Teacher Kokareva Svetlana Yurievna
Integrated lesson of literature and MHC in 9th grade
Topic: A.S. Pushkin “Mozart and Salieri”. The problem of "genius and villainy"
Goals:
Raising a spiritually developed personality, the formation of a humanistic worldview, love and respect for literature and the values of domestic and world culture;
Development of emotional perception of a literary text, figurative and analytical thinking, creative imagination, reading culture and understanding of the author’s position;
Identification of specific historical and universal human content in works; competent use of the Russian literary language when creating your own oral and written statements.
Tasks:
1. Educational:
Introduce the tragedy of A.S. Pushkin "Mozart and Salieri".
Improve the skills of analyzing a dramatic work and comparative characteristics of the characters, expressive reading of a fragment of the work
Introduce students to classical music
2. Educational:
To cultivate a moral attitude towards a person and his talent, towards works of art.
3. Developmental:
Realize the mental, spiritual, creative potential of students
Develop the ability to clearly and concisely express your thoughts, participate in dialogue on the works you read
During the classes:
- The music of Mozart is playing. (Fantasy “D minor” in modern performance) (Slide 2)
- Communicate the topic and objectives of the lesson. (Slide 3)
- Teacher's word. (Slide 4)
The unexpected death of a genius in the prime of life ends the line of his life with an endless ellipsis... The mystery associated with the death of the great composer will always excite humanity, causing many interpretations. They are still trying to unravel the mystery surrounding Mozart's death... but whatever the scientific research data, there is a work created by the genius of Pushkin, who, like no one else, could understand another genius - Mozart.
- Student reports. (About Mozart, about Salieri) (Slide 5, 6)
- Teacher's word. (Slide 7)
Perhaps none of Pushkin’s “Little Tragedies” causes as much controversy and different judgments as “Mozart and Salieri.” “Little Tragedies” is not Pushkin’s title. It arose during publication and was based on a phrase from Pushkin’s letter, where the phrase “small tragedies” is used in the literal sense. Author's options: “Dramatic essays”, “Experience in dramatic studies”, etc. “Little Tragedies” were written during the “Boldino Autumn” of 1830, the cycle included: “The Miserly Knight”, “Mozart and Salieri”, “The Stone Guest” and “A Feast during the Plague”. The completion date for “Mozart and Salieri” is October 26. The idea for the tragedy appeared much earlier, back in Mikhailovskoye. “Mozart and Salieri” is the only play staged during Pushkin’s lifetime: it was first shown on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater on January 27, 1832.
The issue of Mozart's poisoning has not yet been resolved. Perhaps in history it will remain unresolved, since reliable facts that could sway researchers in favor of one hypothesis, as far as is currently known, do not exist. Disputes between experts in the biographies of Mozart, Salieri and other composers close to history are conducted mainly by the method of indirect confirmation of possible, but not proven, connections between famous events and people.
Why does Pushkin use non-fictional persons for his tragedy? This is due to the poet’s constant desire for “maximum laconicism.” Pushkin needed, with the help of well-known names, to awaken in readers many associations that, when using fictional characters, would have to be prepared with additional persons or comments.
Now the names of Mozart and Salieri have become a metaphor. Two types of artist exist in tragedy. They are contrasting in their attitude to art. For Salieri, art is a temple that you cannot simply enter and live in; every minute of creativity is divine, great and solemn. He is an artist who feels and behaves like a genius. Mozart, on the contrary, is a genius who does not strive to look like a genius, but at the same time it is he who lives in art, this is his element in which he feels organically, one might say, he is on friendly terms with art, unlike Salieri.
6. Expressive reading of a passage to pre-prepared students
Scene 1. Room.
Salieri
Everyone says: there is no truth on earth.
But there is no truth - and beyond. For me
So it's clear, like a simple scale.
I was born with a love of art;
When I was a child, when it was high
The organ sounded in our ancient church,
I listened and listened - tears
Involuntary and sweet flowed.
