A.S. Pushkin’s dramatic works (The motive of feast)
This work analyses the motive of "feast", shown in A.S. Pushkin’s tragedies such as "Boris Godunov" and "The little tragedies". In "Boris Godunov", the feast appears only two times. The first is in ...
A.S. Pushkin’s dramatic works (The motive of feast)
This work analyses the motive of "feast", shown in A.S. Pushkin’s tragedies such as "Boris Godunov" and "The little tragedies". In "Boris Godunov", the feast appears only two times. The first is in the ninth scene "Moscow. Shuiskij's house", and the second is in the twelfth scene "The commander Мnishek’s castle in Sambor". These two scenes, which represent two cultures (russian and polish) and two persons who usurped the throne in history of Russia, are connected in the equivalent and syntactical relation. Using contrast technique, Pushkin keeps intensity and unity in his drama. The pictures of feasts serve as one of aspects, which multilaterally embody Shuiskij's and the Pretender’s character. The effect of scenes of feasts is a direct result of the innovations, which were introduced by the poet into poetics of a drama. The classical principle, which then dominates the russian theatre, is based on theories of Aristotle, who thought that the first principle of tragedy is the plot, and the second is the character. The classical drama shows events consecutively occurring for 24 hours in a place. Therefore in such drama is given already formed character. Refusing characterization of classicism, Pushkin tried to show multilaterally changing and developing character. In "Boris Godunov" Pushkin composed the events occurring for 7 years through 23 scenes (any of them does not hold the same background in common with the next scene). With this new composition the poet portraits a developing and changing character. In contrast to Аristotle’s theory, the first principle of tragedy for Pushkin is the character and the second is the composition. This formula is more distinctly illustrated in "The little tragedies", whose theme is passions of persons and destiny of an individual, than in "Boris Godunov". Self-contradicting passions of heroes are the most clearly shown in scenes of a feast in "The little tragedies".
In "Boris Godunov" the feast was secondary motive. But later it became a main motive in "The little tragedies". In Pushkin's works the feast has been related to friendship and pleasure. But in "The little tragedies" its meaning is absolutely different. These tragedies include 4 major feasts. The first describes the knight’s lonely feast in front of a chest with gold in it, with candles lit ("The covetous knight"). Secondly, the feast of death, in which Salieri poisons his friend ("Mozart and Salieri"). Next, a feast in which Don Juan kisses Laura before the corpse after committing murder ("The stone guest"), and finally a feast of debauchery in the city of death("The feast during the plague"). Such unusual feasts are directly connected with characters of heroes. In "The little tragedies" heroes have self-contradicting and double individuality. Their antinomic passions are the most evidently shown in the space of feasts, which is accompanied not by the pleasure and by friendship, but by death, murder and suffering. Their feasts are sometimes similar to religious rituals. Sometimes they become tragic space of irony.