Lermontov's work, which retains all the main attributes of the song-epic manner, is the rarest example of the author's organic penetration into the spirit and warehouse of oral folk poetry. It opens with a chant ("Oh you goy thou") and the beginning ("The red sun does not shine in the sky"), followed by a narration of the event, and ends with an outcome ("Hey, you daring guys"). It contains ancient forms of folk vocabulary: colloquial words (“tvovo”, “movo”, “cryed”, “against”, “frightened”, “he spoke”); diminutive and affectionate suffixes (“sash”, “head”, “orphan”, “kids”); gerunds with a suffix for "yuchi" ("chanting", "playfully"); a short form of masculine adjectives in the nominative singular ending in "oh" instead of "y" ("gray eagle"); reflexive verbs ending in "sya" ("how they converged, gathered"); prepositions "with", "in" ("with the retinue", "with relatives", "in the dark night"); particles “here” and “already” (“Here silently both disperse”; “You, my brothers”); interjection "ay" ("Ay, guys, sing"); the union “al” - “ali” (“Al did you harbor a dishonest thought”? “Are you jealous of our glory?”), etc.

In the traditions of oral folk art, Lermontov uses constant epithets (“red sun”, “blue clouds”, “sharp saber”). Imitating oral poetic creativity, Lermontov achieves amazing picturesqueness in comparing man with nature: “Walks smoothly - like a swan; Looks sweet - like a dove; He says a word - the nightingale sings.

Unusual beauty tells the poem the image of dawn - the background of ongoing events. In the second chapter, the dawn is running out: "A foggy dawn burns behind the Kremlin." In the third chapter "The scarlet dawn rises". In a clearly folk spirit, the phrase is built in the “Song ...”: by the way of composition, with the help of the unions “and”, “a”, “yes”. With rare art, Lermontov also uses other traditional types of oral poetic syntax: ellipses (“As you fall in love - celebrate the wedding, if you don’t fall in love - don’t be angry”); negative parallelisms (“The red sun does not shine in the sky, the blue clouds do not admire it: Then at the meal he sits in a golden crown, the formidable Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich sits”); phrasal parallels (“I went out to a terrible battle, to the last battle”, “And I hit the merchant Kalashnikov for the first time, And hit him in the middle of the chest”).

In “The Song ...” a large role is assigned to such artistic techniques as repetitions (“we cry”, “bitterly-bitterly”, “to feast”), the game of synonyms (“And they lamented and commanded”, “sharpen, sharpen”, “dress dress up"), repetitions of words, expressions ("on the cold snow, On the cold snow, like a pine tree, like a pine tree in a damp forest"), prepositions "for" (behind the iron lock, behind the oak door"), "pro" (" We composed our song about you, we are about your beloved oprichnik"), particles of "not" ("Have your brocade caftan been rubbed? Has your sable hat been wrinkled?"), etc.

Traditions of folk poetry in M. Yu. Lermontov's poem "Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, a young guardsman and a daring merchant Kalashnikov"

Pages:

In these lines, the situation at the royal feast is allegorically conveyed. The month symbolizes Ivan Vasilyevich himself, the stars are his surroundings. If the king is having fun, then those close to him should be having fun, otherwise they cannot escape the royal disfavor. “The tsar asks about the cause of sadness,” writes Belinsky, “and his questions are the pearls of our folk poetry, the fullest expression of the spirit and forms of Russian life of that time. Such is the answer, or, better, the answers of the guardsman, because, in the spirit of Russian national poetry, he answers almost verse for verse.

To create vivid pictures and images, Lermontov uses the artistic means of folk poetry. The author appeals to images that have been created in the human mind over many centuries, using numerous constant epithets (“daring fighter”, “good fellow”, “beautiful girl”, “red sun”, “strong mind”) and constant comparisons (“Walks smoothly - like a swan", "Looks sweetly like a dove", "Speaks a word - the nightingale sings"). Hyperbole is also more figurative (“Here the king hit the ground with a stick, // And the oak floor half a quarter // He broke through with an iron window ...”) and techniques of negative parallelism (“The red sun does not shine in the sky, // Not blue clouds admire him. // Then he sits at a meal in a golden crown, // The formidable Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich sits ...").

