You have read the ballad “Svetlana” by Zhukovsky. What impression did the reading leave you with? IN

Prepare short story about the life and work of V. A. Zhukovsky based on articles in the textbook.
You have read the ballad “Svetlana” by Zhukovsky. What impression did the reading leave you with?
What is the meaning of the ballad “Svetlana”? Why does the author begin it with a description of fortune-telling “on Epiphany evening”? Where does the heroine’s dream begin and how does it end?
Can we consider that Zhukovsky wrote this ballad in a humorous manner? Compare the plot of this ballad with the plots of other Zhukovsky ballads known to you (for example, “The Cup”).
Literary critic N.V. Izmailov writes that “the line of medieval ballads on plots drawn from folk legends, like the line of ancient ballads, runs through the entire central period of Zhukovsky’s work. “Svetlana” was a clear rethinking of the canons of the ballad” (it ends not with a tragic, but a happy ending; its fantasy is removed by the fact that the intervention of otherworldly forces turns out to be a dream, etc.). Do you agree with this judgment? Find confirmation of your point of view in the text of the ballad.

Zhukovsky admitted: “I often noticed that I have the brightest thoughts when they need to be improvised as an expression and in addition to other people’s thoughts. My mind is like a flint that needs to be struck on a flint so that a spark will jump out of it. This is generally the nature of my creative work; Almost everything I have is either someone else’s or about someone else’s - and everything, however, is mine.” Have you noticed this feature of the poet?
Why is Zhukovsky called an innovator in the field of poetic language?
Tell us about the ballad genre in Zhukovsky’s work and name the main features of his ballads.
Motivate the judgment that Zhukovsky is an innovator in the field of the ballad genre, that he created a national ballad. Confirm your judgment using the example of the ballad “Svetlana”.

Develop your gift of words

Find synonyms for the words evil, sadness, zealous horses, gazes, face, timidly, hut, eyes, migratory fire. Which of these words can be used today? Give examples.
Prepare one of V. A. Zhukovsky’s poems or ballads for expressive reading aloud in class.

One of famous works Russian romanticism is the ballad “Svetlana”. Zhukovsky took the plot from the work of the German poet Gottfried August Burger, reworked it, giving it a Russian flavor and replacing the tragic ending of the original with a happy ending. The creepy plot about a dead groom taking his bride away with him, common among Western romantics, in “Svetlana” turns into just a bad dream.

Translation from German into Russian

Surprisingly, the colorful Russian ballad “Svetlana” turned out from a German-romantic work. Zhukovsky had previously translated this ballad, and its heroine was called Lyudmila. In meaning and content, it is much closer to Burger’s “Lenora”, just as mystical and creepy. It was a success among readers, but the author continued to work on the plot, changing and supplementing it.

The content of the ballad “Svetlana” is reminiscent of a good Russian fairy tale, where everything ends with the victory of good over evil. The author instills fear and horror into the readers, but in the end all this turns out to be just a dream that does not come true. Perhaps this is exactly what the poet was striving for when reworking the plot. A happy ending and wishes for happiness to the heroine radiate kindness and light, this is exactly how Zhukovsky sees the world.

What is the meaning of the ballad “Svetlana”?

If you answer this question in a nutshell, then the meaning is the victory of love and faith over death and darkness.

Zhukovsky believed in goodness. His heroine is pure in soul, prays, turning to the “comforter angel”, sincerely believes in salvation, and it comes to her in the form of a white dove. This is how the author conveys to us his life conviction that devilish temptations cannot destroy a sinless soul.

Ballad “Svetlana”: summary

The action takes place on Epiphany evening, when, according to popular beliefs, with the help of fortune telling you can look into the future and find out your fate. The author describes the types of fortune-telling: girls throw a “shoe” outside the gate, feed a chicken with grain, sing fortune-telling songs and tell fortunes to their betrothed, looking in the mirror at night by candlelight. Svetlana is sad because there has been no news from her beloved for a long time, she dreams that he will return soon.

