"Meeting Winter"

History of creation

Contemporaries spoke of the work of Ivan Savvich as something familiar and well recognizable. This is not surprising, because his works are imbued with the Russian spirit. The love for native nature is most clearly manifested in the poem “Meeting Winter,” written in 1854. In addition to depicting snow-covered landscapes, the author was able to provide valuable observations about the fortitude and character of the Russian person.

For the first time, Nikitin’s poem “Meeting of Winter” was published in the Voronezh Vedomosti newspaper in December 1854. The poet’s friends wanted to publish the text in St. Petersburg Vedomosti, but changed their plans. Nikitin addressed Nikolai Vtorov about this in December of the same year. He noted that his friend Alexander Petrovich Nordstein did not send the poem because he did not want to present it in a funny way in front of the magazine and the public. Nordstein considered the poem about winter to be an imitation of A.V. Koltsov, as evidenced by his quote:

Isn’t it true that something familiar can be heard in this poem, in the feeling with which it is imbued, in the techniques, in the texture of the verse? Is Koltsov really destined to be resurrected in Nikitin?

The work resonated with readers and inspired composers. It was set to music by N. Rimsky-Korsakov and R. Gliere.

Summary

In the poem, the author was able to draw with words a landscape that displays pictures of nature at the moment of transition from the autumn season to the winter. These changes are noted by the lyrical hero, who observes what is happening “behind the scenes.” It initially describes autumn weather with rain and wind. Autumn realizes that soon she will have to leave the free land showered with golden leaves. She has to cry about it, dropping tears of rain onto the floor of yellow leaves. Together with her, the empty, falling asleep forest is also sad.

At night, the rain gives way to large fluffy snow that covers the ground with an even carpet. At the dawn of a new day, the lyrical hero admires the changes in nature. Several lines are devoted to the forest, the image of which is dynamic. On the eve of change he is sad, but with the arrival of winter he is cheerful.

The author pays special attention to the symbol of Russia - birches. The slender, blond beauties took off their earrings and tried on a new piece of jewelry—diamond drops, given as a winter gift. The trees welcome the winter and allow her to roam to her heart's content: singing songs of the north, laying out carpets, walking through the open spaces. The lyrical hero echoes them - he is captivated by the changes that the snowy elements brought with them.

Theme, main idea and composition

Ivan Savvich Nikitin presents the meeting of winter as a joyful and natural event . It shows that nature is alive. It can manifest itself in different ways and influence a person’s mood.

The main characters of the poem are the mighty, strong, resilient Russian people and the harsh protector winter. At first glance, its main theme is the change of seasons. The lyrical hero says goodbye to autumn and rejoices at the first confident steps of frost. However, an analysis of Nikitin’s poem “Meeting of Winter” shows that this work is deeper and more multifaceted. In addition to the joy of the first snowstorm, Nikitin recalls the people of Russia in an allegorical form. He admires people who know what it’s like to survive the cold, stand in a snowstorm, do laundry in an ice hole.

Life in Russia changes with the arrival of winter, but does not stop. Despite bitter frosts and multi-day snowfalls, clear days still come. People rejoice and celebrate the harsh season and organize fun mini-funs. Small children, to whom the blizzard sings songs, get used to the harsh winter. This, according to the author, strengthens character and allows one to raise heroes who are strong, like an oak tree under storms.

Sometimes Mother Nature turns out to be on the side of the Russian land, protecting it from unkind people and conquerors. The last part of the poem is devoted to this issue. Nikitin asks winter to receive uninvited guests on a foreign side, prepare a feast for them, sing a song, put them to bed and cover their tracks with a blizzard.

These lines encourage readers to remember the numerous wars that foreigners tried to start in Russia in the winter. Both the Battle of the Ice and Napoleon’s campaign in 1812 showed that “General Moroz” himself was on the side of the Russians.

Conventionally, the poem can be divided into 2 parts:

A colorful description of the spaces dear to the author’s heart. While reading the lines, endless distances covered with snow are imagined. It sparkles in the sun, enveloping the world in a crystalline glow. After a storm, silence and silence reign in the forest.
The second part begins brightly and solemnly: “Hello, winter guest!” Here the author describes in detail why the Russian people are not afraid of winter. Addressing this time of year, he asks for protection from the enemies of the country.

