanza has 6 lines, with female and male rhyme. At the phonetic level, the poem is perceived as a smooth and melodious work. Sonorant consonants prevail over sibilants.
Analysis of the poem “Elegy” Pushkin A.S.
Option 1
The year 1830 was marked in the life of Pushkin by the famous Boldin autumn. During this period, he felt a huge surge of creative inspiration, which was expressed in a huge number of beautiful works. One of them was “Elegy (The Faded Fun of Crazy Years...).” It is written in the genre of philosophical lyrics and is dedicated to the poet’s reflections on his own life.
In 1830, Pushkin summed up a certain life outcome. He finally received a positive response from N. Goncharova’s parents and was preparing for the wedding. Future family life demanded the most serious attitude. The poet could no longer risk the future of his family. He needed to take care of his financial well-being. Literary activity should have become a permanent source of income. Political unreliability was also an obstacle. Pushkin needed to be more careful in his statements in the future.
The entire poem is permeated with these deep reflections. Pushkin recalls the “faded joy” of his youth. He understands that there is no turning back to him. Ahead lies the serious life of a family man who is responsible not only for himself, but also for his family. The poet is infinitely sad from the realization of inevitability. He prophetically remarks: “My path is sad.” Pushkin is no longer happy about the upcoming wedding, since it will deprive him of his former freedom. The poet himself will allow himself to be chained public opinion and obey him.
At the same time, Pushkin declares that he does not intend to give up. He accepts life with all its difficulties and worries. The poet does not lose optimism; he believes that, along with suffering, he will experience new pleasures and victories. The upcoming wedding gives him hope to start a new life. Pushkin feels within himself a huge reserve of unspent creative forces.
The lyrical hero’s address – “about others” – is very characteristic. Pushkin does not address his beloved woman and not the entire society as a whole, which was typical for romanticism. In a difficult situation, he can find sincere support and participation only in close friends. The poet knew very well what it meant to be rejected by society. Therefore, he highly valued the loyalty of those who remained faithful to him.
The poem “Elegy” is a brilliant example of Pushkin’s philosophical lyrics.
Option 2
The poem “The Faded Fun of Crazy Years...” was written by Pushkin on September 8, 1830 in Boldino. Alexander Sergeevich gave it the genre name “Elegy”. At this time, the poet proposed his hand and heart to Natalya Goncharova for the second time and received consent. To put things in order before marriage, he went to his father’s estate. There Pushkin was forced to stay for three whole months due to a cholera epidemic. This was a very fruitful period in the poet’s life, which went down in history as the Boldino autumn.
The basis of the work “The Faded Fun of Crazy Years...” is Pushkin’s philosophical reflections on the end of his bachelorhood and a new stage in his life’s journey. “Elegy” consists of two parts, contrasting in meaning. In the first stanza, the poet regrets the past days of his stormy youth and realizes that now the “turbulent sea of the future” does not promise him anything good. The fact is that the financial affairs of the Pushkins and Goncharovs left much to be desired. The poet understood: he would have to work hard to provide for his family.
Fleeting youth causes sadness not only because it has passed. The older the poet gets, the more he realizes his mistakes and wasted time. The sadness about this is becoming more and more intense.
But the second stanza unexpectedly sounds optimistic. Despite the upcoming life “between sorrows, worries and worries,” the lyrical hero believes that pleasure, harmony and love still await him. The last two lines of the poem combine the sadness of the first part and the optimism of the second into a beautiful final chord: “love will flash with a farewell smile.”
A positive ending is not typical for a romantic elegy, but is traditional for Pushkin, who accepted life with all its troubles and joys. Any event could become a source of inspiration for the poet. To create, he needs changes in life, even suffering. Therefore, the hero proclaims: “I want to live so that I can think and suffer.”
The poem “Faded Fun in Crazy Years...” is a monologue of a lyrical hero who is completely identified with the author. It is written in the most convenient meter for philosophical lyrics - “slow” iambic pentameter with alternating female and male rhymes. Traditionally, in such poems, poets use stilted book vocabulary. Pushkin did not break tradition, using the following words in the text: “promises”, “past”, “friends”, “future”, “know”, “anxiety”. However, the poem is easy to read and understand.