I rejected idle amusements early;
Sciences alien to music were
Forgive me; stubborn and arrogant
I renounced them and surrendered
One music. The first step is difficult
And the first way is boring. Overcame
I am early adversity. Craft
I set it at the foot of art;
I became a craftsman: fingers
Gave obedient, dry fluency
And loyalty to the ear. Killing the sounds
I tore apart the music like a corpse. Believed
I algebra harmony. Then
Already dared, experienced in science,
Indulge in the bliss of a creative dream.
I began to create; but in silence, but in secret,
Not daring to think about glory yet.
Strong, tense constancy
I'm finally in limitless art
Reached a high level. Glory
She smiled at me; I'm in people's hearts
I found harmonies with my creations.
I was happy: I enjoyed peacefully
With your work, success, glory; Also
Through the works and successes of friends,
My comrades in wondrous art.
(music by Salieri)
7. The teacher's word.
What determines a person's gift? What is this? Condition of hard work? Salieri is a hard worker, he is truly a skilled man. And there are artists who received their gift without, as Salieri seems, putting in hard work. The question is philosophical. It is geniuses who determine the movement forward. Envy of genius will always exist, and, most likely, Pushkin relied on his own experience in depicting it, especially since a parallel can be drawn between him and Mozart. They belong to the same type of artist, and Salieri seems to be opposed to both of them.
And suddenly Salieri meets a man who, at first glance, writes easily and naturally. And then Salieri’s world collapses and a riot follows. Salieri fights the injustice on which the universe is built. Not love of art, not selflessness, not understanding, but a gift that comes from unknown where and for unknown reasons. This is the deepest injustice on which the world is based.
The conflict between two types of artists in Salieri turns into envy, envy of an insignificant person in his opinion, who mistakenly received the greatest talent. In Salieri's view, such a gift should only go to a person like him. The strength of the work lies in the fact that with just a few strokes portraits of great artists are sketched, the story of great envy is told.
(watching an episode from the film “Mozart and Salieri.” “Envy”)
Who can say that Salieri was proud?
Someday a despicable envier,
A snake, trampled by people, alive
Sand and dust gnawing helplessly?
Nobody!.. And now - I’ll say it myself - I’m now
Envious. I envy; deep,
I'm painfully jealous. - Oh heaven!
Where is rightness, when a sacred gift,
When immortal genius is not a reward
Burning love, selflessness,
Works, zeal, prayers sent -
And it illuminates the head of a madman,
Idle revelers?.. Oh Mozart, Mozart!
8. Analysis of the episode “The Blind Violinist”. (print)
(Slide 8)
Mozart does not have the pathos of Salieri; he can easily laugh at a joke - the absurd playing of an old violinist.
7. Conversation with students
Why was Pushkin interested in the legend of Mozart's poisoning? (The legend of Mozart’s poisoning interested Pushkin because it made it possible to reveal the psychological reasons for the birth of envy in a person’s soul, leading him to an irreconcilable conflict and to crime.)
What theme is revealed in the tragedy “Mozart and Salieri”? (In “Mozart and Salieri” the destructive power of envy was revealed, envy as an all-consuming passion for a person’s soul, leading him to villainy).
At first, the “little tragedy” was called “Envy”. Why do you think Pushkin changed the title? (This would apply to one character. The new name is evidence of the depth and intensity of the conflict)
How did the poet build the scene? (He chose the antithesis as a compositional basis)
What is its meaning? After all, Mozart and Salieri are friends. They were connected by “a holy love for music.” Both are talented and devoted to music. But Salieri will come to the murder of Mozart. How will this happen?
Together with Salieri we take a journey into the past. How does Salieri's confession make you feel? Is he talented? (Yes, he is talented, especially in selfless work, in mastering the secrets of music. But it’s a pity for him: he perceived music as the sum of technical techniques that he masters brilliantly. He is honest with himself: he understands that his talent is akin to a craft, for it is the result of an ascetic image life and titanic work, so beauty and harmony gradually move away from him, inspiration leaves him).
Envy and pride settled in Salieri's soul. This burden could be carried until Mozart appeared - amazingly talented, harmonious, - a “genius”, an “idle reveler” - and Salieri’s pride was infringed.
When do we talk about human genius? What is talent? What is a genius? (Talent is a developed natural gift, genius is the highest degree of talent).
