A poetic fairy-tale work by the outstanding Russian classic of Russian literature Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” was written between 1818 and 1820. The author, impressed by the beauty, diversity and originality of Russian folklore (epics, legends, fairy tales and popular stories), creates a unique poetic work that has become a classic of world and Russian literature, distinguished by a grotesque, fantastic plot, the use of colloquial vocabulary and the presence of a certain amount of authorial irony.
According to some literary scholars, the poem was created as a parody of chivalric novels and poetic ballads in the romantic style of Zhukovsky, who was fashionable at that time (the basis was his popular ballad “The Twelve Maidens”), who, after the publication of the poem, presented Pushkin with his portrait with words of gratitude from a defeated teacher for a winning student.
History of creation
According to some sources, Pushkin conceived the idea of writing this fabulous poetry with a “heroic spirit” during his lyceum studies. But he started working on it much later, already in 1818-1820. The poetic poem was created under the influence not only of exclusively Russian folklore, but also the motifs of the works of Voltaire and Ariosto are clearly felt here. The names for some characters (Ratmir, Farlaf, Ragdai) appeared after Pushkin read “The History of the Russian State.”
In this poetic work, the author skillfully combined antiquity, moments of Russian history and the time in which the poet lived. For example, his image of Ruslan is akin to the image of the legendary Russian heroes, he is just as brave and courageous, but Lyudmila, thanks to her certain carelessness, flirtatiousness and frivolity, on the contrary, is closer to the young ladies of Pushkin’s era. The most important thing for the poet was to show in the work the triumph of good over evil, the victory of the light principle over dark, gloomy forces. After the poem appeared in print in 1820, it almost immediately brought the poet well-deserved fame. Distinguished by its lightness, irony, sublimity, grace and freshness, it was a deeply original work, in which various genres, traditions and styles were skillfully mixed, immediately captivating the minds and hearts of readers of that time. Some critics condemned the use of deliberately common figures of speech in the poem; not everyone understood the author’s unusual technique and his unusual position as a storyteller.
Analysis of the work
Story line
The poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” is divided into six parts (songs), it begins with lines where the author talks about who this work is dedicated to, and it is intended for beautiful girls, for whose sake this fairy tale was written. Then comes the well-known description of the magical country of Lukomorye, the green oak growing there and mythical creatures living there.
First song begins with a story about a feast in the palace Prince of Kyiv Vladimir the Red Sun, dedicated to the wedding of his daughter, the beautiful Lyudmila, and the brave young hero Ruslan. There is also the legendary epic singer and storyteller Bayan, as well as Ruslan’s three rivals Ratmir, Ragdai and Farlaf, who are also in love with Lyudmila, they are angry with the newly-minted groom, full of envy and hatred of him. Then a misfortune happens: the evil sorcerer and dwarf Chernomor kidnaps the bride and takes her to his enchanted castle. Ruslan and three rivals set out from Kyiv in search of her, in the hope that whoever finds the prince's daughter will receive her hand and heart. On the way, Ruslan meets Elder Finn, who tells him the story of his unhappy love for the girl Naina and shows him the way to the terrible sorcerer Chernomor.
Second part (song) talks about the adventures of Ruslan’s rivals, about his clash and victory over Ragday who attacked him, and also describes the details of Lyudmila’s stay in Chernomor’s castle, her acquaintance with him (Chernomor comes to her room, Lyudmila gets scared, squeals, grabs him by the cap and he runs away in horror).
In the third song a meeting of old friends is described: the wizard Chernomor and his friend the sorceress Naina, who comes to him and warns him that the heroes are coming to him for Lyudmila. Lyudmila finds a magic hat that makes her invisible and hides throughout the palace from the old and nasty sorcerer. Ruslan meets the giant head of a hero, defeats it and takes possession of a sword with which to kill Chernomor.
In the fourth song Radmir abandons the search for Lyudmila and remains in the castle with young beauties, and only one faithful warrior Ruslan stubbornly continues his journey, which becomes more and more dangerous, on the way he meets a witch, a giant and other enemies, they try to stop him, but he firmly goes to your goal. Chernomor tricks Lyudmila, wearing an invisibility cap, into a magic net and she falls asleep in it.
Fifth song tells the story of Ruslan's arrival at the wizard's palace, and of the difficult battle between the hero and the villainous dwarf, who carries Ruslan on his beard for three days and three nights, and finally surrenders. Ruslan captivates him, cuts off the magic beard, throws the sorcerer into a bag and goes to look for his bride, whom the vile dwarf hid well, putting an invisibility cap on her. Finally he finds her, but cannot wake her up, and in such a sleepy state he decides to take her to Kyiv. On the night road, Farlaf secretly attacks him, seriously wounds him and takes Lyudmila away.
In the sixth song Farlaf brings the girl to her father and tells everyone that it was he who found her, but he still cannot wake her up. Elder Finn saves and revives Ruslan with living water, he hurries to Kyiv, which was just attacked by the Pechenegs, bravely fights them, removes the spell from Lyudmila and she wakes up. The main characters are happy, a feast is arranged for the whole world, the dwarf Chernomor, who lost magical power left in the palace, in general, good will dine on evil and justice will triumph.
The poem ends with a lengthy epilogue in which Pushkin tells readers that with his work he glorified the legends of deep antiquity, says that in the process of work he forgot about all grievances and forgave his enemies, in which friendship, which is of great importance to the author, helped him a lot .
