From Aesop to Krylov
Since ancient literature, the fable has occupied a special place. She was able to notice such traits of human character that were always considered vicious and caused negative feelings. The first person to speak about human shortcomings in the language of fables was the wisest ancient Greek poet-philosopher Aesop. The ability not to name a specific person, resorting to allegory, indicated shortcomings that needed to be combated.
Lafontaine became his follower. “Frogs Asking for the Tsar” is a fable from his pen. Allegory allows the authors to make representatives of the animal world the main characters. To understand how this technique works, you need to analyze the fable “Frogs Asking for the Tsar.”
What frogs can't learn
In the analysis of Krylov’s fable “Frogs Asking for the Tsar,” a student can point out that the lesson that the author teaches people is the following: it is stupid to want to dramatically change your life, if you do not take into account the fact that society should change gradually, in accordance with the course stories. And frogs proceed only from their own ideas about what power should be. However, their intelligence is not enough to understand at what pace social relations should develop. For this they receive punishment from heaven.
Content
So, what is this piece about? A long time ago, the inhabitants of the swamps wanted a king to lead them. Jupiter heeded their request and sent a huge aspen log to their kingdom. The frogs were afraid of him, but then, having gained courage, they began to act outrageously, despite the high title of their new ruler.
The blockhead did not interfere with anything, did not reproach his subjects for anything. But he never did anything useful for them. This caused discontent throughout the king’s entourage. The frogs wanted an efficient sovereign, and they again turned to Jupiter with such a request.
A snake ascended the throne. Agile and beautiful, she severely punished disobedience. Even innocent frogs became her dinner. The survivors complained to the heavenly lord. Jupiter was surprised, but refused another request from the frogs, promising them to send them a ruler even worse than the previous ones as king.
Fable “Frogs asking for the Tsar” (I. Krylov)
The frogs did not like the rule of the people, and it seemed to them not at all noble to live without service and in freedom.
In order to help my grief, they began to ask the gods for the King.
Although listening to all nonsense would not be akin to the gods, this time, however, Zeus listened to them: He gave them a King. The King flies towards them with noise from heaven, And so tightly he cracked the kingdom, That as he walked, the state became a quagmire:
From all sides the Frogs darted about in fright, Some as they could, where they could, And in whispers they marveled at the Tsar in their cells.
Zeus's Warning
Not only Lafontaine wrote about dissatisfaction with those in power, Krylov also addresses this topic, “Frogs Asking the Tsar” is a fable that is also in his collection. By frogs, the famous fabulist means people. For Krylov, the first dumb ruler is still the aspen log, which was replaced by the Crane.
In order to add contrast to the process of government and to more clearly depict the position of the frogs, the authors of the fables choose a snake and a crane as second kings, because both of them love to feast on frogs. A quiet and calm king was given, he was underestimated, he did not want a quiet and calm life, it seemed too boring and uninteresting to the frogs. And the other one turned out to be even worse. It is not without reason that they say: “They do not seek good from good.” “Live with him so that it doesn’t get worse for you!” - Zeus warns the frogs.
The analysis of the fable “Frogs Asking for the Tsar” will help determine what the moral is in this fable. And it’s simple: you can’t change everything at once. It is necessary to take into account that in nature everything has its own development, but it happens gradually. If the frogs were patient, they would adapt to the block of wood and even learn to derive great benefit from communicating with it. The essence of the fable's morality has not lost its relevance.
What is the moral of the fable
The moral of the fable is the most important thing in this kind of work. In other words, after reading a fable, you need to think about what it can teach and how not to repeat mistakes in your life. Here, when we talk about the moral of the fable “Frogs Asking for a Tsar,” it is clear that change does not happen out of nowhere and instantly. Nature is designed in such a way that everything develops systematically and everything has its time. There is no need to rush things and give up what you have now for the sake of the unknown.
For example, if they had waited a little while the king of the frogs was a blockhead, they would have realized that communication with him and his rule could be useful. In fact, it took time to adapt to this ruler and new circumstances. Constantly wanting change, insatiability appears, and a person will never get what he wants, he will always be dissatisfied with something. This can be seen through the analysis of the fable “Frogs Asking for the Tsar.”
Society has always had a serious flaw, and the author of the fable was able to highlight it wonderfully. People constantly want change, they do not accept the existing order, they do not like the current way of life, they strive for a new life. Is this one bad? On the one hand, no. But it’s not the desire for the best itself that’s bad, but the inability to notice the good that exists at the moment. In addition, the fabulist Krylov wanted to clearly express the idea that there is no king who would suit everyone perfectly. It is quite possible that the next king who replaces the previous one will be much worse.
