What stories did Gogol write. Tales Gogol Nikolai Vasilievich "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is a classic, known to each of us since school days. This is a brilliant writer and a talented publicist, to whose work interest has not waned to this day. In this article, we will turn to what Gogol managed to write in his short life. The list of the author's works inspires respect, let's consider it in more detail.

About creativity

All the work of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is a single inseparable whole, united by the same themes, motives and ideas. Lively bright style, unique style, knowledge of the characters found in the Russian people - that's what Gogol is so famous for. The list of the author's works is very diverse: there are sketches from the life of farmers, and descriptions of landowners with their vices, the characters of serfs are widely represented, the life of the capital and the county town is shown. Truly, Gogol describes the whole picture of the Russian reality of his time, making no distinction between estates and geographical location.

Gogol: list of works

We list the main works of the writer. For convenience, the stories are grouped into cycles:

• cycle "Mirgorod", which includes the story "Taras Bulba";
• "Petersburg Tales" includes the story "The Overcoat";
• cycle "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka", which includes one of Gogol's most famous works - "The Night Before Christmas";
• the play "Inspector";
• the cycle "Arabesques", which stands out strikingly against the background of everything written by the author, as it combines journalism and artistry;
• poem "Dead Souls"

Now let's take a closer look at the key works in the writer's work.

Cycle "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka"

This cycle became Nikolai Vasilyevich and came out in two parts. The first was published in 1831, and the second only a year later.

The stories of this collection describe stories from the life of farmers that occurred in different time periods, for example, the action of "May Night" takes place in the 18th century, and "Terrible Revenge" - in the 17th. All the works are united in the image of the narrator - uncle Foma Grigorievich, who retells the stories he once heard.

The most famous story of this cycle is "The Night Before Christmas", written in 1830. Its actions take place during the reign of Catherine II in Ukraine, in the village of Dikanka. The story is fully sustained in the romantic tradition with its mystical elements and extraordinary situations.

"Inspector"

This play is considered Gogol's most famous work. This is due to the fact that from the moment it was first staged in the theater (1836), it has not left the stage to this day, not only in our country, but also abroad. This work was a reflection of the vices, arbitrariness and limitations of county officials. This is how Gogol saw the provincial towns. It is impossible to make a list of the author's works without mentioning this play.

Despite the social and moral overtones and criticism of autocracy, which are well guessed under the cover of humor, the play was not banned either during the life of the author himself, or later. And its success can be explained by the fact that Gogol was able to depict the vicious representatives of his time with unusual accuracy and aptness, which, unfortunately, are still encountered today.

"Petersburg Tales"

Gogol's stories included in this collection were written at different times - approximately from the 30s to the 40s of the 19th century. What unites them is a common place of action - St. Petersburg. The uniqueness of this collection lies in the fact that all the stories included in it are written in the spirit of fantastic realism. It was Gogol who managed to develop this method and so brilliantly embody it in his cycle.

What is it This is a method that allows you to use the techniques of grotesque and fantasy in the depiction of reality, while maintaining the topicality and recognizability of images. So, despite the absurdity of what is happening, the reader can easily recognize the features of the real Northern Palmyra in the image of a fictional Petersburg.

In addition, one way or another, the hero of each work of the cycle is the city itself. Petersburg in the view of Gogol acts as a force that destroys a person. This destruction can occur on a physical or spiritual level. A person can die, can lose his individuality and turn into a simple layman.

"Overcoat"

This work is included in the collection "Petersburg Tales". At the center of the story this time is Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin, a petty official. N. V. Gogol tells about the life and dream of the “little man” in this work. The overcoat is the limit of the protagonist's desires. But gradually this thing grows, becomes larger than the character himself, and eventually absorbs him.

A certain mystical connection is formed between Bashmachkin and the overcoat. The hero seems to give part of his soul to this piece of clothing. That is why Akaki Akakievich dies a few days after the disappearance of the overcoat. After all, with her, he lost a part of himself.

The main problem of the story is the harmful dependence of people on things. The subject has become the determining factor in the judgment of a person, and not his personality - this is the horror of the surrounding reality, according to Gogol.

Poem "Dead Souls"

Initially, the poem, according to the author's intention, was to be divided into three parts. The first describes a kind of "hell" of reality. In the second - "purgatory", when the hero had to realize his sins and set foot on the path of repentance. In the third - "paradise", the rebirth of the character.

In the center of the story is the former customs officer Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. This gentleman all his life dreamed of only one thing - to make a fortune. And now, in order to fulfill his dream, he embarked on an adventure. Its meaning was to buy up the dead peasants who were listed alive according to the last census. Having acquired a certain number of such souls, he could borrow a decent amount from the state and leave with it somewhere in warmer climes.

About what adventures await Chichikov, and tells the first and only volume of Dead Souls.

The life of Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol is so vast and multifaceted that historians are still researching the biography and epistolary materials of the great writer, and documentary filmmakers are making films that tell about the secrets of the mysterious genius of literature. Interest in the playwright has not faded for two hundred years, not only because of his lyrical-epic works, but also because Gogol is one of the most mystical figures in Russian literature of the 19th century.