Characteristics
The hero Ruslan, the groom of the prince's daughter Lyudmila, is the central character of Pushkin's poem. The description of the trials that befell him, which he endured with honor and great courage in the name of saving his beloved, forms the basis of the entire storyline. The author, inspired by the exploits of Russian epic heroes, portrays Ruslan not only as the savior of his beloved, but also as the defender of his native land from the raids of nomads.
Ruslan's appearance, described with special care, must fully convey his correspondence to the heroic image according to the author's intention: he has blond hair, symbolizing the purity of his plans and the nobility of his soul, his armor is always clean and shiny, as befits a knight in shining armor, always ready for battle. At the feast, Ruslan is completely absorbed in thoughts about his future marriage and ardent love for his bride, which does not allow him to notice the envious and evil glances of his rivals. Compared to them, he stands out for his purity and directness of thoughts, sincerity and sensuality. Also, the main character traits emerge during his journey to the Chernomor castle; he reveals himself as an honest, decent and generous person, a brave and courageous warrior, purposefully and stubbornly pursuing his goal, a faithful and devoted lover, ready to even die for his love.
In the image of Lyudmila, Pushkina showed a portrait of an ideal bride and lover who faithfully and faithfully waits for her groom and grieves immensely in his absence. The princely daughter is depicted as a delicate, vulnerable nature, possessing special tenderness, sensitivity, elegance and modesty. At the same time, this does not prevent her from having a strong and rebellious character, which helps her resist the evil sorcerer Chernomor, gives her strength and courage not to submit to the vile kidnapper and faithfully wait for her savior Ruslan.
Features of compositional construction
The genre of the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” refers to novels and poems of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, gravitating toward creativity in a “national” spirit. It also reflects the influence on the author of such trends in literature as classicism, semanticism, and chivalric romance.
Following the example of all magical knightly poems, this work has a plot built according to a certain template: hero-knights are looking for their lovers, kidnapped by some mythical villain, overcome a series of tests for this, armed with certain talismans and magical weapons, and in the end they receive a hand and beauty's heart. The poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” is constructed in the same vein, but it is distinguished by amazing grace, freshness, subtle wit, brightness of colors and a light trail of epicureanism, characteristic of many works written by Pushkin during his studies at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. It is precisely the author’s ironic attitude towards the content of the poem that cannot give this work a real “national” coloring. The main advantages of the poem can be called its light and beautiful form, playfulness and witty style, perkiness and cheerfulness of the general mood, a bright thread running through all the content.
Pushkin’s fairy-tale poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila,” cheerful, light and witty, became a new word in the established literary traditions of writing heroic ballads and poems; it was extremely popular among readers and caused a great resonance among literary critics. It is not without reason that Zhukovsky himself admitted his complete failure, and gave the branch of primacy to the young talent of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, who, thanks to this work, took a leading position in the ranks of Russian poets and became famous not only in Russia, but also far beyond its borders.
1. Fairy tale or poem?
2. Signs of a fairy tale in a poem.
3. The meaning of the ending.
What a delight these tales are! Each is a poem!
A. S. Pushkin
“Ruslan and Lyudmila” is the first poem by A. S. Pushkin; its idea was born in the lyceum. He wanted to create a heroic fairy tale poem, inspired by Russian folk tales and translations of Voltaire and L. Ariosto. Literary scholars define the genre of the poem as a fairy tale.
"Ruslan and Lyudmila" contains many recognizable features of the Russian fairy tale. As in any fairy tale, the story is preceded by a saying. A saying is a special genre, very short story, joke, preface to a fairy tale. It is often not at all related to the fairy tale itself in terms of content, but simply prepares listeners for it and enhances the folklore coloring of the text.
There is a green oak near the Lukomorye;
Golden chain on the oak tree:
Day and night the cat is a scientist
Everything goes round and round in a chain;
He goes to the right - the song starts,
To the left - he tells a fairy tale.
There are miracles there: a goblin wanders there,
A mermaid sits on the branches...
In this saying we see recognizable plots of fairy tales told to the poet by nanny Arina Rodionovna. The author, confirming his involvement in the fairy-tale world, talks about his acquaintance with the learned cat and is ready to tell one of his fairy tales. This fairy tale is “Ruslan and Lyudmila”.
At the same time, the poem contains historical realities and is a parody of V. A. Zhukovsky’s ballad “The Twelve Sleeping Virgins,” for which Pushkin received from him a portrait with the dedication “To the victorious student from the defeated teacher.” It is precisely as a parody poem that it contains reduced vocabulary, grotesque, and jokes - many things gave critics reason to accuse the author of immorality, although the average reader liked the poem. The beginning - the traditional beginning of a fairy tale - determines the scene of the action, introduces us to the characters and brings us up to date - what we are talking about, where the action of the poem begins.
With friends, in the high grid
Vladimir the sun feasted;
He gave away his youngest daughter
For the brave prince Ruslan...
Reading the poem, we note that it contains both historical characters (Prince Vladimir, singer Bayan) and fictional ones. Thus, the names of Rogdai, Farlaf and the Khazar Khan Ratmir were taken by Pushkin from the “History of the Russian State” by N. M. Karamzin.
Following the unexpected event typical of fairy tales involving unknown forces - the disappearance of Lyudmila - we also see the traditional fairy tale motif of rivalry: Lyudmila's father promises to give her as a wife to the savior. Four heroes set out on a journey to find Lyudmila and get her as his wife. At a certain point they separate, and each follows his own path. This is reminiscent of the folklore motive for choosing a path.
