The works of Ivan the Terrible , in particular his correspondence with Prince Kurbsky, are the most famous monument of Russian literature of the 16th century [1] . According to academician D. S. Likhachev , his role in the historical and literary process of ancient Russia is enormous [2] .
Content
- 1 Characteristic
- 2 History
- 3 List
- 4 Religious texts
- 5 notes
- 6 Bibliography
- 7 References
Feature
“The messages of Tsar Ivan the Terrible are one of the most unusual monuments of Old Russian literature. The central themes of his messages are the international significance of the Russian state (the concept of Moscow as the “Third Rome”) and the monarch’s divine right to unlimited power. The themes of the state, ruler, and power occupy one of the central places in Shakespeare, but are expressed by completely different genres and artistic means. The strength of the impact of the messages of Ivan the Terrible is in the system of argumentation, including biblical quotes and extracts from sacred authors; facts from world and Russian history to draw analogies; examples from personal impressions. ” [1]
| A brave innovator, an amazing master of the language, sometimes angry, sometimes lyrically elevated (as, for example, in his testament of 1572), a master of the “biting” style, always principled, always “the autocrat of all Russia”, neglecting all sorts of literary conventions for a common purpose - to convince his reader, to influence him - such is Grozny in his works.D. S. Likhachev [2] |
“In polemic and private messages, Grozny much more often uses facts from his personal life. This allows the author, without cluttering the message with rhetoric, significantly enliven the style. The fact, conveyed briefly and accurately, is immediately remembered, gets an emotional tone, gives the acuteness necessary for the polemic. Syntactically, a fact usually lies within the framework of a single sentence. This sentence is usually simple, complicated by homogeneous predicates, using reduced vocabulary. Ivan the Terrible made extensive use of hyperbole, which connects his style with the traditions of folk art and at the same time gives it personality. Usually a hyperbole accompanies an antithesis (a message to the abbot Kozma: “And how can you name a brethren?” “He and the tenth serf who lives in his cell eat the best of brethren, which are poisonous in the meal”; “Dosyudova in Kirilov had needles and threads superfluous in a cell do not hold, not only other things “). Messages from Ivan the Terrible suggest a variety of intonations - ironic, accusatory, satirical, instructive. This is only a special case of the vast influence on the messages of lively colloquial speech of the 16th century, which is very new in ancient Russian literature. His opponent Andrei Kurbsky fell upon it: “It’s the same about beds, about quilted jackets, and others, truly, like frantic women of the song” ” [1]
| It is unlikely that there was another writer in the Middle Ages who would have recognized himself so little as a writer like Grozny and, at the same time, every literary performance which would have had such authoritative authority from the very beginning. Everything written by Grozny was written on the occasion, on a specific occasion, caused by the living necessity of contemporary political reality. And this is precisely what left a strong imprint on his works. He violates all literary genres, all literary traditions, as soon as they become an obstacle to him. He cares about the style of his works only to the extent that he needs it in order to ridicule or convince his opponents, to prove this or that situation. He is a politician, a statesman first of all, and he brings political passion to his works. Everything written by him stands on the verge of literature and business documents, on the verge of private letters and legislative acts. And everywhere he abruptly manifests himself: in style, in language, in temperamental argumentation and, most importantly, in political convictions that are constantly making themselves known.D. S. Likhachev [2] |
In addition to the famous correspondence with Kurbsky, private letters to the oprichnik Vasily Gryaznoy are particularly curious, precisely because of their “simplicity”. Studying them, “... the researchers paid great attention to the style of Grozny, noting the hidden dialogue in the Tsar’s epistle and the typical manner of ironic questions. The letter to Gryazny reflected the ability of Ivan the Terrible to adapt to the style of the addressee; of all the royal scriptures it contains the largest number of colloquial turns ” [3] .
History
The beginning of the literary work of Ivan IV by the historian B.N. Flory dates back to 1560, when an individual polemical and elevated style of the tsar begins to appear in official letters on behalf of the state. Both letters were associated with the Livonian War and were addressed to the Swedish King Gustav I Vase and the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I Habsburg .
