The main technique of composition of the Felitsa ode. Essay on the topic: the image of Felitsa in the ode of the same name

In the 70s of the 18th century, changes began in Russian literature. They deal specifically with poetry in a way that disrupts canonized forms. Little by little Lomonosov, Maikov, Kheraskov started this, but Derzhavin approached the world of genres like a rebel.

This is especially true for the genre of solemn ode, as evidenced by, if you read carefully and thoughtfully, the ode “Felitsa”, a brief summary of which is presented below.

Title of the ode

Felicitas means "happiness" in Latin. But this is not enough. Derzhavin read a fairy tale that Catherine II wrote for her grandson, Alexander, on behalf of Princess Felitsa to Prince Chlorus, who will later appear in the text as an active hero.

Due to ridicule of the nobles surrounding Catherine II, friends did not advise publishing the ode. It is not harmless, this ode to “Felitsa”. A summary of a long work could anger high dignitaries. And how could the empress herself react to the humorous description of her life? Moreover, it also speaks about important issues. Nevertheless, the ode was published and brought tears of tenderness to the empress. She found out who its author was and did him all the best. The ode “Felitsa” is not of interest to schoolchildren these days. They will read the summary out of necessity and with longing.

Start

The first ten verses tell how the princess, like the gods, showed the way to the captive prince Chlorus - the way to the place where the rose grows without thorns. He needed this rose to free himself from slavery. And the rose grows on a high mountain, where the abode of virtue is located. This tale about the prince and the khan’s daughter Felitsa was composed, as already mentioned, by the empress herself. So the ode “Felitsa”, a brief summary of which includes a retelling of the work of Catherine II, could no longer help but flatter the empress. The second ten verses ask Felitsa for help in learning to live correctly, because the author himself is weak and cannot cope with everyday passions.

"Simplicity" of the Empress

In the next ten poems, Derzhavin creates an ideal image of the heroine, describing her behavior and habits: love for walking, simple food, reading and writing, and a measured daily routine. Her contemporaries were no different from all this. There is no portrait description (meaning the ode “Felitsa”). Derzhavin, a brief summary of this shows, highlights the monarch’s democracy, unpretentiousness, and friendliness.

Irony and satire

The poet introduces such an innovation into the ode, while previously such liberties were not allowed in this genre. He contrasts the virtuous Felitsa with her environment. The poet writes in the first person, but means Prince Potemkin, who leads a riotous lifestyle at court and, when fighting, imagines himself as a sovereign ruler, like the Sultan. When preparing for war, and he fought a lot and, as a rule, successfully, he spends his days in feasts, where exquisite food, which is countless, is served on golden dishes. Or rides in a golden carriage, accompanied by friends, dogs, and beauties.

The author also does not forget A.G. Orlov (ode “Felitsa”). Derzhavin (we are considering a summary) talks about his love for horse racing. The Orlovs bred purebred trotters at their stud farms. The count organized races on his wonderful horses. Derzhavin also remembers the passion of the Orlov favorites for dancing and fist fights. This made their spirit happy.

In addition, the poet mentions P.I. Panin, who helped the empress in the coup. Panin loved hound hunting and devoted a lot of time to it, forgetting about government affairs. Derzhavin does not neglect such a great courtier as Naryshkin, who loved to ride along the Neva at night, and why at night, it is unknown, accompanied by a whole orchestra of musicians with horn instruments. Peace and quiet in the capital city could only be dreamed of by the common man who worked hard to earn his living. Well, how can you not smile at the peaceful entertainment of Prosecutor General Vyazemsky? In his free time, he read popular stories and dozed over the Bible.

The poet is also ironic about himself, as if counting himself among a narrow circle of the elite. No one dared to write in such an ironic vein. The ode “Felitsa” (Derzhavin), a brief summary of which is conveyed here, became an innovative work. When Derzhavin was reproached for ridicule, which nowadays seems quite harmless, the poet pointed to the place where he describes his shortcomings, for example, chasing pigeons in a dovecote or simply playing cards like a fool. People, according to the poet, and rightly so, are not inclined to deal with serious matters all the time. It is only important not to run after empty dreams, not to lead a luxurious and lazy life, and not to grumble when they demand money for government affairs. And both Potemkin and Prince Vyazemsky were famous for this, whom Catherine II described in her fairy tale about Prince Chlorus under the names Lazy and Grumpy.