Miracles, trials, and unusual encounters await everyone on the road: Ruslan, through Elder Finn, finds out who stole his wife, receives parting words and a prediction.
The poem contains magical objects - an invisibility cap, a sword, living and dead water, a magic ring. The appearance of the heroes also speaks of fabulousness. The evil characters look fantastic. The sorceress Naina, resembling Baba Yaga, turns into a winged black serpent, and here is what Chernomor looks like:
Arapov is walking in a long line
In pairs, as decorously as possible,
And be careful on the pillows
He bears a gray beard;
And he follows her with importance,
Raising his neck majestically,
Humpbacked dwarf from the door:
His head is shaved,
Covered with a high cap,
Belonged to the beard.
Such a characteristic fairy-tale device as triple repetition is also present in the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”:
Then she hissed three times,
She stomped her foot three times
And she flew away like a black snake.
Here there are constant epithets characteristic of folklore: clear eyes, a faithful sword, a zealous horse. The richness of the poem’s language is in figurative and expressive means: hyperbole, comparisons.
It is reliably known that Pushkin took the image of the huge head with which Ruslan had to fight from an ancient fairy tale about Eruslan Lazarevich, the plot of which came into Russian folklore from the East. In fact, Eruslan is a modified name Ruslan. Everyone knew the adventures of the hero of the popular folk tale Eruslan and his military exploits - it was so widespread among the people. And the hero receives the treasure sword in the same way as Ruslan, having won over his head after three attempts. In the poem, the head is Chernomor’s older brother, deceived by him and guarding the treasured sword. He asks Ruslan to take revenge on his brother, whose power lies in his magic beard. Ruslan cuts off Chernomor's beard with the same sword. The hero's duel with evil is the culmination of the poem. Just like in a fairy tale, everything ends well.
How will I end my long story?
You will guess, my dear friend!
The old man's wrongful anger faded;
Farlaf in front of him and in front of Lyudmila
At Ruslan's feet he announced
Your shame and dark villainy;
The happy prince forgave him;
Deprived of the power of sorcery,
The king was received into the palace;
And, celebrating the end of disasters,
Vladimir in the high grid
Locked it in with his family.
The last, sixth song ends, just as the first begins: Deeds of days gone by, Traditions of deep antiquity.
So, we see that the author follows all the main canons of the Russian fairy tale. The moral of the poem echoes the morality of folklore works - only the one who takes on evil, is brave, kind and courageous, wins. Truth is always on the side of good. Creatively synthesizing fairy tale and history, epic and European novel, Pushkin created a fairy poem with elements of fantasy, thus winning the competition with V. A. Zhukovsky and K. N. Batyushkov, who dreamed of creating a fairy tale poem on a national historical basis.
- New!
Indeed, one of Pushkin’s favorite compositional techniques is the method of returning the action at the end of the work to the same or similar place, to the same or similar environment in which it began. Thus, the poet, as it were, outlines his work...
Ruslan is a brave warrior who always strives for justice. He has four rivals: Chernomor, Rogdai, Farlaf and Ratmir. After Chernomor stole Lyudmila, Ruslan, Rogdai, Farlaf and Ratmir went in search. Everyone wanted to own Lyudmila...
1. Mischief and humorous description. 2. Details of the life of the Russian people. 3. The principle of author's self-expression. 4. Historical realities in a fairy-tale frame. To the winning student from the defeated teacher. V. A. Zhukovsky According to critics of that...
RUSLAN - the hero of the poem by A.S. Pushkin “Ruslan and Lyudmila” (1817-1820, prologue 1824-1825, ed. “Lyudmila and Ruslan”). R.'s name is borrowed from the popular folk tale “About Eruslan Lazarevich.” Pushkin’s R. is “an unparalleled knight, a hero at heart,” in which ideal...
The image of Ruslan in the poem
Ruslan is one of the main characters of the poem by A.S. Pushkin "Ruslan and Lyudmila". His name was borrowed from the popular folk tale “About Eruslan Lazarevich.” Pushkin’s Ruslan is “an unparalleled knight, a hero at heart,” in which Lyudmila is expressed, his life will be lived in vain, for only feat grants immortality to a person. Ruslan's victories are also the peak in the development of the young poet. All themes of the poem are resolved with the help of contrasts between the ancient (“the legends of deep antiquity”) and the modern, the fabulous and the real, the intimate and the ironic. The poem, imbued with the “Russian spirit,” captured the spiritual world of the people with their understanding of beauty as good and moral. Critics of Pushkin’s time unanimously saw the poem’s nationality in its “rough, square” democracy. It is no coincidence that a comparison arose of the poem with a bearded guest in an army jacket and bast shoes, who infiltrated the Moscow noble assembly. The image of Ruslan served as the prototype of Ruslan, the hero of M.I. Glinka’s opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila” (1843); ballet F.E. Scholz (1821); film by A. Ptushko (1972). ideal qualities of a man - physical strength, nobility of soul, military valor (“I’m going, I’m going, I’m not whistling, // And when I get there, I won’t let you go”). Ruslan boldly enters the fight against the forces of evil. Spiritually enriched by the meeting with Finn, Ruslan understands that if he does not defeat Chernomor and free
poem Pushkin Ruslan Lyudmila school
The image of Finn in the poem
Finn is an old man, a beneficent wizard. He has
"........................ clear view,
Calm gaze, gray hair;
The lamp in front of him is burning;
Behind ancient book he's sitting,
Reading it carefully."
