Biography of Nekrasov. Nekrasov Nikolay Alekseevich: life and work

Composition

The work of N.A. Nekrasov constitutes an entire era in the history of Russian literature. His poetry was an expression of the new time, when commoners came to replace the outgoing class of nobles in the public life of the country. For the poet, the concepts of the Motherland and the working people - the breadwinner and defender of the Russian land - merged together. That is why Nekrasov’s patriotism is so organically combined with a protest against the oppressors of the peasants.
In his work, N. Nekrasov continued the traditions of his great predecessors - M. V. Lomonosov, K. F. Ryleev, A. S. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov - who considered the “civil rank” to be the highest.

Back in 1848, in one of his poems, the author compared his poetry with the image of a peasant woman. His muse is close to the troubles and suffering of ordinary people. She herself is one of many thousands of disadvantaged and oppressed:

Yesterday, at about six o'clock,
I went to Sennaya;
There they beat a woman with a whip,
A young peasant woman.
Not a sound from her chest
Only the whip whistled as it played,
And I said to the Muse: “Look!
Your dear sister."

With this poem, Nekrasov began his path in poetry, from which he never turned back. In 1856, the poet’s second collection was published, which opened with the poem “The Poet and the Citizen,” printed in a larger font. This seemed to emphasize the role of verse in the collection.

“A noble and strong thing. So the motive of his entire muse hums,” wrote one of the poet’s contemporaries A. Turgenev, having become acquainted with the works of this book.
“The Poet and the Citizen” is the most vivid, clear and definite expression of Nekrasov’s civic position, his understanding of the goals and objectives of poetry... The poem is a dialogue between the Poet and the Citizen, from which it becomes clear that the Citizen is sensitive to the changes taking place in society.

“What a time it is,” he says enthusiastically. The citizen believes that everyone has a duty to society not to be indifferent to the fate of their homeland. Moreover, this is the duty of a poet, whom nature and fate have awarded with talent and who must help discover the truth, ignite the hearts of people, and lead them along the path of truth.

“Boldly smash the vices,” the Citizen Poet calls.

He tries to awaken the indifferently sleeping soul of the Poet, who explains his social passivity by the desire to create “real,” “eternal” art, far from the burning issues of our time. Here Nekrasov touches on a very important problem generated by the new era. This is the problem of contrasting socially significant poetry with “pure art.” The dispute between the heroes of the poem is ideological, a dispute about the poet’s life position, but it is perceived more broadly: not only of the poet, but of any citizen, person in general. A true citizen “bears on his body all the ulcers of his homeland like his own.” The poet should be ashamed

In a time of grief
The beauty of the valleys, skies and sea
And sing of sweet affection.

Nekrasov’s lines became an aphorism:

You may not be a poet
But you have to be a citizen.

Since then, every true artist has used them to check the true value of his work. The role of the poet-citizen especially increases during periods of great social storms and social upheavals. Let's turn our gaze to today. With what passion, despair and hope, with what fury our writers and poets, artists and performers rushed to fight against outdated dogmas for the creation of a renewed, humane society! And even though their views are sometimes diametrically opposed and not everyone can agree with them, the attempt itself is noble, albeit with difficulty, making mistakes and stumbling, to find the right path to move forward. For them, the “citizen rank” is as high as in Lomonosov, Pushkin and Nekrasov times.

Nekrasov called “Elegy,” one of his last poems, “the most sincere and beloved.” In it, the poet reflects with deep bitterness on the causes of disharmony in society. Life has been lived, and Nekrasov has come to a wise, philosophical understanding of existence.
But the powerless situation of the people, their life, the relationship between the poet and the people still worries the author.

Let changing fashion tell us,
That the old theme is “the suffering of the people”
And that poetry should forget her,
Don't believe it, boys!
She doesn't age
he claims.

Responding to all those who hesitate and doubt that poetry can somehow seriously influence people’s lives, he wrote:

But everyone go into battle! And fate will decide the battle...