Literary joke

But the poet has no condemnation of the empress, who is surrounded by people with human weaknesses. After all, their talents are at the service of the prosperity of the great empire. This is shown by the analysis of Derzhavin’s poem “Felitsa”. In the portraits of high-ranking courtiers, the device of a literary anecdote is used. In those days, an anecdote was understood as a real story about a real person, but artistically processed, which has an instructive or satirical sound. Indeed, in the memory of descendants there remained a reveler, a duelist and a tireless ladies' man, the favorite of Catherine II, Alexei Orlov, a cautious Panin, a sybarite, but also a victorious warrior Potemkin. The gradual departure from the scene of the Freemasons, which began during the time of Catherine II under the influence of the bloody revolution that took place in France, is described. The Masons are mentioned at the very beginning of the ode. But in general, Derzhavin’s irony was not pathetic, accusatory in nature; it was soft, rather playful.

How the image of Catherine is created

Through the fairy tale about the clever Felitsa, who helps Prince Chlorus, Derzhavin creates the image of an ideal ruler. Where an ordinary person, says Derzhavin, goes astray and follows passions, one princess is able to illuminate everything with her wisdom. He hints at the creation of provinces in the state, which would bring its administration into greater order. He appreciates in Catherine II that she does not humiliate people, does not oppress and destroy like a wolf, and turns a blind eye to their weaknesses. Catherine II is not God, and behaves accordingly. People are more subject to God than to the king. This is what the analysis of Derzhavin’s poem “Felitsa” says. The Empress observes this rule, because she is an enlightened monarch.

And, nevertheless, Derzhavin decides to give very delicate advice to the empress: dividing the state into provinces, sealing them with laws so that there are no disagreements. He goes on to beautifully compare her to a skilled captain leading a ship through a stormy sea.

Emphasizing modesty and generosity in the image of Catherine

Many stanzas are devoted to this, but the most important thing is that she refused the titles “Wise”, “Great”, “Mother of the Fatherland”, which the senators presented to her. Yes, the modesty was false, but it looked beautiful. When you carefully read not only the ode, but also the comments to it, such conclusions are implied by the analysis of the ode “Felitsa” by G. R. Derzhavin.

Idealization of the image of Catherine

In the first part of the ode, the image of a monarch with the simple habits of an ordinary person greatly impresses the poet. Further, Derzhavin praises her as a wise statesman. This is the image of an enlightened sovereign in comparison with the queens who ruled before her, often deeply ignorant and cruel. In the third, final part, the image of a philosopher soaring high above his subjects is created, who deeply thinks about the fate of the state and the people.

These are all the ideals of G. R. Derzhavin in the ode “Felitsa”. Felitsa is a living goddess on earth, which is confirmed by the final stanzas. They are full of praise, and it is no wonder that the empress shed tears while reading this essay.

Oriental motifs in ode

Having built the ode “Felitsa” from beginning to end on an oriental fairy tale written by the monarch herself, Derzhavin gave it an oriental flavor. It contains Lazy Guy, Grumpy, Murza, Khan, the Khan's daughter, and a godlike princess. This creates a special “flavor” that is unusual neither in Russian prose nor poetry. In addition, having made the monarch the subject of poetry, the poet wrote the ode as praise and at the same time as a satirical work. This ensures the originality of Gabriel Derzhavin’s ode “Felitsa”. He is one of the first poets to begin to discover new treasures of the living word in literature, one of those whose work does not fit into the framework of the theory of three styles.

Ode “Felitsa” written in 1782 is the first poem that made Gavril Romanovich Derzhavin very famous, and also which became an example of a new style in Russian poetry.

The ode received its name from the heroine of “The Tale of Prince Chlorus,” which was written by Catherine II herself. She is also named by the same name, which translates as “happiness,” in Derzhavin’s ode, which glorified the empress and caricatured her entire entourage. Indeed, breaking all the traditions of the genre of laudable odes, Derzhavin widely introduced colloquial vocabulary and even non-literary statements into it, but most importantly, he did not draw an official portrait of the empress, but depicted her human appearance. But not everyone was as delighted with this poem as the empress. It confused and worried many.

