I didn't know how to pretend
Look like a saint
To puff up one's dignity
And the philosopher takes the form:
I loved sincerity
I thought only they would like me,
The human mind and heart
They were my genius.
If I shone with delight,
Fire flew from my strings.
I didn’t shine with myself, but with God;
Beside myself, I sang to God.
If the sounds were dedicated
My lyres to the kings, -
Seemed like virtues
To me they are equal to gods.
If the victories are loud
I wove crowns for the leaders, -
I thought about passing it on to descendants
Their souls and their children.
If where the powerful nobles
I dared to blurt out the truth out loud, -
I thought I had an impartial heart
They, the king, are a friend to the fatherland.
Even if I'm fussing
He himself was seduced by the world, -
I admit, beauty
Having been captured, his wives also sang.
In a word, I burned love with a flame,
I fell, I got up in my time.
Come on, sage! on my coffin there is a stone,
If you're not human.
Analysis of the poem “Confession” by Derzhavin
In his work, G. R. Derzhavin more than once refers to the description of human individuality; in his later works, the description of his own personality comes to the fore. The autobiographical poem “Confession” was written in 1807. In it, the poet reflects on his literary path, emphasizing his achievements and failures.
The main theme of the work can be called the author summing up the results of his creative activity. Imagining himself as the hero of the poem, Gabriel Romanovich seems to be assessing himself as a poet from the outside. He recalls how his long-term poetic works were formed. Compares himself with the people around him in life. Evaluates personal moral position.
Derzhavin recognizes purity of heart and mind as the most valuable qualities in himself and others. Despises arrogance and pretense. He considers his point of view correct and fair, does not regret how he spent his life, without hiding the fact that he was not always impeccable in his actions. The poet realizes the mistakes he has made: an excessive passion for social life and the female sex, offering to “throw a stone at him” to someone who is not subject to human weaknesses. Derzhavin believes that there are no people without shortcomings, but everyone should strive to live “according to their conscience,” without pretense, so as not to be ashamed later. The hero of the work went through a difficult path, managing to preserve his spirit, rising after every fall, and is sure that there is nothing to reproach him for.
Derzhavin defines himself as a poet, creating for the sake of his fatherland, obliged to perpetuate for posterity the images of worthy rulers. He did not praise their high position in society, but admired the good deeds done for the people. He also dared to denounce some of them, while speaking on behalf of the entire state, expressing the discontent of the masses and giving instructions. As a court poet, Derzhavin managed to make an outstanding political career, unlike many, having the opportunity to say what he thinks without fear.
The genre of the poem is philosophical lyrics, a sincere and sincere conversation between the lyrical hero and readers.
The verse consists of one stanza, including thirty-two lines, the size is two-foot trochee.
Unusual for the usual classicism in the work is the combination of word forms of high and low styles: “blurt out the truth”, “puff up your dignity”, “nobleman”.
- Metaphors - “he himself was deceived by the light.”
- Epithets – “important”, “powerful”, “loud”, “impartial”.
- Personifications - “to puff up with dignity,” “shone with delight,” “fire flew from my strings.”
“Confession” is the poet’s revelation to readers and himself, without invention or pretense. Derzhavin sums up his literary and political activities. Shares personal memories and observations, explains actions and moral position.
Gabriel Romanovich Derzhavin is known as a poet, whose work reflected several literary trends. Starting as a classicist poet, gradually abandoning imitation of models of the genre, Derzhavin turns to human individuality, which comes to the fore in his works. Thus, in the works of the late period, the reader is presented with a specific image of the author, and the personality of the poet himself is recognized.
The poem “Confession” is one of the most autobiographical in Derzhavin’s work, as evidenced by the title itself and the frequent use of the pronoun “I” in the text. Written in 1807, the work contains the result of Derzhavin’s life, which he himself discusses, using verbs in the past tense: “couldn’t”, “loved”, “thought”. The lyrical hero, who is practically inseparable from the personality of the author himself, declares: “ I didn’t know how to pretend, to look like a saint, to inflate myself with an important rank, and to pretend to be a philosopher." It was important for the poet to openly declare the unrighteousness and infidelity of those serving the fatherland, who noted: “ If somewhere I dared to blurt out the truth into the ears of powerful nobles, I imagined being an impartial heart to them, the king, a friend of the fatherland" However, he does not hide the fact that he himself is a simple man in the street, capable of showing weakness: “ Even if I was seduced by the vanity of the world, I confess that I was captivated by beauty and sang».