Suffering from anticipation, she decides to look in the mirror. Suddenly her fiancé appears, joyfully announcing that the heavens have been tamed and the murmurs have been heard. He invites her to get married. Dragging Svetlana along with him, he puts Svetlana in a sleigh, and they set off across the snowy plain to a strange temple, where, instead of the expected wedding, a funeral service is taking place for the deceased.

The journey is cut short when the sleigh stops near a small hut. Suddenly the groom and horses disappear.

Left alone at night in an unfamiliar place, Svetlana, crossing herself, enters the house where the coffin stands. The creepy dead man, in whom Svetlana recognizes her lover, stands up and stretches out his dead hands to her. A white dove comes to the rescue, miraculously protecting the heroine from the terrible dead man.

Svetlana wakes up at home. Everything that happens turns out to be just a bad dream. At the same hour, the long-awaited groom returns, healthy and happy.

This is the ballad “Svetlana”. Summary ends with a wedding played by the heroes.

The secret power of a name

Few people remember that Svetlana came up with the name specifically for this ballad. It firmly entered into everyday life, became widespread and has survived to this day. You can hear light in it, it sounds very kind. It is this kind of bright joy that fills the girl’s quiet and pure soul; her love and faith will not fade or dissolve in anything. The meaning of the ballad “Svetlana” is already in its very name.

And night gives way to daylight

The action of eerie romantic ballads usually takes place under the cover of night - the darkest and most mysterious time of the day, covering various secrets with darkness. Zhukovsky ends the action daylight, the ringing of a bell and the crow of a rooster. Darkness and fears are replaced by the return of a loved one and a long-awaited wedding, a terrible dream is left behind. And here the author himself tells us what the meaning of the ballad is: “Svetlana” is the triumph of light over darkness, the victory of love over death and faith over temptation.

Lines filled with light

Zhukovsky's ballad is a creative gift to Alexandra Andreevna Protasova (Voeykova), who, as the author puts it, was the muse that “inspired him to be in a poetic mood.”

The work became fateful for the author. Friends from the Arzamas literary society called the poet “Svetlana”. P. A. Vyazemsky wrote in his memoirs that Zhukovsky was “Svetlana not only in name, but also in soul.” Thus, by putting his ideals and essence into the work, the author conveyed to us a “bright” faith, worldview and attitude.

The ballad was also reflected in the works of many Russian writers and poets, including A. S. Pushkin, who borrowed the “silent and sad” image of Svetlana when describing the heroine of the novel “Eugene Onegin” Tatyana.

And, although the work took the basis for the plot in a German ballad, it can be considered originally Russian, it certainly has a Russian flavor, close to folklore and folk art. Svetlana herself resembles the heroine of a Russian fairy tale or folk song. The poet's personal authorship here is indisputable. He believed that Russian literature, having studied Western achievements, should not blindly copy them, but try to convey them to the Russian reader in its own way.

The ballad “Svetlana” can rightfully be considered a symbol of early Russian romanticism. The work has become so familiar to the reader, it reflects the national mentality so clearly that it is difficult to perceive it as a translation of a German ballad. Among Zhukovsky’s works, this creation is one of the best; it is no coincidence that Vasily Andreevich had the nickname “Svetlana” in the Arzamas literary society.

In 1773, Gottfried Burger wrote his ballad “Lenore” and became the founder of this genre in Germany. Zhukovsky is interested in his work, he makes three translations of the book. In the first two experiments, the writer strives for a more national adaptation of the ballad. This is manifested even in the change in the name of the main character: in 1808 Zhukovsky gives her the name Lyudmila, and in 1812 - Svetlana. In the second adaptation, the author reworks the plot on Russian soil. Later, in 1831, Zhukovsky created a third version of the ballad “Lenora”, as close as possible to the original.

Zhukovsky dedicated the ballad “Svetlana” to his niece and goddaughter A.A. Protasova, it was a wedding gift: the girl was marrying his friend A. Voeikov.