On the one hand, in the ode “Felitsa” a completely established image of a “god-like princess” is drawn, which expresses the writer’s concept of the standard of the Right Reverend monarch. Noticeably embellishing the real Catherine II, Derzhavin firmly believes in the image he painted.

On the other hand, in the writer’s poems one hears the idea not only of the wisdom of power, but also of the dishonesty of performers who are only interested in their own benefit. The idea is not new, but behind the figures of the nobles who were described in the ode, the features of real people were clearly visible.

In these images you can easily recognize the favorite of the Empress Potemkin, her close associates Alexei Orlov, Panin, Naryshkin. By painting their bright, mocking portraits, Derzhavin showed great courage - because any of those whom the poet offended could easily deal with the writer. And only the empress’s benevolent attitude saved Derzhavin. And he even decides to give a recommendation to Catherine: to obey the law, which is the same for everyone. The work ends with the traditional praise of Catherine and the wish for all the best to her.

Thus, in “Felitsa” Derzhavin appeared as a brave pioneer who combined the style of a laudatory ode with the individualization of characters and satire, and introduced elements of low styles into the high genre of ode. Later, the author himself defined the genre of “Felitsa” as a “mixed ode”.

“Felitsa” by G.R. Derzhavin

History of creation. Ode “Felitsa” (1782), the first poem that made the name of Gabriel Romanovich Derzhavin famous. It became a striking example of a new style in Russian poetry. The subtitle of the poem clarifies: “Ode to the wise Kyrgyz-Kaisak princess Felitsa, written by the Tatar Murza, who has long settled in Moscow, and lives on his business in St. Petersburg. Translated from Arabic."

This work received its unusual name from the name of the heroine of “The Tale of Prince Chlorus,” the author of which was Catherine II herself. She is also named by this name, which in Latin means happiness, in Derzhavin’s ode, glorifying the empress and satirically characterizing her environment.

It is known that at first Derzhavin did not want to publish this poem and even hid the authorship, fearing the revenge of the influential nobles satirically depicted in it. But in 1783 it became widespread and, with the assistance of Princess Dashkova, a close associate of the Empress, was published in the magazine “Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word,” in which Catherine II herself collaborated. Subsequently, Derzhavin recalled that this poem touched the empress so much that Dashkova found her in tears. Catherine II wanted to know who wrote the poem in which she was so accurately depicted. In gratitude to the author, she sent him a golden snuff box with five hundred chervonets and an expressive inscription on the package: “From Orenburg from the Kirghiz Princess to Murza Derzhavin.” From that day on, literary fame came to Derzhavin, which no Russian poet had known before. Main themes and ideas.

The poem "Felitsa", written as a humorous sketch from the life of the empress and her entourage, at the same time raises very important problems. On the one hand, in the ode “Felitsa” a completely traditional image of a “god-like princess” is created, which embodies the poet’s idea of ​​​​the ideal of an enlightened monarch. Clearly idealizing the real Catherine II, Derzhavin at the same time believes in the image he painted:
Give me some advice, Felitsa:
How to live magnificently and truthfully,
How to tame passions and excitement

And be happy in the world?

On the other hand, the poet’s poems convey the idea not only of the wisdom of power, but also of the negligence of performers concerned with their own profit:
Seduction and flattery live everywhere,
Luxury oppresses everyone.
Where does virtue live?

Where does a rose without thorns grow?

This idea in itself was not new, but behind the images of the nobles depicted in the ode, the features of real people clearly appeared:
My thoughts are spinning in chimeras:
Then I direct arrows towards the Turks;
Then, having dreamed that I was a sultan,
I terrify the universe with my gaze;
Then suddenly, I was seduced by the outfit.
I'm off to the tailor for a caftan.

In these images, the poet’s contemporaries easily recognized the empress’s favorite Potemkin, her close associates Alexei Orlov, Panin, and Naryshkin. Drawing their brightly satirical portraits, Derzhavin showed great courage - after all, any of the nobles he offended could deal with the author for this. Only Catherine’s favorable attitude saved Derzhavin.

But even to the empress he dares to give advice: to follow the law to which both kings and their subjects are subject:

You alone are only decent,
Princess, create light from darkness;
Dividing Chaos into spheres harmoniously,
The union will strengthen their integrity;
From disagreement to agreement
And from fierce passions happiness
You can only create.