Childhood and youth

To this day, it is not known when Nikolai Vasilyevich was born. Some chroniclers believe that Gogol was born on March 20, while others are sure that the true date of birth of the writer is April 1, 1809.

The childhood of the master of phantasmagoria passed in Ukraine, in the picturesque village of Sorochintsy, Poltava province. He grew up in a large family - in addition to him, 5 more boys and 6 girls were brought up in the house (some of them died in infancy).

The great writer has an interesting pedigree dating back to the Cossack noble dynasty of Gogol-Yanovsky. According to family legend, the playwright's grandfather Afanasy Demyanovich Yanovsky added a second part to his surname to prove blood ties with the Cossack hetman Ostap Gogol, who lived in the 17th century.

The writer's father, Vasily Afanasyevich, worked in the Little Russian province in the post office, from where he retired in 1805 with the rank of collegiate assessor. Later, Gogol-Yanovsky retired to the Vasilievka estate (Yanovshchina) and began to farm. Vasily Afanasyevich was known as a poet, writer and playwright: he owned the home theater of his friend Troshchinsky, and also acted on the stage as an actor.

For productions, he wrote comedy plays based on Ukrainian folk ballads and legends. But only one work of Gogol Sr. has reached modern readers - "The Simpleton, or the Cunning of a Woman Outwitted by a Soldier." It was from his father that Nikolai Vasilyevich adopted his love for literary art and creative talent: it is known that Gogol Jr. began writing poetry from childhood. Vasily Afanasyevich died when Nikolai was 15 years old.

The writer's mother, Maria Ivanovna, nee Kosyarovskaya, according to contemporaries, was pretty and was considered the first beauty in the village. Everyone who knew her said that she was a religious person and was engaged in the spiritual education of children. However, the teachings of Gogol-Yanovskaya were not reduced to Christian rites and prayers, but to prophecies about the Last Judgment.

It is known that a woman married Gogol-Yanovsky when she was 14 years old. Nikolai Vasilyevich was close to his mother and even asked for advice on his manuscripts. Some writers believe that thanks to Maria Ivanovna, Gogol's work is endowed with fantasy and mysticism.

The childhood and youth of Nikolai Vasilievich passed in the midst of a peasant and squire life and were endowed with those petty-bourgeois features that the playwright scrupulously described in his works.

When Nikolai was ten years old, he was sent to Poltava, where he studied science at the school, and then studied literacy with a local teacher Gabriel Sorochinsky. After classical training, the 16-year-old boy became a student at the Gymnasium of Higher Sciences in the city of Nizhyn, Chernihiv region. In addition to the fact that the future classic of literature was in poor health, he was also not strong in his studies, although he had an exceptional memory. Nicholas did not get on well with the exact sciences, but he excelled in Russian literature and literature.

Some biographers argue that the gymnasium itself is to blame for such an inferior education, rather than the young writer. The fact is that in those years, weak teachers worked in the Nizhyn gymnasium, who could not organize decent education for students. For example, knowledge in the lessons of moral education was presented not through the teachings of eminent philosophers, but with the help of corporal punishment with a rod, a literature teacher did not keep pace with the times, preferring the classics of the 18th century.

During his studies, Gogol gravitated towards creativity and zealously participated in theatrical productions and impromptu skits. Among his comrades, Nikolai Vasilyevich was known as a comedian and a perky person. The writer talked with Nikolai Prokopovich, Alexander Danilevsky, Nestor Kukolnik and others.

Literature

Gogol began to be interested in writing as a student. He admired A.S. Pushkin, although his first creations were far from the style of the great poet, but more like the works of Bestuzhev-Marlinsky.

He composed elegies, feuilletons, poems, tried himself in prose and other literary genres. During his studies, he wrote a satire "Something about Nizhyn, or the law is not written for fools", which has not survived to this day. It is noteworthy that the young man initially regarded the craving for creativity more as a hobby, and not a matter of his whole life.

Writing was for Gogol "a ray of light in the dark realm" and helped to escape from mental anguish. Then the plans of Nikolai Vasilyevich were not clear, but he wanted to serve the Motherland and be useful to the people, believing that a great future awaited him.

In the winter of 1828, Gogol went to the cultural capital - Petersburg. In the cold and gloomy city of Nikolai Vasilyevich, disappointment awaited. He tried to become an official, and also tried to enter the service in the theater, but all his attempts were defeated. Only in literature could he find opportunities for earning money and self-expression.

But failure awaited Nikolai Vasilyevich in writing, as only two of Gogol's works were published by magazines - the poem "Italy" and the romantic poem "Hanz Kühelgarten", published under the pseudonym V. Alov. "Idyll in Pictures" received a number of negative and sarcastic reviews from critics. After the creative defeat, Gogol bought up all the editions of the poem and burned them in his room. Nikolai Vasilievich did not abandon literature even after a resounding failure; the failure with "Hanz Kuchelgarten" gave him the opportunity to change the genre.

In 1830, Gogol's mystical story "The Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala" was published in the eminent journal Otechestvennye Zapiski.