The creation of pictures of nature is helped by the use of the impersonation technique (“Clouds run into the sky, - // The snowstorm drives them chanting”, “Playfully along the boarded roofs, // Gray clouds disperse, // Scarlet dawn rises; // Swept golden curls, // Washes crumbly snows, // Like a beauty, looking in a mirror, // Looks at the clear sky, smiles ...”). This allows the author to draw parallels between natural phenomena and what happens between people. So, for example, the clouds that roll into the sky at the beginning of the second chapter portend something bad for Kalashnikov. Adopting folk tradition, Lermontov compares the tsar's gaze with that of a hawk, Kiribeevich with a gray-winged dove, Alena Dmitrievna with a swan, and Kalashnikov with a falcon.

The syntax of Lermontov's poem also stylizes it as a folk song. Verbal repetitions, passing from line to line, add a special melody to the “Song about ... merchant Kalashnikov”:

He fell on the cold snow

On the cold snow, like a pine,

Like a pine, in a damp forest ...

Techniques of syntactic parallelism are used (“Strong hands fall, // Lively eyes darken ...”), anaphoras (“I did not dishonor someone else's wife, // I did not rob a dark night, // I did not hide from the light of heaven ...”), inversion (the position of the adjective after the word being defined is characteristic: “Moscow soldiers”, “wonderful marvelous”, “German castle”).

In his poem, Lermontov pays great attention to the numerical symbolism characteristic of folklore. So, most often, the number “3” is mentioned: “for three days and three nights” the boyar and the boyar treated the gusliers, the king performs three actions before Kiribeevich notices his displeasure (“Here the king frowned his black eyebrows // And pointed at him vigilant eyes ... "(1)," Here the king hit the ground with a stick ... "(2)," Here the king said a formidable word .... "(3))," they cursed the loud cry three times, "before someone decided to fight with a young oprichnik, Kalashnikov makes three bows (“to the terrible tsar”, “to the white Kremlin and holy churches” and “to all the Russian people”), finally, they buried the daring merchant “between three roads”.

The whole poem of Lermontov is permeated with traditional motifs of folk poetry. The main ones are the motif of the feast and the motif of the duel, without which the picture of history, recreated with the greatest accuracy by the author, would be incomplete.

The undoubted influence on Lermontov's "Song ..." had a historical song - the ballad "Mastryuk Temryukovich", published in the folklore collection "Ancient Russian Poems Collected by Kirshe Danilov". Perhaps it is thanks to this ballad in Lermontov's poem that the image of the tsar, in addition to negative qualities (cruelty, ruthlessness), also has positive ones (kindness to Kiribeevich, mercy to the Kalashnikov family).

All the heroes of the poem seem to have come out of folk songs and fairy tales: Kiribeevich is a villain who encroaches on the honor of Alena Dmitrievna, Alena Dmitrievna herself is a fabulous beauty, Kalashnikov is a Russian hero who defends the honor of his wife.

Traditional epithets, comparisons, numerous cases of syntactic repetitions and parallelisms, inversions, detailed speeches of the characters - these and other features of the poetics of "Songs about ... the merchant Kalashnikov" reproduce the features of ancient literature. “... Our poet entered the realm of the people as its complete master, and, imbued with its spirit, merged with it, he showed only his kinship with her, and not identity,” Belinsky wrote. Indeed, the introduction of elements of folk poetry into the poem did not in the least prevent it from becoming a vividly individual work of art, but only emphasized the originality and richness of the author's poetry.

Pages:(the essay is divided into pages)

Throughout his career, M. Yu. Lermontov turned to the genre of a romantic poem. One of these poems is "The Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilievich, a young guardsman and a daring merchant Kalashnikov."

