A. S

"Song of prophetic Oleg"Written by Pushkin at the time of his creative heyday, in 1822. The poet worked on the creation of a not very long poem for almost a whole year, turning to the history set out in Volume V of Karamzin’s works. It is there that the biography of Oleg, the prince of Kyiv, who reached Constantinople and nailed his shield to the gates of the city, is retold.

The poem first saw the light in 1825: it was published in “Northern Flowers,” an almanac published by Delvig.

The main theme of the poem

The main theme on which, in fact, the plot is based is the theme of predetermination of fate and freedom of choice. This general concept has many complex shades that require consistent study.

The main event, the turning point in the life of the prophetic Oleg, is a meeting with a magician who predicts his death “from his horse.” This episode seems to split the prince’s entire existence into two parts: if previously he acted in accordance with his idea of ​​the world, was engaged in ordinary state affairs - for example, he was going to “revenge foolish Khazars“, - now he is forced to reckon with the information received. And Oleg makes a decision that seems to him the only correct one: he abandons his faithful horse, which was a companion in many battles, and changes to another.

This is a striking episode in which Pushkin, with his characteristic genius, draws the reader’s attention to an infinite number of significant little details. The image of Oleg is the image of a person who, despite his high position, is characterized by completely ordinary feelings and emotions. He does not want to die prematurely, but for the sake of self-defense he takes steps that are not the most pleasant for himself. He obviously loves his horse, gives the order to take care of him in every possible way, he is sad because of the need to part with his faithful friend, but the desire to live is much stronger.

The precautions turn out to be unnecessary: ​​Oleg dies, as predicted, “from a horse”: a snake crawling out of the skull of an already dead animal stings the prince in the leg, and he dies.

There is a subtle and bitter irony hidden in this: the sorcerer’s prediction comes true one way or another. If Oleg had known what kind of death was in store for him, how would he have behaved then? Would he give up on his friend? How did the sorcerer’s prediction (asked for by him, by the way - to his own misfortune) change his life? Pushkin leaves these questions unanswered, leaving the reader to think about them on their own. At the same time, what is interesting is that Prince Oleg in the text is called “prophetic” - knowledgeable, capable of independently predicting the course of events. One gets the impression that the sorcerer’s prediction, which the prince could not unravel, is a kind of irony of evil fate.

Structural analysis of the poem

It’s not for nothing that the work is called “Song”. It belongs to the category of ballads - lyric poems, which are based on a historical figure or event. To recreate the appropriate atmosphere, Pushkin uses the melodic rhythm of an amphibrach with a complex rhyme pattern (a combination of cross and adjacent) and large-scale stanzas consisting of six verses. Numerous archaisms enhance the sense of historicity and focus the reader’s attention on it. The poem is characterized by deep emotional intensity.

Many epithets and unusual comparisons create a certain viscosity of the text, the reader can no longer skim the lines with his eyes, images, generously fueled by original personifications (a crafty dagger, for example), literally appear before the eyes. In addition, Pushkin uses outdated syntactic structures and varies the word order.

Conclusion

“The Song of the Prophetic Oleg” is a bright, multifaceted work. The poet talks about predestination and whether it is possible to avoid evil fate, talks about the human desire to resist fate and about the mistakes made on the way to this goal. The questions raised by Pushkin about fate, about human weaknesses, about sacrifices in the name of one’s life are important, and each reader finds answers to them independently.

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin is the greatest Russian poet and writer. The Russian spirit is always present in his works; he shows the Russian man in development.

The name of Prince Oleg, to whom the “Song…” is dedicated, has been etched in history since ancient times. There are many songs, legends and stories about him. He was a wise, talented, fearless and resourceful military leader.

Pushkin loved and knew history. In “Song of the Prophetic Oleg” he reflected the theme of fate, the inevitability of fate. The author admires the strength and courage of the prince:

How the prophetic Oleg is getting ready now
To take revenge on the foolish Khazars:
Their villages and fields for a violent raid
He condemned him to swords and fires;
With his squad, in Tsaregrad armor,
The prince rides across the field on a faithful horse.

