Essay Analysis of Pushkin's tragedy Boris Godunov

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Pushkin
Analysis of the work of Boris Godunov

Pushkin began writing the play “Boris Godunov” in the winter of 1824 and finished it in 1825. During this period, Pushkin was in exile, in Mikhailovsky. This was a turning point for the writer; he was moving away from romanticism to realism.

“Boris Godunov” is the first realistic tragedy; to write it, Pushkin studied material that described facts about the time of troubles. The main theme in the work is the issue of autocracy and serfdom. The author's intention was not to use historical data for an exciting plot, but to show real historical events.

The play begins with a description of Moscow in 1598, when Tsar Fedor, the son of Ivan the Terrible, dies, leaving no heirs. Shortly before his death, Boris Godunov himself, the brother of Fedor’s wife, rose to prominence. Tsar Fedor was a believer, and prayed almost all the time and was not able to reign; instead of him, Godunov, whose importance increased after the death of Ivan the Terrible, did this.

Having no children after the death of Fyodor, his brother should ascend to the throne. Being a child unable to rule, Dmitry was sent by Godunov with his mother to Uglich. In 1591, a rumor appeared that the prince was dying on the orders of Godunov. After the investigation, which was carried out by Vasily Shuisky, the people are informed that Tsarevich Dmitry stabbed himself to death during a seizure.

As a result, the question arose about electing a king. Boris Godunov was persuaded for a long time, but he refused, knowing that the boyars were plotting against him.

During Godunov's reign, he suffered setbacks, at this time there was a crop failure, and a terrible fire occurred in Moscow. The people, tired of serfdom, were growing discontent. Towards the end of his reign, Boris became more cruel, intensified the persecution of opposition families, and sent spies everywhere.

The peak was the appearance of False Dmitry in Poland. Godunov announced that this was the escaped monk Grigory Otrepiev. Having gathered an army, False Dmitry went to war against the tsar, the people supported him in the hope of the abolition of serfdom. During this period, Godunov died suddenly. As a result, the main commander betrays the Godunov family and goes over to the side of False Dmitry, and the boyars, in order to please him, kill the king’s wife and son. And False Dmitry becomes ruler.

But in Pushkin, the main character is the people themselves, who decide the future of the state. It is the silence of the people that shows that they do not accept the new king. In the last scenes of the tragedy, the role of the people is clearly visible. They are like a powerful force and moral component, he has the last word.

Option 2

Pushkin's tragedy "Boris Godunov" is the most mysterious story and the most difficult for both the reader and various critics. Many people who tried to make a film based on this tragedy did not grasp the very essence, the very mystery and complexity of “Boris Godunov”, so most often the films did not come out as amazing as the book. Many literary scholars have written that many moments from the book are reminiscent of certain people in history, as well as events. For example, in the character of the Pretender, Pushkin actually showed himself in the image of Boris, the ruler of Alexander 1, and Grishka Otrepiev is a kind of harbinger of the Decembrist uprising.

The main theme of the tragedy “Boris Godunov” is the theme of power and greatness, which the characters in the story strive for. They go to her, regardless of others and the rules of decency, they show their true character, their pride and self-esteem. The heroes forget that royal power for all believers means that the king is a kind of messenger of God who must protect his people from various troubles, forgetting about his personal problems. But not one of the heroes is suitable for this, because they do all this only for their own greatness.

The people of a great country pray to the Almighty for the king, so that he may reign long and bright. The subjects give in to despair and begin to despise themselves after Dmitry was killed and Godunov came to the throne. The most interesting thing is that it is still unclear that the prince was killed, as well as who did it, so many people are attracted by this mystery that exists in Pushkin’s tragedy.

The main idea of the tragedy “Boris Godunov” is that the Tsar, Boris, was destroyed by his pride, terrible character, but most importantly, his lust for power. Throughout the story, he conflicts with his conscience, and tries with all his might to emerge victorious from this conflict. But it all ends with him finding a way out only in repentance. But not in ordinary repentance before God, telling about all your mistakes and failures. For Godunov, repentance is to renounce power, the throne and greatness. But he is not ready to repent before God and lose power, even in the face of mortal danger, but he is not ready to do this: “Wait, Lord Patriarch, // I am still a king...”. Godunov transfers his power to his son and gives him advice on what and how to do when you are a king. You might think that he loves his child, but even this is done out of his own pride: “whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me...”.