Highly appreciating folk poetry, the poet wrote: "If I want to go into folk poetry, then, surely, I will not look for it anywhere else, as in Russian songs." He was fascinated by the nature and mood of the Russian epic, which prompted the poet to the idea of ​​​​creating a work that would express Russian life in a significant period in Moscow history - the reign of Ivan the Terrible. The poem is close to folk poetic creativity: the narration is conducted on behalf of the guslars, the keepers of legends and folk memory. The poet refers to outdated forms of words: “curly beard”, “on a wide chest”; to colloquial turnovers: “Move faithful servant”; to traditional appeals: "You are my sovereign, the red sun." Personification is the main technique of the author (“washes himself with crumbly snow”, “the scarlet dawn rises”, “swept golden curls”). The poem is replete with constant epithets (“good fellow”, “daring fighter”, “red sun”), constant comparisons (“walks smoothly - like a swan”). As in the folk song, M. Yu. Lermontov uses pickups:

He fell on the cold snow

On the cold snow, like a pine,

Like a pine, in a damp forest ...;

Anaphora:

I did not dishonor someone else's wife,

Did not rob at dark night,

Not hidden from the light of heaven ...

The title of the poem contains the theme of the work. Hence the heroes of the "Song ..." - powerful, bright and original personalities, each of which is a carrier of romantic passion.

Kiribeevich - "daring fighter", "violent fellow" is close to the heroes of the epic epic and folk songs. But from the same popular point of view, Kiribeevich is a "robber" who stole the family happiness of the merchant Kalashnikov. The environment of permissiveness, royal love and protection turned him into an insensitive egoist, and besides, the oprichnina was far from God and Christian commandments.

Self-esteem attracts us in the "young merchant", "stately fellow" Kalashnikov. Belinsky said about him that he was "... one of those iron natures who will not endure insults and surrender." After all, he came out “not to joke,” but to fight to the death. Raising his hand to the tsar's beloved guardsman and openly saying this, Stepan Paramonovich stands up against the state system. He defends the human dignity of the Russian people. Kalashnikov is aware of his personal and social dignity, he is courageous, honest, fair. In a duel, unlike Kiribeevich, he thinks not only about himself, but defends his love, family, and the honor of his wife. Kalashnikov won a moral victory before he entered the battle with Kiribeevich. The fact that this victory has national significance is evidenced by the final picture of the “nameless grave”, which arouses sympathy among the people.

The first to appreciate the “Song ...” was V. G. Belinsky, writing: “The Song ...” is a fact about the consanguinity of the poet’s spirit with the folk spirit and testifies to one of the richest elements of his poetry, hinting at on the greatness of his talent”, “Lermontov’s poem is a courageous creation, mature and as artistic as it is folk”.

Mikhail Yurjevich Lermontov

(1814–1841)

Poem "Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich,

young oprichnik and daring merchant Kalashnikov" (1837)

