The main characters of Tale of Igor's Campaign (characteristics in the table)

Prince Igor

Igor is a Grand Duke who has great power over people and lands.

In the word he is presented as a brave, courageous, ambitious, but proud and rash man. Igor wanted to achieve great glory and set out on a campaign against the Polovtsians, thereby disrupting the campaign of his brother Svyatoslav. When going into battle, Prince Igor adhered to his own interests, and not the interests of the country. Thinking only about his desires in pursuit of personal glory and fame, he brought terrible misfortune to Rus'.

Igor's campaign was doomed to failure from the very beginning - the Grand Duke saw a solar eclipse, foreshadowing defeat. He challenged the natural phenomenon, which speaks of his masculinity and even recklessness.

Igor failed to take the Polovtsians by surprise. The prince fought desperately, thinking only about his homeland, but was defeated: “On the third day, by noon, Igor’s banners fell.”

Igor is captured and bitterly experiences the imprisonment and death of his beloved brother. He repents of what he has done, realizing that if he had gathered a large army and abandoned internecine hostility, the Russians would have won.

Igor manages to escape from captivity thanks to his ingenuity, intelligence and determination.

Researchers talk about Prince Igor as a patriot and defender, but at the same time they condemn him for rash decisions caused by civil strife.

Prince Vsevolod

Vsevolod is Igor’s brother, ruling the Kursk lands. The author gives the hero the nickname Bui-Tur, creating the image of a mighty Russian hero. In Rus', wild bulls were called turs, so this word means courage and great strength.

The creator of the word speaks of Vsevolod’s young age; he was probably about 30 years old at the time of the campaign.

The prince, believing that no one else could protect his native land, responded to the call of his brother Igor. They set out on a campaign together to achieve heroic glory.

Vsevolod appears before the reader as a reliable, staunch warrior who can firmly hold the defense against suddenly attacking Polovtsians. The author also portrays him as an excellent military leader, capable of achieving the loyalty and respect of his large army.

In battle, Vsevolod showed himself to be a fearless warrior, desperately fighting his enemies, and completely forgetting about everything: about his wife and about his precious life. Unfortunately, the prince dies on the battlefield, but his courage and fighting spirit supported Igor and the entire squad until the end of the battle.

Prince Svyatoslav of Kyiv

Svyatoslav of Kiev, whom the author of the word calls in his work the father of Igor and Vsevolod, is actually their cousin. His age at the time of the battle was 60 years. He is much smarter, more experienced and more careful in his decisions than other princes. The author idealizes his image, presents Svyatoslav as an ideal ruler: wise, formidable, a true patriot of Holy Rus'.

Svyatoslav treats Igor and Vsevolod with brotherly love and tenderness, affectionately calling them children, beloved children. However, he judges the princes for the fact that they alone, with a small army, opposed the common enemy.

The old prince knew that Rus' could only be saved by uniting, ending civil strife and endless feuds between the princes. But no one wanted to listen to him, everyone wanted to find their own benefit. Svyatoslav, being an honest man and adhering to old principles, did not understand this selfishness.

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Yaroslavna

Princess Yaroslavna is Igor's wife. In “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” she is presented as a faithful, modest, caring wife who is waiting for her beloved husband home from the war, yearning and crying for him.

The third part of the work is dedicated to Yaroslavna, which is called: “Yaroslavna’s Lament.” This is the saddest, most mournful part of the work. Yaroslavna sings a song about how mothers and wives grieve for their loved ones who died in the famous battle. She, being the personification of all women whose relatives went to war and did not return, shows their endless mental suffering and pain.

The author shows Yaroslavna as a real Russian woman, capable of great love and self-sacrifice. She turns to natural forces: the sun, the wind, the Dnieper, in the hope of receiving at least some help from them. Yaroslavna does not know that Igor is alive, that he was captured, but she still continues to wait for him, firmly believing in his return.

It is with the help of the image of Yaroslavna that the author embodies the patriotic idea of unifying and glorifying the Russian land and its people, thereby trying to evoke respect and admiration from the reader.

