The role of the people in the work of Boris Godunov. The people in the tragedy “Boris Godunov. The image of the hero in the work

The secondary characters are also distinguished by their fidelity to the historical era and truthfulness in their portrayal of characters.
Belinsky noted that already in the first scene of the tragedy “the character of Shuisky is depicted both historically and poetically.” This is the head of the boyar group, a descendant of the appanage princes of the “Rurik blood”. He himself is not averse to taking the throne of the Moscow Tsars, which was vacated after the death of Tsar Fedor. But Shuisky understands very well that he cannot achieve his goal without the help of the people, and therefore invites Vorotynsky to “skillfully excite the people.” But when Boris is elected, Shuisky turns into a “crafty courtier.” He expresses his devotion to Boris, but fully shares the rebellious aspirations of Afanasy Pushkin. Shuisky is a typical courtier, “evasive, but brave and crafty.”
Other boyars were also depicted in the tragedy: the timid and simple-minded Vorotynsky; the true exponent of boyar views Afanasy Pushkin; who went over to the side of the Pretender Gavrila Pushkin, the poet’s ancestor, Golitsyn, Masalsky and others.
Pushkin needed these images in the tragedy to show the relationship between the tsar and the boyars, the ruling class and the people.
Transferring the action of the tragedy to Poland, Pushkin also depicts the feudal Polish aristocracy: Mniszko, Vishnevetsky and others. Much attention is paid to Marina Manishek. “Marble nymph”, cold beauty, Marina is ambitious, arrogant, cunning. It is not a feeling of love, but a thirst to become the queen of Moscow that guides her when she agrees to become the wife of the Pretender.
Pushkin shows that the real reason for the death of Boris lies in the forces that rebelled against him. Here the first and main place belongs to the people. The people are the main characters of Pushkin's tragedy. The people are given a central place in the composition of the tragedy: the people appear at the very beginning of the tragedy, and they also complete it, after the death of Boris and before the entry of the Pretender into Moscow; the latter, after the scene in the forest, no longer appears in the tragedy. It is not individual heroes (Boris and the Pretender), but the people who complete the tragedy.
The people are the creator of history, the true foundation of the state. Without the support of the people, both kings and boyars are powerless. The people supported the election of Boris to the throne, and when they turned away from him, Boris died. The people ensured victory for the Pretender. The power of the people is limitless.
The people have an ineradicable desire for freedom, for the fight against tyranny. The people are a rebellious element, always inclined to rebel against their oppressors. Afanasy Pushkin confidently declares to Shuisky: “If the Pretender tries to promise them the old St. George’s Day, then the fun will follow.” Clever Basmanov says to Boris: “People are always secretly inclined to confusion.”
The strength of the people lies in their inherent high moral purity and aversion to crime. He cannot forgive Boris for killing the baby. The people cannot forgive the Pretender for the death of Godunov’s widow and son. Thus, the people act as a formidable judge of the lawlessness and crimes of the royal power.
Pushkin, based on the history of the 17th century, gives an answer to the most important questions of his time. The Decembrist uprising was approaching; their weakness was that they acted in isolation from the broad masses.
Surpassing the historians and writers of his time with the brilliant instinct of the great poet, approaching our understanding of the role of the people in history, Pushkin shows both the enormous strength of the people and their historically determined weakness at that time - at the beginning of the 17th century. The people can overthrow tyrants, but they are unable to ensure their own welfare and freedom and take advantage of their victory in the interests of the people. The reason for this is darkness, the political ignorance of the masses. Taking advantage of this darkness of the people, it is the tsars and boyars who create politics, not the people; They appropriate the fruits of the people's victory for themselves. Pushkin clearly shows this both in the first scenes of the tragedy (“Red Square”, “Maiden’s Field”) and in the final scene.
The people in the tragedy are shown in movement, in development. The scene on Red Square, where the people first appear, speaks of some confusion among the masses who find themselves without a tsar:
Oh my God, who will rule us?
Oh woe to us!
In the next scene - on the Maiden's Field - the people beg Boris to become king. But this is done on the orders of the boyars: “The boyars know that.” The remarks exchanged by those gathered here indicate that, in essence, a significant part of the people are completely indifferent to the election of a king. For her it's just a curious sight.
At the end of the tragedy, the people are no longer like that: they themselves take an active part in the events, without hiding their hatred of the royal family.
M uz h i k na m v ​​o n e.
People, people! to the Kremlin, to the royal chambers!
Go breed Borisov's puppy!
(People rush in a crowd.)