Derzhavin defined himself as a poet, creating for the glory of his homeland, inseparable from it, which is why he tried to preserve for posterity the images of great rulers and generals in his works: “I thought of pouring their Souls into their descendants.” At the same time, the poet is closely connected with the common people; he is also characterized by weaknesses and hobbies. Using the words of colloquial vocabulary “to pout”, “to blurt out the truth”, along with the high words “to the nobles of power”, “the sounds were dedicated to the Lyre of my kings”, Derzhavin denotes his aesthetic principles - the everyday world, the individuality of each person, also deserves attention. A completely new vision of the world around us is the innovation that Derzhavin brought to classical literature.
The theme of God is reflected in many works of classical poets. Derzhavin was no exception: “ If I shone with delight, Fire flew from my strings, I did not shine with myself - with God; Beside myself I sang to God" The poet finds God not only in the real world, but also in every person, sees God in himself - this is what leads the poet on the creative path.
Derzhavin presents his work as a confidential conversation, discussing with invisible interlocutors about what he is, confessing his thoughts and desires, explaining some controversial points. Reflecting on what he has done throughout his life, the poet says: “I fell, I rose in my century.” Indeed, the poet lived a difficult life, which was full of various difficulties and joys - appointments to high positions, heated disputes with the authorities. The poet's life was quite difficult. But Derzhavin always found the strength to move on. After all, the strength of spirit that he praised in his odic works dedicated to the heroes of his homeland was always present in himself. In moments of doubt, when beauty and vanity captivated the poet, he understands that nothing human is alien to him - although he is a poet, a creator, at the same time he is an ordinary mortal: “ Come on, sage! There's a stone on my coffin, if you're not human».
The image of the author gradually emerging in Derzhavin’s texts finally finds concrete embodiment in the poem “Confession.” Having thus expanded the boundaries of classicism, the poet turns to the personal characteristics of a person, finding individuality and peculiarity in those around him. That’s why the poet talks so sincerely about what he loves, what he wanted to achieve, and for what he worked. Ordinary human qualities, such as intelligence, honesty, decency, kindness, have always been valuable to Derzhavin. “The human mind and heart were my genius.” This is how he wanted to be for his contemporaries and descendants, who would be able to recognize him through his work.
G. R. Derzhavin is the elder brother and teacher of A. S. Pushkin. Literary scholars have written a lot about the role the poet’s work played for the development of Russian art, what a wonderful galaxy appeared thanks to him. One of the author’s best lyrical texts is the poem “Confession.”
History of the creation of the work
It is common for any poet, at one time or another during his creative career, to sum up his work, evaluate what has been done, and outline prospects for the future. Gabriel Romanovich did not deviate from the rule either. We all know his program “Monument”. But today let’s remember another, no less interesting lyrical reflection of the poet and analyze Derzhavin’s poem “Confession”. It was written in a mature period of life and creativity, when the author was already widely known and recognized in literary circles. However, realizing how different his poetic method is from the then existing traditions and wanting to be understood as much as possible by readers and fellow writers, Derzhavin considers it his duty to explain his own aesthetic ideals. After all, he is often accused of mixing genres, using “low”, i.e. But later it was the work of this poet that was recognized as the pinnacle. That is why Derzhavin’s “Confession” is important for understanding his basic character. This short work, written in 1807, contains a kind of poetic code.
Author and lyrical hero
Since 1803, Gabriel Romanovich relieved himself of all state powers and retired into the “embraces of rural silence.” The Zvanka estate becomes a real literary refuge for the poet, in which a large number of works were created. His work takes on a philosophical orientation, which can be clearly seen when analyzing Derzhavin’s poem “Confession.” The lyrical hero of the work is identical to the author. The poet directly emphasizes: he is the same person as everyone else, and he is characterized by the same weaknesses and hobbies as other mortals: seduction by vanity and the shine of light, passion for female beauty, popularity, glory. Therefore, at the end of the work, paraphrasing a well-known biblical saying, the author exclaims to his invisible interlocutors-readers: throw my stone on my coffin, if you yourself are not like that!