He is Ruslan’s guardian angel everywhere, encourages him, consoles him, warns him, helps him, convinces him that good will triumph over evil.
The image of Chernomor in the poem
Evil in fairy tales is represented by fantastic, disgusting monster creatures. For example, Kashchei the Immortal, who kidnaps women - usually the mother, wife or bride of the hero of a fairy tale. In Pushkin's poem, such a creature is Chernomor - a disgusting dwarf, whose entire power lies in his magical beard. Without a beard, he loses his power. But when reading the poem, one gets the impression that Karla is not at all scary, and even funny. This is how he is described in the scene with Lyudmila:
I wanted to run, but I had a beard
Confused, fallen and struggling;
Gets up, fell; in such trouble
Arapov's black swarm rushes about.
It is no coincidence that Prince Vladimir even accepted him into the palace. In his depiction of Chernomor, Pushkin uses rather irony, thereby innovatively refracting the fairy-tale tradition.
The image of Naina in the poem
Naina is a completely different matter. This is the embodiment of deceit, cunning, dishonor. She can transform into animals, just like the heroes of fairy tales. The sorceress, with her disgustingness, is very reminiscent of Baba Yaga:
The old woman is decrepit, gray-haired,
Sparkling with sunken eyes,
With a hump, with a shaking head.
It is she who helps Farlaf kill Ruslan and take credit for the victory. This plot twist is unexpected in the poem; it reveals the “willfulness” of the innovator Pushkin’s plan, complicating the fairy-tale intrigue. With this episode, the poet seems to prove the idea that the most terrible evil comes from people - from their envy and malice.
Images of Farlaf, Rogday and Ratmir in the poem
The immediate incentive for Pushkin to begin work on the poem was the publication in February 1818 of the first volumes of Karamzin’s “History of the Russian State”, from which the names of all three of Ruslan’s rivals were borrowed - Rogdai, Ratmir and Farlaf.
Prince Vladimir the Sun feasts in the gridnitsa with his sons and a crowd of friends, celebrating the wedding of his youngest daughter Lyudmila with Prince Ruslan. The guslar Bayan sings in honor of the newlyweds. Only three guests do not rejoice at the happiness of Ruslan and Lyudmila, three knights do not listen to the prophetic singer. These are Ruslan's three rivals: the knight Rogdai, the braggart Farlaf and the Khazar khan Ratmir.
“...In the soul the unfortunate melt
Love and hate are poison.
One - Rogdai, brave warrior,
Pushing the limits with a sword
Rich Kyiv fields;
The other is Farlaf, an arrogant loudmouth,
In feasts, not defeated by anyone,
But the warrior is humble among swords;
The last one, full of passionate thought,
Young Khazar Khan Ratmir:
All three are pale and gloomy,
And a merry feast is not a feast for them...”
Ruslan goes for Lyudmila, because... he is pushed to this by love and honor “Be faithful to love and honor.” And Ruslan’s rivals Rogdai, Ratmir and Farlaf are blinded by the princess’s beauty, position, and wealth and are not at all worried about her.
The poem was written by the young poet over three years (1817 - 1820) and later (1828) it was noticeably revised. It was in the 2nd edition that the famous prologue with the learned cat, who told this tale, was published.
Style and character of the poem
Having amazed his contemporaries (not everyone reacted to it with unambiguous enthusiasm; the noise of critics did not subside until 1830), the poem still delights with its wealth of imagination and light content. The pictures that appear before the reader are bright and full of liveliness and brilliance. This is a description of the wedding feast at Prince Vladimir, depicting the customs of ancient Rus', and the tragic murder of the sleeping Ruslan, and the death of a living head. The fight between the Kievites and Ruslan in the sixth song is magnificent. Using the poetic achievements of his predecessors (Zhukovsky, Dmitriev and Batyushkov), the author began the merger various styles language, creating a new literary language.
This article will reveal the images of Finn and Naina and characterize Lyudmila from the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”.
Tender Lyudmila
The tone is immediately set by her simple name - dear to people. And what is it good for? In the fifth song, the poet frankly lists why he likes Lyudmila. “Mila princess,” says the poet and explains that she has a sensitive, modest disposition, despite the fact that she is the daughter of a powerful prince, is faithful to her husband, despite all the temptations with which Chernomor wanted to bribe her, and is a little flighty. This quality makes her even sweeter, because there is no dull stiffness in her.
Start over
The reader gets acquainted with youngest daughter Prince Vladimir at the wedding feast. Boyan praises her beauty, “beauty worthy of heaven.” The girl is pretty: golden braids, slender figure, graceful lungs legs... In combination with her beauty, her modesty gives her special attractiveness. The laughter and jokes of the feast and the upcoming wedding night excite her and make her feel shy. This is how the characterization of Lyudmila from the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” begins to be built. When she gets into the chambers with Ruslan, who also has a “speaking” name (the root is Rus'), the lamp suddenly goes out, darkness sets in, and the girl disappears.
In the palaces of Chernomor
Lyudmila woke up in the rich chambers of Scheherazade after a deep faint. Excitement and vague chaos tormented her soul. She trembled and worried, pale and silent. The maids flew up to her, combed and styled her golden hair, dressed her in an azure sundress, and decorated her precious necklaces. But the girl is indifferent to wealth; she cannot be bribed. This is the characterization of Lyudmila from the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”. Things do not please her soul, like the gloomy mountain snow-covered landscape outside the window.