The people in the tragedy Boris Godunov

Pushkin shows that the real reason for the death of Boris lies in the forces that rebelled against him. Here the first and main place belongs to the people. The people are the main character of Pushkin’s tragedy. The people are given a central place in the composition of the tragedy: the people appear at the very beginning of the tragedy, and they also complete it, after the death of Boris and before the entry of the Pretender into Moscow; the latter, after the scene in the forest, no longer appears in the tragedy. ( This material will help you write competently on the topic of the People in the tragedy of Boris Godunov. A summary does not make it possible to understand the full meaning of the work, so this material will be useful for a deep understanding of the work of writers and poets, as well as their novels, novellas, short stories, plays, and poems.) It is not individual heroes (Boris and the Pretender), but the people who complete the tragedy.

The people are the creator of history, the true basis of the state. Without the support of the people, both kings and boyars are powerless. The people supported the election of Boris to the throne, and when they turned away from him, Boris died. The people ensured victory for the Pretender. The power of the people is limitless.

The people have an ineradicable desire for freedom, for the fight against tyranny. The people are a rebellious element, always inclined to rebel against their oppressors. Afanasy Pushkin confidently declares to Shuisky: “If the Pretender tries to promise them the old St. George’s Day, then the fun will follow.” Clever Basmanov says to Boris: “People are always secretly inclined to confusion.”

The strength of the people lies in their inherent high moral purity and aversion to crime. He cannot forgive Boris for killing the baby. The people cannot forgive the Pretender for the death of Godunov’s widow and son. Thus, the people act as a formidable judge of the lawlessness and crimes of the royal power.

Pushkin, based on the history of the 17th century, gives an answer to the most important questions of his time. The Decembrist uprising was approaching; their weakness was that they acted in isolation from the broad masses.

Surpassing the historians and writers of his time with the brilliant instinct of the great poet, approaching our understanding of the role of the people in history, Pushkin shows both the enormous strength of the people and their historically determined weakness at that time - at the beginning of the 17th century. The people can overthrow tyrants, but they are unable to ensure their own welfare and freedom and take advantage of their victory in the interests of the people. The reason for this is darkness, the political ignorance of the masses. Taking advantage of this darkness of the people, it is the tsars and boyars who create politics, not the people; They appropriate the fruits of the people's victory for themselves. Pushkin clearly shows this both in the first scenes of the tragedy (“Red Square”, “Maiden’s Field”) and in the final scene.

The people in the tragedy are shown in movement, in development. The scene on Red Square, where the people first appear, speaks of some confusion among the masses who find themselves without a tsar:

“Oh my God, who will rule us? Oh woe to us!

In the next scene - on the Maiden's Field - the people beg Boris to become king. But this is done on the orders of the boyars: “The boyars know that.” The remarks exchanged by those gathered here indicate that, in essence, a significant part of the people are completely indifferent to the election of a king. For her it's just a curious sight.

At the end of the tragedy, the people are no longer like that: they themselves take an active part in the events, without hiding their hatred of the royal family.

A man on the pulpit.

People, people! to the Kremlin, to the royal chambers! Go breed Borisov's puppy!

(People rush in a crowd.)

Having noted the main feature in the soul of Boris Godunov - “ambition”, Pushkin, following the romantic playwrights, did not limit himself to this one feature, he gave a comprehensive coverage of his soul, describing him as a person in general and as a ruler.