In contrast to the usual diplomatic correspondence, in a letter to the Swedish king Gustav Vasa in January 1560, Ivan the Terrible pointed out not only the violation of the oath of paying tribute, but also to the “Livonian people of injustice” - “they didn’t give the cross kiss and our churches, and the church Russians ravaged, and in Riga , and in Kolyvan and in Yuryev, our ends were taken over by both griddies, polata, and cellars, and we all mastered and our people didn’t give lives to them and our people did nothing and hurt our bargaining ” [4] .
The letter of February 20, 1560 to Emperor Ferdinand I of Habsburg in response to his proposal to end the war, Ivan IV begins with the accusation that the Livonians "violate the commandment of God and accept the teachings Luthorsko ." He adds that even at the Russian-Livonian talks of 1554, when they were accused of having “mastered the Russian churches”, the Livonians promised “to cleanse the Gods of Russia ...”, but instead “our churches were also slaughtered on those church places made the outcome pus human. ” Thus, the Russian Tsar speaks of abuse of Orthodox churches, although they did not blame the Livonians for anything like this during official negotiations. The letter also contains biblical sayings, which makes the language of the text sublime. The Russian sovereign tried to turn the Livonians on a righteous path, but they did not heed, and therefore "they do not accept the sword and fire, but according to their will" [4] .
The thesis about the war as God's punishment for heretics continues in response to the Lithuanian ambassadors of 1563: "and how they broke their law and fell into godless heresy, otherwise fire and a sword came to them from our command." The right of Russia, following the example of “ruling kings,” to punish heretics in response is supported by a reference to the words of the apostle Judah calling to save sinners from hellfire: “save your sheep with fear, it is awesome from the fire” (Message of Jude I? 23). B.N. Florea believes that the message to Ferdinand was the first texts emanating from the tsar aimed at asserting superiority over the correspondent and showed two correspondence characteristic of Grozny's intonation: lecture and ridicule [4] .
List
- with European monarchs:
- Correspondence of Ivan the Terrible and Elizabeth I ( [1] )
- Swedish King Gustav I Vase (1560) [4]
- Emperor Ferdinand I of Habsburg (1560) [4]
- Swedish King Johan III , 1572 and 1573 ( [2] [3] )
- Polish King Stephen Batory , 1581 ( [4] [5] )
- Jan Khodkevich ( [6] )
- Jan Rokite [7] )
- Simeon Bekbulatovich ( [8] )
- polemic:
- Correspondence of Ivan the Terrible and Andrei Kurbsky ( [9] [10] )
- Abbot Kozma in Kirilov Monastery, 1573 ( [11] )
- Prince Alexander Polubensky ( [12] )
- private:
Religious texts
Also, Ivan the Terrible - the author of stichera on the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God , on the death of Peter Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, the canon of Archangel Michael (under the pseudonym Parfeny the Ugly) [5] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Luke Vl. A. Ivan the Terrible, a Russian contemporary of Shakespeare . Information and research database "Shakespeare's Contemporaries" (2012). Date accessed 2012-02-17 ( Archived by WebCite® ). Archived on May 25, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Likhachev D. S. Ivan the Terrible - writer // Likhachev D. S. , Lurie Ya. S. Messages from Ivan the Terrible. M.-L.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR , 1951. - 712 p.
- ↑ Shokarev S. Yu. Correspondence of Ivan the Terrible and Dirty // Historical and journalistic almanac "Moscow - Crimea". - 2000. - No. 1.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Florea B.N. On the question of the beginning of the writing activity of Ivan IV // Ancient Russia. Questions of Medieval Studies : Scientific Journal. - 2004. - No. 2 . - S. 3-7 .
- ↑ Ivan IV the Terrible . Compositions. St. Petersburg: ABC , 2000 .-- 245 p. (ABC classic) ISBN 5-267-00154-6
Bibliography
- Ivan IV the Terrible . Compositions. St. Petersburg: ABC , 2000 .-- 245 p. (ABC classic) ISBN 5-267-00154-6
- Mikhailovsky N.K. Ivan the Terrible in Russian literature. // Mikhailovsky N.K. Works. T. 6. 1897