In this article, we will try to analyze the pressing issues that Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin reveals in his work. Also below will be indicated the history of the creation of a bronze monument built in honor of the poem, and its summary. “The Bronze Horseman” today is not only the pride of Russia, but, oddly enough, is still on the list to this day the best works world literature.
Problems that Pushkin touches on in his work
The world-famous poem “The Bronze Horseman”, written by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin in 1833, contains main problem XX century - the relationship between people and the state. The issues that he reveals in his work affect power and people.
What life circumstances prompted Alexander Sergeevich to write this work?
The brilliant idea to write this poem came to Pushkin only after he became an absentee witness to the St. Petersburg flood on November 7, 1824. This flood was perceived by humanity as a kind of collapse and a step towards the abyss. The emotions that overwhelmed St. Petersburg at those moments could not help but leave their imprint on the imagination of Alexander Sergeevich, and even then the brilliant idea flashed through his head to write a work dedicated to the event that took place. But ironically, the poem was written only nine years later. After the work gained popularity, the world learned its summary. “The Bronze Horseman,” according to many connoisseurs and admirers of the poet’s work, is considered one of his best creations.
Parsing a work into parts
First, it is necessary to determine in the famous poem at least the exposition, the plot, the climax, the denouement, and only then describe the summary. "The Bronze Horseman" includes an exhibition part in which he appears main character Eugene, as well as the glorification of the “great thoughts” of Peter the Great and the city of Petrov. The plot can easily be attributed to the description of the flood, the climax is considered to be the news of the death of the bride, but the denouement, in turn, is the madness and death of Eugene.
Brief summary of the poem “The Bronze Horseman”, A.S. Pushkin
"Bronze Horseman". Summary" - it would be great if books like this existed and would benefit all teenagers modern world. But, unfortunately, they are not, and in the 21st century the whole school material This kind of problem should be handled by children on their own as quickly as possible. That is why, to simplify this task, we suggest smoothly moving to brief description the plot of the poem "The Bronze Horseman". A summary of the chapters will not be indicated in this section; below we will analyze the main events that occurred in the poem. So, let's begin. At the beginning of the poem, Pushkin tells readers about Peter, who stands on the banks of the Neva and dreams of building a city that will certainly serve the people in the future as a window to the desired Europe. A hundred years later, this idea was destined to come true, and now, in the place of emptiness, a beautiful city. Further in the work we are talking about a petty official named Eugene, who returns home every day and tries to sleep, thinking about his current situation, because once his family did not need help, because the noble family of officials had a good profit, but now it’s the other way around . In addition, his thoughts are constantly filled with his beloved, whose name is Parasha, he dreams of marrying her as quickly as possible and building a strong, inseparable family.
Sweet dreams make him fall asleep, and closer to the morning his sleep is disturbed by the raging Neva, which got out of control, and soon the whole of St. Petersburg was flooded. Many people died, Pushkin compares the river flows with soldiers who destroyed everything in their path. Soon the river returns to its banks, and Evgeniy has a chance to swim to the other side of the city, to his beloved. He runs to the boatman and asks him for help. Once on the other side, the petty official cannot recognize the former places; now they look like ruins and resemble a battlefield strewn with human bodies. Evgeny, having forgotten about everything, hurries to his beloved’s house, but does not find it, realizing that his bride is no longer alive. The official loses his mind, tormenting himself with wild laughter. The next day, when nature returned to its previous state, all the people seemed to have forgotten about what had happened, and only Eugene could not breathe calmly. Over the next years, he will constantly hear the sound of a storm, and he will become a hermit. Only one day, waking up early in the morning, he remembers everything that happened to him. Lately, and goes out into the street, where he sees a house with monuments at the entrance. Walking around them a little, the poor fellow noticed anger on the face of one of the marble lions and rushed to run away, hearing the incredible clatter of horses behind him. After that, he hid for a long time from an incomprehensible noise in his ears, rushing around the city from side to side. After a while, passers-by saw him take off his cap, thus asking for forgiveness in front of the formidable monument. A little later he was found dead on a small island and immediately “buried for God’s sake.”