Boris, as a person, is a truly dramatic person, because good and evil are simply and truthfully mixed in his heart: he is not a one-sided pseudo-classical villain, and not a romantic one, with his inherent beautiful pose, he is simply an unfortunate person, whom only passion and chance pushed to crime. He arouses pity in us because there is a lot of good in him: from the day he committed a crime, his conscience has tormented him; this terrible spiritual struggle testifies to the unspoiled nature of his nature, to the fact that he atones for his crime over the course of many years... And this slow, painful lynching disarms anyone who would like to treat Godunov strictly as a criminal. In addition, everyone is captivated by his cordiality in his relations with the people, with his family.

Boris Godunov

Boris as ruler

Morally indifferent, but, in any case, the captivating qualities of Boris Godunov’s soul were energy, courage, and a bright mind. These are all virtues precious to a “ruler.” And, indeed, as a ruler, he stands tall: he displays knowledge of the human heart, the ability to manage people, an understanding of the true needs of the fatherland: he respects education, stands for rapprochement with Western culture, and resolutely speaks out against “localism.” But all these good qualities of the “ruler” did not help him make Russia happy: neither his bright mind nor his everyday dexterity helped him, he does not have a single ally: both heaven and people, simple and noble, Russians and Poles, everyone and everyone is against him.

Boris as a criminal

All his administrative talents turn out to be as useless to him as to Shakespeare's Macbeth. Richly gifted by nature, with a broad outlook on life, power-hungry and ambitious, but without an admixture of selfish egoism, loving his homeland with all his heart and wishing it good and prosperity, decisive and energetic, Boris reached the throne, guided by the principle: “the end justifies the means.” The immorality of this principle destroys it.

Reasons for the fall of Boris

The people condemned him as the criminal who killed Tsarevich Dmitry. The people did not allow Boris to buy them, and Godunov was unable to suppress his feelings of anger towards this “ungrateful rabble”, he was unable to understand that a petty egoistic feeling of resentment can have no place where fate pronounces its inexorable verdict. Under the influence of this feeling he becomes suspicious, gloomy, even stern. Executions, torture, espionage - this is what Boris resorts to to strengthen his wavering throne. From the previous, broad and bright, understanding of his position as “tsar - servant of the people,” he moves on to selfish aspirations to retain the throne for his son. In his dying speech, he gives his son advice on how to trick his subjects more cunningly.

Boris's children died as an atoning sacrifice for the crimes of their father; it was not the deception of the people and the boyars, nor the impostor that ruined his cause; the deception was successful only as an instrument of that formidable force with which Godunov did not get along. And the imposture of False Dmitry, according to Pushkin, was clear to everyone. Prisoner, to Otrepyev’s question:

“Well, how am I judged in your camp?”

answers:

“And they talk about your mercy,
What are you, they say, (don’t be angry!), and a thief,
Well done..."

"Boris Godunov", written in December 1824-November 1825 in Mikhailovskoye, became Pushkin's first experience of artistic comprehension of the historical past of Russia, namely the Time of Troubles.

The collection of volumes “History of the Russian State” created by N. M. Karamzin inspired the poet to write, as he himself put it, about “Man and the people—human destiny, the people’s destiny.”

from all sides. To do this, he abandoned three unities, which gave him complete creative freedom: in changing scenes that differ greatly in volume, in plot action covering a period of seven years, and much more. Pushkin strives for realism, which is still unusual for the tragic genre.

The poet is convinced that the people are the creators of history, the true basis of the state. Without the people, government is powerless. The people supported the election of Boris to the throne, and when they turned away from him, Boris died. And then the people ensured victory for the Pretender.

The government could not help but feel the power of the people. It is afraid of the people. This is confirmed by many examples. Boyars Shuisky and Vorotynsky rely on the people. Shuisky suggests to Vorotynsky: “Let’s skillfully excite the people, / Let them leave Godunov.” Vorotynsky answers him: “The people have lost the habit of seeing us as an ancient industry.”

Gavrila Pushkin, who went over to the side of False Dmitry, assures him of victory:

“Not with an army, no, not with the Polish, / But with an opinion; yes! with the opinion of the people.”