The poetic meter of the work is iambic (two syllables, with stress on the second syllable). Parallel rhyme makes the verse melodious and easy to remember.

The main theme of the poem

At first glance, the central theme of the work is the change of seasons. On the one hand, this is really so, the poet devotes his lines to the end of the black, rainy autumn, rejoices at the snow, clean and cold, covering everything with a white blanket and as if renewing the world.

On the other hand, “Meeting Winter” is a much more complex and multifaceted work. In addition to the joy of the onset of the coldest time of the year and a detailed, truly beautiful description of nature covered with the first snow, Nikitin writes about the people inhabiting Russia. In an allegorical form, the poet expresses admiration for people who are not afraid of the cold, but welcome it, who are not afraid of either blizzards or severe cold.

Life in Russia does not stop with the arrival of winter. Despite the bitter frosts, sometimes simply life-threatening, despite all the hardships associated with the need to make a path through snow-covered fields and forests, Russian people rejoice in winter and celebrate it. Even children get used to the harsh winter from an early age; “the blizzard sings songs to them.” According to Ivan Savvich, this strengthens character: “... a hero grows like an oak tree under storms.” Nature itself, sometimes cruel and unmerciful, nevertheless lives in peace with the Russian people - and even helps them defend their homeland from conquerors.

The last part of the poem is dedicated to this topic. Nikitin calls on winter to welcome the uninvited guest “on the stranger’s side,” prepare a feast for him and sing a song, lay down white fluff for his bed and cover his trail with blizzards. These lines refer the reader to the numerous wars fought on the territory of Russia in the winter - from the Battle of the Ice, when Lake Peipsi itself seemed to have contributed to the victory of Russian weapons, dragging the Teutonic crusaders under cracked ice, to the recently defunct War of 1812, in which the Russians , according to the French who fled in fright, “General Frost” himself helped.

Means of expression

In the poem, the author uses archaisms (“drunken feast”, “from time immemorial”). Glorifying nature, he does not resort to pretentious literary expressions. The exception is the sentence about Holy Rus', which emphasizes his love for his homeland.

The poem uses means of expression. With their help, the author shows that nature is capable of sadness and joy:

Personification: “knocked (rain)”, “rose (fog)”, “looked (forest)”.
Metaphors: “the snow lies like a sheet.”
Epithets: “dark forest”, “the air is light and clean”.
Comparison: drops, “like diamonds”; snowball, “like white fluff.”

Some elements of the landscape look more expressive thanks to alliteration. In the first lines, the atmosphere of impending changes is conveyed by words with the consonants “r” and “s” (“Yesterday morning the rain was knocking on the glass windows”). The bitter frost looks menacing thanks to the ringing “r”: “And the river froze, there was snow in the yards and houses.”

Analysis of Nikitin’s poem “Meeting of Winter”

The poem by I. S. Nikitin describes the beginning of winter. Here one picture follows another, the frames are presented accurately and clearly.

Yesterday it was late autumn: the rain was knocking on the windows, the fog was rising, the cold was blowing, the forest was crying. And the man was sad and hard. But then it snowed! The lyrical hero is amazed. He is glad and happy from the renewal of nature: the air is light and clean, the snow sparkles with multi-colored fire, the forest looks cheerfully, drops like diamonds burn. Through the mood of nature, the poet seeks to express his state and mood.

The author used many means of expression in the poem:

Comparison: drops are like diamonds, snowballs are like white fluff

Metaphor: snow lies like a sheet

Epithets: gloomy forest, the air is light and clean.

Personification: the rain was knocking, the fog was rising, the cold was blowing, the forest was crying, the forest was watching, winter was a guest.

The author wants to say that nature is alive, that it can be sad and happy and influence a person’s mood.

3.Primary understanding of the text.

Did you like the poem?

What feelings did you experience when reading this poem? (At the beginning I was sad, the cold autumn rain was falling, the cold was blowing in my face and the forest was crying. And then nature changes: white fluffy snow fell on the dirty ground, the air became clean, the forest was fun to watch. And my feelings changed. My soul became joyfully light.)