Monument "Bronze Horseman"
Below we will dwell on the description of a monument of world significance. The work discussed in this article is famous throughout the world not only for its genius, simplicity, and a certain philosophy of life. In addition, the content of “The Bronze Horseman” is not at all brief. Oddly enough, it is an integral part of St. Petersburg. This is a monument that was erected in the center of the city and is dedicated to the poem discussed and to Peter the Great. Externally, the bronze block looks like a rock with a charming horseman. The place where the memorial monument is located was chosen due to the fact that the Senate is located nearby - a symbol of the whole Tsarist Russia. The author of this masterpiece is Etienne-Maurice Falconet, a porcelain factory worker who, against the wishes of Catherine II, decided to install his work of art near the Neva. Falcone received a rather modest fee for the work done; other secular sculptors at that time were asking twice as much. During the work, the sculptor received many different proposals regarding the future monument, but Etienne-Maurice was persistent and ultimately erected what he had previously planned. This is what he wrote to I. I. Betsky about this: “Could you imagine that a sculptor chosen to create such a significant monument would be deprived of the ability to think, and that the movements of his hands would be controlled by someone else’s head, and not his own?”
Having analyzed the summary of “The Bronze Horseman” and familiarized yourself with the history of the monument, I propose to talk about interesting things. It turns out that in addition to the fact that the poem was used for sculptural art, the Russian composer R. M. Glier, taking advantage of the events in the work of Alexander Sergeevich, created his own ballet of the same name, a fragment of which became the St. Petersburg anthem.
The action begins with a symbolic picture: Peter the Great stands on the banks of the Neva and dreams that in a few years a new European city will rise here, that it will be the capital Russian Empire. A hundred years pass, and now this city - the creation of Peter - is a symbol of Russia. The summary of “The Bronze Horseman” allows you to find out the concise plot of the poem and helps you plunge into the atmosphere of the autumn city. It's November. A young man named Evgeniy is walking along the streets. He is a petty official who is afraid of noble people and embarrassed by his position. Evgeny walks and dreams of his prosperous life, he thinks that he misses his beloved girl Parasha, whom he has not seen for several days. This thought gives rise to calm dreams of family and happiness. The young man comes home and falls asleep to the “sound” of these thoughts. The next day brings terrible news: a terrible storm broke out in the city, and a severe flood claimed the lives of many people. Natural force did not spare anyone: the violent wind, the fierce Neva - all this frightened Evgeniy. He sits with his back to the “bronze idol”. This is a monument. He notices that on the opposite bank, where his beloved Parasha lived, there is nothing.
He rushes headlong there and discovers that the elements did not spare him, a poor petty official, he sees that yesterday’s dreams will not come true. Evgeniy, not understanding what he is doing, not understanding where his feet are leading, goes there, to his “bronze idol”. The Bronze Horseman proudly rises on the It seems that here it is - steadfastness, but you can’t argue with nature... The young man blames Peter the Great for all his troubles, he even reproaches him for the fact that he built this city, erected it on the wild Neva. But then an insight occurs: the young man seems to wake up and look with fear at the Bronze Horseman. He runs, runs as fast as he can, no one knows where, no one knows why. He hears the clatter of hooves and the neighing of horses behind him, he turns around and sees that the “bronze idol” is rushing after him.
A summary of “The Bronze Horseman” - a story by A.S. Pushkin - helps to recognize the plot and evaluate the sequence of actions. Despite all the gloomy range of events described, this work is symbolic for the city on the Neva. It is not for nothing that the lines “Beauty, city of Petrov...” forever became the epigraph to the city. The work exalts Peter the Great and history, which poor Eugene could not come to terms with...
We bring to your attention a brief summary of Pushkin’s poem “The Bronze Horseman”.
Peter stands on the banks of the Neva and, looking at the dark, swampy lands around, at the miserable black huts scattered across them, decides to found a city on this place, which will mark the beginning new era in Russia. A hundred years passed, and the city on the banks of the Neva grew, was built up with magnificent buildings, and acquired piers and ships. Moscow pales next to the beauties of St. Petersburg; everyone flocks to this city. But the story will be about one of the sad pages of the history of St. Petersburg (note - as Pushkin himself notes in the preface to the story, this flood really took place).
It's cold November, and the Neva is noisy and more agitated than ever. The main character, poor official Evgeniy, returns home and thinks that because of bad weather, bridges are being removed from the Neva - which means he won’t be able to see his beloved girl Parasha for two or three days. Trying unsuccessfully to fall asleep, Evgeniy begins to think about marriage. Why not? He earns a little, but at first it will be enough for the two of them to live - and then, you see, a good place he will receive it in the service, and the children will appear... with these thoughts the hero falls asleep.