The people are like one all-powerful person, ready to punish those who disobey him. In him lives an ineradicable desire for freedom, for the fight against tyranny. Basmanov also knows about this: “People are always secretly inclined to confusion.”

Although the people hate Boris, seeing his children in custody, they are imbued with sincere sympathy for them: “The father was a villain, but the children are innocent.” Having learned that Boris’s wife and son were mercilessly killed by the boyars, “The people are silent in horror.” All people’s actions are coherent, clear and understandable.

Residents of Russia can be judges and warriors, hard workers and wise advisers, but due to their lack of education and darkness, politics is created by the supreme power: kings and boyars, whose omnipotence knows no bounds.

At the beginning of the tragedy near the Novodevichy Convent, people howl on their knees:

“Ah, have mercy, our father! Rule us!

Be our father, our king!"

And when there is no ruler over people, they are confused and cannot make decisions. On Red Square people ask:

"Oh my God, who will rule us?

Throughout the play, the people change and develop under the influence of circumstances. If at the beginning people are drawn to their ruler, then in the last act they do not hide their hatred of the royal family:

"Knit! Drown! Long live Dimitri!

May the family of Boris Godunov perish!"

Pushkin considers the main reason for the overthrow of Boris from the throne to be his disagreements with the people, the dissatisfaction of the popular masses with his abuse of power. This time is just convenient for the accession of the Pretender. False Dmitry believes that he can come to power due to general dissatisfaction with Boris. But the wise people recognize him as a traitor and traitor, a murderer of innocent members of Boris’s family, and deprive him of their sympathies.

The masses of the people in Pushkin's tragedy appear in the main scenes and are invisibly present in every episode. People's opinion is forced to be taken into account both in the Kremlin chambers and at the Pretender's headquarters.

In some scenes, the people appear before us as fooled, foolish fools (last act), but more often we see sincere people expressing clear, righteous thoughts.

For the poet, the people are a “choir” of individual voices with a single truth and purpose, but different tasks. For example, the remarks exchanged between people on the Maiden Field indicate that a significant part of the people are indifferent to the election of a king. For them, this is just a curious sight, entertainment, of which there are few in the lives of ordinary people.

believes the criminal Boris, and later False Dmitry.

But people's morality, conscientiousness, thirst for honesty and goodness, and most importantly, unwillingness to come to terms with atrocities and selfishness, make even the most helpless and stupid people a merciless judge of any manifestation of unjust power. This is the meaning of the depiction of the “fate of the people” and the result of Pushkin’s reflections on the Time of Troubles.

A. S. Pushkin wrote “Boris Godunov” in 1825 under the fresh impression of the X and XI volumes of “History of the Russian State” by N. M. Karamzin. I dedicated the drama to him. According to historian S. B. Veselovsky, the depiction of Tsar Boris as a tyrant by chroniclers has become a traditional slander since the reign of Mikhail Romanov. Historians do not give a confident answer to the question of Godunov’s involvement in the death of Tsarevich Dimitri.

But the drama of A. S. Pushkin is a work of art in which the author has the right to freely dispose of historical material.
In “Boris Godunov” A.S. Pushkin overcame the traditions of Russian romanticism. Pushkin made the people one of the main heroes of the drama. This was a revolution in literature. Boris dies before the end of the drama. But the drama develops further. And the Pretender disappears from the drama even before Boris’s death. The people in the drama "Boris Godunov" is present in many scenes of the drama. “The People” is listed as a character in the list of characters. The drama examines the relationship between government and people. A.S. Pushkin does not specify the social division of the people. The author managed to tell in the drama about the main forms of participation of the people in the historical development of the state.

Moscow is empty; following the patriarch
All the people went to the monastery.

Oh, have mercy, our father! rule over us!
Be our father, our king!