Genre and direction

It is difficult to imagine the era of romanticism without the ballad genre, where the narrative is told in a melodious style, and supernatural events often happen to the hero.

Romanticism in the ballad “Svetlana” is represented quite widely. A characteristic feature of this era is interest in folklore. In an effort to make history the most Russian, Zhukovsky does not deprive it of one of the main motives of the German folk art- abduction of the bride by a dead man. Thus, the fantastic in the ballad “Svetlana” belongs to two cultures: from the Russian the work received the theme of Epiphany fortune-telling, and from the German – the groom rising from the grave.

The ballad is rich in symbolism of Russian folklore. For example, the raven is the messenger of death, a hut that gives a reference to Baba Yaga, whose home is located on the border of the world of the living and the dead. The dove in the ballad symbolizes the Holy Spirit, who, like an Angel, saves Svetlana from the darkness of hell. The crowing of a rooster dispels the spell of the darkness of the night, announcing the dawn - everything returns to normal.

Another technique typical of romanticism is motivation by dreams. The vision confronts the heroine with a choice: to sincerely believe that God will help her fiancé return, or to succumb to doubts and lose faith in the power of the Creator.

About what?

The essence of the ballad “Svetlana” is as follows: on Epiphany evening, girls traditionally gather to tell fortunes for their betrothed. But the heroine is not amused by this idea: she is worried about her lover, who is at war. She wants to know whether the groom will return, and the girl sits down to tell fortunes. She sees her lover, the church, but then it all turns into a terrible picture: a hut where the coffin with her beloved stands.

The plot of “Svetlana” ends prosaically: in the morning the girl awakens from sleep in confusion, she is frightened by an evil omen, but everything ends well: the groom returns unharmed. That's what this piece is about.

The main characters and their characteristics

The narrative brings to the fore only the main character. The remaining images in the ballad “Svetlana” are in the haze of a dream that has not dissipated; it is difficult to discern their characteristic features, because the main characters in this case are comparable to the scenery in a play, that is, they do not play an independent role.

At the very beginning of the work, Svetlana appears to the reader as sad and alarmed: she does not know the fate of her beloved. A girl cannot be as carefree as her friends; there is no place in her heart for girlish fun. For a year now she has found the strength to righteously hope and pray that everything will be fine, but on Epiphany evening curiosity takes precedence over righteousness - the heroine tells fortunes.

The characterization of Svetlana Zhukovsky is presented as positive, not ideal, but exemplary. There is a detail in her behavior that fundamentally distinguishes her from the girls in other translations by the author himself and from the original Lenora. Having learned about the death of her beloved, the bride does not grumble against God, but prays to the Savior. Svetlana’s state of mind at the moment of the terrible vision can rather be described as fear, but not despair. The main character is ready to come to terms with her “bitter fate”, but just not blame God for not hearing her.

For her perseverance, Svetlana receives a reward - the groom returns to her: “The same love is in his eyes.” A small number of lines about the groom give reason to assume that he is a man of his word, faithful and honest. He deserves such a sincerely loving and kind bride.

Themes of the work

Love. This theme permeates the ballad, in a way, it drives the plot, because it is love that provokes the Orthodox girl to tell fortunes. She also gives strength to the bride to wait and hope for the return of the groom; perhaps Svetlana’s feeling protects him from injury. The girl and her lover overcame a difficult test - separation, and their relationship only became stronger. Now they have a wedding and long happiness ahead of them.
Faith. Svetlana sincerely believes in God, she has no doubt that prayer will save her lover. She also saves the girl from the hellish embrace of the dead man, which Lenore, the heroine of the original ballad, could not avoid.
Divination. This topic is presented in a very original way. Firstly, Svetlana does not observe some kind of vision in the mirrors; she only dreams of everything that happens. Secondly, the fortuneteller must remove the cross, otherwise the dark other world will not be fully revealed to her, and our heroine “with her cross in her hand.” Thus, the girl cannot fully guess: even during this mystical sacrament she prays.

the main idea

As you know, Zhukovsky has three versions of the translation of Burger’s ballad “Lenora,” but why did “Svetlana” gain such popularity during the writer’s lifetime and remain a relevant work to this day?