At night, the raging Neva overflows its banks, washing away streets, courtyards, and houses in waves. Concerned people crowd over the river, the autocrat of Russia throws up his hands: the tsars cannot control the elements. Eugene, having climbed onto the back of a marble lion, looks at only one point - to where Parasha and his widow-mother live (as luck would have it, right on the shore!). He does not notice how the water, rising, touches his feet, how the wind tears his hat off - he only waits with horror and impatience for the moment when he can cross to the other side. And in front, with its back turned to him, stands a huge statue of Peter on horseback, stretching out his hand to the waves.
Soon the Neva calms down and the water leaves its banks. Eugene finds a boatman, who takes him across the still troubled waters. Evgeny rushes to his beloved’s house, but instead finds destruction. Unable to cope with the shock, Evgeny laughs madly and loses his mind.
After some time, not a trace remains of the flood - everything has been restored, the Neva is calm, people live as before. But the main character was never able to recover from grief - he does not return to his apartment and wanders around the city, eating alms, falling asleep right on the street and not paying attention to the evil boys throwing stones at him. He lives like this for a year, and at the beginning of the next autumn, alarmed by the inclement autumn weather, he suddenly remembers the terrible events that happened a year ago. The hero wanders to the very place from where he tried to see Parasha’s house, and finds himself at the statue of Peter. Eugene’s crazy mind connects the monument with flood and destruction, and he mutters threats towards it in an angry whisper. But suddenly it seems to him that copper Peter is looking straight into his eyes, and in horror he rushes to run. All night he tries to hide from the bronze horseman - he still imagines the heavy clatter of hooves behind him. From now on, Evgeniy, passing by the monument, each time takes off his cap from his head, as if apologizing to Peter, and cannot raise his embarrassed eyes at him.
And he thinks about the city that he would like to build here. This city, according to his calculations, should become a window to Europe. A hundred years have passed since then, and the city appeared on the banks of the Neva. This is the creation of Peter, personifying harmony and light.
It was November. The weather was chilly and windy. The Neva was noisy and overflowing its banks. One evening a young man named Evgeniy was returning home. He was poor, which made him very sad. And he lived in a miserable little room in one of the poor areas of the city. Once his family was noble, but now no one cared about it, and he himself avoided rich and noble people.
That night he could not sleep. He was burdened by thoughts about life, about his position in society and about the rising river. Because of this, the bridges may be removed, and then he will not be able to see his beloved Parasha, who lives on the other side of the Neva, for a couple of days. Thinking about Parasha, he imagined marriage, children and a modest family life. With such sweet thoughts he fell asleep.
The next day, news of a terrible misfortune became known. Petersburg was flooded with water. Many houses and their residents were washed away. It seemed that there was some kind of God's punishment in this. The king watches the disaster from the balcony and is terribly upset. Meanwhile, Evgeniy is worried about Parasha. After all, she lives in a run-down house right next to the bay. The thought that Parasha and her mother could have died haunts him. Next to it stands a monument to Peter - “Idol on a bronze horse.”
When the Neva returned to the banks, Evgeny went to the opposite bank to look for his beloved Parasha. But everything there was destroyed. There were no houses left, no inhabitants. Dead bodies lay everywhere, and the shore resembled a battlefield. From Parasha’s house, only one willow tree remained, which grew nearby. The young man could not bear such a shock and lost his mind.
The new day hid all the recent destruction. Petersburg returned to normal life. And only Evgeniy could not live as before. He silently wandered around the city with gloomy thoughts in his head and the noise of a storm in his ears. So a week, a month passed, and he still wandered around the city. He began to eat alms and sleep on the pier. Some angry children threw stones at him, and the coachman beat him with a whip, but he didn’t care. He did not notice anything, because he was deafened by internal anxiety.
Closer to autumn, when the weather was as inclement as during last year's horror, Evgeny woke up and wandered wherever his eyes looked. Suddenly he stopped at a house with marble lions, where a rider sat on a bronze horse with his arm outstretched. He realized that he was standing before the one by whose decree this city was founded. He walked around the monument, then looked menacingly into its eyes. In response, anger flashed in the eyes of the formidable king, and Eugene rushed away. Behind him he heard the clatter of copper hooves. All night he wandered with the thought that the horseman was following him.