This favorite thought of Derzhavin sounded bold, and it was expressed in simple and understandable language.

The poem ends with the traditional praise of the Empress and wishing her all the best:

I ask for heavenly strength,
Yes, their sapphire wings spread out,
They keep you invisibly
From all illnesses, evils and boredom;
May the sounds of your deeds be heard in posterity,
Like the stars in the sky, they will shine.

Artistic originality. Classicism forbade combining high ode and satire belonging to low genres in one work, but Derzhavin not only combines them in characterizing different persons depicted in the ode, he does something completely unprecedented for that time. Breaking the traditions of the laudatory ode genre, Derzhavin widely introduces colloquial vocabulary and even vernacular into it, but most importantly, he does not paint a ceremonial portrait of the empress, but depicts her human appearance. That is why the ode contains everyday scenes and still life;

Without imitating your Murzas,
You often walk
And the food is the simplest
Happens at your table.

“God-like” Felitsa, like other characters in his ode, is also shown in everyday life (“Without valuing your peace, / You read, write under the cover...”). At the same time, such details do not reduce her image, but make her more real, humane, as if exactly copied from life. Reading the poem “Felitsa”, you are convinced that Derzhavin really managed to introduce into poetry the individual characters of real people, boldly taken from life or created by the imagination, shown against the backdrop of a colorfully depicted everyday environment. This makes his poems bright, memorable and understandable.

Thus, in “Felitsa” Derzhavin acted as a bold innovator, combining the style of a laudatory ode with the individualization of characters and satire, introducing elements of low styles into the high genre of ode. Subsequently, the poet himself defined the genre of “Felitsa” as a mixed ode. Derzhavin argued that, in contrast to the traditional ode for classicism, where government officials and military leaders were praised, and solemn events were glorified, in a “mixed ode” “the poet can talk about everything.” Destroying the genre canons of classicism, with this poem he opens the way for new poetry - “real poetry™”, which received brilliant development in the work of Pushkin.

The meaning of the work. Derzhavin himself subsequently noted that one of his main merits was that he “dared to proclaim Felitsa’s virtues in a funny Russian style.” As the researcher of the poet’s work V.F. rightly points out. Khodasevich, Derzhavin was proud “not that he discovered Catherine’s virtues, but that he was the first to speak in a “funny Russian style.” He understood that his ode was the first artistic embodiment of Russian life, that it was the embryo of our novel. And, perhaps,” Khodasevich develops his thought, “if “old man Derzhavin” had lived at least to the first chapter of “Onegin,” he would have heard echoes of his ode in it.”

The updated odes of 1779, published anonymously, were noticed only by poetry lovers. In 1782 Derzhavin wrote the ode “Felitsa”. Published early next year in the magazine “Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word,” it became a literary sensation, a milestone not only in the history of the ode, but also of Russian poetry.

In terms of genre, it was like a typical laudatory ode. Another, unknown poet praised Catherine II, but the “praise” was incredibly impudent, not traditional, and it was not she, but something else that turned out to be the content of the ode, and this other thing resulted in a completely new form.

The innovation and freshness of the form of the ode “Felitsa” were perceived with particular acuteness in that literary atmosphere when the laudable ode, through the efforts of Petrov, Kostrov and other ode-writers, reached the extreme point of decline and satisfied only the tastes of the crowned customer. The general dissatisfaction with the laudable ode to classicism is perfectly expressed by Knyazhnin:

I know that the odes are daring,

Which are already out of fashion,

Very capable of annoying.

They always Catherine,

Crazy chasing the rhyme,

They compared the paradise to Krin;

And, becoming the rank of prophets,

Communicating with God as if with a brother,

Without fear of a pen,

In his borrowed delight,

The universe is turning upside down,

From there to countries rich in gold,

They let loose their paper thunder.

The reason for the exhaustion of odes, according to Knyazhnin, is in the adherence of their authors to the rules and canons of classicism: they demanded imitation of models - and so the ode became sadly imitative and epigone. Moreover, these rules did not allow the poet’s personality to manifest itself in poetry, which is why odes are written by those who “borrow delight.” The success of Derzhavin’s ode lies in its deviation from the rules, from following models; he does not “borrow” delight, but expresses his feelings in an ode dedicated to the empress.

