“Felitsa” Gavriil Derzhavin
Godlike princess
Kirghiz-Kaisak horde!
Whose wisdom is incomparable
Discovered the right tracks
To Tsarevich young Chlorus
Climb that high mountain
Where does a thornless rose grow?
Where virtue lives, -
She captivates my spirit and mind,
Let me find her advice.Bring it on, Felitsa! instruction:
How to live magnificently and truthfully,
How to tame passions and excitement
And be happy in the world?
Your voice excites me
Your son is accompanying me;
But I am weak to follow them.
Disturbed by the vanity of life,
Today I control myself
And tomorrow I am a slave to whims.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
You shed bliss on mortals;
Like you don't play cards,
Like me, from morning to morning.You don't like masquerades too much
And you can’t even set foot in the club;
Keeping customs, rituals,
Don't be quixotic with yourself;
You can't saddle the horse of Parnassus,
You don’t enter a gathering of spirits,
You don’t go from the throne to the East;
But walking the path of meekness,
With a charitable soul,
Have a productive day.And I, having slept until noon,
I smoke tobacco and drink coffee;
Transforming everyday life into a holiday,
My thoughts are spinning in chimeras:
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, seduced by the outfit,
I'm off to the tailor for a caftan.Or am I at a rich feast,
Where do they give me a holiday?
Where the table glitters with silver and gold,
Where are thousands of different dishes:
There's a nice Westphalian ham,
There are links of Astrakhan fish,
There are pilaf and pies there,
I wash down the waffles with champagne;
And I forget everything in the world
Among wines, sweets and aroma.Or among a beautiful grove
In the gazebo where the fountain is noisy,
When the sweet-voiced harp rings,
Where the breeze barely breathes
Where everything represents luxury to me,
To the pleasures of thought he catches,
It languishes and revitalizes the blood;
Lying on a velvet sofa,
The young girl feels tender,
I pour love into her heart.Or in a magnificent train
In an English carriage, golden,
With a dog, a jester or a friend,
Or with some beauty
I'm walking under the swing;
I go to taverns to drink mead;
Or, somehow I’ll get bored,
According to my inclination to change,
With my hat on one side,
I'm flying on a fast runner.Or music and singers,
Suddenly with an organ and bagpipes,
Or fist fighters
And I make my spirit happy by dancing;
Or, taking care of all matters
I leave and go hunting
And I am amused by the barking of dogs;
Or over the Neva banks
I amuse myself with horns at night
And the rowing of daring rowers.Or, sitting at home, I’ll play a prank,
Playing fools with my wife;
Then I get along with her at the dovecote,
Sometimes we frolic in blind man's buff;
Then I’m having fun with her,
Then I look for it in my head;
I like to rummage through books,
I enlighten my mind and heart,
I read Polkan and Bova;
Over the Bible, yawning, I sleep.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.I found it, but why not be mistaken?
To us, weak mortals, on this path,
Where does reason itself stumble
And one must follow passions;
Where are the learned ignoramuses for us?
Like the darkness of travelers, their eyelids are dark?
Seduction and flattery live everywhere,
Pasha oppresses everyone with luxury.-
Where does virtue live?
Where does a rose without thorns grow?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.
So the helmsman, sailing through the show-off,
Catching the roaring wind under sail,
Knows how to steer a ship.You just won’t offend the only one,
Don't insult anyone
You see through your fingers the tomfoolery
The only thing you cannot tolerate is evil;
You correct misdeeds with leniency,
Like a wolf, you don’t crush people,
You know right away their price.
They are subject to the will of kings, -
But God is more just,
Living in their laws.You think sensibly about merit,
You give honor to the worthy,
You don't consider him a prophet,
Who can only weave rhymes,
What crazy fun is this?
Honor and glory to the good caliphs.