Later, the writer meets Baron Delvig and begins to publish in his publications Literary Gazette and Northern Flowers.

After his creative success, Gogol was warmly received in the literary circle. He began to communicate with Pushkin and. The works “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”, “The Night Before Christmas”, “The Enchanted Place”, seasoned with a mixture of Ukrainian epic and worldly humor, made an impression on the Russian poet.

Rumor has it that it was Alexander Sergeevich who gave Nikolai Vasilyevich the background for new works. He suggested plot ideas for the poem Dead Souls (1842) and the comedy The Inspector General (1836). However, P.V. Annenkov believes that Pushkin "not quite willingly gave him his property."

Fascinated by the history of Little Russia, Nikolai Vasilyevich becomes the author of the Mirgorod collection, which includes several works, including Taras Bulba. Gogol, in letters to his mother Maria Ivanovna, asked her to tell in more detail about the life of the people in the outback.

Frame from the film "Viy", 2014

In 1835, Gogol's story "Viy" (included in "Mirgorod") about the demonic character of the Russian epic was published. According to the story, three bursaks lost their way and came across a mysterious farm, the owner of which turned out to be a real witch. The main character Homa will have to face unprecedented creatures, church rites and a witch flying in a coffin.

In 1967, directors Konstantin Ershov and Georgy Kropachev staged the first Soviet horror film based on Gogol's story Viy. The main roles were played by and.

Leonid Kuravlev and Natalya Varley in the film "Viy", 1967

In 1841, Gogol wrote the immortal story "The Overcoat". In the work, Nikolai Vasilyevich talks about the "little man" Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin, who is getting poorer to such an extent that the most ordinary thing becomes a source of joy and inspiration for him.

Personal life

Speaking about the personality of the author of The Inspector General, it is worth noting that, in addition to a craving for literature, Vasily Afanasyevich also inherited a fatal fate - a psychological illness and fear of early death, which began to manifest themselves in the playwright from his youth. Publicist V.G. wrote about this. Korolenko and Dr. Bazhenov, based on Gogol's autobiographical materials and epistolary heritage.

If in the days of the Soviet Union it was customary to keep silent about the mental disorders of Nikolai Vasilyevich, then such details are very interesting to the current erudite reader. It is believed that Gogol suffered from manic-depressive psychosis (bipolar affective personality disorder) from childhood: the young writer's cheerful and perky mood was replaced by severe depression, hypochondria and despair.

This disturbed his mind until his death. He also admitted in letters that he often heard "gloomy" voices calling him into the distance. Because of life in eternal fear, Gogol became a religious person and led a more reclusive ascetic life. He loved women, but only at a distance: he often told Maria Ivanovna that he was going abroad to live with a certain lady.

He corresponded with charming girls of different classes (with Maria Balabina, Countess Anna Vielgorskaya and others), courting them romantically and timidly. The writer did not like to advertise his personal life, especially amorous affairs. It is known that Nikolai Vasilyevich has no children. Due to the fact that the writer was not married, there is a theory about his homosexuality. Others believe that he never had a relationship that went beyond the platonic.

Death

The early death of Nikolai Vasilievich at the age of 42 still haunts the minds of scientists, historians and biographers. Mystical legends are composed about Gogol, and to this day they argue about the true cause of the death of the visionary.

In the last years of his life, Nikolai Vasilyevich was seized by a creative crisis. It was associated with the early departure from the life of Khomyakov's wife and the condemnation of his stories by Archpriest Matthew Konstantinovsky, who sharply criticized Gogol's works and also believed that the writer was not pious enough. Gloomy thoughts took possession of the playwright's mind; from February 5, he refused food. On February 10, Nikolai Vasilievich "under the influence of an evil spirit" burned the manuscripts, and on the 18th, while continuing to observe Great Lent, he went to bed with a sharp deterioration in health.

The master of the pen refused medical attention, expecting death. The doctors, who diagnosed him with inflammatory bowel disease, probable typhus and indigestion, eventually diagnosed the writer with meningitis and prescribed forced bloodletting, dangerous to his health, which only worsened Nikolai Vasilyevich's mental and physical condition. On the morning of February 21, 1852, Gogol died in the count's mansion in Moscow.

Memory

The writer's works are obligatory for studying at schools and higher educational institutions. In memory of Nikolai Vasilyevich, postage stamps were issued in the USSR and other countries. Streets, a drama theater, a pedagogical institute and even a crater on the planet Mercury are named after Gogol.

According to the creations of the master of hyperbole and the grotesque, theatrical performances are still being created and works of cinematographic art are being filmed. So, in 2017, the premiere of the gothic detective series “Gogol. Beginning" with and starring.

There are interesting facts in the biography of the mysterious playwright, all of which cannot be described even in a whole book.

• According to rumors, Gogol was afraid of thunderstorms, as a natural phenomenon affected his psyche.
• The writer lived in poverty, walked in old clothes. The only expensive item in his wardrobe is a gold watch donated by Zhukovsky in memory of Pushkin.
• The mother of Nikolai Vasilyevich was known as a strange woman. She was superstitious, believed in the supernatural, and constantly told amazing stories, embellished with fiction.
• According to rumors, Gogol's last words were: "How sweet it is to die."