Perhaps the secret of the book's success is its idea and the way it is expressed. In a world where there is good and evil, light and darkness, knowledge and ignorance, a person has a hard time: he succumbs to anxiety and doubt. But there is a path to gaining confidence and inner harmony - this is faith.

Obviously, the option that had a happy ending was more attractive to the public. But it was precisely this ending that allowed Zhukovsky to more convincingly convey his author’s position, because the meaning of the ballad “Svetlana” is that a person always strives for enlightenment. The fate of the main character clearly illustrates the benefits that the saving power of sincere faith brings.

Problems

V.A. Zhukovsky as educated person, teacher of Emperor Alexander II, was worried about the fact that Russians were almost never fully Orthodox. A man goes to church, but shuns a black cat, and when he returns home, having forgotten something, he looks in the mirror. Along with Christian Easter, pagan Maslenitsa is also celebrated, which continues to this day. Thus, religious issues come to the fore in the ballad “Svetlana”.

Zhukovsky raises in his work the problem of superstitious ignorance, which has been relevant for Russians since the very moment of the adoption of Christianity. In his ballad, he drew attention to the fact that, while celebrating the feast of the Epiphany, believing girls indulge in sinful fortune-telling. The author condemns this, but at the same time does not cruelly punish his beloved heroine. Zhukovsky only chides her in a fatherly way: “What is your dream, Svetlana...?”

Historicisms in “Svetlana” by Zhukovsky

The ballad “Svetlana” was written by Zhukovsky in 1812. Despite this, it is, in general, easy to read and understand today, but still contains outdated words. It is also important to take into account the fact that Zhukovsky wrote his work during the period when the Russian literary language was still being formed, so the book contains short forms adjectives (wenchalnu, tesovy) and partial variants of some words (plat, zlatoe), which gives the lyrical work solemnity and a certain archaism.

The vocabulary of the ballad is rich in outdated words: historicisms and archaisms.

Historicisms are words that have left the lexicon along with the named object. Here they are represented mainly by vocabulary related to the church:

many years - meaning “Many years” - a chant performed by a choir, usually a cappella, on the occasion of a solemn holiday.

Podblyudny songs are ritual songs performed during fortune telling, when a girl throws a personal object (ring, earring) into a saucer, accompanied by a special song.

Naloye is a type of reading table, also used as a stand for icons.

Zapona is a white cloth, part of the priest's clothing.

Archaisms are outdated words replaced by more modern ones:

Ardent - fiery
Ryans are diligent
Mouth - lips
Creator - founder
Incense - incense
To utter - to say
Tesov - made from teso - specially processed thin boards
Good is good

What does it teach?

The ballad teaches steadfastness and devotion, and most importantly, reverence for God's law. Sleep and awakening here cannot be understood only unambiguously: this is not only the physical state of a person: sleep is a delusion that worries the soul in vain. Awakening is an insight, an understanding of the truth of faith. According to the author, inner peace and harmony can be found by keeping the commandments of the Lord and firmly believing in the power of the Creator. Abstracting from the Christian context, let's say that a person, according to Zhukovsky's morality, must be firm in his convictions, and doubts, constant tossing and despair can lead him to trouble and even death. Hope, perseverance and love lead to happiness, which is clearly illustrated by the example of the heroes of the ballad “Svetlana”.

Interesting? Save it on your wall!

Prepare a short (plot) retelling of the ballad, defining the plot, climax, and denouement.