You condescend to the lyrical mode:
Poetry is dear to you,
Pleasant, sweet, useful,
Like delicious lemonade in summer.There are rumors about your actions,
That you are not at all proud;
Kind in business and in jokes,
Pleasant in friendship and firm;
Why are you indifferent to adversity?
And in glory she is so generous,
That she renounced and was considered wise.
They also say it’s not false,
It's like it's always possible
You should tell the truth.It's also unheard of,
Worthy of you alone
It's like you're bold to the people
About everything, and show it and at hand,
And you allow me to know and think,
And you don’t forbid about yourself
To speak both true and false;
As if to the crocodiles themselves,
All your mercies to Zoilas,
You are always inclined to forgive.Pleasant rivers of tears flow
From the depths of my soul.
ABOUT! when people are happy
There must be their destiny,
Where is the meek angel, the peaceful angel,
Hidden in the porphyry lightness,
A scepter was sent down from heaven to wear!
There you can whisper in conversations
And, without fear of execution, at dinners
Don't drink to the health of kings.There with the name Felitsa you can
Scrape out the typo in the line,
Or a portrait carelessly
Drop it on the ground.
They are not fried in ice baths,
They don’t click on the nobles’ mustaches;
Princes don't cluck like hens,
Favorites don't want to laugh at them
And they don’t stain their faces with soot.You know, Felitsa! are right
And men and kings;
When you enlighten morals,
You don't fool people like that;
In your rest from business
You write lessons in fairy tales
And you repeat to Chlorus in the alphabet:
"Don't do anything bad,
And the evil satyr himself
You will make a despicable liar.”You are ashamed to be considered great,
To be scary and unloved;
The bear is decently wild
Tearing animals and shedding their blood.
Without extreme distress in the heat of the moment
Does that person need lancets?
Who could do without them?
And how nice it is to be a tyrant,
Tamerlane, great in atrocity,
Who is great in goodness, like God?Felitsa glory, glory to God,
Who pacified the battle;
Which is poor and wretched
Covered, clothed and fed;
Which with a radiant eye
Clowns, cowards, ungrateful
And he gives his light to the righteous;
Equally enlightens all mortals,
He comforts the sick, heals,
He does good only for good.who gave freedom
Jump into foreign regions,
Allowed his people
Seek silver and gold;
Who allows water
And it doesn’t prohibit cutting down the forest;
Orders to weave, and spin, and sew;
Untying the mind and hands,
Tells you to love trading, science
And find happiness at home;Whose law, right hand
They give both mercy and judgment.-
Prophecy, wise Felitsa!
Where is a rogue different from the honest?
Where does old age not wander around the world?
Does merit find bread for itself?
Where does revenge not drive anyone?
Where do conscience and truth live?
Where do virtues shine? -
Isn't it yours at the throne?But where does your throne shine in the world?
Where, branch of heaven, do you bloom?
In Baghdad? Smyrna? Cashmere? -
Listen, wherever you live, -
I appreciate my praises to you,
Don’t think about hats or beshmetya
For them I wanted from you.
Feel the good pleasure
Such is the wealth of the soul,
Which Croesus did not collect.I ask the great prophet
May I touch the dust of your feet,
Yes, your words are the sweetest current
And I will enjoy the sight!
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.
Analysis of Derzhavin’s poem “Felitsa”
In 1781, “The Tale of Prince Chlorus” appeared in print, which Empress Catherine II composed for her grandson, the future Emperor Alexander I. This instructive work influenced not only little Alexander Pavlovich, but also Gabriel Romanovich Derzhavin (1743–1816). It inspired the poet to create an ode to the empress, which he called “Ode to the wise Kyrgyz princess Felitsa, written by the Tatar Murza, who had long settled in Moscow, and lived on his business in St. Petersburg. Translated from Arabic 1782".