Composition and plot

Heroes

Paramonovich Kalashnikov	"stately fellow" who lives according to the law of God: “And I was born from an honest father, / And I lived according to the law of the Lord ... ". Like a Russian hero, he is ready to fight in an open, equal battle. For him, honor and "holy mother truth" are dearer than life. Kalashnikov does not want to save his life with a lie. Ivan Vasilyevich appreciates this. To the question of the tsar, “by free will or reluctantly” he killed the guardsman, the merchant fearlessly answers: "I killed him at will." He does not explain the reasons, not wanting to dishonor his wife. Saying goodbye to his brothers, Kalashnikov thinks about his family: “Bow from me to Alena Dmitrevna, Tell her to be less sad Don't tell my kids about me." And after death, good people do not forget his grave: "The old man will pass- cross yourself, Well done- pose; The girl will pass- get upset And the goons will pass- sing a song."
Oprichnik Kiribeevich	« A daring fighter, a violent fellow". He is able to love, but he does not live according to moral and spiritual laws. Kiribeevich belongs to the Skuratov family. The name of Malyuta Skuratov, henchman of Ivan the Terrible, went down in history, it terrified the people. Oprichniki - close associates of the king, subordinate only to him. They were ruthless and carried on with impunity.
Tsar Ivan Vasilevich	Dual image. The king is both a cruel, self-willed tyrant and a caring ruler-father. Ivan the Terrible gives his oprichnik a "ring yakhontovy” and “pearl necklace”, promises to take care of the Kalashnikov family: "Young wife and your orphans from my treasury I will please I command your brothers from this very day throughout the Russian kingdom wide Trade without knowing, duty-free. But the king lives according to his own laws, does not keep his word (“ Whoever beats whom, the king will reward him; / And whoever is beaten, God will forgive him"). He allows his oprichniks to act outrageously, and orders the winner in a fair fight to be publicly executed.

Conflict in the poem

Folklore elements in the poem

Permanent	good fellow, the earth is damp, the field is clean
Permanent comparisons	“Walks smoothly - like a swan; Looks sweet - like a dove; He says a word - the nightingale sings ... "
Negative parallelism	"The red sun does not shine in the sky, Blue clouds do not admire them: Then at the meal he sits in a golden crown, The formidable Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich is sitting.
Hyperbolas	“Here the king hit the ground with a stick, And an oak floor half a quarter He struck with an iron tip ... "
Avatars	“The scarlet dawn rises; She swept her golden curls, Washed by crumbly snows, Like a beauty looking in the mirror Looks at the clear sky, smiles
colloquial	vovo, kiss, honest father
on the - teach, -yuchi	playful, singing, feasting
Double titles	sharpen, sharpen, dress, dress up, buzzes-howls
Traditional appeals	"You are our sovereign, Ivan Vasilyevich!", "You are my lord, Stepan Paramonovich..."
	“The horses have grown cold to me, Brocade outfits are disgusted ... "
Beginning of lines with "I", "Ay", "Yes", "Gay"	"Hey you, our faithful servant, Kiribeevich ...", “Ay, guys, sing - just build a harp!”
Syntactic parallelism	“The kite will peck out my tearful eyes, The rain will wash my orphan bones ... "
Inversions	“In the family she was born a merchant ...”
Tiebacks	"In the church of God remarried, Married to a young merchant"
magical	“Three times a loud cry was called ...”

Silently, they both part,

The heroic battle begins.

Then Kiribeevich swung

And hit the first merchant Kalashnikov,

And hit him in the middle of the chest -

Chest of youth cracked,

A copper cross hung on his broad chest.

With holy relics from Kyiv, -

And the cross bent and pressed into the chest;

Like dew, blood dripped from under him;

And Stepan Paramonovich thought:

"What is destined to be, it will come true;

I will stand for the truth until the last day!"

He contrived, prepared,

Gathered with all my might

And hit your hater

Directly to the left temple from the entire shoulder.

And the young oprichnik groaned lightly,

Rocked, dropped dead;

He fell on the cold snow

On the cold snow, like a pine,

Like a pine in a damp forest

Hemmed under the resinous root,

And, seeing that, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich

Angry with anger, stomped on the ground

And he frowned his black brows;

He commanded to seize the daring merchant

And bring him before your face.

As the Orthodox Tsar said:

"Answer me truthfully, honestly,

Wave of will or reluctance

You killed my faithful servant,

Movo of the best fighter Kiribeevich?

"I'll tell you, Orthodox Tsar:

I killed him at will,

And for what, about what - I will not tell you,

I will only tell God.

Order me to be executed - and carry on the chopping block

I blame the little head;

Do not leave only small children,

Don't leave the young widow

Yes, my two brothers by your grace ... "

IN 1. The duel between Kiribeevich and Kalashnikov is decisive in the plot of the poem. What is the term for the moment of highest tension?