Theme, idea
By analyzing Derzhavin’s poem “Confession” using key words, we identify its ideological and semantic center: “the mind and heart of man were my genius.” Precisely “human”, i.e. humane, with its characteristic kindness, sincerity, faith in all the best. This is confirmed by other examples of the text: the hero does not like to pretend and “take on the appearance of a philosopher,” in poetry he glorifies not himself, but the higher powers that rewarded him with talent. Emphasizing in every possible way the human nature of his gift, Derzhavin builds “Recognition” on the principle of opposition. He emphasizes that if he glorified kings, it was not because of loyal feelings, but in order to glorify the virtues necessary in statesmen and point them out to the powers that be. Victories were praised by him, so that descendants knew about the important events of their history, were proud of them, and raised their country and their time to the pedestal of great achievements. The lyrical hero blurted out truths to the nobles, criticizing them not out of envy or malice, but so that they would become better. Derzhavin considers sincerity, truthfulness, openness to the world and people to be the main advantages of his poetry. The “recognition”, the analysis of which we have made, allows us to state this fully. This is why Gabriel Romanovich’s gift and his unique poetic heritage are valuable to us. Closing the era of classicism in Russian literature, he managed to give it a living human appearance. That is why Pushkin sincerely considered Derzhavin his brilliant teacher.
The poet does not praise himself, but speaks frankly about his life and work. In the poem he says that he never considered himself a philosopher or a genius.
But he simply lived like everyone else and always tried to choose the right path, which his heart and mind told him. He loved society and rulers, and if he praised them in his works, it was only because he considered their actions correct and useful.
In the people around him, he always valued purity of thoughts and an inquisitive mind. The author does not consider his creativity only as a personal merit, but believes that God endowed him with this talent.
When he wrote something negative about the government in his works, he spoke on behalf of the people as a whole. So that rulers can see the shortcomings of their rule.
And when he praised the authorities in his works, he wanted everyone to know about their good deeds. And records of this were left to subsequent generations.
Immediately Derzhavin openly admits that he is the same person as everyone else, he was subject to human weaknesses, like all people. He loved the female sex very much and dedicated many lyrical poems to women.
Derzhavin writes about the white and black stripes in life, that you need to be able to overcome all obstacles. This poem turned out to be a very sincere and sincere work of the author.
This is the poet’s most sincere and frank work; in it he expressed everything that he thought about his creative path and about life in general. And most importantly, he presented everything honestly and sincerely, without embellishment or exaggeration.
Without hiding his sins and simple human weaknesses, he laid out the whole meaning of his life openly, as if in one breath. This is where the title “Confession” came from for the poem.
Because this poem is the author’s confession and a story about all his ups and downs. And not only in front of yourself, but also in front of the whole world.
He seems to be summing up his life and the outcome of his entire creative path and participation in political activities. As a result, the poem is a revelation of the author, and in a broad sense, a work about the meaning of life.
Option 2
This work is a kind of summing up of the poet’s life. In the poem, Derzhavin tried to give himself and those around him an assessment of his life from a moral standpoint.
The poet focuses on his sincerity and disinclination towards hypocrisy. He claims that he tried to tell the truth, including to those above him. Derzhavin also expressed his disgust for cheap effects and his reluctance to put on the guise of an important person or sage.
The poet does not speak directly, but indirectly makes it clear that his love of speaking the truth did not always lead to success. He emphasizes that he thought and tried to please with his sincerity, which itself indicates that his attempts were unsuccessful in a number of cases.
The author of the poem claims that his main goal was not to make a career, but to serve art with his poetic gift, praising what is worthy of high praise. This is what he paid a lot of attention to, leaving the powers that be, with whom he really often came into contact as a background, to his life.