Option 2

“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is one of the few greatest works in Russian literature. This work was found in a library, and many stories believe that this work was written by an old but educated monk in the 10th century, who knew the authentic events and how this campaign took place. This work is one in our history, which describes the events of the distant past, the Russian people and their way of life. “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is an amazing piece of research about the heroism and dedication of Russian princes and troops who are ready to do anything for the happiness of their own people:

Main characters

Prince Igor

The main character of the work “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is Prince Igor himself. The state respects and loves its autocrat and hopes that it is he who will bring enlightenment and joy to their country. One day he went on a campaign against the Polovtsians. Prince Igor was fearless and strong; from childhood he was taught to defeat enemies, so the ruler was always drawn to adventure, and he could never sit still. That is why the prince did not pay attention to the signs of fate and went into battle. It was precisely because of his own determination that Prince Igor lost and ended up in the hands of the Polovtsians. Afterwards, Igor was lucky to escape and return home to his wife.

Prince Vsevolod

Vsevolod is the brother of Prince Igor. The prince became famous for his heroic character and strength. Thanks to his strength and courage, Vsevolod earned the nickname Bui-Tur. One day the prince went with his brother on a campaign against the Polovtsians, to fight for their land. Vsevolod loves and respects his land, so he is ready to die for it. During the campaign, Vsevolod forgot about his wife, children, and parents; all his thoughts were only about the death of the enemy. In the end, the prince's rage leads him into slavery to the Polovtsians.

Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich of Kyiv

Svyatoslav is the cousin of Igor and Vsevolod, but they call him “father”. All this depends not on family ties, but on the hierarchy among Russian princes. He loves Rus', takes care of it, wants enlightenment and a better future for the land, but not through war, but through peace. Svyatoslav understood that constant wars would only destroy their land, and not unite them. He is a kind and loving ruler who wants only the best for his homeland.

Princess Yaroslavna

Yaroslavna is Igor's wife. The princess is a loving and believing woman. The princess loves her husband with all her heart and is waiting for him from the battlefield alive and well. The very image of Yaroslavna conveys the state of all women in Rus', who are waiting for their husbands and sons from the war. These are old mothers who cry for their sons, their wives who miss the warmth of their husbands, as well as small children. Her appearance conveys all the hope of the people themselves, faith in the future, and most importantly in their rulers, who will lead the country to enlightenment. She is always ready to come to the aid of her people and her husband. The episode itself from the work “Yaroslavna’s Cry” is one of the most lyrical and famous of the work.

Boyan

Boyan is an ancient Russian writer and poet. He sings of the glory and exploits of the great Russian princes. He describes their exploits in war and great government decisions. Many believe that Boyan has the gift of foresight and can describe the future and everything that will happen. He is not the main character, but is mentioned there very often. Boyan is the complete opposite of the author. He praises the exploits of the Princes, their great battles, how they were able to defeat all enemies and make the country prosperous. And the author describes only actual events.

Author of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign"

The author is an unknown person whom no one knows until now. He was a talented and well-read person, as he was able to convey in all colors the meaning and splendor of the battle with the Polovtsians. The author is a true patriot, but one who does not meaninglessly praise his homeland, but actually describes all its advantages. Thanks to the Author, the world saw this work, which can be called almost the best of that time. With the help of his talent for description, we can recognize the strength and courage of the Russian army.

“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”: main characters

“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is dedicated to the battle between the Russians and the Polovtsians in 1185. There is a version that this work was created by Princess Boleslava, the daughter of Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, mentioned in this work. The work was revised into modern language in different years by V. A. Zhukovsky, A. F. Veltman, A. N. Maykov, K. D. Balmont, N. A. Zabolotsky, E. A. Evtushenko, academician D. S. Likhachev.

The main characters of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”:

Igor Svyatoslavovich - Prince of Novgorod-Seversky. This is a brave warrior and a wise leader. In this battle with the Polovtsians, the numerical superiority was on the side of the latter, since the Polovtsians managed to prepare for the meeting with the Russians. As a result, the Russian squads were surrounded. The work tells about Prince Igor's attempt to help his brother, but, like other princes, he was captured by the Polovtsians. While his faithful wife mourned him, Prince Igor managed to escape from captivity. He was pursued by Gzak and Konchak. Prince Igor fled, but his son Vladimir Igorevich remained in captivity.