She goes out into a beautiful garden, where fountains gush, soft grass turns green, trees grow with unprecedented fruits. Lyudmila remains inconsolable. This luxury leaves her indifferent. She is so upset that she first decided to drown herself, then die of hunger, so as not to break her loyalty to Ruslan. Fearless Lyudmila believed that the power of the sorcerer was not afraid of her, she could die. When she was tired of walking and began to doze off, a light breeze carried her to the chambers, where the helpful slaves changed her clothes and laid her to rest.
On the bed she trembles with fear, and then a dwarf appears with his retinue. Lyudmila is brave. She tore the cap off the villain's head, and he left in shame. And in the morning, curious as any girl, she tried on this cap and became invisible. This is how her image is complemented by the poet. Invisible in the magic hat, she immensely yearns and sheds tears for Ruslan and her father’s house.
Devotion and fidelity are the characteristics of Lyudmila from the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”. When she was caught in a net, the girl plunged into deep dream, from which only the savior Ruslan, who received a magic ring from Finn, could get her out. To summarize, let's name Lyudmila's main qualities: beauty, modesty, bashfulness, fearlessness, love for others, youthful frivolity, incorruptibility.
Characteristics of Finn from the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”
A sage and hermit, he spends his time reading ancient books and giving instructions to Ruslan as he searches for his missing bride.
He knows how to console the knight without lifting the veil of secrecy about the future. He was a young shepherd when he met a beautiful girl and she rejected his love. Then he became a warrior and laid wealth at the feet of the proud chosen one. “I don’t love you, hero,” was the answer he received.
Then Finn decided to study magic and use witchcraft to attract the ruler of his soul. He learned the necessary spells, and a terrible hunchbacked old witch appeared at his call, languishing in love. Finn was horrified and rejected her himself and received worst enemy. These are the traits the author endowed Finn with: loyalty and patience, wisdom and knowledge of magic, the ability to heal the dead.
Beauty-villain Naina
The reader will recognize her, proud and beautiful, from Finn’s stories. Time destroyed her beauty and brought her black thoughts and actions in return.
She is a friend of the sorcerer Chernomor. She flies into his castle in the form of a winged serpent with iron scales, and they form an alliance against Finn and Ruslan. Turning into a cat, she demanded that Ruslan's rival Farlaf follow her, and led him to the place where the hero slept, resting on the way to Kyiv. Farlaf, a little soul, killed Ruslan in his sleep. Naina was triumphant: she had defeated Finn, who had insulted her. Excessive pride, self-esteem, familiarity with black magic and its harmful use good people- this is the characteristic of Naina from the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”.
Good afternoon, dear fairy tale lovers. I again invite you on a fascinating journey into the semantic content of A.S. Pushkin’s poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”.
All my thoughts are based on information taken from the Holy Scriptures, from the works of the holy fathers, from the scientific works of modern scientists, from works of art. I don’t claim that this is exactly what our great storytellers wanted to say – I’m guessing.
Baptism of Rus'
From thinking about the meaning of previous fairy tales and cartoons, it became clear that they all figuratively reflect the life of the Universe: the creation of man, man’s disobedience of what was said by the Heavenly Father not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which led to the first death, the fall into the world of solid forms - the physical. Next, being in leather clothes, the task was to return to their Heavenly Homeland - to Eden, avoiding the second death - the death of the soul. But what is the poem about?
Ruslan - loving Rus', the spirit of the Russian people, Lyudmila - dear to people - Christian faith. The poem begins with a story about the baptism of Rus'.
“In the crowd of mighty sons with friends in the high grid, Vladimir the sun feasted; He married his youngest daughter to the brave prince Ruslan. Why did Prince Vladimir, the clear sunshine, decide to baptize Rus'? The fact is that at that time the Slavs had their own pantheon of gods. According to tribal traditions, each tribe, honoring everyone Slavic gods, singled out one main god, connecting primarily with him the preservation of all social and economic life. As a result, inter-tribal conflicts and strife in the East Slavic world were consolidated in religious form. This weakened Rus' in the fight against its enemies. Vladimir Svyatoslavovich realizes the need for a new religion in order to free Rus' from tribal traditions and strengthen grand-ducal centralism. Vladimir began with a “test of faith.” Then embassies began to come to Rus' and Prince Vladimir slowly chose. He conducted a “test of faith” thoroughly, trying to understand in truth which of the religions was most needed by Rus'. Having settled on Christianity, he first of all gave way to reflection and only after that finally made his choice in favor of Eastern Orthodoxy. (A.F. Zamaleev, E.A. Ovchinnikova “Essays on Old Russian Spirituality”)
Why “the youngest daughter,” although the others are not mentioned in the poem? I assume that we are talking about the transformation of our consciousness: the beginning of human transformation is Faith, then after Faith we have Hope and, finally, the highest level of consciousness - Love.
… “Our ancestors did not eat soon”...
The Christian faith gradually, slowly entered the consciousness of people: they looked closely, thought about it. The spirit of the Russian people - Ruslan was already ready to unite with the Christian faith, this would be followed by a “resurrection”, that is, the possibility of returning to Eden. But “the fairy tale is soon told, but the deed is not done soon.”
“Three young knights are sitting at a noisy wedding table;...
...They lowered their embarrassed gaze: they were Ruslan’s three rivals;
In their souls, the unfortunate harbor poison of love and hatred.”