The poem was first published in 1783 in the magazine Sobesednik. The poet did not leave a signature under the work, but like the entire text of the ode, the title is full of hints. For example, the “Kyrgyz-Kaisak princess” means Catherine II, who was the mistress of the Kyrgyz lands. And under Murza is the poet himself, who considered himself a descendant of the Tatar prince Bagrim.
The ode contains many allusions to various events, people and sayings related to the reign of Catherine II. Take, for example, the name given to it by the author. Felitsa is the heroine of The Tale of Prince Chlorus. Like the empress, she has a husband who prevents her from realizing her good intentions. In addition, Felitsa, according to Derzhavin’s explanation, is the ancient Roman goddess of bliss, and it was with this word that many contemporaries characterized the reign of Catherine II, who favored the sciences, arts and held rather free views on the social structure.
These and other numerous virtues of the empress are praised by Gabriel Romanovich. In the first stanzas of the ode, the poet walks through the empress’s entourage. The author allegorically describes misbehavior courtiers, speaking as if about himself:
With my hat on one side,
I'm flying on a fast runner.
In this passage we are talking about Count Alexei Orlov, who is eager for fast races.
Another fragment speaks of the idle Prince Potemkin, soaring in the clouds:
And I, having slept until noon,
I smoke tobacco and drink coffee;
Transforming everyday life into a holiday,
My thoughts are spinning in chimeras.
Against the background of these playmakers, the figure of the wise, active and fair empress acquires an aura of virtue. The author rewards her with the epithets “generous”, “kind in business and jokes”, “pleasant in friendship”, “wise”, metaphors “branch of heaven”, “meek angel”, etc.
The poet mentions the political successes of Catherine II. Using the metaphor of “Dividing Chaos into spheres orderly,” he points to the establishment of the province in 1775 and the annexation of new territories to Russian Empire. The author compares the reign of the empress with the reign of her predecessors:
There are no clownish weddings there,
They are not fried in ice baths,
They don’t click on the mustaches of nobles...
Here the poet hints at the reign of Anna Ioannovna and Peter I.
Gabriel Romanovich also admires the queen’s modesty. In lines:
You are ashamed to be considered great,
To be scary, unloved...
indicates Catherine II’s renunciation of the titles “Great” and “Wise”, which were offered to her by the Senate nobles in 1767.
As an artist, the poet is especially captivated by the empress’s attitude towards freedom of expression. The author is fascinated by the queen’s love for poetry (“Poetry is dear to you, Pleasant, sweet, useful...”), the opportunity she affirmed to think and speak out as you want, to travel, organize enterprises, etc.
Catherine II herself highly appreciated the poet’s skill. She liked the ode “Felitsa” so much that the Empress presented Derzhavin with a richly decorated snuff box, which she herself sent to her entourage. Contemporaries also reacted very favorably to the poem. Many reviews noted not only the truthfulness and lack of flattery in the lines of the ode, but also its elegant composition and poetic style. As Russian philologist J. K. Grot wrote in his commentary, this ode gave rise to a new style. “Felitsa” is devoid of pompous expressions and does not contain a list of gods, as was previously customary.
Indeed, the language of the ode is simple but exquisite. The author uses epithets, metaphors, pictorial comparisons (“like stars in the sky”). The composition is strict but harmonious. Each stanza consists of ten lines. First comes the quatrain with cross rhyme of the form abab, then the couplet cc, after which a quatrain with a ring rhyme of the form deed. Meter: iambic tetrameter.
Although the poem contains quite a few expressions that are outdated today, and many of the hints may be incomprehensible, it is still easy to read.
Ode “Felitsa” (1782) is the first poem that made the name of Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin famous, becoming an example of a new style in Russian poetry.
The ode received its name from the heroine of “The Tale of Prince Chlorus,” the author of which was Catherine II herself. She is also named by this name, which means happiness in Latin, in Derzhavin’s ode, glorifying the empress and satirically characterizing her environment.