And Nekrasov, until the last moments of his difficult life, remained a warrior, striking blows at the tsarist autocracy with every line of his works.
Nekrasov’s muse, so sensitive to the pain and joy of others, has not laid down her poetic weapons even today; she is at the forefront of the struggle for a free, happy, spiritually rich person.

Most of Nekrasov's lyrics are devoted to the theme of the suffering of the people. This topic, as the author states in the poem “Elegy,” will always be relevant. He understands that many more generations will pose the question of restoring social justice and that while the people are “dragging in poverty,” the only companion, support, and inspirer will be the Muse. Nekrasov dedicates his poetry to the people. He affirms the idea that victory goes to the people only if everyone goes into battle.

Let not every warrior harm the enemy,
But everyone go into battle! And fate will decide the battle...
I saw a red day: there is no slave in Russia!
And I shed sweet tears in tenderness...

With these lines, the author calls for the struggle for freedom and happiness. But by 1861 the issue of freedom for the peasants had already been resolved. After the reform of the abolition of serfdom, it was believed that the life of the peasants went along the path of prosperity and freedom. Nekrasov sees the other side of this aspect; he poses the question like this: “The people are liberated, but are the people happy?” This makes us wonder whether the people have gained real freedom?
In the poem “Elegy,” written at the end of his life, Nekrasov seems to sum up his thoughts on the topic of the purpose of a poet and poetry. Nekrasov devotes the main place in his poetry to the description of the life of the people, their difficult fate. He's writing:

I dedicated the lyre to my people.
Perhaps I will die unknown to him,
But I served him - and my heart is calm...
But still, the author is depressed by the thought that the people did not respond to his voice and remained deaf to his calls:
But the one about whom I sing in the evening silence,
To whom are the poet’s dreams dedicated?
Alas! He doesn’t listen and doesn’t give an answer...

This circumstance worries him, and therefore he sets himself the task of becoming “an exposer of the crowd,” “its passions and delusions.” He is ready to go through a difficult thorny path, but to fulfill his mission as a poet. Nekrasov writes about this in his poem “Blessed is the gentle poet...”. In it, he shames the lyricists who remain aloof from the most “sick”, most pressing and controversial problems of the peasantry. He ridicules their detachment from the real world, their head in the clouds, when such troubles are happening on earth: children are forced to beg, women take on the unbearable burden of being the breadwinner of the family and work from dawn to dusk.
The author argues that in any, even the most difficult times, the poet is not free to ignore what worries the Russian people most. A real poet, according to Nekrasov:

Armed with satire, he walks a thorny path
With your punishing lyre.

It is precisely such a poet who will always be remembered, although they will understand late how much he did...
Poems on the topic of the purpose of a poet and poetry occupy an important place in Nekrasov’s lyrics. They once again confirm his boundless devotion to the Russian people, his love for them, his admiration for his patience and hard work, and at the same time the pain that the author experiences, seeing his inaction and resignation to his cruel fate. All his work is an attempt to “awaken” the spirit of the people, to make them understand how important and good freedom is, and that only with it the life of the peasants can become truly happy.

Born November 28 (December 10) 1821. in Ukraine in the town of Nemirov, Podolsk province, in the noble family of retired lieutenant Alexei Sergeevich and Elena Andreevna Nekrasov.

1824–1832– life in the village of Greshnevo, Yaroslavl province

1838- leaves his father’s estate Greshnevo in order to, by his will, enter the St. Petersburg noble regiment, but, contrary to his wishes, decides to enter St. Petersburg University. His father deprives him of his livelihood.

1840- the first imitative collection of poems "Dreams and Sounds".

1843– acquaintance with V. G. Belinsky.

1868– publication of the first issue of N.A. Nekrasov’s new magazine “Notes of the Fatherland” with the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'.”

1868 –1877– together with M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, edits the journal “Domestic Notes”.