Pushkin used the symbols of romantic poetry in a very original way: stormy sea, wine, hangover, sunset. Everything seems to be mixed up here. A comparison of fun with wine suggests itself, and in Pushkin it is a “vague hangover,” and even a “faded one,” although youth is usually associated with dawn, morning or afternoon. At the same time, sadness is compared to wine.
The word “excited” is more suitable for the hero’s youth and past. And for the poet it correlates with the “coming sea.” But these inconsistencies echo the images of the second stanza and create a coherent impression. In the future, the poet will begin to revel not in the follies of youth, but in harmony. The sunset of life will be colored with love.
In the work “The Faded Fun of Crazy Years...” Pushkin could not do without his favorite technique - antithesis. Sadness here is contrasted with fun, death with life, pleasure with worries. The images in the first stanza have a mostly negative connotation, while in the second stanza they are filled with positivity.
The first part of “Elegy” is dedicated to the past and is static. Therefore, there is only one verb in it - “promises”. But there are many epithets: “crazy years”, “vague hangover”, “faded fun”, “turbulent sea”. In the second stanza, many verbs add liveliness and optimism to the author’s thoughts: “I don’t want to die,” “think,” “suffer,” “I know,” “they will,” “will shine.” Almost all the nouns in the poem are abstract: sadness, work, grief, love, fun, worries, fiction. This is due to the depth of philosophical generalization in the poet’s thoughts.
Like most of Pushkin’s poems, “The Faded Fun of Crazy Years...” is surprisingly musical. The vowels “o”, “u”, “e” predominate over the dull and hissing consonants, and their sequential alternation creates a beautiful, thoughtful rhythm.
As you know, in his young years Pushkin wrote many romantic elegies. “The Faded Fun of Crazy Years...” is rightfully considered the pinnacle among the works of this genre.
Option 3
A. S. Pushkin wrote this elegy in 1830. It refers to philosophical lyrics. Pushkin turned to this genre as an already middle-aged poet, wise in life and experience. This poem is deeply personal. Two stanzas form a semantic contrast: the first discusses the drama of life’s journey, the second sounds like the apotheosis of creative self-realization, the high purpose of the poet. We can easily identify the lyrical hero with the author himself. In the first lines (“the faded joy of crazy years / is heavy on me, like a vague hangover.”), the poet says that he is no longer young.
Looking back, he sees the path traveled behind him, which is far from flawless: past fun, from which his soul is heavy. However, at the same time, the soul is filled with longing for the days gone by; it is intensified by a feeling of anxiety and uncertainty about the future, in which one sees “work and sorrow.”
But it also means movement and full-fledged creative life. "Labor and Sorrow" an ordinary person is perceived as hard rock, but for a poet it means ups and downs. Work is creativity, grief is impressions, significant events that bring inspiration. And the poet, despite the years that have passed, believes and awaits “the coming troubled sea.”
After lines that are rather gloomy in meaning, which seem to beat out the rhythm of a funeral march, suddenly a light takeoff of a wounded bird:
But I don’t want, O friends, to die;
I want to live so that I can think and suffer;
The poet will die when he stops thinking, even if blood runs through his body and his heart beats. The movement of thought is true life, development, and therefore the desire for perfection. Thought is responsible for the mind, and suffering is responsible for feelings. “Suffering” is also the ability to be compassionate.
A tired person is burdened by the past and sees the future in the fog. But the poet, the creator confidently predicts that “there will be pleasures among sorrows, worries and anxiety.” What will these earthly joys of the poet lead to? They bestow new creative fruits:
Sometimes I’ll get drunk again with harmony,
I will shed tears over the fiction...
Harmony is probably the integrity of Pushkin’s works, their impeccable form. Or it is the very moment of creation of works, a moment of all-consuming inspiration... The fiction and tears of the poet are the result of inspiration, this is the work itself.
And maybe my sunset will be sad
Love will flash with a farewell smile.