The mention of God in the context of his work is intended to emphasize that Derzhavin was guided by eternal values and service to the highest. He did not dwell on religious themes, mentioning them in passing, thereby showing that he still served certain abstract ideals of truth and justice.
At the end of the poem, Derzhavin showed that he is still not inclined to portray himself in the role of an ideal hero, devoid of shortcomings. He admits that he not only served the truth, speaking the truth face to face, but also gave in to his passion for love lyrics.
However, the poet did not want to go too far in his self-criticism. He considers his weaknesses worthy of leniency, urging him not to judge him too harshly for his mistakes, but to throw a stone only if the reader considers himself devoid of ordinary human shortcomings.
The author of the poem used artistic means of expression to add brightness to his work. He combined words related to “high style” and colloquial speech, as well as metaphors, personification and epithets, which undoubtedly made the poem more emotionally rich.
Essay 3
The work, which belongs to the poet’s philosophical lyrics, is a summary of the results of the author’s creative life in the form of a specific and frank introspection.
The narration in the work is conducted on behalf of the lyrical hero in the person of the poet himself, who, using a simple, uncomplicated form of monologue, looking back at his life, evaluates his moral position and poetic creativity as a whole.
The structural composition of the poem, which is a distinctive feature among the poet’s works, consists of thirty-two lines connected by one stanza, conventionally divided into three main parts, expressing, respectively, the position of spiritual understanding of reality, consciousness as a reflection of the experience gained, as well as a worldview in the form of a stimulus to continue his poetic work.
As the poetic meter of the work, the poet chooses a two-foot trochee in combination with rhyming, performed in an adjacent way, creating a certain sound rhythm and reflecting the poetic mood in the form of a dual contradictory atmosphere of calm reflection and eclecticism of the work.
Among the means of artistic expression, the poem uses a variety of metaphors, personifications, comparisons and epithets, forming an interconnected framework system.
A peculiar difference of the poem is the author’s use of word forms in the form of high and low styles (nobleman, blurt out the truth) with the inclusion of verbal repetitions, frequent pronouns, past tense verbs and nouns, giving realism to the content of the presentation without the use of embellished expressions.
The poem has an expressive mood and expresses frank confessions of the lyrical hero about the meaning of his social and creative activities, reflections on mistakes made and explanations of the motives for the actions taken.
Using an artistic technique in the form of a confidential conversation with the reader, the poet analyzes the system of his own life values, recognizing its correctness and justice, but assumes that he is not an ideal, sinless person, since he is subject to human weaknesses. However, the result of the analysis of his own life is that the poet sees devotion and fidelity in serving his homeland.
Analysis of the poem Confession of Derzhavin
This poem is written in the form of a confession. It has only one stanza, but it consists of thirty-two lines.
It begins with a statement that the author did not know how to pretend. What follows is an expansion of this statement. That is, the poet did not pretend to be an important figure (the verb “to pout” is used ironically), and did not take on the philosophical (and even saintly) appearance that poets so often have.
Having listed what he did not do, the author explains how he did it. He preferred sincerity (now an obsolete version of the word). And he admits that he thought that with his pure heart and honesty, others would like him. He considered the most important virtues of a real person to be the heart and mind.
Yes, Derzhavin, and these poems are clearly biographical and philosophical, he praised some. But then it was not he who praised, but through the Poet - the Creator himself. Fire metaphorically flew from the strings of his implied harp.
Often those whom he sang were rulers. But kings must still possess extraordinary virtues. They seemed to Derzhavin equal to gods. And this is not just a comparison, because in the old days it was believed that the king was the conductor of God’s will.
It is emphasized that the poet wove crowns for them not just like that, but for victories. Here again is an appeal to the Ancient World, where the winner was awarded a laurel wreath. With his odes, Derzhavin would like to convey their beautiful souls to their children, that is, the heirs to the throne.
But Derzhavin did not hesitate to tell the nobles the truth, although again the verb with an ironic connotation “blurt out” is used. While denouncing, he considered himself a friend not only to the Fatherland, but also to the lying nobles.
