Pushkin (1799-1837) was the main representative of Russian romantic literature in the 19th century and the founder of realist literature. He was good at all genres, founded Russian national literature and literary language, and provided a model for Russian literature in various literary fields such as poetry, novels, dramas and even fairy tales. Pushkin was also hailed by Gorky as "the beginning of all beginnings."
Pushkin was born in a noble family in Moscow on June 6, 1799, and grew up in a strong literary atmosphere. In his childhood, he was trained by a French tutor and received an aristocratic education. At the age of 8, he was able to write poems in French. His family had a rich collection of books and friends with literary celebrities. His nanny, who was a serf, often told him Russian folk stories and legends, which enabled him to appreciate the rich Russian language from an early age and develop a strong interest in folk creations.
In 1811, Pushkin entered the Tsarskoe Selo School, a school for aristocratic children, and began his literary career at the age of 12. In 1815, he recited his own "Memories of Tsarskoe Selo" in the middle school examination, showing his outstanding talent in poetry writing. In particular, the beauty and exquisiteness of his verses were widely appreciated. In his early poems, he followed the romantic poets Bachushkov and Zhukovsky, and studied the style of the French poet Andre Chenier in the 17th and 18th centuries. While studying at Tsarskoe Selo Middle School, he also received the influence of French Enlightenment ideas and made friends with some Praetorian Guard officers who later became Decembrists. His ideas of opposing the tsarist dictatorship and pursuing freedom were initially formed.
After graduating, Pushkin went to work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Petersburg. During this period, he was deeply infected by the Decembrists and their ideas of democracy and freedom, and participated in secret cooperation with the Decembrists. He organized the "Green Lantern Society", a literary group with connections, and wrote many poems that opposed serfdom and praised freedom, such as "Ode to Freedom" (1817); "To Chadayev" (1818); "Village", (1819). In 1820, Pushkin created the long fairy tale narrative poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila". The story is based on Russian folklore, describing the knight Ruslan overcoming difficulties and obstacles, defeating the enemy, and finally finding his bride Lyudmila. Pushkin used vivid folk language in his poems, which were different from classical poetry in content and form, and challenged the traditional aristocratic literature.
These works of Pushkin aroused the uneasiness of the Tsarist government. In 1820, he was assigned to serve in southern Russia. This was actually a disguised exile. During this period, he had more frequent contacts with the Decembrists and participated in some secret meetings of the Decembrists. His pursuit of freedom became clearer and stronger. Pushkin wrote famous poems such as "The Dagger" (1821), "The Prisoner" (1822), and "To the Sea" (1824). He also wrote a set of "Southern Poems", including "Captives of the Caucasus" (1822), "The Robbers" "Brothers" (1822), "The Fountain of Tears in Bahcesarayi" (1824), and "Gzigan" (1824) are four romantic narrative poems. He also wrote many beautiful lyric poems: "The Sun Sinks" (1820), "Prisoners" and "Dagger" (1821), etc., which express the poet's strong longing for freedom. From this period onwards, Pushkin fully demonstrated his unique style.
In 1824--1825, Pushkin was returned by the tsarist authorities to the village of Mikhailovsk, his parents' territory in Pskov Province, where he spent two years in confinement. He composed nearly a hundred poems. He collected folk songs and stories, and studied Russian history. His thoughts became more mature, and his realist tendency in creation became more and more obvious. In 1825, he completed the creation of "Boris Godunov", the first realist tragedy in the history of Russian literature.
In 1826, Tsar Nicholas I came to the throne. In order to win over people's hearts, he recalled Pushkin to Moscow, but he was still under the secret surveillance of the tsarist police. Pushkin did not change his attitude towards the Decembrists. He once had illusions about the new tsar and hoped that Nicholas I could pardon the Decembrists who were exiled in Siberia. However, the illusion was quickly shattered and he wrote political lyrics. "To the Prisoners of Siberia" expresses his unswerving loyalty to the ideals of the Decembrist Party.
In the autumn of 1830, Pushkin spent three months in his father's territory. This was a fruitful period of his creative life, and is known as the "Autumn of Bolkino" in literary history. He completed the poetic novel "Eugene Onegin" which he started writing in 1823, creating the first image of "superfluous man" in Russian literature, which became his most important work. He also wrote "Belkin's Novels" and four verse novels "The Stingy Knight", "Mozart and Salieri", "The Plague Banquet", "The Stone Guest", and nearly 30 lyric poems. "The Station Master" in "Belkin's Novels" is a model of Russian short stories, starting the tradition of shaping "little people", and his realist creation is superb.
In 1831, Pushkin moved to Petersburg and still served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He continued to create many works, mainly including the narrative poem "The Bronze Horseman" (1833), the fairy tale poem "The Story of the Fisherman and the Goldfish" (1833), the short story "The Queen of Spades" (1834), etc. He also wrote two novels about peasant issues, "Dubrovsky" (1832-1833) and "The Captain's Daughter" (1836).
In 1836, Pushkin founded the literary magazine "Modern Man". The publication was later edited by Belinsky, Nekrasov, Chernyshevsky, Dubrovryubov, etc., and ran until the 1860s. It not only cultivated a large number of outstanding writers, but also became a symbol of Russian progress. People's mouthpiece.
Pushkin's creations and activities caused a headache for the Tsarist government. They used conspiracies to instigate French military police captain Dantes to blaspheme Pushkin's wife Natalia Nikolayevna Goncharo The result was the duel between Pushkin and Dantes in 1837. Pushkin was seriously injured in the duel and died on February 8, 1837. He was only 37 years old. His early death made Russian progressive literati once lamented: "The sun of Russian poetry has set."
The lofty ideological nature and perfect artistry of Pushkin's works gave him great influence worldwide. His works have been translated into all major languages ??around the world. Pushkin expressed his love for freedom and life in his works, his firm belief that light will defeat darkness and reason will defeat prejudice, his lofty sense of mission to "light up people's hearts with words" and The great ambition has deeply moved generations of people. This masterpiece of genius has inspired the creative passion and inspiration of so many Russian musicians. Operas based on Pushkin's poems "Evgeny Onegin", "Boris Godunov", "The Queen of Spades", "Ruslan and Lyudmila", "Gypsy", etc., etc. One is not a great musical work; Pushkin's lyric poems were set to music and became popular art songs; some works were also adapted into ballets and became immortal classics on the stage.
In order to commemorate Pushkin, people renamed Tsarskoye Selo where he was born Pushkin (it was here that Catherine the Great died in 1796). Now it has become a famous tourist attraction, and the famous village of Bolkino is also nearby.