In this case, in history and in life we will find many examples of brilliant villains. So, something must distinguish a true genius? (Genius is the greatness of the soul, its moral beginning, “the highest development of spiritual powers,” almost holiness!)
Mozart's genius lies in the greatness of his soul... How is it manifested in Mozart? (For Pushkin, he is, first of all, a person: kind, bright, generous, loving)
Does Salieri see this? How does he look at his friend? (He sees only the “idle reveler” and is indignant at this quality, considering it frivolity.)
What kind of state is this? (Lightness of inspiration. This is the Spark of God, lit by the Creator. This is the light of genius, gifted to people)
Many also blamed Pushkin for the frivolity of an “idle reveler” during his lifetime and now. -Why was the scene with the blind violinist introduced? What is its meaning?
(Mozart is known and loved. A blind violinist knows his works by ear. This is not like the “dumb glory” of Salieri. Moreover, Mozart “sketched” a new piece and is working on the Requiem. This is the crown of his work)
How did Salieri evaluate Mozart's new work?
And what about Mozart himself?
(Self-irony is evidence of cheerfulness, fortitude)
However, Mozart confesses to Salieri that “the Requiem worries him”? How did you understand these words?
(He lives with someone else’s grief, takes it into himself. Moreover, this is a genuine feeling of anxiety)
How is it conveyed?
(Dream - “coffin vision”, black man)
How are the dream - Requiem - the black man connected? Pushkin laid the foundation for this expressive symbolic image of a hostile world and sent the “black man” on a long journey through Russian literature. You will meet him in Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Yesenin
Playing the Requiem, Mozart seems to be singing his own funeral service. Why is he so blind?
(This is his tragedy. Like a true genius, he is trusting, childlike, kind, generous. Moreover, he is deeply convinced that “genius and villainy are two incompatible things”). This is his moral credo.
Now reveal the meaning of the antithesis by paying attention to the stylistic design of this key phrase. Did you see the difference? (Dash!)
Why is it missing from Salieri’s phrase?
(There are no moral barriers. He justifies his actions and allows himself to commit a crime, asserting “I am chosen.” But by whom? Passion - envy. A craftsman from art easily became a craftsman - a murderer, convincing himself of the uselessness of Mozart)
So, according to Pushkin, what makes art art, what elevates it?
(“The beautiful must be majestic”) is the moral principle of talent and genius, and “all talent is inexplicable.”)
For Pushkin himself, this thought was the most important moral commandment of creativity.
8. What caused Salieri’s tears at the end of the tragedy? (Salieri, having poisoned Mozart, listens to him play and cries. But it is not the harmony of music, as Mozart thinks, that touches the murderer: now there will be no friend and he will feel like a genius. The crime has been accomplished, but in Salieri’s soul has no peace: Pushkin leads Salieri to the idea that, having killed Mozart, he will never become a genius, because he is a villain.)
9. “Requiem” sounds
10. The teacher's word. The sublimity of Mozart is opposed by the prudence of Salieri. Here one of the most important confrontations in life is revealed: “genius and villainy are two incompatible things.” It is these words of Mozart that Salieri recalls, having fulfilled his “heavy duty.” The death of an outstanding personality, a true genius, is an attack on the happiness of all mankind. So a small tragedy (the story of two people) turns into a universal tragedy in Pushkin, which includes the fate of A.S. Pushkin himself
The fate of the killer is also tragic. His spiritual end comes simultaneously with Mozart’s physical death. The “small tragedy” contains two big ones. And yet, Mozart’s music remains, and with it Mozart himself.
11. Reflection.
What did you understand in today’s lesson, what were you surprised about, what did you think about? (Mozart's music plays)
12. Homework: write a miniature essay on the topic: “What I feel when listening to the music of A. Mozart.”
Applications.
Appendix 1. Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791), Austrian composer.
Born on January 27, 1756 in Salzburg. The boy's first music teacher was his father, Leopold Mozart. From early childhood, Wolfgang Amadeus was a “miracle child”: already at the age of four he tried to write a harpsichord concerto, and from the age of six he brilliantly performed in concerts throughout Europe. Mozart had an extraordinary musical memory: he only needed to hear any piece of music once in order to write it down absolutely accurately.