The history of this poem is very interesting and revealing. It was written a year before publication, but Derzhavin himself did not want to publish it and even hid the authorship. And suddenly, in 1783, news spread around St. Petersburg: the anonymous ode “Felitsa” appeared, where the vices of famous nobles close to Catherine II, to whom the ode was dedicated, were depicted in a comic form. The residents of St. Petersburg were quite surprised by the courage of the unknown author. They tried to get the ode, read it, and rewrite it. Princess Dashkova, a close associate of the Empress, decided to publish the ode, and precisely in the magazine where Catherine II herself collaborated.
The next day, Dashkova found the Empress in tears, and in her hands was a magazine with Derzhavin’s ode. The Empress asked who wrote the poem, in which, as she herself said, he portrayed her so accurately that he moved her to tears. This is how Derzhavin tells the story.
Indeed, 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’s 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.
Classicism forbade combining high ode and satire belonging to low genres in one work. But Derzhavin doesn’t even just combine them in the characterization of different persons depicted in the ode, he does something completely unprecedented for that time. “God-like” Felitsa, like other characters in his ode, is also shown in an ordinary way (“You often walk on foot...”). At the same time, such details do not reduce her image, but make her more real, humane, as if exactly copied from life.
But not everyone liked this poem as much as the empress. It puzzled and alarmed many of Derzhavin’s contemporaries. What was so unusual and even dangerous about him?
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 the Right Reverend 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 nobles drawn in the ode, features clearly emerged real people:
My thoughts are spinning in chimeras:
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, 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.
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 ode traditional for classicism, which praised government officials, military leaders, glorified the solemn event, in a “mixed ode”, “the poet can talk about everything.”
Reading the poem “Felitsa”, you are convinced that Derzhavin, indeed, 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 not only for the people of his time. And now we can read with interest the poems of this wonderful poet, separated from us by a huge distance of two and a half centuries.
Gavriila Romanovich Derzhavin is a real Genius, who, however, achieved success in the literary field, being already an accomplished adult. With his daring sincerity, he knew how to both conquer and destroy peace. Amazing honesty brought him to the pinnacle of fame, and then just as quickly “threw” the poet from Olympus.
A poor and humble nobleman, he served honestly and sincerely, as A.S. would later say. Pushkin in " The captain's daughter", "honestly, to whom do you swear allegiance." Derzhavin went through the difficult path of a simple soldier, achieving, however, both recognition and an officer’s rank without anyone’s help. He participates in the suppression of the Pugachev uprising, and this brings him fame.
The intelligent officer, who had previously published entire collections of controversial poems written in a language unusual for that time, remained unnoticed as a writer until, conquered by the openness of Empress Catherine II, her deeds for the benefit of Russia, he created the daring ode “Felitsa”.
The names of the characters were not chosen by chance: the young poet borrowed them from an instructive tale personally composed by the empress for her grandson. This allusion would later lay the foundation for a whole cycle of odes dedicated to Felitsa, but it was with that one, the first and perhaps the most important in the poet’s work, that a colossal breakthrough in the field of poetic art was associated.
As you know, G.R. Derzhavin lived at a time when the greatest literary figures, the “Parnassian titans,” adhered to the strict framework of classicism. Only in the second half of the 18th century did M. Lomonosov, A. Maikov, M. Kheraskov and other writers begin to deviate from these traditions, but they did not do this on such a scale, with such ease, with which Derzhavin succeeded.
He owns the expression “funny Russian syllable”. Indeed, he will proclaim “the virtues of Felitsa” in the genre of ode - in a high style, resorting to the help of high spiritual matter. And at the same time, the poet will tear apart the usual canons, as if he were tearing a piece of paper.