Monument to Nikolai Gogol and his troika bird in Odessa

• Gogol's work inspired.
• Nikolai Vasilyevich adored sweets, so sweets and pieces of sugar were constantly in his pocket. Also, the Russian prose writer liked to roll bread crumbs in his hands - it helped to concentrate on thoughts.
• The writer was painfully concerned with appearance, mainly his own nose irritated him.
• Gogol was afraid that he would be buried, being in a lethargic dream. The literary genius asked that in the future his body be buried only after the appearance of cadaveric spots. According to legend, Gogol woke up in a coffin. When the body of the writer was reburied, those present, surprised, saw that the head of the deceased was turned to one side.

Bibliography

• "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka" (1831-1832)
• "The Tale of how Ivan Ivanovich quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich" (1834)
• "Viy" (1835)
• "Old World Landowners" (1835)
• "Taras Bulba" (1835)
• "Nevsky Prospekt" (1835)
• "Inspector" (1836)
• "The Nose" (1836)
• "Notes of a Madman" (1835)
• "Portrait" (1835)
• "Carriage" (1836)
• "Marriage" (1842)
• "Dead Souls" (1842)
• "Overcoat" (1843)

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol-Yanovsky; Russian Empire, Poltava province; 03/20/1809 - 02/21/1852

The great Russian prose writer and playwright Nikolai Gogol earned recognition during his lifetime. But the stories and novels of NV Gogol are very popular even now. Many of his works have been filmed, and the name of this writer has become a landmark for Russian and world literature. The best proof of this is the high position of the author in our rating, where NV Gogol is in the top twenty.

Biography of N. V. Gogol

Nikolai Gogol - Yanovsky was born in the village of Bolshie Sorochintsy, Poltava province. Subsequently, he will discard the second part of his surname, although it was under this surname that his great-grandfather lived. The great-grandfather changed his surname after accepting Russian citizenship. The Gogol family had 11 children, but only five of them survived to adulthood. Nikolai himself was the third child, but of the survivors, the first. Because of this, he best remembered his father, who wrote small plays for home productions, and was generally a wonderful storyteller. In part, it was he who instilled in NV Gogol his first love for the theater.

At the age of ten, Nikolai was sent to study in Poltava. First, he takes preparatory courses with one of the local teachers, and then enters the Gymnasium of Higher Sciences. Since this educational institution was just formed, the educational process was not very well established, perhaps this was the reason for Gogol's low academic performance. But at the same time, having created circles of like-minded people, the students were engaged in self-education and even organized their own magazine. It was during self-education that Nikolai Gogol fell in love with creativity, which later played a significant role in his works.

After graduating from high school at the age of nineteen, Nikolai Gogol moved to St. Petersburg. His modest savings are not enough to live in a big city, and he is forced to look for work, either an actor or a civil servant, but he does not stay long in any of them. At the same time, in 1829, Gogol's first poem, "Hanz Küchelgarten", was published. She does not receive recognition, which for a long time inspires the writer with distrust in her abilities. Nevertheless, the writer does not stop in his endeavors and a year later, “Evenings on the Eve of Ivan Kupala” is published, which is received more positively.

In 1830, thanks to friends, NV Gogol managed to get a job as a teacher, first at the Patriotic Institute, and then at the Department of History at St. Petersburg University. This significantly improved the author's financial affairs and allowed him to plunge headlong into literature. It was during this period that the publication of the stories of N. V. Gogol "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka", "The Night Before Christmas" was published, which are still popular to read at the present time. This brings fame to the author and allows him to become one of the leading writers of Russia at that time. From 1834 to 1842, such famous works by N. V. Gogol as "Taras Bulba", "The Inspector General", "Dead Souls" and many others were published.

Since 1836, Gogol has been spending a lot of time abroad. His second "homeland" is Rome, which the author himself called "a city in spirit." At the same time, the writer becomes an increasingly religious person and makes a journey to the Holy Sepulcher. But, according to the author himself, when he got caught in the rain in Palestine, he felt like the stations in Russia. Therefore, this trip to Gogol did not bring peace of mind. Upon his return in 1949, he worked hard on the second volume of Dead Souls, but destroyed them just before his death.

Gogol was buried in the cemetery of the Danilov Monastery, but later the remains were transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery. In 1952, the pedestal of the monument was changed, and the “Golgotha”, which had previously served as a monument to Gogol, was subsequently acquired by the wife as a monument to her husband. After all, Bulgakov considered Gogol's stories to be a model for his work.

Works by NV Gogol on Top Books website

In the ratings of our site, the stories of N. V. Gogol are presented quite widely. Many of them are in our rating and occupy far from the lowest positions there. At the same time, the popularity of N. V. Gogol's comedies "The Government Inspector", "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka", "The Night Before Christmas" to read is so great that it allowed these and some other works of N. V. Gogol to get into our rating. At the same time, many of them occupy quite high places in this rating and have every chance to strengthen their positions.