In the end, it is clear that Boris’s desire for power, his own greatness over other people, made him very proud and brought upon him a kind of curse of fate. Maybe if he had renounced power and repented to God, he would have been able to live on, but due to his own contradictions, he was unable to do this.

Boris Godunov. Historical essay

Boris Godunov is the main statesman of Russia during the reign of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich (1584-1598) and the threshold of the Time of Troubles (early 17th century). Godunov was a Moscow boyar, brother-in-law (wife's brother) of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich. During the reign of this monarch, Boris was the unofficial de facto ruler of Russia. And after the death of Fyodor Ivanovich, who left no heirs, in February 1598, Godunov officially ascended the throne, and reigned until his death in April 1605.

The name of Boris Godunov and his activities are associated with such important events as the case of the death of Tsarevich Dmitry, the heir to the throne, in the city of Uglich; as well as the establishment of the patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church. I would like to dwell on them in more detail.

The young Tsarevich Dmitry was the younger brother of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, the son of the seventh wife of Ivan the Terrible. The Church did not recognize him as the legal heir to the throne, since he was born in an illegal (“prodigal”) marriage. However, Tsar Fedor did not have children, so Dmitry still turned out to be the only heir to royal power.

The boy suffered from epilepsy and constantly lived with his mother in the city of Uglich, under the supervision of the boyar family Nagikh. On May 15 (25), 1591, during another epileptic seizure, 8-year-old Tsarevich Dmitry died.

A commission led by Vasily Shuisky, which, on the orders of Godunov, conducted an investigation into the incident, concluded: the death of the prince was the result of an accident. However, later the opinion became established in society that Tsarevich Dmitry was killed on the secret order of Boris Godunov, who thus cleared the way to the royal throne for himself and his heirs.

Another stable opinion was: Dmitry escaped death. He was saved by faithful people and taken by them to a remote monastery or abroad.

Neither one nor the other version has ever been supported by evidence, so they are speculation. The reasons for their spread were the intrigues of Boris Godunov’s political opponents from the boyar aristocracy, as well as the people’s distrust of this figure, who had full power, but was “not of royal blood.”

The consequence of the incident in Uglich was the spread of imposture - the illegal appropriation of the royal name for selfish political purposes. This phenomenon became the key event of the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century. The most famous (but not the only) impostors posing as Tsarevich Dmitry were False Dmitry I and False Dmitry II.

Another important event during the reign of Boris Godunov was the establishment of the Russian Patriarchate. It was he who played a key role in this event. During the visit of the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople Jeremiah to Moscow (1589), Boris Godunov held successful negotiations with him.

He invited Jeremiah to introduce the patriarchate in Russia and become the first patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. However, since the boyar and church aristocracy did not want a Greek patriarch, Jeremiah had to settle in Vladimir.

The Patriarch of Constantinople refused to live outside the capital, but, coaxed by generous gifts, agreed to establish the Russian Patriarchate and appoint Metropolitan Job, who was pleasing to the Moscow aristocracy, to this post. In May 1590, at a council in Constantinople, the foundation of the Moscow Patriarchate and the canonical independence of the Russian Orthodox Church were officially approved.

The reasons for the establishment of the Russian Patriarchate were the material and moral decline of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the rise of Moscow, which allowed it to claim religious independence.

The consequence of this event was the increase in the religious significance of the Russian Orthodox Church and the strengthening of continuity within the framework of the “Moscow – Third Rome” concept. This term denotes the theory that substantiated the pattern of movement of the political and religious center of the entire Orthodox world from Constantinople to Moscow.

Thus, the activities of Boris Godunov had a great influence on the subsequent history of our country. He played a decisive role in the founding of the Russian Patriarchate and strengthening the authority of the Russian Orthodox Church, which began to play an even greater role in politics.

The Uglich affair became one of the main causes of the Troubles in Russia. Combined with a series of lean years that brought famine and hardship, it laid the foundations for the chaos to come. While Boris Godunov was alive, he could restrain him. But the death of this strong ruler opened the door to the Troubles: his son and heir Fedor did not have the abilities of his father and could not cope with governing the country in a difficult situation.