Oleg is shown in “Song...” as a hero who is not afraid of anything, makes raids, and always wins. But not everything in life depends on his talent and strength. The truth is that if something is supposed to come true, then it will definitely come true, there is no hiding from it. It was this warning of the “wise old man” that Oleg did not believe:

Now remember my words:
Glory to the warrior is joy;
Glorified by victory your name:
Your shield is on the gates of Constantinople;
Both the waves and the land are submissive to you;
The enemy is jealous of such a wondrous fate.
...Your horse is not afraid of dangerous work;
He, sensing the master's will,
Then the humble one stands under the arrows of enemies,
Then he rushes across the battlefield.
And the cold and slashing are nothing to him...
But you will receive death from your horse.

The fortuneteller is “an inspired magician, an old man obedient to Perun alone,” he appears before the reader as a person who always tells the truth and does not depend on anyone’s opinion. He has nothing to fear, he has seen a lot in the world:

The Magi are not afraid of mighty rulers,
But they don’t need a princely gift;
Their prophetic language is truthful and free
And friendly with the will of heaven.
The coming years lurk in darkness;
But I see your lot on your bright brow...

It seems to Oleg that he can get away from evil fate, and he sends his horse away, trying to get rid of the threat of death:

Farewell, my comrade, my faithful servant,
The time has come for us to part:
Now rest! I won't set foot anymore
Into your gilded stirrup.
Farewell, be comforted - and remember me.
You, fellow youths, take a horse...

But many years later, when the prince thinks that the danger has passed because his horse is dead, fate overtakes Oleg:

So this is where my destruction was hidden!
The bone threatened me with death!
From the dead head of the grave serpent,
Hissing, meanwhile she crawled out;
Like a black ribbon wrapped around my legs,
And the suddenly stung prince cried out.

Pushkin imagines the horse to be as strong and brave as his owner. He is loyal to Oleg, who appreciates his devotion:

And a faithful friend with a farewell hand
And the cool guy strokes and pats his neck...
...Where is my friend? - said Oleg, -
Tell me, where is my zealous horse?

A.S. Pushkin shows that every person in life has his own purpose, everyone has his own destiny. But friends need to be loved and respected during life, so that later it will not be sad and painful. After all, friends will always help, they won’t leave you in trouble, you should value real friends.

The plot and language of “The Song of the Prophetic Oleg” is fascinating, memorable, remaining in the hearts of readers for a long time, and leads to serious thoughts about the meaning of life, about the role of man.

The great Russian poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was the founder of Russian realistic literature. With his poetry, he brings out the best in people and makes them forget about the little things and worries of life. But to comprehend the full meaning of his thoughts...

From the chronicles it is known that at the beginning of the 10th century Prince Oleg ruled in Kyiv. He made a successful campaign against Constantinople and concluded a trade agreement with Byzantium that was beneficial for Russian merchants. In response to the raids of nomadic tribes from the east, Oleg and his army committed...

I like to read Pushkin's poems. But it becomes especially interesting if you learn about the events from them Russian history, about “deeds of bygone days, legends of deep antiquity.” After reading "The Song of the Prophetic Oleg", I learned one...

Old Russian chronicles mention that Oleg ruled in Kyiv. He made successful campaigns against Tsar Grad, towards the Caspian Sea, liberating the lands from the Khazars’ raids, and concluded a profitable trade agreement with Byzantium for Russian merchants.

About the prince... The disgraced poet Alexander Pushkin is rightfully considered one of the founders of Russian literature, who in his magnificent works tries to awaken a person’s feelings, awakening only his most best qualities . It helps a person understand and understand the past and the future. The poet easily and unobtrusively in his literary creations makes people forget all the little things in life and worries that interfere with their happiness. In his works the reader encounters a special perception modern world

, so it is sometimes impossible to fully understand this sensual and emotional. Pushkin in his works very vividly describes all the main features of the Russian character, showing it best sides

. The main theme of his work is history, the past of his homeland. Pushkin’s work “The Song of the Prophetic Oleg” is dedicated to this topic. In this poetic work, the disgraced poet easily and freely describes the historical event that actually happened in a certain era. It is known that Pushkin’s historical work of poetry was written in the nineteenth century. Exact date written in 1822. It is believed that this poem reflected the death of the Grand Duke, who was famous and famous for his military campaigns, which usually ended very well. Real legends were made about his victories. Alexander Pushkin reflected this historical event in his poetic work. According to the content of Pushkin’s text, the prophetic Oleg, getting ready to go on a campaign, decides to fight the Khazars in order to take revenge on them. Oleg marches stubbornly with his army to take revenge for the last time they attacked his homeland, and now he also burns everything in his path.