All books by Gogol N.V.

1. Author's confession
2. Al-Mamun
3. Alfred
4. Annunziata
5. Articles from Arabesques
6. Evening on the eve of Ivan Kupala
7. Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka
8. A look at the composition of Little Russia
9. Vladimir of the third degree
10. Ganz Küchelgarten
11. Hetman
12. Maidens Chablova
13. The rain was continuous...
14. Marriage

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol is the literary talent of Russia in the 19th century. The first work - the poem "Italy" - was published in 1829. He was engaged in writing almost until the last days of his life.

His creations are very original, here mysticism is closely intertwined with reality. The writer's calling card was sketches of the "naturalness" of ordinary life, a reflection of the bare Russian reality without embellishment and smoothing. For the first time, he created social types, endowing his heroes with common features of people of a certain social stratum, and surprisingly accurately summarized everything characteristic of Russian cities, creating a single image of a province and a big city. Each character of Gogol is not some famous person, but a collective image that embodies the characters and mores of a whole generation or social stratum.

Best works

Without taking into account the destroyed 2nd volume of Dead Souls, Gogol's literary baggage totals 68 works. The most famous of them:

• "Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka",
• "Viy",
• "The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich"
• "Nose",
• "Overcoat",
• "Diary of a Madman",
• "Selected places from correspondence with friends."

The list is far from complete, but these works are able to represent the author's work as much as possible.

Perhaps the most famous work of the writer is the play-comedy "The Government Inspector" in 5 acts. The author began work on it in the autumn of 1835, and just six months later - in January 1836 - he finished writing. The main character is a petty St. Petersburg official Khlestakov, whom everyone took for an important inspector. The sly bureaucrat quickly realized what was happening, and began to take full advantage of the state of affairs, accepting bribes, gifts and eating for free at secular dinners. Everyone fawned over him, trying to appease and please.

When he leaves the city, everyone accidentally becomes aware that Khlestakov is a swindler, and then a real auditor comes to the town. Silent scene.

The play has been staged more than once on the stage of theaters, including European ones. And although the first production in St. Petersburg was not successful, all subsequent ones were very warmly received by the public.

In Gogol's diaries, a mention was found that the idea of ​​"The Government Inspector" was given to him by Pushkin, who was one of the first listeners of the play and accepted it with great enthusiasm.

Genius work. Deep in essence and complete in artistic design. One of the most significant works of the author, which, according to the notes of Gogol himself, was originally conceived as a three-volume work. The first volume was published in 1842. The second was never published. According to the generally accepted version, based on the testimony of the writer's servant, "being in a state of physical weakness and mental disorder," Nikolai Vasilievich burned the already finished manuscript of the second volume. After Gogol's death, handwritten first 5 chapters were found in his drafts. Today they are kept in the personal collection of Timur Abdullayev, an American businessman of Russian origin. The only thing known about the third volume is that it was conceived as a description of the heroes of the poem who had reformed after the "purgatory".

The plot of the work was also suggested by Pushkin. As a result, a literary masterpiece was born, telling about the adventures of the protagonist, the collegiate adviser Chichikov, who in the city of N bought up “dead souls”, that is, dead serfs, from the landowners. Why did he need it? In the future, he planned to mortgage them in a bank and use the loan received to buy some kind of estate for arranging his future. Events developed in such a way that the scam failed, and Chichikov ended up in the gendarmerie, from where he was rescued with difficulty by the millionaire Murazov. This is where the first volume ends.

The most colorful characters:

• "Sweet to the point of cloying" landowner Manilov, a man of no use to society, an empty dreamer;
• Korobochka is a landowner known for all her greed and pettiness;
• Sobakevich, whose all efforts are aimed only at arranging life and strengthening material well-being;
• Plyushkin is the most caricatured character. Extremely stingy, regrets throwing away even the sole that has come off the boot. Incredibly suspicious, he refused not only from society, but even from his own children, believing that everyone wants to rob him and let him go around the world.

These and many other heroes reflect the world of inverted values, lost ideals. Their souls are empty, dead... Such a view allows one to interpret the title "Dead Souls" allegorically.

The poem has withstood many theatrical productions, film adaptations. Has been translated into different languages.

This story is a very serious work. It highlights the heroism of the Ukrainian people in the fight against the Turks and Tatars. It is large-scale in content and events covered by it, the images of its heroes are epic, the epic heroes served as the basis for their creation.

The main scenes of the story are the battles of the Zaporozhye Cossacks with foreign invaders. They are painted close-up, attention is paid to details. The course of the battle, the actions of individual soldiers, their appearance are described in detail, with bright strokes.

Every fictional character in the story is hyperbolic. The images reflect not individual historical figures, but entire social strata of that time.

To write "Taras Bulba" Nikolai Vasilyevich studied many historical sources, chronicles, epics, folk songs and legends.

Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka

This two-volume edition was published in 1832. Each volume contains 4 stories, the action of which covers the 17th-19th centuries. Gogol very thinly rings the past and the present, weaves a true story and a fairy tale, giving his work a historical and spiritual unity.