In the soul of each of us, along with qualities of high dignity, nest also such as envy, aggression, lust, laziness, gluttony, etc. These are rivals. At the interstate level everything is the same. The mentality of a country is the united consciousness of its population.
“Only Rogdai, a brave warrior, who with his sword pushed the boundaries of the rich fields of Kyiv; the other is Farlaf, an arrogant loudmouth, undefeated at feasts, but a humble warrior among swords; the last, full of passionate thought, the young Khazar Khan Ratmir: all three are pale and gloomy and a cheerful feast is not a feast for them.” Co-joy even between close people is rarely manifested sincerely, and interstate relations are even more difficult to build. Which state or group of states corresponds to which of these names, think for yourself, this is the history of our country. Alexander Sergeevich wrote the poem in 1820.
Kidnapping of Lyudmila
“Suddenly thunder struck, light flashed in the fog, the lamp went out, smoke ran, everything around was dark, everything was trembling, and Ruslan’s soul froze.”
... Faith in love according to the teachings of Jesus Christ: “love one another” was not allowed to be quickly realized on earth by dark forces: persecution of Christians began - a sorcerer - the united image of world evil, born of the imperfect consciousness of people, “stole Lyudmila.”
“Oh grief: there is no dear friend! Abducted by an unknown force."
“But what did the Grand Duke say?
Tell me, which of you agrees to gallop after my daughter? Whose feat is not in vain, to him I will give her as a wife with half the kingdom of my great-grandfathers.”
"I!" - said the sad groom. “I, I,” Farlaf and joyful Ratmir exclaimed with Rogdai.”
“All four of them go out together. Ruslan languished in silence, having lost his meaning and memory.” The Russian people were given many talents from God from the very beginning. The enemies of the Russian people, those who really did not want dear Love to become a queen on our land, distorted the history of Great Rus'.
Farlaf (the corroded ego of an individual or a state) arrogantly, arrogantly boasted of his future exploits, the Khazar Khan already considered Lyudmila his own, full of the excitement of the young, Rogdai was gloomy, feared an unknown fate, did not seem to crave heroic deeds: he already had experience in the battle with Ruslan - Russia.
“Rivals travel the same road all day long.” We live on the same planet, and universal human values seem to be the same: everyone craves love and considers themselves the most worthy of it. But at some point in history there was a split in Christianity.
“Let’s leave, it’s time! - they said, “we’ll entrust ourselves to an unknown fate.” And each horse, not sensing the steel, chose its own path of its own free will.” A horse “does not sense steel” when its rider controls it uncertainly.
Ruslan's despondency
“What are you doing, unfortunate Ruslan, alone in the desert silence? From powerful hands Having left the bridle, you walk at a pace between the fields, and slowly in your soul hope perishes, faith fades away. But suddenly there was a cave in front of the knight; there is light in the cave." A time of stagnation in the country.
“There is an old man in the cave; clear appearance, calm gaze, gray hair; the lamp in front of him is burning; he sits behind an ancient book, reading it carefully.” Why in a cave? Yes, because knowledge about the Creation of the world, its development, the fate of countries and people, about the true history of the lives of our ancestors until the time of awakening of souls was hidden from the masses of people. Therefore it is said: in the cave there is an old man, that is, a man with an awakened soul who has acquired knowledge about the laws of this world, about the destinies of countries and peoples. He got to know them in order to achieve the love of an earthly woman - this is one layer of information; the next one is that the mind of an earthly person learns the laws of education, the development of the matter of the earth in order to use them for its enrichment, but much more has been revealed.
“Welcome, my son! – he said with a smile to Ruslan. “I’ve been here alone in the dark for twenty years.” old life fade; but finally I waited for the day I had long foreseen. We are brought together by fate; sit down and listen to me.”
It was no coincidence that the old man called Ruslan his son: according to the law of succession of generations, in the language of physics this is the law of conservation of energy, nothing happens by chance, from nothing - the spiritual experience of our pagan ancestors prepared current state our consciousness, and therefore our spirit and soul. The old man is the mind, transfers his experience to the young spirit - Ruslan. This happens in every person and in humanity as a whole: the physical body transfers its life experience to the emotional part of the soul, the emotional body transfers its experience to the mental (mental) part of the soul, and the mind transfers all experience to the spirit. This is how we see the light.
“Ruslan, you have lost Lyudmila; your strong spirit loses strength; but a quick moment of evil will rush by: for a while, doom has befallen you. Go to everything with hope and cheerful faith, do not be discouraged; forward! With a sword and a bold breast, make your way to midnight.”
More than once in the life of Russia, the faith of Christ was forgotten, as if hidden, disappeared. But hard years passed and she reappeared, still sweet and beloved, calling for love between all peoples.
“Find out, Ruslan: your offender is the terrible wizard Chernomor”... - this is the combined image of the servants dark forces, what we call the earthly pragmatic mind, not yet purified of gross animal qualities. There are states in which a significant part of the population thinks about the world around them in terms of its benefits for personal enrichment with material wealth, neglecting moral, ethical and spiritual values.
“No one’s gaze has penetrated his abode until now; but you, destroyer of evil machinations, will enter into it, and the villain will perish by your hand.” In Russia, many immoral laws of other states are not welcomed, and Russian representatives at the international level often highlight - voice the secret insidious actions of some countries against others, when one thing is said from the international platform, but the completely opposite is done.
“Our knight fell at the elder’s feet and kissed his hand in joy. The world brightens his eyes, and his heart has forgotten the torment. He came to life again."