When the muse of inspiration comes to him, maybe (the poet doubts, but hopes) he will love and be loved again. One of the poet’s main aspirations, the crown of his work, is love, which, like the muse, is a life companion. And this love is the last. “Elegy” is in the form of a monologue. It is addressed to “friends” - to those who understand and share the thoughts of the lyrical hero.
The poem is a lyrical meditation. It is written in the classical genre of elegy, and the tone and intonation correspond to this: elegy translated from Greek means “lamentable song.” This genre has been widespread in Russian poetry since the 18th century: Sumarokov, Zhukovsky, and later Lermontov and Nekrasov turned to it. But - civil, Pushkin - philosophical. In classicism, this genre, one of the “high” ones, obliged the use of pompous words and Old Church Slavonicisms.
Pushkin, in turn, did not neglect this tradition, and used Old Slavonic words, forms and phrases in the work, and the abundance of such vocabulary in no way deprives the poem of lightness, grace and clarity.
Past = future
old = older
promises = portends (promises)
future = future
“the troubled sea of the future” is a metaphor from the canon of the funeral church service: The sea of life, raised in vain by the storm of misfortunes,...
But Pushkin strives from this sea not to a “quiet haven,” but again to the element of feelings and experiences.
others = friends
I know = I know
worries = worries
sometimes is a word that is never used in colloquial speech, but it can often be found in Pushkin:
...O wives of the North, between you
She appears sometimes
("Portrait")
Sometimes an eastern talker
I spilled my notebooks here
(“In the coolness of the sweet fountains...”)
It should be noted that if you group words from the text by parts of speech, then you can directly follow the progress of thought and changes in mood using them.
Nouns are almost only abstract:
fun - sadness - work - grief - the future - pleasures - worries - worries - harmony - fiction - sunset - love.
There is only one verb in the first column, since this is an exposition, it is static, it is dominated by definitions:
crazy - hard - vague - past - older - stronger - sad - worried.
But the second column is full of contrasting actions that convey the movement of the soul:
die - live - think - suffer - get drunk - get drunk - shine.
And if you listen only to the rhymes, the hop motif comes to the fore:
fun - hangover
I'll get drunk - I'll get drunk - there's even echoes of an orgy here.
At the sound level, the text is surprisingly smooth and melodious. Vowels and consonants alternate sequentially, sonorant sounds predominate over hissing ones. Melody is generally inherent in Pushkin's poetry.
The poem is written in iambic pentameter in the form of two stanzas of six verses with successive rhymes, feminine and masculine. It can serve as an example of the genre both in terms of form and content.
1. History of creation
The poem “The faded joy of crazy years...” was written on the Boldino estate in 1830, where Pushkin came to put his financial affairs in order before his upcoming marriage.
As fate would have it, the poet had to stay on the ancestral estate for almost three months due to the cholera epidemic raging in Russia. This time became the most fruitful period of Pushkin’s work and was called the “Boldino Autumn”.
The poem with the genre subtitle “Elegy” sums up the poet’s thoughts before the start of a new (family) life.
Pushkin did not obtain consent for marriage from N.N. Goncharova’s parents immediately, but only 2 years after the first unsuccessful attempt. One can call the premonition of tragedy discernible in the lines of “Elegy” prophetic.
According to Russian tradition, before the wedding, the newlyweds had to confess, and the event itself implied rethinking own life. The first part of the poem is repentance, the second is a premonition of future difficulties and timid hope for happiness in love.
2. Literary direction
The poem “The faded fun of crazy years...” is written in the genre elegies, which is predominantly attributed to the sentimental or romantic movement in literature.
Classical elegies (“sad songs”) were supposed to end on a pessimistic note. However, Pushkin’s “Elegy” has an unconventional ending: its final chord is hope for happiness, acceptance of one’s own decline, humility before the will of fate.
That is why, despite the genre of the work, it can rightfully be recognized realistic.
3. Rod
The poem is an example philosophical lyrics and has all the signs of a lyrical work.