Gzak said to Konchak:
“If the falcon flies to the nest,
We will shoot Sokolenok with golden arrows!”
And in response Konchak to the fierce Gzak::
“If the falcon flies to the nest,
We’ll entangle Sokolenka with a red maiden!”

Boyan is an ancient Russian poet and singer. "The Nightingale of Old Time."

Vsevolod Svyatoslavovich - prince, brother of Igor. Prince Vsevolod received the nickname buoy-tur, which can be translated as a brave, unbridled bull. In those days, there were still aurochs - powerful artiodactyls, the ancestors of modern bulls. In this battle, he fought the Polovtsians also fiercely. Prince Vsevolod was one of the bravest in the princely Olgovich family.

Heroes of the work The Lay of Igor's Campaign

Main characters

Prince Igor. The main character in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is ruler Igor, the initiator of the war of the Russian state against the Polovtsians. A brave, heroic Russian prince, worried about his fatherland in front of various enemies. His temperament and masculinity prevent him from leading a calm lifestyle. The ambitious ruler, despite the bad omens, arrogantly sent his army against the Polovtsians. An unfavorable situation arose, and the fearless hero was defeated and found himself captured by his enemy.

Vsevolod. Vsevolod is the brother of ruler Igor, and goes to war with him shoulder to shoulder. A strong, fearless knight. His loving feelings for his native places and Motherland are so strong that when he commits a mortal battle with his enemies, he does not think about anything. He doesn’t even realize that he is injured, he doesn’t think about his wife, or about dignity, or about prosperity. Like Igor, he is eventually captured.

Svyatoslav. The most intelligent and honest king of the native country, the parent of the main characters who went to war with the Polovtsians. A rational and very thoughtful person, he knew the damage caused by internecine bloodshed, and was eager for the reunification of the Motherland. Svyatoslav sees that only the unification of small principalities into one indivisible basis can found a very strong and powerful country.

Yaroslavna. The figure of Yaroslavna, the wife of ruler Igor, contains the entire society of that time, relying on the rationality and fearlessness of their own soldiers who defend independence and freedom. Yaroslavna is a universal image of any woman and mother, faithfully and obediently waiting for their own spouses and sons from the battlefield. The figure of a woman, always ready to help and come to the rescue, is valiant and incredible. Her attitude towards the forces of nature describes all her devotion to her Motherland, to her native people and to their invincibility.

Other characters

Boyan. The smartest old storyteller, glorifying the merits and deeds of our ancient rulers. He can foresee developments of events, he can predict the future. In literary work it serves to form a comparison with the writer of history, who, in contrast to his solemn glorification of heroic deeds, describes only true stories.

Nature. In “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” the natural habitat that the heroes encounter also turns out to be a character. In short, it can be argued that in such a work nature fulfills the image of a spiritualized creature that exists together with the people.

Ovlur. The main warrior from the enemy side, who contributed to the release of ruler Igor from captivity, escaped with him.

Author. The figure of the writer is the prototype of an outstanding and brilliant person who loves his homeland. He managed to create an amazing and grandiose creation that outshines all existing styles. His unique and inimitable way of communication allows us to characterize this work as an outstanding monument of ancient Russian civilization. The writer is an educated and unique personality, with great historical coverage. Brilliantly depicting the defeat of the domestic squad, he was able to show its power and strength.

Other works: ← Petrukha in the story Farewell to Rasputin’s Matera ↑ Others Image and characterization of Boyan in the Tale of Igor’s Campaign →

System of images “THE WORD ABOUT IGOR’S CAMPAIGN”

System of images. The main character of “The Lay” is not any of the princes, but the Russian people, the Russian land, and therefore the image of the Russian land occupies a central place in it. The author of “The Lay” depicts the vast expanses of Rus', feeling the homeland as a single huge whole. We see vast spaces: these are the great rivers Don, Volga, Dnieper; these are the ancient cities of Putivl, Kyiv, Chernigov, Novgorod, Galich and many others; this is the “blue sea” and the expanses of the steppes - “the unknown country.” Nature appears alive and spiritual, worrying, together with all the people, about the fate of the homeland. For the author of the Lay, the image of the Russian land unites its history and modernity, villages and cities, rivers and steppes, and most importantly, the people inhabiting it, its people. The image of a suffering homeland evokes sympathy for the reader, arouses hatred of its enemies, and calls the Russian people to its defense.