"Evenings ..." received very high marks from literary critics - the author's contemporaries, as well as such masters as Pushkin, Baratynsky. The collection fascinates the reader not only with fabulous plots, but also with high poetic style.

In fact, "Evenings ..." is a fantasy, masterfully crafted folklore. On the pages of the work, witches, sorcerers, mermaids, goblins, devils and other evil spirits settled next to people.

Final chord

Gogol is a writer with a capital letter. It is difficult to single out the most famous work of this author. It is difficult to convey in words the depth, poetry and richness of his works. Only by directly reading each work, one can not only understand, but feel Gogol's lively, rich and original talent. The reader will definitely enjoy reading his writings.

Despite the fact that the writer's creative life was short-lived, and some periods of his life are completely shrouded in mystery, everyone knows the name of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. Having quickly become famous, the young author surprised his contemporaries with his talent. It surprises the current reader as well.

Those fifteen years that the writer devoted to writing showed the world a genius of the highest standard. A distinctive feature is the versatility and creative evolution. Poetics, associative perception, metaphor, grotesque, intonational diversity, alternation of the comical with pathos. Novels, plays, even poetry.

Housewarming (1826)

The whole life of the writer was full of struggle and inner experiences. Perhaps, while still studying in Nizhyn, the young man felt that he would have many questions about the meaning of life.

There, as a high school student, Kolya wrote a verse for the school handwritten magazine, the name of which is considered to be "Housewarming". But it is known for sure that in a final design with the author's autograph it was called "Bad Weather".

The young poet, already at the age of seventeen, had doubts about the correctness of the title of his poem. These doubts about a correctly chosen style, a correctly inserted replica, and even a word, the author will carry through all his work, mercilessly cracking down on texts that, in his opinion, failed.

The young man seemed to prophesy to himself:

Is it light, is it dark - it's all the same,
When there is bad weather in this heart!

In addition to the poem "Housewarming", Gogol wrote four more poems and the poem "Hanz Kühelgarten".

Ganz Küchelgarten (1827-1829)

The first publication did not live up to Nikolai's expectations - it was a cruel disappointment. The hopes placed on this story were not justified. The romantic idyll in pictures, written back in the Nizhyn gymnasium in 1827, received negative reviews, and forced the author to reconsider his creative possibilities.

At this time, Gogol was hiding behind the pseudonym A. Alov. The writer bought up all unsold copies and destroyed them. Now Nikolai decided to write about what he knows well - about beautiful Ukraine.

Evenings on a farm near Dikanka (1829-1832)

The book aroused the keen interest of readers. Historical tour of Little Russia, depicting pictures of Ukrainian life, shining with cheerfulness and subtle humor, made a great impression.

It would be perfectly logical if the narrator used the Ukrainian language for his creations. But in Russian, Gogol seemed to erase the line between Little Russia and Great Russia. Ukrainian folklore motifs, where the main language is Russian, generously strewn with Ukrainian words, made the entire collection of "Evenings" completely exquisite, absolutely unlike anything that was at that time.

The young writer did not start his work from scratch. Even in Nizhyn, he kept a notebook, which he himself called "All sorts of things." It was a four hundred and ninety-sheet notebook in which the schoolboy wrote down everything that seemed interesting to him: historical and geographical references, statements by famous writers, proverbs and sayings, sayings, songs, customs, his own thoughts and writings.

The young man did not stop there. He writes letters to his mother and sisters, and asks them to send him various information on the topic: "the life of the Little Russian people." He wants to know everything. Thus began the great work on the book.

"Evenings" had a subtitle: "Tales published by the beekeeper Rudy Pank." This is a fictional character. He needed to give credibility to the stories. The author seems to go into the shadows, passing forward the image of a simple, good-natured, cheerful beekeeper, allowing him to laugh and joke about his fellow villagers. So, through the stories of a simple peasant, the flavor of Ukrainian life is transmitted. This character seems to wink at the reader, slyly reserving the right to fiction, but presenting it as pure truth. And all this with a special elevated intonation.

The difference between fiction and the stories of the writer is that magical characters act in fairy tales, while Gogol has religious ones. Here everything is saturated with faith in God and in the power of the devil.

The action of all the stories included in the collection is connected with one of the temporal chronological layers: antiquity, the recent legendary times of Catherine the Great and the present.

The first readers of "Evenings" were printing workers, who, seeing Gogol who came to them, began to chuckle and assured that his "tricks" were very funny. "So! thought the writer. “Cherny liked me.”

First book

And here is the debut. The first book is out. These are: “Sorochinsky Fair”, “Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala”, “Drowned Woman”, “Missing Letter”.

And it became clear to everyone around - this is Talent! All famous critics unanimously expressed their delight. The writer makes acquaintances in literary circles. Published by Baron Anton Antonovich Delvig, learns the opinion of Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky, already a recognized critic at that time. Having become friends with Zhukovsky, Nikolai falls into the literary and aristocratic circle.