Under the name Felitsa, Derzhavin portrayed Catherine II. The poet uses the name Felitsa, mentioned in the “Tale of Prince Chlorus” written by the empress for her grandson Alexander, which was published in 1781. The content of the tale is didactic. The Kyrgyz Khan kidnapped the Russian Tsarevich Chlorus.

Wanting to test his abilities, the khan gives the prince a task: to find a rose without thorns (a symbol of virtue). Thanks to the help of the Khan's daughter Felitsa (from the Latin felicitos - happiness) and her son Reason, Chlorus finds a rose without thorns on the top of a high mountain. The image of the Tatar nobleman Murza has a double meaning: where the ode goes to a high tone, this is the author’s self; in satirical places - a collective image of Catherine’s nobles.

Derzhavin in “Felitsa” does not create an official, conventional and abstractly ceremonial image of a “monarch”, but draws a warm and heartfelt portrait of a real person - Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna, with her habits, activities, and everyday life characteristic of her as a person; he praises Catherine, but his praise is not traditional.

The image of the author (Tatar Murza) appears in the ode - in fact, he depicted not so much Catherine as his attitude towards her, his sense of admiration for her personality, his hopes for her as an enlightened monarch. This personal attitude is also manifested towards her courtiers: he doesn’t really like them, he laughs at their vices and weaknesses - satire intrudes into the ode.

According to the laws of classicism, mixing genres is unacceptable: everyday details and satirical portraits could not appear in the high genre of ode. But Derzhavin does not combine satire and ode - he overcomes genre. And his updated ode can only be formally attributed to this genre: the poet writes simply poems in which he freely talks about everything that his personal experience tells him, that excites his mind and soul.

The ode “Felitsa” is associated with the tragic failure of Derzhavin’s plan to become Catherine II’s advisor. A sincere feeling of respect and love for the empress was warmed by the warmth of the living heart of an intelligent and talented poet. Catherine not only loved praise, but also knew how rare it is to hear sincere praise. That is why she immediately, after meeting the ode, thanked the poet by sending him a golden snuffbox, sprinkled with diamonds, with five hundred ducats.

The success excited Derzhavin. Catherine liked the ode, which means that the boldness of addressing it was approved. Moreover, Derzhavin learned that she had decided to meet him. I had to get ready for the show. The opportunity opened up to get closer to the empress.

Derzhavin decided to immediately explain himself to her - he could not, he had no right to miss the opportunity to take the place of an adviser to the monarch. The presentation of his program was to be the ode “Vision of Murza”. The reception was scheduled for May 9, 1783. The poet did not have time to write the program ode, but a prosaic detailed plan for this ode was preserved in his papers.

The poet begins with an interpretation of Catherine II’s promises to be an enlightened monarch: “Your enlightened mind and great heart remove the bonds of slavery from us, elevate our souls, make us understand the preciousness of freedom, which is only characteristic of a rational being such as man.” It recalls the lessons of the Pugachev uprising.

If they listen to him and change their policy, then the monarchs “will be disgusted by tyranny and under their rule human blood will not be shed like a river, corpses will not stick out on stakes and heads on scaffolds, and gallows will not float in rivers.” This was already a direct allusion to the tsarist reprisal against the participants of the Pugachev uprising.

Inspired by the concept of enlightened absolutism, Derzhavin explained in detail the need to establish contractual relations between the poet and the empress. He claimed that he was free from flattery and that he was committed to always telling only the truth. Using his favorite legend about Alexander the Great, who, trusting his doctor, boldly drank the medicine he offered, rejecting the slander of the courtiers who claimed that the doctor poured poison into his cup, the poet boldly expressed his desire to be such a “doctor” under Catherine.

He convinced her to trust him. The “drink” he offers will be healing, it will ease suffering, and help you see everything in its true light. And then he will sing of the empress’s merits: believe that my song “will encourage you to exploit the virtues and will aggravate your jealousy for them,” he says to Catherine.

The ode plan contains a list of political, public and social events that the Russian empress must implement. They constitute the essence of the program of Russian enlightened absolutism outlined by Derzhavin.