The poet admits here that he was seduced by the beauty of society ladies and sang their praises. He made mistakes, in general, he was a simple person. And in the last line the poet calls on him to throw a stone at him if the reader is inhuman.
7th grade, 9th grade
Analysis of the poem Confession according to plan
B. L. Posternak was very good at conveying images of the surrounding world in his works; they came out truly alive and bright. But the author never liked to exaggerate reality
Nikolai Alekseevich wrote his poem “Duma” in the year of the abolition of serfdom. Thousands of peasants were then freed from harsh landowners, however, the long-awaited freedom turned out to be not as rosy as it was seen in their dreams.
“Confession” Gabriel Derzhavin
I didn't know how to pretend
Look like a saint
To puff up one's dignity
And take the philosopher's view;
I loved sincerity
I thought only they would like me,
The human mind and heart
They were my genius.
If I shone with delight,
Fire flew from my strings,
I didn’t shine with myself, but with God;
Beside myself, I sang to God.
If the sounds were dedicated
My lyres to the kings, -
Seemed like virtues
To me they are equal to gods.
If the victories are loud
I wove crowns for the leaders, -
I thought about passing it on to descendants
Their souls and their children.
If where the powerful nobles
I dared to blurt out the truth out loud, -
I thought I had an impartial heart
They, the king, are a friend to the fatherland.
Even if I'm fussing
He himself was seduced by the world, -
I admit, beauty
Having been captured, his wives also sang.
In a word: I burned love if there was a flame,
I fell, I got up in my time.
Come on, sage! on my coffin there is a stone,
If you're not human.
Analysis of Derzhavin’s poem “Confession”
Every poet sooner or later sums up his literary activity and, looking back, tries to determine the most important thing for which he lived his life. Gabriel Derzhavin also has a similar poem called “Confession,” written in 1807. It is maintained in the best traditions of classicism, and in it the author openly talks about how he lived his life and what he managed to achieve in the literary field.
The poet admits that he was never a saint and did not know how to pretend, did not put on airs and did not philosophize. “I loved sincerity, I thought only they would like me,” notes Derzhavin. However, life made its own adjustments to the poet’s idealistic worldview, and at some stage he realized that the world works somewhat differently. It turns out that people often value their own kind not for their straightforwardness, talent and desire for perfection, but for their appearance, position in society and financial well-being. However, in this regard, Derzhavin was really lucky, since he was not only a sought-after court poet, but also managed to make a brilliant political career. Perhaps for this reason he was allowed to say out loud much of what others preferred to remain silent about.
True, we should not forget that Derzhavin himself was an ardent supporter of the monarchy and never hid his political views. At a time when Europe was experiencing a political crisis and was carried away by freethinking, the poet dedicated odes to Empress Catherine, sincerely admiring her intelligence and enterprise. “If the sounds of my lyre were dedicated to the kings, they seemed to me to be equal in virtue to the gods,” the poet admits. At the same time, he himself does not even try to elevate himself to the rank of a higher being, noting that he shone not with himself, but with the god who is in his soul.
Patriotism and the desire to preserve for history the exploits of Russian soldiers, contempt for wealth and arrogance - these are the distinctive features of Derzhavin as a poet. “If somewhere I dared to blurt out the truth into the ears of powerful nobles, I imagined being an impartial heart to them, the king, a friend of the fatherland,” the poet notes. He emphasizes that he never envied those in whose hands power and money are concentrated, but he did not know how to remain silent when people use their power not for the benefit of the state, but for selfish purposes.
Of course, Derzhavin’s creative heritage also includes lyrical works, which the poet is not at all ashamed of. He also succumbed to female charm and was often blinded by the luxury of social events, reflecting his feelings in poetry. In his declining years, Derzhavin admits that for a true poet and patriot it is unacceptable to waste his talent on such trifles. However, the author is convinced that each of us may have our own weaknesses, for which we should not judge strictly and with bias. Derzhavin knew both ups and downs, but each time he rose and stubbornly continued his path. “Throw a stone on my coffin, sage, if you are not a man,” exclaims Derzhavin, believing that he lived his life with dignity, and he has nothing to reproach himself with when it comes to literary achievements.