A year has passed and the second part of the collection came out. The simplicity, diversity, diversity of the nationality splashed out with stories: "The Night Before Christmas", "Terrible Revenge", "Ivan Fedorovich Shponka and his Aunt", "The Enchanted Place".

The festive, colorful side has another - night, dark, sinful, otherworldly. Truth side by side with lies, irony with seriousness. There was a place for love stories and unsolved mysteries.

Even at the dawn of cinema, Gogol's works began to attract directors. At the beginning of the 20th century, the film adaptation of The Night Before Christmas, The Terrible Revenge, Viy, were received by the public with a bang, despite the fact that the poetics and imagery of the plot that the narrator so diligently invested disappeared on the screen in silent films. in every phrase.

Films based on Gogol's "Evenings" were released later, and "Viy", in fact, is the first Soviet horror film.

Arabesque (1835)

This was the next collection, partly compiled from articles published in the 30-34 years of the XIX century, and partly from works published for the first time.

The stories and literary texts included in this collection are little known to the general reader. Here Gogol talked about Russian literature, looked for its place in history, and outlined tasks for it. He spoke about art, about Pushkin, as about the greatness of the people's poet, about folk art.

Mirgorod (1835)

This period was the peak of Gogol's fame, and all his works included in the Mirgorod collection only confirmed the author's genius.

For editorial purposes, the collection was divided into two books, two stories each.

Taras Bulba

After the release of Taras Bulba, Belinsky immediately declared that this was a "poem of great passions."

Indeed: war, murder, revenge, betrayal. In this story, there was a place for love, but such a strong one, for which the hero is ready to give everything: comrades, father, Motherland, life.

The narrator created such a plot that it is impossible to unequivocally assess the actions of the main characters. Taras Bulba, so thirsty for war, eventually loses two sons and dies himself. The betrayal of Andriy, who fell in love with the beautiful Polish woman so much and was ready to do anything for the sake of this fatal passion.

old world landowners

This work was misunderstood by many. Few people saw a love story in a story about an old married couple. The kind of love that is not expressed by stormy confessions, sworn assurances or betrayals with a tragic end.

The simple life of old landowners who cannot live without each other, because they are one whole in this life - that's what the narrator tried to convey to the reader.

But the public, having understood the story in its own way, nevertheless expressed its approval.

Contemporaries of Nikolai Vasilyevich were surprised to get acquainted with the Old Slavonic pagan character. There is no such character in Ukrainian folk tales; Gogol “brought” him from the historical depths. And the character took root, frightening the reader with his dangerous look.

The story has a huge semantic load. All the main action takes place in the church, where there is a struggle between good and evil, faith and unbelief.

The ending is sad. The evil spirits won, the main character died. Here's something to think about. Man did not have enough faith to be saved.

The story of how Ivan Ivanovich quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich

This is the closing work of the Mirgorod collection, in which all the passions are ironic.

Human nature in the person of two landlords, who, having nothing to do, started a long-term lawsuit, is shown from all sides, exposing their worst features. The elite secular society is shown in the most unattractive pictures: stupidity, stupidity, stupidity.

And the ending: "It's boring in this world, gentlemen!" - food for deep philosophical reasoning.

Notes of a Madman (1835)

The first title of the story is "Scraps from a Madman's Notes".

This story about madness, sustained in Gogol's style, had no analogues. Here Nikolai Vasilyevich added a good portion of pity to his wit and originality.

The hero did not suffer in vain. In this strange grotesque, many saw both the poetry of the word and the philosophy of thought.

Nevsky Prospekt (1835)

The writer lived in St. Petersburg for many years and he simply could not describe the place that was central in the lives of many citizens.

What just does not happen on Nevsky Prospekt. And the narrator, as if making Nevsky Prospekt the main character, shows his life, using the example of two characters, completely randomly snatched from the crowd.

Examiner (1835)

An immortal play that brought Nikolai Vasilievich great fame. He created the brightest authentic images of provincial bureaucracy, embezzlement, bribery and stupidity.

It is believed that the idea of ​​this play was born in Pushkin's head, but the elaboration of the plot and the creation of the characters' characters are all Gogol's merit. Behind the farce and naturalism lies a philosophical subtext, because the impostor is punished by the officials of the county town.

It was not immediately possible to achieve the production of the play. The emperor himself had to convince that the play was not dangerous, that it was just a mockery of bad provincial officials.

Comedy Business Man's Morning (1836)

Initially, the work was conceived as a great work, which was to be called "Vladimir of the third degree", and "Morning" is only part of a big idea.

But for various reasons, including due to censorship, the great work was not destined to take place. There is too much "salt, anger, laughter" in the comedy. Even the initial name "Morning of an official" was replaced by the censor with "Morning of a business man."

The remaining manuscripts of the large work that did not take place were revised and used by Gogol in other works.

Litigation (1836)

Unfinished comedy - part of the play "Vladimir of the third degree". Despite the fact that "Vladimir" fell apart and did not take place, and "Litigation" remained unfinished, individual scenes received the right to life and were staged in the theater during the author's lifetime.

Extract (1839-1840)

The first title, Scenes from Social Life, is a dramatic passage. He was not destined to see the light - so decided the censorship.