“The Vision of Murza” could become one of the best works of Russian civil poetry. But it didn't. The outlined plan did not receive a poetic embodiment. All Derzhavin’s hopes of becoming an adviser under Catherine collapsed. Introduced to the empress, the poet hoped that they would remain alone and he would have the opportunity to tell her about his plans... Everything turned out differently: Catherine coldly greeted him in front of everyone.

With her arrogant and majestic appearance, she emphasized her dissatisfaction with the daring poet, who dared to satirically depict people close to her. The poet was stunned. All plans and hopes collapsed. There was no point in thinking about Catherine agreeing to bring him closer to her as a “doctor.” Moreover, anxiety crept in - whether he was in danger of falling into disgrace.

Apparently, Fonvizin was right, who in his “Minor” (presented in the past, 1782) portrayed the wise Starodum. His friend Pravdin expressed the wish that he be called to the court “for what a doctor is called to the sick for.” To this Starodum answered sternly and firmly: “It is in vain to call a doctor to the sick without healing. The doctor won’t help you here.”

Instead of “Vision of Murza” Derzhavin wrote “Gratitude to Felitsa”. In the ode, he tried to explain that his “courage” was generated by sincerity, that his “heart is grateful” to the empress and “burns with zeal.” “Explanatory” poems have lost their strength, energy, and fervor of feeling. The main thing about them is obsequious obedience. True, at the end of the ode, the poet carefully and delicately, but still hinted that he was unlikely to soon be able to sing the “god-like princess” again.

Derzhavin was not mistaken in his assumption: “heavenly fire” did not ignite in his soul, and he did not write more poems like “Felitsa.” The desire to be the singer of Felitsa-Catherine meant for Derzhavin the establishment of contractual relations between the poet and the empress.

He would continue to sing Felitsa selflessly, would sincerely glorify her name for centuries, if she, acting as an enlightened monarch, boldly updated legislation and carried out the reforms necessary for the country and people. The plan collapsed. Ode "Felitsa" remained lonely.

True, two more odes were dedicated to Catherine: “Image of Felitsa” (1789) and “Vision of Murza” (new edition of 1791, sharply different from the prose plan of 1783). “The Image of Felitsa” is truly an ode of praise. Derzhavin betrayed himself. It is written in a traditional plan. Uncontrollably extolling the virtues of Catherine in a very long, needlessly drawn-out ode, he demonstratively catered to Felitsa’s taste.

She needed praise, not Derzhavin's personal feeling. Flattery was part of Derzhavin’s plan - he was removed from the post of Tambov governor and put on trial. I had to go to St. Petersburg to seek protection from Catherine. In his autobiographical “Notes,” the poet explains the reason for writing the ode: “There was no other way left but to resort to my talent.

As a result, I wrote... the ode “Image of Felitsa.” The ode was delivered to the empress, she liked it, and the persecution of Derzhavin was stopped. In this ode, Derzhavin the poet was defeated by Derzhavin the official, associated with the court.

History of Russian literature: in 4 volumes / Edited by N.I. Prutskov and others - L., 1980-1983.

History of Russian literature of the 18th century Lebedeva O. B.

Odo-satirical world image in the solemn ode “Felitsa”

In formal terms, Derzhavin in “Felitsa” strictly adheres to the canon of Lomonosov’s solemn ode: iambic tetrameter, ten-line stanza with the rhyme aBaBVVgDDg. But this strict form of the solemn ode in this case is a necessary sphere of contrast, against the background of which the absolute novelty of the content and style plans appears more clearly. Derzhavin addressed Catherine II not directly, but indirectly - through her literary personality, using the plot of a fairy tale that Catherine wrote for her little grandson Alexander for his ode. The characters in the allegorical “Tale of Prince Chlorus” - the daughter of the Kyrgyz-Kaisak khan Felitsa (from the Latin felix - happy) and the young prince Chlorus are busy searching for a rose without thorns (an allegory of virtue), which they find, after many obstacles and overcoming temptations, on the top of a high mountain, symbolizing spiritual self-improvement.