So, the analysis of the work and the moral of the fable “Frogs Asking for the Tsar” are very clear. It's easy to remember the main thing. Read the fable in its entirety, if you have not already done so, to ensure that our conclusion is correct. We recommend reading other articles from our literary
Fables by I.A. Krylova is a special satirical genre inherited from antiquity. In the era of classicism, fables belonged to “low” genres, so they sounded simple colloquial speech. The heroes of the fables could be either people from the people or animals reflecting certain character traits.
In the fable “Frogs Asking for a Tsar,” the heroes are Frogs, but this, of course, is an allegory. Allegory - allegory - is one of the characteristic features of the fable. By Frogs we mean people who ask the gods to give them a sovereign. Zeus gave them a King, but it was an aspen block that did not react to anything. Having rested from fear, the Frogs became bold and daring, and then they did not care about the new ruler at all. Having asked Jupiter to give them another King, “truly for glory,” they received the Crane for their power. Now the other extreme awaited them: the Crane ate the guilty, “and at his trial no one was right.” Soon the Frogs repented of their desire and again prayed to Jupiter, “that even they cannot... neither stick their nose out nor croak safely.” But now Jupiter no longer makes concessions.
The final words of Jupiter are the moral of the fable, a short instructive statement that contains the main meaning of the fable:
“...Was a King given to you? - so he was too quiet:
You rebelled in your puddle,
Another one was given to you - so this one is very dashing;
Live with him so that things don’t get worse for you!”
This is a lesson to people: they want to change their lives through outside intervention, not taking into account the fact that society should develop gradually, historically. Stupid Frogs proceed only from their ideas about power, but their intelligence is not enough to understand the need for the gradual development of social relations. For this God punishes them. In the fable, the author uses colloquial and colloquial expressions: “cracked into the kingdom”, “from all over the frogs’ legs fluttered in fear”, “there’s a croaking and groaning more than ever”, “swallowing them up like flies.” Many words and expressions are outdated (“Why didn’t you know how to live happily before?”). But the idea of Krylov’s fable is not outdated, it is still significant, causing both sadness and laughter at the same time.
Krylov is a fabulist of the spirit of classicism. In his works he uses allegory and very often takes a historical basis for them. For example, as in the fable Frogs asking for the king. The fable takes its history from 1809. It was in that year that Krylov wrote one of his works. The plot is borrowed from La Fontaine, who at one time, referring to the works of Aesop, wrote his creation of the same name. Now we have to explore Krylov’s fable and make it.
Analysis of the fable Frogs asking for the king
In Krylov's work Frogs Asking the Tsar, we are talking about frogs. At the very beginning, we see how tired they are of their free life, they don’t like popular rule, so they ask the gods to send a king, thereby depriving themselves of freedom in advance. And the gods heard the frogs, and sent them a calm, silent, sedate ruler, who was like a log of aspen. At first the frogs were afraid of him, but then they realized that they could climb on his head. True, it seemed to them that they could get an even better king, who would bring glory to their swamp.
And now, a new hero appears in the person of the Crane. Now the frogs have a king who, indiscriminately who is right and who is wrong, accuses and immediately puts the guilty in his mouth. Everyone was now afraid of such a king and it was scary to show himself to him, because he could immediately swallow him. They began to ask the gods again for a new ruler, but they had already refused their annoying request. And then we see the moral of the fable. At the request of the frogs, they were given a king, but he turned out to be too quiet. They gave another king to the petitioners, but he was very dashing. And Krylov, as a conclusion, writes that the frogs should live with the second, otherwise the third king may turn out to be even worse than the previous two.
It follows from the fable that we must appreciate what we have, although by nature we always want more and better. Indeed, in reality, as in the fable, the result often turns out to be exactly the opposite of our desires.
When analyzing the fable, you can see ordinary people in the depicted frogs, but Krylov, most likely, did not depict any specific king as the rulers. Perhaps in the first case this refers to Tsar Mikhail, who had to rule the state at a young age without life experience, and in the second version life under Pyotr Alekseevich is depicted. Although, no matter what period you take, there has always been and will be a conflict between the authorities and the people. This is shown to us in Krylov’s fable.
They are works of a special satirical genre, which was inherited from the era of antiquity. In the times of classicism, fables were considered a “low” genre, and therefore they often contained simple speech, typical of ordinary conversation. The heroes of the fable “Frogs Asking for a Tsar” are the inhabitants of the swamp. But, of course, this is an allegory skillfully used by the author. The work is dated 1809.
About rhyme, characters' characters
A fable written by Ivan Andreevich Krylov (“Frogs Asking for the Tsar”), in verse. The author has a very clear rhyme: sideways - prone, nearby - backwards, power - glory.
The main drawback that reigns in society and noted by the author is a painful passion for change, an unwillingness to accept the existing situation as it is, a desire to change one’s previous way of life without relying on the past and one’s experience. The frogs “didn’t like popular rule” and “didn’t like living freely and freely.”