From then on, when he passed by this monument, he always took off his cap in front of it and looked pleadingly at the formidable horseman, as if atonement for his sin. After some time, a dilapidated house was found on the island, washed away by the river, and Evgeniy lay dead at the threshold. The unfortunate man was immediately “buried for God’s sake.”
“On the shore of the desert waves” of the Neva Peter stands and thinks about the city that will be built here and which will become Russia’s window to Europe. A hundred years passed, and the city “from the darkness of the forests, from the swamps of blat / Ascended magnificently, proudly.” Peter's creation is beautiful, it is a triumph of harmony and light, replacing chaos and darkness.
November in St. Petersburg breathed cold, the Neva splashed and made noise. Late in the evening, a petty official named Evgeniy returns home to his closet in a poor district of St. Petersburg called Kolomna. Once upon a time his family was noble, but now even the memory of this has been erased, and Eugene himself shuns noble people. He lies down, but cannot fall asleep, distracted by thoughts about his situation, that the bridges have been removed from the rising river and that this will separate him for two or three days from his beloved, Parasha, who lives on the other bank. The thought of Parasha gives rise to dreams of marriage and a future happy and modest life in the family circle, with a loving and beloved wife and children. Finally, lulled by sweet thoughts, Evgeniy falls asleep.
“The darkness of the stormy night is thinning / And the pale day is already coming...” The coming day brings terrible misfortune. The Neva, unable to overcome the force of the wind that blocked its path into the bay, surged into the city and flooded it. The weather became more and more ferocious, and soon the whole of St. Petersburg was under water. The raging waves behave like soldiers of an enemy army that has taken the city by storm. The people see God's wrath in this and await execution. The Tsar, who ruled Russia that year, goes out onto the balcony of the palace and says that “Tsars cannot cope with God’s elements.”
At this time, on Peter's Square, riding on a marble statue of a lion at the porch of a new luxurious house, Evgeniy sits motionless, not feeling how the wind tore off his hat, how the rising water wets his soles, how the rain lashes his face. He looks at the opposite bank of the Neva, where his beloved and her mother live in their poor house very close to the water. As if bewitched by gloomy thoughts, Eugene cannot move from his place, and with his back to him, towering above the elements, “an idol on a bronze horse stands with his outstretched hand.”
But finally the Neva entered the banks, the water subsided, and Evgeny, heartbroken, hurries to the river, finds the boatman and crosses to the other bank. He runs down the street and cannot recognize familiar places. Everything was destroyed by the flood, everything around looked like a battlefield, bodies were lying around. Evgeniy hurries to where the familiar house stood, but does not find it. He sees a willow tree growing near the gate, but there is no gate itself. Unable to bear the shock, Eugene burst into laughter, losing his mind.
The new day rising over St. Petersburg no longer finds traces of the previous destruction, everything is put in order, the city has begun to live its usual life. Only Eugene could not resist the shocks. He wanders around the city, full of gloomy thoughts, and the sound of a storm is constantly heard in his ears. So he spends a week, a month wandering, wandering, eating alms, sleeping on the pier. Angry children throw stones after him, and the coachman lashes with whips, but he seems not to notice any of this. He is still deafened by internal anxiety. One day, closer to autumn, in inclement weather, Evgeniy wakes up and vividly remembers last year's horror. He gets up, wanders hastily and suddenly sees a house, in front of the porch of which there are marble sculptures of lions with raised paws, and “above the fenced rock” a rider sits on a bronze horse with his arm outstretched. Eugene’s thoughts suddenly become clearer, he recognizes this place and the one “by whose fatal will / The city was founded under the sea...”. Eugene walks around the foot of the monument, looking wildly at the statue, he feels extraordinary excitement and anger and in anger threatens the monument, but suddenly it seemed to him that the face of the formidable king was turning to him, and anger sparkled in his eyes, and Eugene rushes away, hearing behind a heavy clatter of copper hooves. And all night the unfortunate man rushes around the city and it seems to him that the horseman with a heavy stomp is galloping after him everywhere. And from that time on, if he happened to walk across the square where the statue stood, he embarrassedly took off his cap in front of it and pressed his hand to his heart, as if asking for forgiveness from the formidable idol.
On the seashore you can see a small deserted island where fishermen sometimes land. The flood brought an empty, dilapidated house here, at the threshold of which they found the corpse of poor Eugene and immediately “buried it for God’s sake.”