VI. Continuing to study new material

1.Children’s independent reading of a poem using “buzzing” reading.

Can it be said that Nikitin in the poem “Meeting Winter” creates, as it were, moving pictures of nature. (Yes this is true.)

Watch how everything around you changes in the morning, at noon, at night and at dawn. (Children read the lines of the beginning of the poem.)

What time is the poem dedicated to? (The poem is dedicated to the pre-winter. When winter has not yet arrived, but the first snow is falling.)

Think about why people are happy about the first snow. Find these lines and re-read them. (The guys read these lines.

The first snow covers the mud all around,

It becomes clean, light and beautiful.)

Re-read the greeting to winter. Can we say that the author animates nature? (Yes, he calls winter guests and invites them to his place.)

Guys, did the poet love the Russian winter? (Yes, he loved it.)

How did he treat the Russian people, the common man? (We see from the poem that he loved and respected the Russian people.) (Excerpts about a peasant, about his mother are read out.)

How do you understand the words “from time immemorial”? (For a long time, since time immemorial.)

3.Expressive reading in the classroom.

Prepare to read expressively. Read to each other.

What poem did you read in class?

Analysis for a reader's diary

The work is written for children. His paintings are presented very accurately, because it is difficult for children to understand the hidden meaning. When analyzing a work in primary and secondary school, you can use thematic illustrations and adhere to the following plan:

Title of the poem. "Meeting Winter"
Year of creation, publication. 1854.
Author. Ivan Savvich Nikitin.
Genre. Landscape lyrics with patriotic motifs.
Subject. The amazing and beautiful Russian nature with long cold winters gives birth to heroes.
Poetic size. Iambic, parallel rhyme.
What does it teach? Love for the homeland, native land, pride in your native land. Teaches the ability to enjoy the moment, to admire the wildness of the elements, which makes “your blood burn in the cold.”
Comparisons. “Like an oak tree under storms,” “Like diamonds, they burn.”
Brief review. “I liked the love with which the poem speaks about the author’s attitude towards the Motherland, its endless expanses and difficult weather conditions. Nikitin pays special attention to ordinary people, Russian heroes. They are the ones who plow the land, grow grain, and milk cows. They are the true breadwinners, not the rich who are busy creating new ways to oppress the people.”
Proverbs. “The native land is a paradise for the heart.”

From early childhood, it is important for children to read and study the works of great Russian writers and poets: Fet, Pushkin, Tyutchev, Lermontov. This expands your horizons, vocabulary and helps in adult life. It is recommended to start studying with the beautiful and easy-to-understand lines of Ivan Nikitin. A living, real work evokes a spiritual response in the younger and older generations and remains in the memory for many years.

Structural analysis of the poem

In “Meeting Winter” archaisms are actively used (drinking feast, from time immemorial, etc.), but high vocabulary is practically absent. Nikitin glorifies the beauty of the Russian winter without resorting to overly solemn, pretentious expressions. The only exception is the sentence about holy Rus', ending with an exclamation, which only emphasizes the poet’s attitude towards his homeland.

However, the poet compensates for the lack of high vocabulary with an abundance of other figurative and expressive means. Personification, metaphors, comparisons and epithets are especially often used. Thus, the child is compared to a hero who grows like an oak tree under storms, the blizzard sings songs, and in general, winter - like all of nature - acts as a living being, understanding and feeling everything.

Cross rhyme and short lines make the poem melodious and easy to remember.

In “Meeting Winter,” Ivan Savvich Nikitin not only glorifies the beauty of Russian nature and admires the cold season, but also notes the special makeup of the people who live in this nature.

The poem by I. S. Nikitin describes the beginning of winter. Here one picture follows another, the frames are presented accurately and clearly.

Comparison: drops are like diamonds, snowballs are like white fluff

Metaphor: snow lies like a sheet

Epithets: gloomy forest, the air is light and clean.

Personification: the rain was knocking, the fog was rising, the cold was blowing, the forest was crying, the forest was watching, winter was a guest.

ratings, average:
4.25
out of 5)