This indirect appeal to the empress through her literary text gave Derzhavin the opportunity to avoid the protocol-odic, sublime tone of addressing the highest person. Taking up the plot of Catherine’s fairy tale and slightly aggravating the oriental flavor inherent in this plot, Derzhavin wrote his ode on behalf of “a certain Tatar Murza,” playing on the legend about the origin of his family from the Tatar Murza Bagrim. In the first publication, the ode “Felitsa” was called as follows: “Ode to the wise Kyrgyz-Kaisak princess Felitsa, written by some Tatar Murza, who had long settled in Moscow, and living on their business in St. Petersburg. Translated from Arabic."

Already in the title of the ode, no less attention is paid to the personality of the author than to the personality of the addressee. And in the text of the ode itself, two plans are clearly drawn: the author’s plan and the hero’s plan, interconnected by the plot motif of the search for a “rose without thorns” - virtue, which Derzhavin learned from “The Tale of Prince Chlorus”. The “weak”, “depraved”, “slave of whims” Murza, on whose behalf the ode was written, turns to the virtuous “god-like princess” with a request for help in finding a “rose without thorns” - and this naturally sets two intonations in the text of the ode: apology against Felitsa and denunciation against Murza. Thus, Derzhavin’s solemn ode combines the ethical principles of older genres - satire and ode, which were once absolutely contrasting and isolated, but in “Felitsa” united into a single picture of the world. This combination in itself literally explodes from within the canons of the established oratorical genre of ode and classicist ideas about the genre hierarchy of poetry and the purity of the genre. But the operations that Derzhavin performs with the aesthetic attitudes of satire and ode are even more daring and radical.

It would be natural to expect that the apologetic image of virtue and the denounced image of vice, combined in a single odo-satirical genre, would be consistently maintained in their traditional typology of artistic imagery: the abstract-conceptual embodiment of virtue would have to be opposed by the everyday image of vice. However, this does not happen in Derzhavin’s “Felitsa,” and both images, from an aesthetic point of view, represent the same synthesis of ideologizing and everyday-descriptive motifs. But if the everyday image of vice could, in principle, be subject to some ideologization in its generalized, conceptual presentation, then Russian literature before Derzhavin fundamentally did not allow the everyday image of virtue, and even a crowned one. In the ode “Felitsa”, contemporaries, accustomed to the abstract conceptual constructions of odic images of the ideal monarch, were shocked by the everyday concreteness and authenticity of the appearance of Catherine II in her daily activities and habits, listing which Derzhavin successfully used the motif of the daily routine, going back to the satire of II Cantemir “Filaret” and "Eugene":

Without imitating your Murzas,

You often walk

And the food is the simplest

Happens at your table;

Not valuing your peace,

You read and write in front of the lectern

And all from your pen

Shedding bliss to mortals:

Like you don't play cards,

Like me, from morning to morning (41).

And just as a descriptive picture of everyday life is not fully consistent with one typology of artistic imagery (“the bliss of mortals”, wedged into a number of concrete everyday details, although Derzhavin is also accurate here, meaning the famous legislative act of Catherine: “The Commission’s order on composing a draft of a new code"), the ideologized image of virtue also turns out to be rarefied by a concrete material metaphor:

You alone are only decent.

Princess! to create light from darkness;

Dividing Chaos into spheres harmoniously,

The union will strengthen their integrity;

From disagreement to agreement

And from fierce passions happiness

You can only create.

So the helmsman, sailing through the show-off,

Catching the roaring wind under sail,

Knows how to steer a ship (43).

There is not a single verbal theme in this stanza that does not genetically go back to the poetics of Lomonosov’s solemn ode: light and darkness, chaos and harmonious spheres, union and integrity, passions and happiness, show-off and swimming - all this is familiar to the reader of the 18th century. a set of abstract concepts that form the ideological image of wise power in a solemn ode. But “the helmsman sailing through the show-off”, skillfully steering the ship, with all the allegorical meaning of this image-symbol of state wisdom, is incomparably more plastic and concrete than “Like a capable wind in a swimmer’s show-off” or “The feed flies between the watery depths” in the ode Lomonosov 1747

The individualized and specific personal image of virtue is opposed in the ode “Felitsa” by a generalized collective image of vice, but it is opposed only ethically: as an aesthetic essence, the image of vice is absolutely identical to the image of virtue, since it is the same synthesis of odic and satirical typology of imagery, deployed in the same plot motive of the daily routine:

And I, having slept until noon,

I smoke tobacco and drink coffee;

Transforming everyday life into a holiday,

This idea in itself was not new, but behind the images of the nobles depicted in the ode, the features of real people clearly appeared:

Then I steal captivity from the Persians,

Then I direct arrows towards the Turks;

Then, having dreamed that I was a sultan,

I terrify the universe with my gaze;

Then suddenly, I was seduced by the outfit,

I’m off to the tailor for a caftan (41).