Nikolai Vasilievich included this passage in Dramatic Fragments and Separate Scenes in his edition in 1842.

Lackey (1839-1840)

Another dramatic excerpt from the failed play "Vladimir of the Third Degree", self-published in the "Works of Nikolai Gogol" in 1842.

Nose (1841-1842)

The absurd satirical work was not understood. The Moscow Observer magazine refused to publish it, accusing the writer of stupidity and vulgarity. But Pushkin found in it a lot of unexpected, funny and original, posting it in his Sovremennik magazine.

True, it was not without censorship, which cut out entire pieces of the text. But the image of an empty ambitious person striving for statuary and admiration for higher ranks was a success.

Dead Souls (1835-1841)

This is the most fundamental creation, with a difficult fate. The conceived three-volume book could not see the light, in the version in which Nikolai Vasilyevich wanted - hell, purgatory, paradise (many philologists think so).

In 1842, the first volume was published, strictly edited by the censors. But the semantic load remained. The reader could see everything: temptation, evil, dynamic beginning. And to recognize the devil in the one who buys souls - in Chichikovo. And all the landowners are a whole gallery of various types, each of which personifies some property of the human character.

The book has been well-received. It was translated into other languages ​​already in 1844, and very soon it could be read in German, Czech, English, Polish. During the life of the author, the book was translated into ten languages.

The ideas of the third volume remained ideas. For this volume, the writer collected materials, but did not have time to use them.

Theatrical tour after the presentation of the new comedy (1836-1841)

The writer spent his whole life looking for genuine feelings, analyzed spiritual qualities, put a certain philosophy into his creations.

In essence, The Theater Journey is a play about a play. And the conclusion suggests itself. The number of jesters that society needs is disproportionate to all kinds of money-grubbing and the desire for profit. “There are many opinions, but no one understood the main thing,” the author complains.

Overcoat (1839-1841)

It is believed that this story was born from an anecdote. Mixing compassion with irritation, Akaky Akakievich suddenly came out. And a sad funny story about a small, insignificant person suddenly turned out to be interesting.

And having laughed at Gogol's character, it's time to think about whether the biblical meaning is embedded in this story. After all, the soul wants to love one beautiful thing, and people are not so perfect. But Christ calls everyone to be kind and meek. In Greek, "doing no evil" - Akaki. So we get Akaky Akakievich, the image is soft and vulnerable.

"Overcoat" was understood in different ways, but fell in love. She found her place in the cinema. The film "The Overcoat", released in 1926, and enthusiastically accepted by the public, was banned by censorship in 1949. But on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the writer's birth, a new film "The Overcoat" directed by Alexei Batalov was shot.

Portrait (1842)

In the first part, the writer touches on the attitude of others towards art, scolding the monotony and short-sightedness. The author condemns the deceit on the canvases, which the public likes so much, calling to serve real art.

In the second part, Gogol dug even deeper. Explaining that the purpose of art is the service of God. Without insight, the artist simply makes soulless copies, and in this case the triumph of evil over good is inevitable.

The story has been criticized for being too instructive.

Play Marriage (1842)

The play with the full title "Marriage, or an Absolutely Incredible Event in Two Acts" was written back in 1835, and had the name "Grooms".

But Nikolai Vasilyevich made adjustments for another eight years, and when, finally, the performance was staged, many did not understand him. Even the actors themselves did not understand what they were playing.

But time put everything in its place. The idea that marriage is a union of two souls, and not the search for an illusory ideal, for many years makes the audience go to this performance, and the directors put it on different stages.

Comedy Players (1842)

In tsarist Russia, the topic of gambling was in the air. It has been touched upon by many writers. Nikolai Vasilievich expressed his vision on this matter.

The writer twisted the plot so much, flavoring everything with chic turns, including slang expressions of gamblers, that the comedy turned into a real intricate matrix, where all the characters pretend to be someone else.

The comedy was an immediate success. It is relevant even today.

Rome (1842)

This is not an independent work, but an excerpt from the unfinished novel "Annunziata". This passage quite clearly characterizes the author's evolution in creativity, but he did not receive a worthy assessment.

Selected passages from correspondence with friends (1845)

A spiritual crisis pushes the writer to religious and philosophical topics. The fruit of this work was the publication of the collection "Selected passages from correspondence with friends."

This work, written in an edifying preaching style, caused a storm in critical circles. In all literary circles there were disputes and excerpts from this book were read.

Passions were serious. Vissarion Grigoryevich Belinsky wrote a critical review in the form of an open letter. But the letter was banned from printing, and it began to be distributed in manuscript form. It was for the distribution of this letter that Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was sentenced to death. True, the “death penalty by shooting” did not happen, the sentence was commuted to punishment in the form of hard labor.

Gogol, on the other hand, explained the attacks against the book as his mistake, believing that the chosen edifying tone ruined everything. Yes, and those places that censorship did not initially miss, finally ruined the material presented.

All the works of Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol are pages of the amazing beauty of the Russian word, when reading you rejoice and are proud that you can speak and think in the same language.