The image of Prince Igor is of great interest - not only the main storyline is connected with him, but also the most important idea for the author. On the one hand, the author creates an ideal image of an epic hero, for whom the main thing is military honor and knightly dignity; he glorifies his bravery and courage and makes readers feel love and compassion for his hero. On the other hand, the prince is a man of his time. The attractive qualities of his personality conflict with his recklessness and selfishness, since the prince cares about his honor more than the honor of his homeland. That is why, despite the apparent personal sympathy for Prince Igor, the author still emphasizes not the individual, but the general in the hero, which makes him similar to other princes like him, whose pride and short-sightedness led to internecine struggle, discord and, ultimately, the loss of unity Rus' as a state.

It is not for nothing that next to the image of Prince Igor appears not only the image of an ideal warrior dying heroically on the battlefield (this is “Bui Tur” Vsevolod, Igor’s brother), but also the image of his grandfather Oleg Svyatoslavich, whom the author expressively calls “Gorislavich”, recalling the people’s grief caused by his strife. It is no coincidence that the name of this prince, one of the initiators of the internecine struggle, appears in the title of the work. So Igor, who went on a campaign against the Polovtsians to gain “glory for himself,” brought only grief to the Russian land, which, after his defeat, was hit by a devastating invasion of enemies.

A special place in the work is occupied by the image of Prince Igor’s squad and the princes allied to him. Igor’s army is not just warriors, it is “Rusichi”. They go against the Polovtsians for their homeland, say goodbye to it, crossing the border of Rus': “O Russian land! You’re already over the hill!” This is a farewell to the Russian land as a whole, and not to the Novgorod-Seversky principality, not to Kursk or Putivl, and when Igor’s troops were defeated, the “brave Russians” died at the bloody “feast”, the entire Russian land mourns them.

This nationwide grief is symbolically summarized by the cry of Yaroslavna, Igor’s young wife, who represents the image of an ideal Russian woman. This is a faithful and devoted friend of her husband, who, with the power of her love, helps him return from captivity. Yaroslavna's lament has another important function: it is intended to justify Igor's escape from captivity, which was considered an act damaging the honor of the prince. Here his flight is, as it were, sanctified by cosmic, natural forces, which are called upon by Yaroslavna’s cry (“wind, sail”, Dnieper Slovutich, “bright and three-bright sun”). It was her grief and the grief of the entire Russian land that helped bring about a revolution in the soul of Prince Igor. In the finale, he realizes the disastrousness of his previous aspirations and is ready to take part in future campaigns of the Russian princes against the Polovtsians. Igor's selfish aspirations are defeated by the awareness of the importance of the unity of all princes to save the Russian land.

This idea is largely connected with the image of the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav, who embodies the ideal of a wise and strong, sometimes “formidable” ruler, the head of the Russian princes. In his “golden word” addressed to all Russian princes, Svyatoslav not only mourns the misfortune that befell Igor’s army, and with it the entire Russian land, but also reproaches the princes for pursuing selfish interests. He gives each of them a brief and precise description and ends his speech with a call to join forces in the fight against the external enemy.

This direct political call for unity, sounded in Svyatoslav’s “golden word,” directly correlates with the author’s main idea, and therefore Svyatoslav’s “word” can also be perceived as the author’s “word.” After all, the author is also one of the main images and heroes of “The Lay” - its lyrical part. We do not know his true name, we do not know whether he lived in Kyiv, Chernigov, Polotsk or Novgorod-Seversky, whether he was a close associate of Prince Svyatoslav or a warrior in Igor’s army, but this is not so important. The main thing is that the author of the Lay, a widely educated person who has excellent knowledge of his native history and is capable of making deep generalizations based on historical experience, is a true patriot of the Russian land. He was able to comprehend all the complexities of the political struggle of his time, rise to the all-Russian point of view and express it in an artistically perfect form.

System of images “THE WORD ABOUT IGOR’S CAMPAIGN”

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