The theme of the ode is socio-political. Derzhavin, who participated in the suppression of the uprising of Emelyan Pugachev, learned firsthand what a “senseless and merciless” Russian rebellion was; He saw and felt with his own eyes how hostile the people were towards the Russian nobility. But the poet did not call for the liberation of the peasantry - he understood that Russia would drown in blood, primarily that of the nobility, as yesterday’s slaves would begin to take revenge on their oppressors. That is why Derzhavin sees salvation in enlightened absolutism, where there is strict and strict observance of laws, a government under which there will be no arbitrariness of the authorities. This is the only way to protect the Empire from new riots, from new senseless victims. The poet finds the image of such a ruler in Catherine II. The ode “Felitsa” is not a creation of confusion for God’s chosen empress, but a lively and sincere enthusiastic response to the activities of the empress.
On the one hand, this work is plotless, since the action in it does not develop. And at the same time, there is a certain swiftness and instantaneity in it: thus, with an abundance of images of feelings, images of events are revealed in it; the poet describes in chronological order the amusements of Catherine’s courtiers, as well as the life of the empress.
The composition of the ode is inconsistent; it creates a central image, the embodiment of which is the “god-like princess,” and develops throughout the entire narrative, viewed from all sides. In this case, the technique of antithesis is used: Felitsa’s virtues are contrasted with the idleness and baseness of her “Murz”.
“Felitsa” is written in iambic tetrameter with iambic feet replaced by pyrrhic. Derzhavin turns to the classic odic ten-line stanza with complex rhyming (first cross, then pairwise, then circular); the poet alternates male and female rhymes.
The expressive means of the ode are distinguished by a stunning variety of imagination. The main poetic device is the antithesis mentioned above, as well as allusions to Count Orlov, P. Panin, etc. Derzhavin refers to a sublime syllable, and therefore a huge place in the ode is devoted to Church Slavonic words. “Felitsa” is not rich in metaphors (“fry in ice baths”), but it is replete with epithets (“a sweet-voiced harp”, “sapphire wings”, “a despicable liar”), comparisons (“a meek angel”, a comparison of the empress with a feeder, “like a wolf of sheep” , you don’t crush people”), hyperbole (characteristic of the poetic mood of the ode as a whole). Among stylistic figures Inversion and gradation (“pleasant, sweet, useful”) stand out especially. The technique of irony, which turns into sarcasm, stands apart. They appear in the stanzas where the lyrical hero describes his own amusements, pointing out that he, the hero, is depraved, but also “the whole world is like that.” This remark allows us to emphasize the greatness and virtue of the empress, whose subjects are unworthy to serve her.
In this ode, for the first time, a mixture of styles occurs: in a solemn work, features of a “low” style - sarcasm - are suddenly revealed. In addition, this is the first ode in the history of Russian literature where the image of the author is so clearly manifested, where his personal opinion is expressed. Derzhavin portrays himself in the image of a lyrical hero, unworthy of the honor of serving an enlightened empress, who shuns high titles, magnificent festivities, entertainment unworthy of a noble man, and luxury; Felitsa is not characterized by cruelty and injustice. The poet portrays the empress as a God-fearing ruler who is interested in the well-being of her people - it is not without reason that the ode contains a comparison with an angel sent to earth to rule the Russian state.
The daring, individual, bright praise, which Gabriel Romanovich himself defined as a “mixed ode,” was enthusiastically received by the empress. Derzhavin's innovation made it possible to discard the strict framework of classicism, inaccessible to a wide range of readers. The originality of the work, its rich and attractive language will subsequently receive the widest distribution; the trend will be developed in the work of first V. Zhukovsky, and then the main “reformer” of the Russian literary language A.S. Pushkin. Thus, Derzhavin’s “Felitsa” anticipates the emergence of the romantic movement in Russian literature.