1869 - appearance in No. 1 and No. 2 of "Notes of the Fatherland" of the "Prologue" and the first three chapters of "Who Lives Well in Rus'."
Second trip abroad. Involving V. A. Zaitsev in cooperation with Otechestvennye zapiski.

1870 - rapprochement with Fekla Anisimovna Viktorova, the future wife of the poet (Zina).
In No. 2 of "Notes of the Fatherland" chapters IV and V of the poem "Who Lives Well in Rus'" are published, and in No. 9 - the poem "Grandfather" with a dedication to Zinaida Nikolaevna.

1875 – election of Nekrasov as a fellow chairman of the Literary Fund. Work on the poem "Contemporaries", the appearance of the first part ("Anniversaries and Triumphants") in No. 8 of "Notes of the Fatherland". The beginning of the last illness.

1876 – work on the fourth part of the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'”.
Poems “To the Sowers”, “Prayer”, “Soon I will become prey to decay”, “Zine”.

1877 – at the beginning of April – the book “Last Songs” will be published.
April 4 – wedding at home with Zinaida Nikolaevna.
April 12 – surgery.
Beginning of June - meeting with Turgenev.
In August - a farewell letter from Chernyshevsky.
December – last poems (“Oh, Muse! I’m at the door of the coffin”).
Died December 27, 1877 (January 8 1878- according to the new style) in St. Petersburg. He was buried in the cemetery of the Novodevichy Convent.

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1. Childhood
Nekrasov Nikolai Alekseevich was born on December 28, 1821 in the quiet town of the Podolsk province of Nemirovo, where that year the regiment in which his father, Aleksey Sergeevich Nekrasov, who came from a family of small landed nobles, served, was temporarily stationed.
His childhood years were spent in the village of Greshnev, on the family estate of his father, a man of a despotic character who oppressed not only the serfs, but also his family, which the future poet witnessed. Perhaps this is why in Nekrasova’s works one can discern notes of pity for his own mother. The poet's mother, an educated woman, was his first teacher; she instilled in him a love of literature and the Russian language.
2. Youth
In 1832 - 1837 Nekrasov studied at the Yaroslavl gymnasium. Then he began to write poetry.
At the age of 17 he moved to St. Petersburg, but, refusing to devote himself to a military career, as his father insisted, he was deprived of material support. In 1838, against the will of his father, the future poet tries to enter the university. Having failed the entrance exams, he became a volunteer student and attended lectures at the Faculty of Philology for two years. The disasters that befell Nekrasov were subsequently reflected in his poems and the unfinished novel “The Life and Adventures of Tikhon Trostnikov.”
In order not to die of hunger, he began to write poetry commissioned by booksellers. At this time he met V. Belinsky. Soon Nekrasov’s business “went uphill”, he gives lessons, writes small articles for local newspapers, which even allows him to save.
3. Literary and journalistic activities
Nikolai Alekseevich’s affairs went so successfully that in 1847 Nekrasov and Panaev acquired the Sovremennik magazine, founded by A. S. Pushkin. The influence of the magazine grew every year, until in 1862 the government suspended its publication, and then completely banned the magazine. This year, Nekrasov acquired the Karabikha estate, not far from Yaroslavl, where he came every summer, spending time hunting and communicating with friends from the people.
After the closure of the Sovremennik magazine, Nekrasov acquired the right to publish Domestic Notes, with which the last ten years of his life were associated. During these years, he worked on the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” (1866 - 76), wrote poems about the Decembrists and their wives (“Grandfather”, 1870; “Russian Women”, 1871 - 72). In addition, he created a series of satirical works, the pinnacle of which was the poem “Contemporaries” (1875).
4. Disease
But the euphoria from a good life did not last long, because already in 1850 the writer became very ill (doctors even predicted his imminent death), but the trip to Italy significantly improved Nekrasov’s health. In 1875, Nekrasov was diagnosed with intestinal cancer, after which the writer’s life turned into a slow departure into another world. It was in the period before his death that Nekrasov, having received support from close people, took up creativity with renewed vigor. Nikolai Alekseevich died in December 1877. The funeral of this extraordinary, but undoubtedly great personality in Russian literature, was organized by numerous fans and took place at the Novodevichy Cemetery.