IN 2. With the traditions of what folklore genre is the depiction of a duel as a battle of heroes associated?

IN 3. What is the name of the form of communication between characters based on the exchange of remarks and used in this fragment?

AT 4. What figurative and expressive means, which is an assimilation of one phenomenon to another (for example, “like dew ... dripped blood”, “fell down on cold snow ... like a pine tree”) did the author use?

AT 5. What is the name of the repetition of cognate words justified by expressive purposes in a phrase or in the same sentence (for example, “angry with anger”, “free will”)?

AT 6. What is the name of the stylistic device, which consists in repeating the initial elements of adjacent lines (for example, “and hit the merchant Kalashnikov for the first time, / And hit him in the middle of the chest”)?

C1. Why does Kalashnikov, recognizing that the murder of Kiribeevich was completely deliberate by him, refuses to the tsar his reason?

C2. In what works of Russian literature of the 19th century is the theme of the defense of honor one of the main ones, and what are the similarities and differences in its interpretation with the poem?

OPTIONS OF TASKS С1.

A) What caused the duel between Kiribeevich and Kalashnikov?

B) Why is the death of Kiribeevich, who was initially guilty before Kalashnikov, described in the poem with sympathy and even pity. To the oprichnik?

C) What was the expression of the royal “mercy”, which Ivan Vasilyevich Kalashnikov asked for?

OPTIONS OF TASKS С2.

A) In what works of Russian literature do the authors refer to folklore images, motifs, artistic techniques, and what are the similarities and differences in their use with?

B) In what works of Russian literature do real historical figures enter into the system of characters, and how is their participation in the fate of the fictional heroes of the work manifested?

IN 1. climax

IN 2. Bylina

IN 3. Dialog

AT 4. Comparison

AT 5. Tautology

AT 6. Anaphora

Over the great Moscow, golden-domed,
Above the wall of the Kremlin white stone
Because of the distant forests, because of the blue mountains,
Effortlessly on boarded roofs,
Gray clouds are dispersing,
The scarlet dawn rises;
She swept her golden curls,
Washed by crumbly snows,
Like a beauty looking in the mirror
The sky looks clean, smiles.

How did they get together
Removed Moscow fighters
To the Moscow River, to a fistfight,
Take a walk for the holiday, have fun.
And the king came with his retinue,
With boyars and guardsmen,
And ordered to stretch the silver chain,
Soldered with pure gold in rings.
They cordoned off a place of twenty-five sazhens,
For hunting combat, single.
And then Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich ordered
Call to click in a ringing voice:
"Oh, where are you, good fellows?
You amuse the king of our father!
Come out into a wide circle;
Whoever beats whom, the king will reward him;
And whoever is beaten, God will forgive him!"

And the daring Kiribeevich comes out,
The king bows silently from the waist,
Throws off a velvet coat from mighty shoulders,
Leaning to the side with your right hand,
Adjusts another scarlet hat,
He is waiting for his opponent...
Three times a loud cry was called -
Not a single fighter moved,
They just stand and push each other.

In the open, the oprichnik paces,
He makes fun of bad fighters:
"Calm down, I suppose, thoughtful!
So be it, I promise, for the holiday,
I will release the living with repentance,
I will only amuse our tsar father."

Suddenly the crowd dispersed in both directions -
And Stepan Paramonovich comes out,
A young merchant, a daring fighter,
Nicknamed Kalashnikov.
He bowed first to the terrible king,
After the white Kremlin and the holy churches,
And then to all the Russian people,
His falcon eyes are burning,
He looks at the oprichnik intently.
Opposite him, he becomes
Pulls on combat gloves
Mighty shoulders straightens

Yes, he strokes his curly head.

(“A song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, a young guardsman and a daring merchant Kalashnikov”)

IN 1. What Russian tsar, famous for the introduction of the oprichnina, was portrayed by the poet in the “Song about ... the merchant Kalashnikov”?