1. In 1781, it was published in a small number of copies, written by Catherine for her five-year-old grandson, Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, The Tale of Prince Chlorus. Chlorus was the son of the prince, or king of Kyiv, who was kidnapped by the Kirghiz khan during his father’s absence. Wanting to believe the rumor about the boy’s abilities, the khan ordered him to find a rose without thorns. The prince set off on this errand. On the way, he met the Khan’s daughter, cheerful and amiable. Felitsa. She wanted to go to see off the prince, but her stern husband, Sultan Grumpy, prevented her from doing so, and then she sent her son, Reason, to the child. Continuing his journey, Chlorus was subjected to various temptations, and among other things, he was invited to his hut by Murza Lazy, who, with the temptations of luxury, tried to dissuade the prince from an undertaking that was too difficult. But Reason forcibly carried him further. Finally, they saw in front of them a steep rocky mountain, on which grows a rose without thorns, or, as one young man explained to Chlorus, virtue. Having climbed the mountain with difficulty, the prince picked this flower and hurried to the khan. Khan sent him along with the rose to to the prince of Kyiv. “This one was so happy about the arrival of the prince and his successes that he forgot all the melancholy and sadness.... Here the fairy tale will end, and whoever knows more will tell another.”
This fairy tale gave Derzhavin the idea to write an ode to Felitsa (the goddess of bliss, according to his explanation of this name): since the empress loved funny jokes, he says, this ode was written in her taste, at the expense of her entourage.
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18. Dividing Chaos into spheres harmoniously etc. - a hint at the establishment of provinces. In 1775, Catherine published the “Establishment on the Provinces,” according to which all of Russia was divided into provinces. ()
19. That she renounced and was considered wise. – Catherine II, with feigned modesty, rejected the titles of “Great”, “Wise”, “Mother of the Fatherland”, which were presented to her in 1767 by the Senate and the Commission for developing a draft of a new code; She did the same in 1779, when the St. Petersburg nobility offered to accept the title of “Great” for her. (
Ode “Felitsa” (1782) is the first poem that made the name of Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin famous, becoming an example of a new style in Russian poetry.
The ode received its name from the heroine of “The Tale of Prince Chlorus,” the author of which was Catherine II herself. She is also named by this name, which means happiness in Latin, in Derzhavin’s ode, glorifying the empress and satirically characterizing her environment.
The history of this poem is very interesting and revealing. It was written a year before publication, but Derzhavin himself did not want to publish it and even hid the authorship. And suddenly, in 1783, news spread around St. Petersburg: the anonymous ode “Felitsa” appeared, where the vices of famous nobles close to Catherine II, to whom the ode was dedicated, were depicted in a comic form. The residents of St. Petersburg were quite surprised by the courage of the unknown author. They tried to get the ode, read it, and rewrite it. Princess Dashkova, a close associate of the Empress, decided to publish the ode, and precisely in the magazine where Catherine II herself collaborated.
The next day, Dashkova found the Empress in tears, and in her hands was a magazine with Derzhavin’s ode. The Empress asked who wrote the poem, in which, as she herself said, he portrayed her so accurately that he moved her to tears. This is how Derzhavin tells the story.
Indeed, 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’s 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.
Classicism forbade combining high ode and satire belonging to low genres in one work. But Derzhavin doesn’t even just combine them in the characterization of different persons depicted in the ode, he does something completely unprecedented for that time. "Godlike" Fe- faces, like other characters in his ode, is also shown in an ordinary way (“Often you walk on foot...”). At the same time, such details do not reduce her image, but make her more real, humane, as if exactly copied from life.
But not everyone liked this poem as much as the empress. It puzzled and alarmed many of Derzhavin’s contemporaries. What was so unusual and even dangerous about him?
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 the eminent 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 emerged:
My thoughts are spinning in chimeras:
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, showing off your 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 discord - 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;
Yes, the sounds of your deeds will be heard in your descendants.
Like the stars in the sky, they will shine.
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 a solemn event was glorified, in a “mixed ode,” “the poet can talk about everything.”
Reading the poem “Felitsa”, you are convinced that Derzhavin, indeed, 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 not only for the people of his time. And now we can read with interest the poems of this wonderful poet, separated from us by a huge distance of two and a half centuries.