At the turn of the 1830-1840s, a change of literary eras took place in Russian literature: after the deaths of Pushkin and Lermontov, Russian poetry entered a new era of development, and the poetry of Tyutchev, Nekrasov, Fet and a large group of new poets came to the fore. Of course, these changes do not occur because new poets simply took the place of their great predecessors - a different socio-historical time has come, which needed its own poetry. The need for artistic comprehension of the new position of man in the world and society was manifested in Tyutchev’s philosophical poetry; personal life, experiences of nature and love became the content of Fet’s lyrics. From the very beginning of his work, Nekrasov in his lyrics focused on social issues, and civic pathos became the ideological dominant of his poetry.

The social orientation of Nekrasov’s lyrics, the severity of its social themes, and sympathy for the Russian disadvantaged people were predetermined by the poet’s very life. Nekrasov spent his childhood in the village of Greshnevo, Yaroslavl province, on the estate of his father, a poor nobleman, retired lieutenant Alexei Sergeevich Nekrasov. The love and bright memories of his mother, Elena Andreevna, which the poet carried throughout his life, were reflected in his work with soulful attention to women’s plight. Even from childhood, Nekrasov recognized the need, and since his father, who served as a police officer, often took the boy with him while traveling on business, he more than once witnessed human misfortunes.

At the age of seventeen, Nekrasov, following the will of his father, went to St. Petersburg to take up military service, but soon disobeyed and, despite the threat of losing material support, preferred literary activity. Nekrasov became a volunteer student at the Faculty of Philology of St. Petersburg University and at the same time looked for ways to earn a living. Nekrasov recalled that time of his life as the most difficult - it was a time of malnutrition, constant need and concern for the future. Nekrasov was greatly helped by his rapprochement with V.G. Belinsky. He became a permanent member of Belinsky's literary circle and began collaborating in the journal Otechestvennye zapiski. In the 1840s, Nekrasov, being an energetic, enterprising and talented person, was already familiar with the entire literary society of St. Petersburg. Among his friends and good acquaintances were I.S. Turgenev, F.M. Dostoevsky, D.V. Grigorovich, V.I. Dahl, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, I.I. Panaev and many other writers. The rapidity of Nekrasov’s success is evidenced by the fact that already in 1846, together with I.I. Panaev, he bought the famous, organized by A.S. Pushkin magazine "Contemporary". Under the new leadership, the magazine became the center of literary life in St. Petersburg. Belinsky, and later N.G. also played a significant role in the development of Sovremennik. Chernyshevsky and N.A. Dobrolyubov.

Nekrasov's creative and social activities were embodied in his literary works, journalism and publishing work. The magazines Sovremennik and Otechestvennye zapiski, published by Nekrasov for thirty years, are of great public importance, since thanks to them Russian society became acquainted with the best modern works and learned about new writers and critics.

However, Nekrasov's true calling was poetry. At the age of twenty, he wrote his first collection of poems, “Dreams and Sounds.” The poems in this collection are still immature, imitative, they lack independence, their own poetic voice. Nekrasov was so dissatisfied with his collection that he later even destroyed the published copies. In the early years of his work, Nekrasov had a period when he tried to write prose, but these attempts were unsuccessful. Nekrasov had to find his theme in poetry so that his poetic talent could fully manifest itself.