At Christmastide, “on Epiphany evening,” as was customary, the girls tried to guess their fate through various fortune-telling, which Zhukovsky lists at the beginning of the ballad. Svetlana, bored in separation from her fiancé, was also advised to try her luck. This is an exposition of a ballad. Svetlana chooses one of the most terrible fortune telling - with mirrors. The appearance of the groom and his invitation to go to church to get married is the beginning. The action develops rapidly. The horses are flying fast, there is a blizzard all around, there is steppe desolation all around. The pale and despondent groom is silent. The horses rushed past the church in which a memorial service was being held for the deceased. Everything portends trouble. “The raven croaks: sadness!” The horses approached the hut under the snow. Everything disappeared: the horses, the sleigh, the groom. Lonely Svetlana entered the hut with a prayer and saw a coffin covered with a white blanket. A dove fawns over her. But then the dead man in the coffin began to stir. The climax of the ballad comes - Svetlana recognizes her fiancé in the dead man, and awakening occurs. Svetlana believes that the dream portends bad things. However, a happy ending is approaching: the groom joyfully arrives.

The same love is in his eyes, the same pleasant glances; The same conversations on Mila’s sweet lips. Open, O Temple of God; You fly to heaven, Faithful vows.

The ballad ends with some morality, the author’s instruction in the spirit of the Orthodox worldview - not to believe in dreams and fortune-telling, but to believe in the Providence of God. Here are my sense of ballads:

Best friend

Remember the description of girls' fortune telling on Epiphany evening. Which of them do you especially remember?

At the beginning of the ballad, Zhukovsky gives a detailed picture of folk fortune-telling, which girls resorted to during Christmastide in order to find out their fate, mainly related to future marriage. They threw the shoes they had taken off their feet, listened under the window, fed the chickens with counting grain, and told fortunes with wax. But the most important and terrible fortune telling is waiting for the groom in front of mirrors and candles. According to descriptions in the research literature, for example in Sakharov’s book “Tales of the Russian People,” this fortune telling occurs like this. A table for two persons is set in a dark room. It is located between two mirrors facing each other, with a candle lit in front of each of them. The girl should be alone in the room and sit opposite the mirror. Another mirror is behind her. She waits a long time for the arrival of her fiancé. If he doesn't come, it means she's destined to remain unmarried this year. If there is a wedding coming up, then her husband will be the person who appears in the mirror. According to popular beliefs, something terrible can happen, like what happened to Svetlana or Lyudmila. Experienced people advised young fortune tellers not to wait for events to develop (they can be very tragic), but, when they see their betrothed, to cover the mirror with a handkerchief and stop further testing fate.

Try to tell about the heroine of the ballad - Svetlana, about her friends, her fiance. Which of these stories turned out to be more thorough and detailed? Why?

The most detailed story can be about Svetlana, since the ballad conveys her experiences, expectations and adventures. She is the heroine of the work. Svetlana is a highly moral and deeply religious person. She never once betrayed her faith in God: neither during separation from her fiancé, nor during the terrible race. Entering an unknown hut, she crossed herself, sat down under the holy images, and this saved her from Lyudmila’s terrible fate.

The friends are just a background for the development of the plot; they listen to Svetlana’s complaints and advise her to resort to fortune-telling. We know about the groom that he is stately, affectionate, loves Svetlana, did not forget her in separation, expresses love with pleasant speeches.

Describe the pictures of the winter landscape in the ballad. Which lines correspond to the mood and state of the heroine?

In the ballad, Svetlana’s dream depicts a winter blizzard night illuminated by moonlight; There is emptiness and deep snow around the galloping sleigh drawn by horses. This winter landscape is gloomy, it evokes Svetlana’s anxious mood. And even the temple standing to the side reinforces the feeling of darkness and anxiety: from its doors comes the funeral service, there is a coffin there and the words of the memorial service “Be taken by the grave” are heard. After Svetlana awakens, nature is already celebrating the victory of good over evil, happiness over misfortune, evening, night and the moon are replaced by morning, afternoon, and sun.

What artistic devices (comparisons, epithets, metaphors) are most often used in a ballad?