4. Genre
The author specifies the genre of the work in the subtitle. Naming your work elegy, Pushkin pays tribute to the established tradition and at the same time reforms the very essence of this genre, illuminating its classical bleakness with notes of quiet joy.
The poet overcomes the static of inaction and believes that a person’s fate is in his hands, and therefore does not lose hope for a happy sunset in life.
5. Issues
The poem is dedicated the problem of rethinking life values in the process of human maturation.
Becoming a mature man, Pushkin evaluates his young years differently. He regrets wasted time and feels more acutely the fleeting nature of life.
The poet intends to contrast death with creativity. It is this that will give him living delights, tears of tenderness and the joy of love. Only being in creativity can be considered life.
6. Topic
In addition to the stated problem, the following themes can be identified in the poem:
- farewell to youth;
- repentance;
- belief in the immortality of the creative soul;
- acceptance of future fate;
- hope for happiness.
7. Idea
The idea of the poem is that fleeting human life, lived in thoughtless ease, leaves an imprint of bitterness and sadness in the soul, which becomes more and more apparent over the years.
However, one must not give in to despondency. While we live, we have time to fix everything and enjoy the best things in the world: creativity and love.
8. Pathos
At first glance, the two stanzas of the poem are charged in exactly the opposite way. The first six-line breathes bitterness second – life affirmation.
The two summary lines contain the output. They are connected by the logic of spiritual work, internal confession. The deeper and more serious the regret about the past, the more strength you have to survive the present and accept the past.
9. System of images
In the first stanza of the poem, Pushkin uses anacreontic images(wine, severe hangover).
Starting your creative path, the poet paid a generous tribute to feast motifs. But the young time of fun has passed - its comprehension weighs heavily on the hero.
When describing new feelings and thoughts that visited him on the eve of serious life changes, Pushkin uses large-scale elemental images:“the troubled sea of the future”, “sad sunset”.
Thus, everything temporary and human gives way to the eternal, cosmic.
10. Central characters
The central character of the poem is the author himself or the lyrical hero.
11. Lyrical hero
The lyrical hero in the poem is quite comparable to the image of the author. It is safe to say that Pushkin writes these lines in the first person.
His confessions are deeply personal and confessional. The genius of the poet is manifested in the fact that almost every reader who has crossed the threshold of thirty years can read “Elegy” as a poem about himself.
Thus, revealing his own innermost spiritual experiences, Pushkin speaks about universal humanity and becomes close to everyone who touches his work.
12. Plot
The plot of the poem is an appeal to oneself or one of one's closest friends.
The poet talks about the weight of his memories, like wine, gaining strength and strength over the years. He anticipates work and grief ahead, but still expresses the hope that in the time remaining to him, the muse, the poet’s main comforter, will not abandon him.
The poem “The faded joy of crazy years...” can be called prophetic.
Pushkin looks into the future with a calm and clear gaze, anticipating sadness, need and possible death. But he does not renounce his chosen path and is ready to accept everything that is in store for him.
13. Composition
Linear the composition of the poem makes it easier to understand its meaning.
- The beginning of the work, the development of thought and the culmination are contained in its first stanza.
- The second stanza reflects the decline in emotional tension.
- The final couplet ends the poem with a light chord.
Compositionally, the poet follows the logic of spiritual growth, gradually describing the maturation and rebirth of the human soul.
14. Size, rhyme, stanza
The poem “The Faded Fun of Crazy Years” was written iambic pentameter with alternating masculine and feminine endings.
Each six-line line contains three pairs parallel rhymes: AABBBB GGDDEE.
The final couplet also contains parallel rhyme (AA).
15. Artistic originality of the work
The sound design of the first stanza sets a gloomy mood. The poet uses assonances“u”, “s”, “o”, alliteration with “l” and “r”, creating the effect of rocking on the waves.
It seems as if the poet is sailing along the steep waves of a dark, agitated sea and does not see land on the horizon.
But the music of the second stanza sounds like resistance:
But I don’t want, O friends, to die;
I want to live so that I can think and suffer;
Energy and determination are felt in these lines; they are pronounced loudly, confidently and firmly. This is how the author expresses confidence that man is not a weak-willed toy in the hands of fate.