IN 2. Define the genre "Songs about ... the merchant Kalashnikov"?

IN 3. What artistic technique, based on the humanization of natural phenomena, does the author use when describing the “scarlet dawn”?

AT 4. What term denotes a means of artistic expression, which is a stable figurative definition characteristic of works of oral folk art (“golden curls”, “clear skies”, “good fellows”, “mighty shoulders”, “daring fighter”)?

AT 5. What are the names of the words that the characters use in their speech: “come out”, “I suppose”, “I promise”, etc.?

Why did you, scarlet dawn, wake up?
What joy did you play?

AT 7. The song about ... the merchant Kalashnikov "is written in unrhymed verse. What is this type of verse called?

C1. Do you agree with the opinion that the fist fight between Kiribeevich and Kalashnikov is the personification of the struggle between the permissiveness of the "state" law and the moral "private" person?

C2. In what works of Russian poets and writers of the XIX century. do the heroes resolve the conflict situation with a duel?

IN 1. Ivan the Terrible

IN 3. personification

AT 4. Permanent epithet

AT 5. vernacular

AT 6. Rhetorical question

1. Artistic means of depicting heroes.
2. A hero from the people and the royal approach.
3. The meaning of the image of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich.

The very name “Songs about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, a young guardsman and a daring merchant Kalashnikov” by M. Yu. Lermontov brings it closer to oral folk art. Why? The answer is to be found in the first lines of the poem:

Oh, you are the one, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich!
We composed our song about you,
About your beloved oprichnik
Yes, about a brave merchant, about Kalashnikov;
We folded it in the old fashion,
We sang it to the harp
And they read and ordered.

So, the poem is written in the form of a drinking song, which in Russia was performed at feasts in the royal palace or in the houses of noble boyars. To give his work a folk flavor, Lermontov used words and expressions characteristic of oral folk art: “in holy Russia, our mother”, “wonderful”, “daring”, “cried”. The appropriate mood is also created by chants and repetitions, which are often found in the works of oral folk art, both in poetry and in prose (in particular, in fairy tales). Every now and then the gusli, performing a song at a feast at the boyar Matvey Romodanovsky, repeat: Ay, guys, sing - just build a harp!

Hey, guys, drink - understand the matter!
Amuse you good boyar
And his white-faced noblewoman!

These words are a kind of refrain of "Songs ...". Often Lermontov uses synonymous words to emphasize the significance of the statement: “not to find, not to find such a beauty”, “they ran, started playing”, “the daring Moscow fighters got together, gathered”, “to roam for a holiday, to have fun”. This technique is very common in the works of oral folk art. In addition, Lermontov used comparisons that are specific to the folklore tradition:

... Walks smoothly - like a swan;
Looks sweet - like a dove;
He says a word - the nightingale sings;
Her cheeks are rosy,
Like the dawn in the heavens...

The younger brothers compare Kalashnikov's strength with the wind that drives obedient clouds or with an eagle calling the eaglets to a feast, the dawn over Moscow is with a beauty washed with snow.

Yes, and the plot of "Songs ...", in essence, also makes the poem related to oral folk art. Heroes of Russian epics fight "for mother truth", like Stepan Kalashnikov. Of course, the epic heroes most often had to fight monsters and foreign invaders, and the enemy of the “remote merchant” was just “the servant of the king, the formidable king.” But it is interesting to note that Kalashnikov, before a fistfight on the Moskva River, calls Kiribeevich "Busurmai's son", and in fact the enemies of the Russian land have been called Basurmans since ancient times. It would be wrong to call this “affectionate” nickname that Kalashnikov gives to his opponent only an angry attack of an offended husband who went to battle in order to maintain the honor of his wife. To understand why Kalashnikov called his enemy that way, you need to figure out who Kiribeevich is?