The unfounded accusation of Godunov in the murder of Tsarevich Dmitry made Boris an ominous figure in Russian history - a character in a number of outstanding works of art. This, in particular, is the drama of A.S. Pushkin “Boris Godunov”; Mussorgsky's opera of the same name; the play “Tsar Boris” and the novel “Prince Silver” by A.K. Tolstoy.

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Essay based on the work of Boris Godunov

Pushkin is one of his most outstanding works while in exile. The poet is working on the tragedy “Boris Godunov”. This work was truly modern for those times and highlighted the problems of that time. The issue of autocracy and serfdom was raised. The most important thing is that Pushkin considers the people as a full participant in the struggle for liberation.

“History of the Russian State” was published in volumes 10 and 11, which became a source of information for Pushkin. These volumes described the “time of troubles.” During these times, the people rebelled against the law on serfdom. Godunov’s son Fyodor was removed from the throne, and Boris died before this event. The poet, having written his work, showed the reader the true actions of those times. Pushkin used historical material not to decorate his work, but only for one purpose, to show people the truth.

The current Tsar Feodor had no children, so his heir was his brother Dmitry. Godunov did everything so that no one would stop him from coming to power. The prince is expelled from Moscow, and Dmitry somehow strangely died. Now it was necessary to choose a king and Godunov became him. The first four parts of Pushkin's work tell about these events.

Boris began to have troubles on the throne. Firstly, there was a crop failure in the state and, accordingly, famine; secondly, Moscow was burning and many people were left without a home. People are tired of such power, of serfdom. Anger and hatred towards Boris grew. At the end of his reign, the king increased pressure on the people. People were imprisoned and expelled. Godunov also came up with a prayer asking for his health. Everyone had to read it at dinner.

One day an impostor appeared who introduced himself as Dmitry (who died). People believed him, and he began to gather an army against Godunov. The people were for him, since the impostor advocated the abolition of serfdom. Soon Boris died and this contributed to the rapid end of the current government. Boris's son, Fedor, took the place of government. But no one supported him, and the best commander Basmanov took the side of the impostor. The boyars also did not stand aside; in the end they killed Fedor and his mother. Now Moscow has been occupied by an impostor and his people.

But all the main characters of the work are not its key figures, the main thing is the people. It is people who decide the fate of all heroes. At the end of the work, the people turn into a terrible force that destroys everything in its path. Now people decide their fate and the future fate of the characters. But the people did not welcome the new Tsar Dmitry, because they saw that he, too, began to rule with the murder of an unarmed boy and his mother.

Analysis 4

One of the tragic works of the great writer A.S. Pushkin is the poem “Boris Godunov”, into which he introduced a lot of tragedies both between the heroes, but also included in it the tragedy of the entire society. The people and the tsar are the main theme that formed the basis of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin’s work “Boris Godunov”. Boris Godunov himself was described as a positive character; at first glance, he seemed not only a good king, but also a wonderful father and family man. Who tried very hard to support his children in all stories. Together with his beloved daughter, he experiences grief over the loss of her fiancé. Supports his son in his desire to gain greater knowledge in science. He is very smart, his desire was to bring contentment to his people after receiving the throne.

Boris was a good, thoughtful politician, a sincere person in relation to people, he calculated steps in advance, knowing the entire situation of the country. Even despite all the advantages and positive qualities, the population of the country did not particularly like him. Thinking about strengthening ties with Western European states, he betrothed his daughter to the Swedish prince. In relation to the people, he continues the policy of some Moscow monarchs; he insists that every peasant belongs to one landowner and does not have any rights. Thus, he completely switches to the hostility of people towards his person.

Boris differed from his predecessors in that he did not win his throne by honest means, he did not inherit it, but committed a crime by killing baby Dmitry. Not only the people, but also many writers of that time thought so. This absolutely did not paint his image as a ruler, but it also tormented his soul very painfully; it was only a small part of the huge tragedy of his fate. Not only the boyars, Don Cossacks and Polish gentry waged an active struggle against his person, but also the people themselves were at the head, this was the main reason for his tragic death.