Man and woman
Next, the elder told Ruslan about his life. In his youth, he, a shepherd, was sincerely in love with the beautiful Naina: - and I recognized love in my soul. Naina rejected his love, only loving her charms: - shepherd, I don’t love you! Then he decided to earn Naina’s proud attention with abusive glory. - Rumor spread, the kings of a foreign land were afraid of my audacity! Long-time dreams came true, a bloody sword, corals, gold and pearls were brought to the feet of the arrogant beauty. I stood there as an obedient captive, but the maiden hid from me: “Hero, I don’t love you.” And I, a greedy seeker of love, decided in my joyless sadness to attract Naina with charms and kindle love in the proud heart of the cold maiden with magic. But in fact the winner was fate, my stubborn persecutor. I spent invisible years in the training of sorcerers. Now, Naina, you are mine! The victory is ours, I thought. And suddenly a decrepit, gray-haired old woman sits in front of me, her sunken eyes sparkling, with a hump, with a shaking head, a picture of sad disrepair.
Ah, knight, it was Naina!.. And it really was like that. Mute, motionless in front of her, I was a complete fool with all my wisdom. In a sepulchral voice, the freak mutters a confession of love to me. Imagine my suffering! But meanwhile she, Ruslan, blinked her languid eyes; traitor, monster! Oh shame! But tremble, maiden thief!”
The Creator placed enormous talents in a man, but the key to unlocking them lies in a woman’s body. The man turned from a carefree youth into a brave one courageous warrior, but this was not enough: his beloved did not appreciate either his exploits or the gifts brought to her feet. Women's selfishness sometimes knows no bounds, but it also gives meaning to men's lives. The man did not give up: he decided to comprehend all earthly wisdom. This is also a feat in the name of a woman’s love. I knew something, but time passed: Naina grew old, even though he awakened her feelings. But the feelings were awakened by witchcraft, and Naina also admitted to him that she was a witch, that is, their hearts did not open to each other. It turned out to be deception in exchange for love. This is how this world works: our feelings encourage the development of the brain: in order to do something, you need to want it. Our desires gradually become more complex and are the driving force behind the development of the world: first we want enough food, warm shelter, then, having found this, we want beauty, aesthetics, fame. But this is not enough, we become bored and want to know the laws of this world in order to master it. But the world was created by the Creator and He alone can own it. Human exaltation leads to the collapse of both the individual and entire nations infected with this idea. We went through all this in history books (and in the fairy tale about the fisherman and the fish).
“Now I find consolation in nature, wisdom and peace. But the old woman had not yet forgotten her former feelings and turned the late flame of love from annoyance into anger. The old witch, of course, will hate you too; but grief on earth does not last forever.” The feelings in a person must submit to the mind - reason. But this is a slow process. Naina here reflects our feelings, the old man - the mind. These processes occur in humanity as a whole and in the soul of each person: feelings are very difficult to obey the mind. Earthly wisdom will give way to spiritual wisdom when it fulfills its destiny. And Naina somehow resembles America, and the old man resembles Russia. They looked up to America and competed with it. Our scientists and artists found an opportunity there to realize their talents and, in fact, gave them to her. For some reason, even the Russian stabilization fund is located in an American bank.
Ruslan's fight with Rogdai
Rogdai mistook Farlaf for Ruslan and wanted to show heroism. Farlaf fell out of fear into a dirty ditch. The old lady told me where to look for Ruslan. She told Farlaf to sit at home near Kiev in solitude on his ancestral estate and that she would help him get Lyudmila without worries. Yes, hurt feelings are insidious.
Rogdai caught up with Ruslan: prepare, friend, for the death blow. The knights fought fiercely. “Suddenly my knight, boiling, with an iron hand It rips the rider off the saddle, lifts him up, holds him above him and throws him into the waves from the shore. Perish! - exclaims menacingly; “Die, my evil envious one!”
“You guessed, my reader, with whom the valiant Ruslan fought: it was bloody battles seeker, Rogdai, hope of the people of Kiev.” I think international events in the coming years will show who (which state or group of states) Alexander Sergeevich named Rogday. Political events of the modern world revolve around Kyiv.
Conspiracy of Naina and Chernomor
Naina made her way to Chernomor like a snake and proposed an alliance: “hitherto I knew Chernomor only by loud rumor; but a secret fate now unites us with common enmity; danger threatens you, a cloud hangs over you; and the voice of offended honor calls me to vengeance.” “With a look full of cunning flattery, the dwarf gives her his hand, saying: we will put Finn to shame.” I’m not saying that, but Naina is very much reminiscent of America: in the recent past everyone aspired to her, but now her position has clearly been shaken. And she, like old Naina, tries to present as many intrigues to Russia as possible. What is Chernomor’s beard, which he boasts so much about to Naina? Perhaps this is the dollar - the international monetary equivalent, perhaps this is the world evil united against Russia.
Trinity in man
“The gray-haired sage shouts after his young friend: “Happy journey!” Forgive, love your wife, don’t forget the elder’s advice.” The developed earthly mind transfers all its knowledge to the spirit while striving for the Savior. This is how a chain is built: the body submits to the soul (feelings and mind taken together as a single whole, and the soul gives itself into submission to the spirit. The Lord says about this in the Gospel: “where there are three of you for My sake, there I am with you.”