Syntactically, the text can be perceived as a large two-part sentence, the first part of which lists the poet’s everyday sorrows, and the second – the thoughts and actions that he is ready to oppose to them.
Formally, the poem is composed of 5 sentences, complicated by homogeneous members and comparative phrases.
Pushkin uses high book vocabulary (“past”, “future”, “about others”), paying debt to the ancient genre of elegy and emphasizing the importance of the problem raised in the poem.
16. Means of artistic expression
The language of the poem is decorated:
- epithets(“crazy years of faded fun”, “severe hangover”),
- metaphors(“the troubled sea of the future”, old age matured like a “sad sunset”),
- comparison(“but, like wine, the days gone by in my soul, the older, the stronger”).
In addition, the text contains reification“I’ll get drunk on harmony,” in which the abstract noun “harmony” is represented as a life-giving drink.
The final piece adds brightness to the poem personification“love will flash with a farewell smile.” The gentle smile of love illuminates the elegy with a gentle sunny glow.
17. The meaning of the work
This work sums up Pushkin’s sad thoughts about the end of his serene youth. The poet showed us by his own example transition state a person who is overcome by anxiety and doubt.
In moments of grief, shame and regret, we can turn to the poem “Crazy years, faded fun...” and learn from Pushkin courage in perceiving the future.
While a person is alive, he hopes for the best - the poet conveys this valuable thought to us.
18. Relevance
Pushkin's poems are dedicated to timeless values. People will always regret the past and fear an uncertain future - such is human nature.
The state of confusion and anxiety that is felt in the first stanza of “Elegy” is overcome by a luminous faith in the possibility of joy and harmony.
Pushkin teaches us to persevere in overcoming difficulties, no matter how inevitable they may seem. The relevance of the poem lies in its ageless life-giving power.
19. My attitude
Since my youth is still ahead, it is difficult for me to understand the sadness with which Pushkin regrets the past. But I think that everyone has something to be sad about and something to be ashamed of.
In order not to grieve over wasted years, you need to be attentive to yourself from childhood. You should not waste time on trifles, offend people around, deceive, or commit other stupid and evil acts. Then, on the threshold of maturity, the soul will not hurt so much.
The second part of the poem is close to me. Pushkin confirms my favorite idea that every age has its own joys. For a poet, this is, first of all, creativity and, of course, love. I would like all people to be able to rejoice, despite difficulties, and to maintain faith in the good.
20. What does it teach
The poem “The faded joy of crazy years...” teaches us to appreciate every moment of life, filling the world around us with creativity, love, and creation.
To avoid having to cry bitterly over what you have done, it is better to be a kind, honest and sensitive person from the very beginning. Then you won’t have to call your youth “crazy”, and memories of the past – “severe hangover”.
It's hard to live without making mistakes. Pushkin reminds us how important it is to repent in time and start a new life full of high goals.
Philosophical poems in the poet’s work appeared in the 20s - “If life deceives you”, “Bacchanalian song”, “A vain gift, an accidental gift”, “Am I wandering along the noisy streets”, but Pushkin wrote especially many of them in the 30s e years.
“Elegy” (“Crazy years of faded fun”) was created on September 8, 1830, the famous Boldino autumn. This poetic reflection of Pushkin begins with a revaluation of the past:
Crazy years of faded fun
It's hard for me, like a vague hangover.
But like wine - the sadness of days gone by
In my soul, the older, the stronger.
The memory of the past gives rise to pain and a feeling of irreparable loss; memories of the past lie like a heavy burden on the heart. From the past, Pushkin’s thought is transferred to the future:
My path is sad.
Promises me work and grief
The troubled sea of the future.
There is a feeling that there is no room for hope in the future. But part 2 of “Elegy” opens with an exclamation that sweeps away thoughts of death, destroys the anxieties and excitement of existence:
But I don’t want, O friends, to die;
I want to live so that I can think and suffer;
And I know I will have pleasures
Between sorrows, worries and worries:
Sometimes I’ll get drunk again with harmony,
I will shed tears over the fiction,
And maybe - for my sad sunset
Love will flash with a farewell smile.