That's it, Felitsa, I'm depraved!

But the whole world looks like me.

Who knows how much wisdom,

But every person is a lie.

We do not walk the paths of light,

We run debauchery after dreams,

Between a lazy person and a grumbler,

Between vanity and vice

Did anyone accidentally find it?

The path of virtue is straight (43).

The only aesthetic difference between the images of Felitsa the virtue and Murza the vice is their correlation with the specific personalities of Derzhavin’s contemporaries. In this sense, Felitsa-Ekaterina is, according to the author's intention, an accurate portrait, and Murza - the mask of the author of the ode, the lyrical subject of the text - is a collective, but concrete to such an extent that to this day its concreteness tempts researchers of Derzhavin's work to see in the features this mask is similar to the face of the poet himself, although Derzhavin himself left unambiguous and precise indications that Potemkin, A. Orlov, P. I. Panin, S. K. Naryshkin with their characteristic properties and everyday preferences - “whimsical disposition”, “hunting for horse races”, “exercises in dress”, passion for “all kinds of Russian youth” (fist fighting, hound hunting, horn music). When creating the image of Murza, Derzhavin also had in mind “in general, ancient Russian customs and amusements” (308).

It seems that in the interpretation of the lyrical subject of the ode “Felitsa” - the image of the vicious “Murza” - I. Z. Serman is closest to the truth, seeing in his speech in the first person “the same meaning and the same meaning” as “speech in the first person” has faces in the satirical journalism of the era - in “The Drone” or “The Painter” by Novikov. Both Derzhavin and Novikov use the assumption common to the literature of the Enlightenment, forcing their exposed and ridiculed characters to talk about themselves with all possible frankness.”

And here it is impossible not to notice two things: firstly, that the technique of self-exposing characterization of vice in his direct speech genetically goes back directly to the genre model of Cantemir’s satire, and secondly, that, creating his own collective image of Murza as a lyrical subject ode “Felitsa” and forcing him to speak “for the whole world, for the entire noble society,” Derzhavin, in essence, took advantage of the Lomonosov odic method of constructing the image of the author. In Lomonosov’s solemn ode, the author’s personal pronoun “I” was nothing more than a form of expressing a general opinion, and the image of the author was functional only insofar as it was capable of embodying the voice of the nation as a whole - that is, it had a collective character.

Thus, in Derzhavin’s “Felitsa,” ode and satire, intersecting with their ethical genre-forming guidelines and aesthetic features of the typology of artistic imagery, merge into one genre, which, strictly speaking, can no longer be called either satire or ode. And the fact that Derzhavin’s “Felitsa” continues to be traditionally called an “ode” should be attributed to the odic associations of the theme. In general, this is a lyrical poem that has finally parted with the oratorical nature of the high solemn ode and only partially uses some methods of satirical world modeling.

Perhaps this is precisely this - the formation of a synthetic poetic genre belonging to the field of pure lyricism - that should be recognized as the main result of Derzhavin’s work of 1779-1783. And in the totality of his poetic texts of this period, the process of restructuring Russian lyric poetry is clearly revealed in line with the same patterns that we have already had the opportunity to observe in journalistic prose, fiction, poetic epic and comedy of the 1760-1780s. With the exception of dramaturgy - a type of verbal creativity that is fundamentally authorless in external forms of expression - in all these branches of Russian fine literature, the result of crossing high and low world images was the activation of forms of expression of the author's, personal beginning. And Derzhavin’s poetry was no exception in this sense. It is precisely the forms of expression of the personal author's principle through the category of the lyrical hero and the poet as a figurative unity that fuses the entire set of individual poetic texts into a single aesthetic whole that is the factor that determines the fundamental innovation of Derzhavin the poet relative to the national poetic tradition that preceded him.