The themes of Nekrasov's poetry turned out to be very broad and versatile. At first, the image of human suffering in a big city, love lyrics, and elegies prevailed. Later, the poet's civil lyrics cover deeper themes; they address the life of the people, especially the peasantry, and current social issues. These are the poems “The Uncompressed Strip” (1854), “Schoolboy” (1856), “Reflections at the Main Entrance” (1858), “The Railway” (1864). The poet’s social position was clearly manifested in poems written on the death of his colleagues in activity: “In Memory of Belinsky” (1853), “In Memory of Shevchenko” (1861), “In Memory of Dobrolyubov” (1864). The theme of the poet and poetry occupied a special place in Nekrasov’s work, and it was most clearly manifested in the poem “Elegy” (“Let changeable fashion speak to us...”, 1874). Deep tenderness is heard in Nekrasov’s poems about children and women, such as “Song to Eremushka” (1859), “Peasant Children” (1861), “Mother” (1868). In the poems “Sasha” (1855), “Frost, Red Nose” (1862-1864), “Russian Women” (1871 - 1872), the life of Russia is shown from different sides, but the image of a Russian woman is invariably in the center: be it a woman with high aspirations, or a peasant woman with a tragic fate, or devoted wives of the Decembrists. In the last period of his creativity, Nekrasov worked on the epic poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” (1863-1876), in which the poet created a grandiose picture of post-reform Russia, capturing all the great diversity of its life in a rich gallery of images of peasants, soldiers, artisans, and ordinary people , landowners, clergy. The poem absorbed Russian folk art: songs, legends, proverbs, fairy-tale elements. The work is dominated by the tale form of narration and Russian colloquial speech. In terms of artistic power and ideological significance, the images of Savely - the Holy Russian hero, the peasant woman Matryona and the people's intercessor Grisha Dobrosklonov are important. They embody the main idea of ​​Nekrasov’s work, expressed in the song that concludes the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'”:

You're miserable too

You are also abundant

You're downtrodden

You are omnipotent

Mother Rus'!..

Literature Zhdanov V.V. Life of Nekrasov. –M., Skatov N.I. I dedicated the lyre... - M., Chukovsky K.I. Nekrasov's mastery. – M., Rozanova L.A. Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'”: Commentary. – L., SGPI website (department of literature.

N.A. Nekrasov, Nemirovo, Ukraine. S.Greshnevo, Yaroslavl province, Yaroslavl gymnasium, St. Petersburg - “Dreams and Sounds”. “Repertoire and Pantheon”, “Literary newspaper”. N. Perepelsky and his vaudeville - acquaintance with V. Belinsky.

Publishing activity Together with I.I. Panaev, he acquires the right to publish the magazine “Sovremennik” - publishes the magazine “Domestic Notes”.

The theme of the city is “Am I driving along a dark street at night...”, Cycle of poems “On the Street”, Cycle “About the Weather”. Protest against social injustice, against the bitter fate of the poor. New principles of lyricism: psychological nakedness of experiences, bold social depiction of life.

“Thief” The bitten roll trembled in his hand; He was without boots, in a frock coat with holes; The face showed a trace of a recent illness, Shame, despair, prayer and fear... “Morning walk” St. Petersburg got to him solon: He lost his wife in a flood, He dragged himself around apartments for a whole century And burned out fourteen times.

The theme of the poet and poetry is “Yesterday at six o’clock...”, “The Poet and the Citizen”, “The Poet”, “Blessed is the Kindly Poet”, “To the Poet”, “Elegy”, etc. Nekrasov is convinced that poetry should not be limited to sublime and beautiful themes, celebrating love, nature and beauty. Its purpose is to serve society, ennobling and elevating a person, shaping his progressive worldview.

“Panaev's Cycle” is an example of how the personal, intimate in the lyrics becomes universal. Motives for the quarrel (“If, tormented by rebellious passion...”, “You and I are stupid people...”); parting, separation (“So this is a joke? My dear...”, “Farewell”) or their premonitions (“I don’t like your irony...”); memories (“Yes, our life flowed rebelliously...”, “Long ago rejected by you...”); letters (“Burnt Letters”), etc. “A difficult year has broken me with illness...”, “I have had to endure a heavy cross...”, “Forgive me,” “Farewell.”

M.M. Mikhailov () In “The Landowner” there are motifs from “Hound Hunt”. In "Grun" - "Troika".