And so Prince Oleg, together with his squad, rides across the field where the battle is to take place. This is the plot of Pushkin’s work, but in the historical chronicle Oleg makes his campaign in the Greek Empire, where at that time the capital was the city of Constantinople. Then, by order of the prince, the ships were pulled ashore, who immediately put them on wheels, and it was decided to raise sails on them. This vision frightens the Greeks and they, seeing strange structures that suddenly come into their city, agree to any conditions, even to pay tribute.

Despite their agreement, they are trying to at least slightly change the course of the entire war in order to win it. And in order to destroy him forever, Oleg is presented with food and drinks that are already poisoned. But the prince, realizing that the enemy is in front of him, does not accept their treats and, accordingly, the insidious plan of the enemies is thwarted. After this, the fame of the wise Oleg brought him fame, and soon they began to call him Prophetic Oleg. He was able not only to predict the poisoning attempt, but was also able to foresee the events that would occur, and was able to use them in the way that was convenient for him. This helped him win the desired victory in this difficult battle.

But the author also says that fate haunts his hero, it determines what his future will be like. And this theme occupies a special place in Pushkin’s work. Pushkin says that a horse under a prince is brave, which is not afraid of battle, and understands its owner well. If necessary, he will stand still, even if enemy arrows fly by. But as soon as his master spurs him, the horse will rush quickly across the field. This horse is not afraid of either cold or rainy weather. And suddenly Oleg is predicted that he will meet his death from a faithful horse.

The author shows how his hero begins to doubt, trying to understand the harsh reality. The fate of man occupies a central place in Pushkin's poem. After all, a person does not exist, using only his mind, he lives, and therefore experiences excitement, emotions and feelings that fill his life, making it richer and brighter. The poet tells his reader that a person cannot change his fate, and she does not choose her victims.

Fortune tellers are not afraid of the powerful and rich people of the earthly world, since they obey divine power. And the Magi do not need a gift from the princes at all, since their truth is free and truthful. They cannot say what people want to hear from them. Usually a person does not know anything about his destiny; this secret is hidden from everyone. But the Magi have the gift of prediction. And one of these predictors decides to tell the fate of Prince Oleg.

Pushkin takes as a basis the history of the existence of Prince Oleg; his exploits are also confirmed by ancient chronicles. Therefore, it turns out that the author shows the historical truth. With respect, the poet describes Oleg’s exploits, he also shows what a strong personality there was in Ancient Rus', what a brave and courageous character the prince had. But Pushkin’s poem about this man is a literary work. Accordingly, the author introduces and figurative expressions when trying to show that nature has its own laws. And the poet does this with the help of mythological images.

We still thought about what the fate of a person is and what it depends on primitive people. At this time, a person began to gradually realize that he himself was not able to change his life, but depended largely on those people who surrounded him, and on the natural world. The disgraced poet knew an interesting legend about how the glorious Prince Oleg, who had glorified himself with military exploits, died. early childhood, and this tragic story hit him very hard at that time. Little Pushkin painted this story in his imagination.

And only using this legend, the poet takes it as a basis and reworks it in such a way as to highlight in it the motive of the prince’s affection for his comrade in arms. Pushkin also adds a magician to his poetic plot, who precisely predicts Oleg’s fate. He describes this meeting as follows: a magician who is not subject to people suddenly comes out of a dark and dense forest straight towards the prince. He only obeys Perun, who helps him predict the future. Perun spent his entire life in fortune-telling and prayer.