Thus, Alexander Sergeevich shows in his work, if the ruler loses the support and respect of his people, worsening his own position, deceiving the peasants, who subsequently not only hated him under his tyranny, but also considered him a despot. Of course, this could not end in anything good for such a representative of the board as Boris Godunov, except death at the hands of those whom he tried to tame under his own power.

The first appearance of this work, where Pushkin was also the hero. It made a huge impression on the society to which he first read it; some were perplexed by the outgoing impulsiveness and stunned. To this day, the uniqueness of this work draws the reader into the depths of history and fascinates with its intriguing plot. The writer’s way of thinking leaves no one indifferent; even critics expressed their opinions with enthusiasm.

Essay The main theme of the tragedy “Boris Godunov”

The main theme of the tragedy - the tsar and the people - determined the important place that Pushkin assigned to Boris Godunov in his play. The image of Boris Godunov is revealed widely and diversified. Boris is shown both as a king and as a family man; His various spiritual qualities are noted. Boris is endowed with many positive traits. His great mind, powerful will, responsiveness, and desire to “calm his people into contentment and to reassure him in glory” are attractive. Like a tender father, he sincerely mourns the grief of his daughter, shocked by the unexpected death of her fiancé: What, Ksenia, what is it, my dear? The brides are already a sad widow! You keep crying about your dead groom... Guilty one, why are you suffering? ' As a person who deeply understands the benefits of education, he rejoices at his son’s success in science: Study, my son, science reduces the experiences of fast-flowing life for us... Study, my son, and it will be easier and clearer - You will comprehend the work of a sovereign. Boris is an experienced politician, he soberly takes into account the attitude of the boyars towards him, understands the entire difficult situation within the country at that time and gives reasonable advice to his son in his dying will. Having married his daughter to the Swedish prince, he thinks about strengthening the connection between Rus' and Western European states. Despite all these qualities, the people do not like the king. Boris Godunov is a typical representative of the autocracy that began to take shape in Muscovite Rus' from the time of Ivan III and reached its heyday under Otherwise IV. Boris will continue the policy of Ivan IV - the concentration of all state power in the hands of the tsar. He continues the fight against the noble boyars and... like Ivan IV, he relies in this struggle on the serving nobility. Appointing Basmanov as commander of the troops, Boris tells him: “I’ll send you to command them: I’ll put you not in line, but in mind as a commander.” Boris continues the policy of the Moscow tsars in relation to the people: “Only through strictness can we vigilantly restrain the people. So thought John (III), the calmer of storms, a reasonable autocrat, so did the hundred-fierce grandson (Ivan IV).” He continues the policy of enslaving the peasants, he “Yuryev decided to destroy laziness,” that is, to destroy the right of the peasants to move from one landowner to another and thereby finally assign the peasants to the landowners. This serfdom policy of Boris strengthens the people’s first distrustful and then hostile attitude towards him. But Boris differs from his predecessors in that he became king through a crime, and not through legal succession to the throne. In the 17th century, as some writers of that time say, Boris Godunov was considered the murderer of Dmitry Tsarevich, the son of Ivan IV. Karamzin shared the same opinion. Karamzin viewed Boris’s very tragedy as a consequence of his crime: God punished Boris for the murder of the infant prince. Pushkin, “resurrecting the past century in all its truth,” also depicts Boris as the murderer of Demetrius. But, in contrast to the writers of the 17th century and Karamzin, he does not explain the unhappy reign of Boris and his failure to found the royal Godunov dynasty with this crime. The murder of Dmitry causes Boris mental anguish and increases the people's hostility towards him, but this is not the main reason for his tragic fate. The death of Boris is due to social reasons, the struggle of class forces. The boyars, the Don Cossacks, the Polish gentry, and, most importantly, the people came out to fight him. Gavrila Pushkin tells Basmanov that the Pretender is strong not because of “Polish help” or the Cossacks, but because of “popular opinion.” The people rebelled against Godunov, and this is the main reason for the death of Boris, since the people are the main, decisive force of history. The people turned away from Boris and then rebelled against him because they saw in him a despot who not only does not care about the welfare of the people, but, on the contrary, worsens their situation by enslaving the peasantry; saw in him the murderer of the prince; considered all his “good deeds” and “generosity” as “a means of preventing confusion and rebellion.” So Pushkin shows that the main reason for Boris’s tragedy is that he lost the respect, love and support of the people.