The author’s most striking and memorable phrases are: “cracked for the kingdom”, “seemed completely ignoble.”
The main characters of the fable are frogs; they are in constant contact with Zeus and the changing kings. Due to their characteristic character traits, they can be called:
- cowardly;
- obsequious to those who are much higher in status than them.
But as soon as they feel impunity, they immediately demonstrate their disdain for the king by turning their backs on him. Zeus is very attentive to all requests addressed to him.
- The king of the block is sedate, silent, of enormous stature.
- The crane has a different disposition; it does not like to pamper anyone or make concessions to anyone. He has two images. This is a bird that eats frogs. A terrible king who punishes his subjects indiscriminately.
For the author, it seems nonsense and incredible stupidity to exchange will for an oppressed life.
Analysis and moral of the fable Frogs asking for Tsar Krylov, grade 8
This fable very funnyly conveys to the readers the simple truth that people are always unhappy, but they need to be very careful what they wish for.
So the frogs lived happily and freely. Why didn't they live like that? But they came up with the idea that they needed a king. They began to pray to the gods, who, although they usually do not listen to stupid frogs, decided to help. Zeus himself sent them a king!
At first the people were happy - they had such a good and serious king. He is tall, stately and noticeable. Everyone respected him at first, but gradually they took a closer look, overcame their fear, began to approach... And then they realized that this king was literally a blockhead. And now the frogs sit with their backs to him, and those who are braver jump onto the block itself. What to fear? And such a “king” is of little use...
So they again began to pray to the gods to give them a “normal” king. This time Jupiter decided to help (or joke) and placed a crane over these people - their enemy. It is known that the crane eats frogs! So he became a stern king, as soon as anyone croaks, he eats him. This is how I ate almost everyone: for breakfast, lunch, dinner. The frogs could only hide and remain silent, but, of course, they did not leave the gods alone.
The frogs began to cry again. They began to complain to the gods that this king was bad for them. Of course, there are fewer and fewer people left! But the gods responded that the frogs didn’t like the “chump”, the crane didn’t like it either, and why, in general, couldn’t they live normally without a king? And they didn’t change anything. They also threatened that things could get really bad with the new king. So now the crane controls the remnants of the frog people.
It is interesting that there is no direct moral in this fable, it lies only in the answer of the gods. There are many outdated words in the work, for example: “tossed around”, “posto”... It is written in one stanza, there are descriptions and dialogues with questions and exclamations.
This story can sometimes be transferred to your own life. You ask for a pet, and then it turns out that you need to take it for a walk.
Nationality of the work
In the fable “Frogs Asking for the Tsar”, the moral can be replaced with well-known proverbs: “a bird in the hand is better than a pie in the sky”, “horses do not hunt for food”, “they do not seek good from good”.
Krylov always likes to show through laughter and gentle banter what moments are worth thinking about. And there are a great many of them in the fable.
As you know, people take vivid expressions from famous works that they actively use in their everyday speech, thereby making these expressions winged and aphoristic. These phrases decorate the speaker's vocabulary. In addition, colloquial speech brings the work closer to the people. Here are some examples: “to help the grief,” “swallows like flies,” “don’t stick your nose out,” “why?”
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Krylov's views and their expression in fables
In any case, the phrase spoken by Zeus at the very end of the work makes an indelible impression. It sounds like this: “Live with him so that it doesn’t get worse for you!” Thus, an analysis of the fable “Frogs Asking for the Tsar” allows us to say that this is a very sharp and acute topic in which the author tried to maximally express his negative attitude towards the ruling imperial elite. The fabulist believed that there are no good kings and each subsequent ruler will only get worse. During his creative life, the demon Ivan Andreevich Krylov wrote a lot: “The Frog Asking for the Tsar”, “Wagon Train” and others, in which he, without fear of punishment, boldly shows his attitude towards the Russian tsars.
Thus, the moral of the fable can still be applied today. No matter how good a leader or ruler is, a person always expresses his dissatisfaction with his work and wants something new. And he may turn out to be a fake log or a crane.
Morality
An analysis of the fable “Frogs Asking for the Tsar” will be incomplete without highlighting the moral aspect. Its reader can find in the words of the god Jupiter, who is sincerely perplexed why the frogs could not live happily when they had all the conditions for this. These words are quite applicable in situations where people had opportunities to improve their situation. However, they did not take advantage of these chances. And after that they complain to others about their misfortunes.
The fabulist writes in an allegorical form about those people who are ready to transfer self-determination into the wrong hands. They don't want to organize their lives. Like stupid frogs, such people want to follow a routine established from the outside. However, such ordinary people are never happy with the current situation. The reason for this may be either a real danger looming over them, or their stupidity and inability to appreciate the good that is available. After all, someone who does not want to take responsibility for their life has the most primitive interests, one of which is the senseless manifestation of arrogance and criticism.