The poet understood that in the future, sorrows, sorrows, worries and sorrows are inevitable. But cheerfulness, optimism, and hope do not leave Pushkin. In this poem one can feel Pushkin's will to live, Pushkin's thirst to live and act.
In 1823, Pushkin wrote the poem “The Cart of Life,” in which he spoke in metaphorical form about human life, its different stages: youth, maturity, old age. In the 30s, the poet himself came of age. In 1834 he wrote an elegiac message to N.N. Goncharova “It’s time, my friend, it’s time,” in which he reflects on the inexorable passage of time, the suddenness of death, and what happiness is. Pushkin’s conclusion is this: “There is no happiness in the world, but there is peace and will.” The poet hoped to find peace and freedom in the “abode of labor and pure bliss,” as he called Mikhailovskoe in the poem. If we turn to Pushkin’s letters to his wife at this time, then in them we will find the same desire of the poet: to go to the village and work, write.
The poet was a loving father. In a letter to a friend, P.V. Nashchokin, Pushkin wrote: “My family is multiplying, growing, making noise around me. Now, it seems, there is nothing to grumble about in life, and there is nothing to be afraid of old age.” Pushkin approached life wisely and calmly. This attitude is also felt in the poem “... I visited again” (1835). In the autumn of 1835, Pushkin spent several weeks in Mikhailovskoye. He wrote to his wife: “In Mikhailovskoye I found everything the same as before, except that my nanny is no longer there and that, during my absence, a young pine family has risen near the familiar old pines, which it’s annoying for me to look at, just as it’s sometimes annoying I want to see young cavalry guards at balls at which I no longer dance. But there is nothing to do; everything around me tells me that I’m getting old...” In the letter, the poet mentions his annoyance, but in the poem there is not a word about it. Pushkin goes beyond specific objects and phenomena, “sweeps aside” annoyance, and strives for generalization. Already at the beginning of the poem, he poses the main problem - the problem of continuous renewal, the eternal law of nature.
The poet is sad, thinking that the nanny is no longer there. In the letter to Natalya Nikolaevna, this fact is simply mentioned, and in the poem, one word from Pushkin - “old woman” - helps to understand what tenderness and love Pushkin had for Arina Rodionovna. The poet’s thought moves on - there is no nanny, which means someday he will not be there either. He recalls the southern exile, the years of exile spent in Mikhailovskoye. Yes, time goes on, goes on inexorably, and Pushkin calmly and in a fatherly wise way greets the “young shoots” of the old three pines: “Hello, tribe, Young, unfamiliar!” - how old people greet the new generation of people coming into the world. The poet remembers his grandfather in the poem and hopes that his grandson will one day pass here and hear the sound of these pines. Pushkin’s past, present, and future are interpenetrated and interconnected. Only if a person honors the past, remembers and respects his ancestors, will he not be forgotten by his descendants.
The memory of the past, “love for the native ashes and fatherly tombs,” according to Pushkin, is the basis of a person’s “independence,” his spiritual foundation, moral core. Pushkin wrote about this in 1830 in the poem “Two feelings are wonderfully close to us...” very confidently, with conviction, because these feelings formed the basis of his “independence.”
On August 21, 1836, as if sensing that he had very little time left to live, Pushkin wrote the poem “Monument” (this name is accepted, although Pushkin does not have it). In it, the poet sums up his work and life. The poem was first published in 1839. with editing by V.A. Zhukovsky, who replaced several lines in stanzas 1 and 4.
The poet writes that he erected a miraculous monument to himself with his poetry and its direction:
And for a long time I will be so kind to the people,
Whatgood feelings I woke up with a lyre,
What in my cruel ageI praised freedom
ANDmercy to the fallen called.
To affirm in poetry respect for man, strives in personal, social, creative Freedom, to teach forgiveness and love, to have a “kind” memory, not to betray his calling - this is what Pushkin saw as his destiny. This was the path he traversed in life and work.