From artistic means bright epithets should be noted: bitter fate, red light, dead silence, dead sleep, plank gates, black corvid, greyhound horses, menacing dream, sweet lips, etc. They are of folklore origin and fit well into the folk style ballads. Metaphors and hyperboles are also actively used in them. Material from the site

How can one explain the dancing character of the sound of the verse? What poetic meter does the poet use?

Christmastide is a festive week from Christmas to Epiphany, filled with various folk festivities and entertainment. The happy ending of the ballad also puts us in a festive mood.

Hence the choice of the style of the work, its dance sound, which corresponds to the festive mood of the people. The poetic meter is trochee.

Look at Zhukovsky's drawings. What about them resembles the landscapes of a ballad?

Reference. Everyone chooses a drawing to answer this question according to their own discretion. You can use the book “Drawings of Russian Writers”.

Find lines in the ballad filled with playfulness and fun. How do you explain their appearance in the ballad?

The first lines are taken from wedding folklore; the second is one of the ending options folk tales like “I drank honey, it ran down my mustache, but it didn’t get into my mouth.” Or “A fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it.”

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You have read the ballad “Svetlana” by Zhukovsky. What impression did the reading leave you with?
What is the meaning of the ballad “Svetlana”? Why does the author begin it with a description of fortune-telling “on Epiphany evening”? Where does the heroine’s dream begin and how does it end?
Can we consider that Zhukovsky wrote this ballad in a humorous manner? Compare the plot of this ballad with the plots of other Zhukovsky ballads known to you (for example, “The Cup”).

Answers:

For the modern reader, the ballad “Svetlana” usually leaves a pleasant impression light fairy tale. What was perceived as intrigue and horror two hundred years ago now seems like a lullaby. Unfortunately, it is difficult for us to appreciate what was Zhukovsky’s clear and undeniable advantage in the eyes of his contemporaries: the lightness and freedom of verse. This seems natural to us. To contemporaries, after the works of, for example, Derzhavin, this seemed surprising. The authors of the textbook ask: “What is the meaning of the ballad “Svetlana”?” The word meaning does not have a clear terminological meaning. Its meanings vary greatly: it is the content, the meaning of something, and the purpose. Without knowing what the authors mean by the word meaning, it is impossible to correctly answer the question posed. Description of the “Epiphany evening”. The Heroine's Dream The ballad “Svetlana” was written based on the plot of a ballad by the German poet Burger. Zhukovsky believed that Russian literature should master everything created in the West, but master it not blindly, but by creatively processing and rethinking the achievements of other cultures. Zhukovsky decided to transplant the ballad genre onto Russian soil, creating a national flavor in “Svetlana” by describing folk customs (fortune telling at Christmastime) and by giving Svetlana’s character traits of a typical Russian character, as Zhukovsky understood it (Christian humility, patience, meekness). Svetlana sits down to tell fortunes about the groom at night in front of a mirror, at a set table with two cutlery. It is believed that during Christmas time mysterious, otherworldly forces awaken. Svetlana looks in the mirror for a long time and falls asleep unnoticed. In a dream, she hears whispers and sees her sweetheart, who is calling her to get married. The plot of the dream begins with the fact that Svetlana obeys her sweetheart without words and goes with him in the sleigh, no matter how strange it may seem to her. In the mysterious hut where the coffin stands, after Svetlana’s prayer in front of the icon, a white dove flies onto her chest - in Orthodoxy, a symbol of the Spirit of the Lord. Thus, the virgin finds herself under God's protection, and the dead man is powerless to harm her. Zhukovsky wants to say that humility and submission to God's will is salvation and is rewarded. We clearly feel a light comic tone in the ballad “Svetlana” - in the lightness of the verse, and in the happy ending. “Svetlana” differs significantly from such ballads as “The Forest Tsar”, “The Cup” or “Lyudmila”, which feel dramatic and end with the death of the heroes.