Now the fortuneteller and servant of Perun himself approaches Oleg. He predicts his death from a faithful comrade, whom the prince tested in battle. The prediction comes true, as Oleg, approaching the skull of his faithful horse, dies. But death comes from a snake that hides in the horse’s skull. But it is known that a snake and its bites have always been considered signs of death, chaos, this is a kind of symbol of sin and evil. The fate of man is subject only to the gods. Nothing can be changed in human destiny, there is no escape from it, everything is already predetermined.

Literary heritage is one of the ways through which a Russian person can get in touch with culture and traditions own people. That is why the article will present an analysis of the “Song of the Prophetic Oleg”. This is a work created by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin in 1822 in line with artistic treatment historical material.

“Song of the Prophetic Oleg”: analysis of the work from the point of view of the author’s concept

Real historical events, which Pushkin addressed in his own ballad, repeatedly served as material for artistic transformation. An equally famous work after Alexander Sergeevich’s “Song...” is the thought of Kondraty Ryleev “Oleg the Prophet”. It also takes as the basis for the plot one of the episodes in the life of a real-life prince from the Rurik dynasty - Oleg. However, the emphasis here is on something different than in Pushkin. Being an ardent supporter of Decembrism, Ryleev took as his main storyline Oleg's legendary campaign against Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium, to reflect the warlike, heroic spirit that has long been inherent in the Russian people, and to awaken in his compatriots the patriotism necessary to fight tyranny.

What does the analysis of the song about “Prophetic Oleg” show? Pushkin paints a completely different picture. The author focuses on describing the sorcerer's prediction and subsequent events when the prophecy comes true and the prince actually accepts death from a horse. A snake appears in the skull of a deceased comrade, which treacherously crawls out and bites Rurikovich. It would seem that what is hidden in this unremarkable episode of death, albeit not entirely ordinary, and why devote an entire ballad to this? In fact, the author’s idea is extremely deep: against the broad background of historical reality and the life of the Russian people, he portrayed the prince as a person with his inherent weaknesses and passions, unable to resist the fate prescribed from above and fatal predestination. Thus, the motives of the ballad seem to unfold into eternity and ascend to a completely new limit.

Poetic form: rhythm, rhyme and meter

An analysis of the poem “Song of the Prophetic Oleg” allows us to establish that the work was written in stanzas characteristic of the romantic period of the poet’s work. This is an alternating tetrameter and trimeter amphibrachium. This meter was most actively used for writing ballads, for example, by V. A. Zhukovsky, whose original and translated works Pushkin turned to more than once. However, Vasily Andreevich was still a supporter of European subjects. In the traditional ballad form, he liked to put mainly motives that had distant origins from truly Russian and truly folk. Alexander Sergeevich became the founder of a different trend: having borrowed the “frame” from Zhukovsky, he for the first time filled the content with qualitatively new material, taken from the treasury of Russian history.

Each stanza of the poem consists of six lines with the following rhyme system: ababcc. Male and female rhymes alternate with each other. The ballad is characterized by melodiousness and a characteristic slowness with a solemnity and elation of sound appearing in the background.

Ballad genre

In addition, the analysis of “Song of the Prophetic Oleg” implies an analysis of genre characteristics. Formally, the work belongs to the class of ballads. This genre is defined in literary criticism as a work that combines the features of a story and a song, connected by the unity of content and form with folk tales, legends and tales. Distinctive features ballads are:

• image of a mysterious, enigmatic world;
• conciseness;
• interweaving of lyrical and epic components;
• the presence of a developing plot with a beginning, climax and denouement;
• depiction of the characters’ feelings and the author’s attitude towards the characters;
• possible replacement of the plot with dialogue between the characters;
• combination of fantasy and reality;
• image of an unusual, semi-mystical landscape.

However, despite this, it was no coincidence that Alexander Sergeevich himself described his work as a “song” in the title. By this he wanted to emphasize the unity of his creation with oral folk art.

Using tropes within a text canvas

Analysis of the “Song of the Prophetic Oleg” reveals that the main technique of the ballad is contrast: the magician and the prince, life and death, earthly power and divine power, forest and field, knowledge and the unknown are contrasted. The abundance of verbal forms shows that the sorcerer and Oleg exist not only in different spaces, but also in different times: the messenger of the gods is outside of time, while Oleg, being a mere mortal, lives in the present and partly in the future (“he is going to take revenge”, “ rides across the field").