Godunov agrees, the people rejoice:

The crown is behind him! he is a king! he agreed!
Boris is our king! long live Boris!
(Scene “Maiden Field. Novodevichy Convent”)

After six years of Godunov's reign, discontent ripened among the people. Boris abolished St. George's Day - the only day (autumn) of the year when peasants had the right to move from one owner to another. It is known from history that St. George’s Day was first canceled under Ivan the Terrible. Godunov returned the old custom. The drama refers to the secondary cancellation of St. George's Day. Boyar Afanasy Pushkin says to Shuisky:

Try Imposter
Promise them the old St. George's day,
That's how the fun goes.

(Scene “Moscow. Shuisky’s House”)

In the scene “The Place of Execution” Afanasy Pushkin addresses the people:

Moscow citizens!
The world knows how much you have suffered
Under the rule of a cruel alien:
Palu, execution, dishonor, taxes,
Both labor and hunger - you have experienced everything.

Of course, one can suspect propaganda exaggeration in these words, because Afanasy Pushkin is Godunov’s opponent. But the people's support for the Pretender is undoubted. Afanasy Pushkin speaks about the army of the Pretender:

I myself will say that our army is rubbish,
That the Cossacks only plunder villages,
That Poles only brag and drink
But do you know why we, Basmanov, are strong?
Not by army, no, not by Polish help,
And by opinion; Yes! popular opinion.

The people need an impostor at a certain moment, in a specific situation. This is the main reason for his success. But myself The people in the drama "Boris Godunov" susceptible to instilling certain moods. Shuisky reminds Boris:

But you know it yourself: senseless rabble
Changeable, rebellious, superstitious,
Easily betrayed to empty hope,
Obedient to instant suggestion,
Deaf and indifferent to the truth,
And she feeds on fables.

Boyar intrigues are powerless without the people. Shuisky says to Vorotynsky:

Let's skillfully excite people,
Let them leave Godunov,
They have enough of their own princes, let them
They will elect anyone as their king.

Basmanov confirms that the people are always “secretly prone to confusion.” In the “Headquarters” scene, Afanasy Pushkin states that “the governor knitted the stubborn rabble.” The people in the drama "Boris Godunov" He also hates the royal bailiffs. So, in the scene “Tavern on the Lithuanian Border” the owner says that she would like to hide from them, that they are “cursed.”

The people do not care whether the Impostor is actually Demetrius. In the “Sevsk” scene, does such a dialogue take place between the Pretender and the prisoner?

Impostor
Well, how am I judged in your country?

Prisoner
And they talk about your mercy,
What are you, they say (be not angry), and a thief,
Well done.

Godunov concludes:
...Living power is hateful to the mob,
They only know how to love the dead.

The uprising reached Moscow before the arrival of the Pretender with his army. But The people in the drama "Boris Godunov" does not know how to take advantage of his victory. The scene “Execution Place” is typical in this sense:

Man on the pulpit
People, people! to the Kremlin! to the royal chambers!
Go! knit Borisov's puppy!

People
(rushes through the crowd)
To knit! Stoke! Long live Dimitri!
May the family of Boris Godunov perish!

Having gotten rid of one king, The people in the drama "Boris Godunov" he himself calls on another who has not yet arrived in Moscow.

At this time, there are not even Kremlin guards in Moscow. Together with the four boyars, only three archers leave Boris’s house in the Kremlin. The author of the drama shows us that The people in the drama "Boris Godunov" not ripe for revolution.

One of the people
Brother and sister! poor children, like birds in a cage.

Another
Is there anyone to regret? Damn tribe!

The ending of the drama is symbolic; again suspicions of the violent death of the heirs to the throne. “The people are silent in horror.”

As for the folk language, one cannot help but recall the folk humor in the scene “The Tavern on the Lithuanian Border.” Many phrases from the drama are still widely used today: “And a drunkard’s paradise...”, “You don’t need vodka, but pullet.”

One of the main concepts of the drama is that a government that is not supported by the people is doomed to destruction. Behavior The people in the drama "Boris Godunov"- a complex process that is influenced by various circumstances: class, international, economic and others.

Composition: The people in the drama Boris Godunov