Kiribeevich - royal guardsman; this was the name of the royal guard, which Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible used in the fight against people objectionable to him in 1565-1572. The only law for the guardsmen was the will of the king (and his own, most importantly, that it did not contradict the royal orders). Not knowing the limit of lawlessness, the guardsmen deserved the strong hatred of the people. The word "oprichnik" has become synonymous with the words: "robber", "rapist", "villain". It is no coincidence that in the "Song ..." it is the guardsman who acts as a negative character and tries to seduce someone else's wife. N. M. Karamzin in the “History of the Russian State” described the time of the oprichnina in the following way: “The oprichnik, or the pitcher, - that’s how they began to call them, as if the monsters of pitch darkness - could safely crowd, rob a neighbor and, in case of a complaint, took a penalty from him for dishonor ... To say a discourteous word to a pitchman meant to offend the king himself ... ".

But back to the work of Lermontov. What else do we know about Kiribeevich? Let's re-read the lines where the king reproaches his "faithful servant" for his strange absent-mindedness at the feast:

It's indecent to you, Kiribeevich,
To abhor royal joy;
And you are from the Skuratov family,
And you are fed by the family of Malyutina! ..

G. L. Skuratov-Belsky, nicknamed Malyuta, was one of the most loyal associates of Ivan the Terrible, an active participant in numerous massacres. And Kiribeevich, the hero of Lermontov's poem, is a relative of this monster, besides, he grew up in the family of Malyuta! Now it becomes clear the meaning of the words of Kalashnikov, who called Kiribeevich "Busurman's son." For Stepan Paramonovich, and for the entire Russian people, the guardsman is the same conqueror, invader who came to rob and ruin the Russian land. If for Kiribeevich the law is the royal will and his own whims, then Stepan Kalashnikov goes to battle not only for the honor of his wife, he defends the "truth-mother" the highest law of conscience and justice, given not by the tsar, but by God. Kalashnikov does not seek justice from the tsar, realizing that he would be more willing to take the side of his "faithful servant." The “daring merchant” honestly answers the tsar, not caring about what this truth may threaten him with: “... I killed him of my free will.” It is interesting to note that Stepan Paramonovich asks to protect the formidable king of his loved ones - his wife, children and brothers. Saying goodbye to his brothers, in the best Russian traditions, he asks them to bow to his wife and parental home, and also to pray for his soul, "a sinful soul." Probably because Stepan Kalashnikov tried to live according to his conscience and died for a just cause, Russian people remember him when they pass by his grave at the crossroads of three roads:

An old man will pass - cross himself,
A good fellow will pass - he will sit down,
A girl will pass - she will grieve,
And the harpists will pass - they will sing a song.

But what about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich? After all, in the title of the poem, his name is the first! Of course, the image of the tsar from the "Songs ..." is far from the real historical portrait of Ivan the Terrible. The author completely removes from the king any responsibility for the unworthy behavior of his "faithful servant":

Oh, you are a goy, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich!
Your crafty servant deceived you,
Didn't tell you the truth
I did not tell you that the beauty
In the church of God remarried,
Married to a young merchant
According to our Christian law.

However, a fair and wise ruler, the dream of which was reflected in many works of oral folk art, does not come from Ivan Vasilyevich. And this also makes "Song ..." related to folklore - let's remember Ilya Muromets, whom Prince Vladimir did not appreciate on his merits.

The enraged tsar executes the merchant Kalashnikov for killing his “faithful servant” Kiribeevich in a fistfight, at the same time promising to “grant” the widow and children of Stepan Paramonovich from his treasury, and allow his brothers to “trade without pay, duty-free.” But all the promised royal favors are lost against the backdrop of the tragic death of Stepan Kalashnikov. That is why the “daring merchant” is so dear to the people, that for the sake of the highest value, which he considers justice, this man did not spare his own life. Such are truly folk heroes who have always stood "for the Russian land", "for mother truth" and "for the Orthodox faith".