“Whoever is destined by inevitable fate to have a girl’s heart will be sweet in spite of the universe; being angry is stupid and funny.” Like this! This is the knowledge - revelations that the old man learned in the “cave”.
Two brothers
Ruslan in open field met a huge talking head, fought with it, managed to contrive and left. “Then in the empty place the heroic sword sparkled.” The sword here is an image of the wise consciousness of the people. The head is the mind, the elder brother, - Ruslan told how his mind deceived him - younger brother Chernomor. “Listen,” he slyly told me, “don’t refuse an important service: I found in black books that behind the eastern mountains on the quiet shores of the sea, in a remote basement under locks, a sword is kept - so what? Fear! I understood in the magical darkness that by the will of hostile fate this sword would be known to us; that he will destroy us both: he will cut off my beard, your head.” “Beyond the distant mountains we found a fatal cellar; I scattered it with my hands and took out the hidden sword.” Dialogue between brothers is our internal dialogue between the worst (mundane) in us and between our sublime thoughts, that is, between the mind and reason. In Russia, all sources of information about the origin of the Russians and our centuries-old history. But is it possible to destroy something like this irrevocably? A lot of documentary evidence was found in the form of manuscripts and works of art; During excavations on the land of modern European states, in Siberia, many artifacts were found that indicate without a doubt about great history our people. And this is an indisputable fact!
The head gave the sword to Ruslan: “Oh, knight! We keep you with fate, take it and God be with you! Perhaps on your way you will meet Karla, the sorcerer. “Oh, if you notice him, take revenge on treachery and malice!”
The wisdom of the holy fathers says that anger only grows from revenge. Man, as a slave of passions and animal instincts, ignoring the needs of the soul and spirit, is the image of this evil dwarf with a beard. To cleanse your soul of base feelings means to cut off Karl’s beard: there is no dependence, no slavery. And Karla becomes simply an earthly mind, necessary for life in the physical world.
“Ruslan, this unparalleled knight, a hero at heart, a faithful lover. Tired of stubborn battle, under the heroic head he tastes sweet sleep.” IN modern world Scientists from all countries have made many discoveries that have provided food for our minds - the “heroic head”. These discoveries confirm knowledge about the subtle and spiritual world.
Lyudmila
The main commandment given to us by the Lord: “people, love one another”! But people, with their pragmatic minds, have forgotten about God’s love; love is now called something else. God's true feeling of love remains in us, but as if hidden from the eyes of strangers - under an invisible cap. Love languishes, she feels bad in Karla’s slavery. Lyudmila is waiting for her beloved - the strong spirit of the people, Ruslan - to save her. Carla tricks her into catching her in her net. Lyudmila fell into a wonderful dream from horror. “Behind Faith, Hope awakens, but Love sleeps in deep lethargy.”
Ruslan's fight with the sorcerer
Ruslan entered into battle with Karla and grabbed the villain by the beard. The spirit of the Russian people exposed the dwarf, but he resisted for a long time: he carried the hero through the air for two days. The strong spirit of the Slavs “holds the beard” of world evil.
“Meanwhile, weakening in the air and amazed at the Russian strength, the wizard insidiously says to the proud Ruslan: listen, prince! I will stop harming you; but only with an agreement... - shut up, treacherous sorcerer! - interrupted our knight, - with the Black Sea, with the tormentor of his wife, Ruslan does not know the agreement! And be without a beard! - Leave me life, I am in your will. - Humble yourself, submit to Russian power! Take me to my Lyudmila." Ruslan finds his wife sleeping. He's desperate, but Finn's voice revives him. He takes Lyudmila and Karla and goes to Kyiv. On the way he meets his former rival Ratmir, but now as a peaceful fisherman with a young wife. - “The soul is tired of the abusive glory of the empty and disastrous ghost.”
Farlaf's cunning
Ruslan fell asleep at Lyudmila’s feet and dreamed of Vladimir with his twelve sons - which means our Lord, together with the 12 apostles, support the spirit of the Russian people. Farlaf, vice and malice, treachery, on Naina’s tip, killed the sleeping Ruslan. He brought Lyudmila to her father in Kyiv, but could not awaken her - Love can only awaken Love!
Victory of Love
“But at this time, the prophetic Finn (sorcerer, wizard - a person who knew the laws of controlling earthly energy), the mighty ruler of spirits, in his serene desert with a calm heart, waited for the day of inevitable fate, long foreseen, to rise.” Finn filled one jug with dead water (the laws of the Old Testament), and filled another with living water (the New Testament). He healed the wounds with dead water and restored life in Ruslan by sprinkling him with living water.
“Fate has come true, oh my son! Bliss awaits you; the bloody feast calls you; your formidable sword will strike with disaster; A gentle peace will fall on Kyiv, and there she will appear to you. The powers of the secret spell will disappear. Peace will come, anger will perish. He said he disappeared." Witchcraft is the possession of earthly electromagnetic energy; with the advent of new times and other, more subtle energies, it will lose its power. The Pechenegs (Asians, formerly nomadic tribes) attacked Kyiv, Ruslan inspired with his heroism and the enemy was defeated.
All the events in the poem are somehow strangely structured around Kyiv, wasn’t Alexander Sergeevich writing about our times? The poem was written at the beginning of the 19th century, now outside the window is the beginning of the 21st century! Alexander Sergeevich, in his brilliant images, outlined the essence of what was happening in our world. But the essence is the same - the evolution of consciousness, the awakening of Love in the soul of every person.
Ruslan woke up Lyudmila. Love has triumphed!