An episode of the prince’s life unfolds against the broad background of everyday reality of Ancient Rus', the colorfulness of which is recreated through the use of vivid epithets (“faithful horse”, “violent raid”, “ wise old man"), many archaic words and their forms ("slash", "sling", "gate"), the author's attention to the details of the world of that time. However, at the same time, the poet does not limit himself in the freedom of creative activity. The independence of the author’s personality, so dear to Pushkin, reveals itself not in violating the logic of the narrative or ignoring the chronicle sources that served as the basis for the ballad, but in the fact that through inconspicuous, at first glance, expressions, Alexander Sergeevich shows his attitude towards the hero and his sad fate.

Every poet throughout his life, and especially in his mature years, is concerned with the theme of the historical past of his country, his people. For Pushkin, poetry has always been art, the highest manifestation of the creative spirit. Required condition creative activity, he considered the freedom of creativity, the independence of the poet’s personality.

In “The Song of the Prophetic Oleg,” there is some space between the hero and fate, which leaves the possibility of choice, the opportunity to push back or bring forward fatal events.

Prince Oleg is a winner who emerged alive from the most difficult and the most dangerous situations and received death from his horse. The author admires the strength and courage of the prince:

How the prophetic Oleg is getting ready now

To take revenge on the foolish Khazars:

Their villages and fields for a violent raid

He condemned him to swords and fires;

With his squad, in Tsaregrad armor,

The prince rides across the field on a faithful horse.

Oleg is shown in “Song...” as a hero who is not afraid of anything, makes raids, and always wins.

A.S. Pushkin, not remembering the real death of the mighty Oleg, added a folklore motif to the prince’s biography, complementing the image of the prophetic hero in his own way. “The Song of the Prophetic Oleg” is a poetic story based on a plot given in conjunction with a lyrical disclosure of the material.

As a rule, time correlates with the fateful moment, it determines the appointed period, at the same time, it is precisely it that correlates with happiness. Fate seems to connect the past and the future.

The fortuneteller appears before the reader as a person who always tells the truth, who does not depend on anyone’s opinion, he has nothing to fear, he has seen a lot in the world:

The Magi are not afraid of mighty rulers,

But they don’t need a princely gift;

Their prophetic language is truthful and free

And friendly with the will of heaven.

The coming years lurk in darkness;

But I see your lot on your bright brow.

The cause of Oleg's death was the skull of his beloved horse, which was disturbed by its former owner. A famous symbol played a role here. The skull is a symbol of death and mortality. The snake is also, as a rule, a negative character. It usually predetermines evil, deception, temptation, sin.

Oleg, having heard the prediction, did not believe it at first:

Oleg grinned - but

And the gaze was darkened by thought.

In silence, leaning his hand on the saddle,

He gets off his horse gloomily...

But still he abandoned his horse and replaced it with another. After the hike, the prince remembered his favorite horse, but it was too late. It seems that the prophecies turned out to be false: the prince is alive, but the horse is no longer there. But you can't escape fate:

“So this is where my destruction was hidden!

The bone threatened me with death!”

From the dead head of the grave serpent

Hissing, meanwhile she crawled out;

Like a black ribbon wrapped around my legs:

And the suddenly stung prince cried out.

The idea of ​​fatal predetermination permeates the entire poem and shows that no precautions can avert the sign of fate.

Fate determines people’s ideas about the power of the influence of words on a person’s life and its values. The idea of ​​fate is one of the main ones in human life. It arose a long time ago, when a person was just beginning to understand the meaning of his life and his purpose in it. Fate has always been one of the objects of study in the philosophy of life, since human life is filled with feelings, emotions and worries. Mythological fate leaves no room for freedom. It is not a person who chooses, but he is chosen.

A. S. Pushkin in “The Song of the Prophetic Oleg” tries to convey to the reader that each person in life has his own purpose, each has his own destiny. But friends need to be loved and respected during life, so that later it will not be sad and painful.