Fame came to Mozart very early. In 1765, his first symphonies were published and performed in concerts. In total, the composer wrote 49 symphonies. In 1769 he received a position as accompanist at the court of the archbishop in Salzburg. Already in 1770, Mozart became a member of the Philharmonic Academy in Bologna (Italy), and Pope Clement XIV elevated him to the Knights of the Golden Spur. That same year, Mozart's first opera, Mithridates, Rex Pontus, was staged in Milan. In 1772, the second opera, “Lucius Sulla,” was staged there, and in 1775, the opera “The Imaginary Gardener” was staged in Munich. In 1777, the archbishop allowed the composer to go on a long trip to France and Germany, where Mozart gave concerts with constant success.
In 1779 he received the position of organist under the Archbishop of Salzburg, but in 1781 he refused it and moved to Vienna. Here Mozart completed the operas Idomeneo (1781) and The Abduction from the Seraglio (1782). In 1786-1787 two, perhaps, the composer's most famous operas were written - “The Marriage of Figaro”, staged in Vienna, and “Don Giovanni”, which was first staged in Prague.
In 1790, the opera “This is what everyone does” was staged again in Vienna. And in 1791, two operas were written at once - “The Mercy of Titus” and “The Magic Flute”. Mozart's last work was the famous "Requiem", which the composer did not have time to complete.
The work was completed by F. K. Süssmayer, a student of Mozart and A. Salieri. Mozart’s creative legacy, despite his short life, is enormous: according to the thematic catalog of L. von Köchel (an admirer of Mozart’s work and compiler of the most complete and generally accepted index of his works), the composer created 626 works, including 55 concertos, 22 keyboard sonatas, 32 string sonatas quartet.
Appendix 2. Antonio Salieri (1750-1825), Italian composer, conductor and teacher.
Born on August 18, 1750 in Legnano. In 1772, the opera “Venice Fair” brought Salieri enormous success. In 1774, the composer took the position of director of the opera house and court chapel in Vienna.
In 1778, another opera by Salieri, “The School of the Jealous,” was staged, which was also a success. In the same year, Salieri became a student of the great K.V. Gluck, who even commissioned him to write in his place the opera “The Danaids” (1784) for the Paris Academy.
In total, Salieri created over 40 operas, including “Tarar” with a libretto by P. Beaumarchais, staged in Paris in 1787. Salieri’s fame as a composer grew and spread throughout Europe. Louis XVIII awarded him the Legion of Honor. In addition to operas, he wrote five masses, a requiem, a symphony, an organ concerto and two piano concertos, as well as oratorios, cantatas and motets.
In addition, Salieri gained fame as a brilliant teacher. He trained more than 60 students, including L. van Beethoven, F. Schubert, F. Liszt. In 1817, the musician became the first director of the Vienna Conservatory. Died May 7, 1825 in Vienna.
Unfortunately, Salieri’s contribution was undeservedly forgotten for a long time due to the legend of his poisoning of W. A. Mozart, used by A. S. Pushkin in “Little Tragedies.” There is no evidence of such a crime.
Appendix 3. Episode “The Old Violinist” from the tragedy “Mozart and Salieri” (print)
Mozart
…
I was coming to you
I had something to show you;
But, passing in front of the tavern, suddenly
I heard a violin... No, my friend, Salieri!
You're nothing funnier
I haven't heard... A blind violinist in a tavern
Played out voi che sapete 1
). Miracle!
I couldn’t stand it, I brought a violinist,
To treat you to his art.
Come in!
A blind old man enters with a violin.
Something from Mozart for us!
The old man plays an aria from Don Juan; Mozart laughs.
Salieri
And can you laugh?
Mozart
Ah, Salieri!
Are you really not laughing yourself?
Salieri
No.
I don't find it funny when the painter is worthless
Raphael's Madonna gets dirty for me,
I don't find it funny when the buffoon is despicable
Alighieri is dishonored by parody.
Let's go, old man.
Mozart
Wait, here you go
Drink to my health.
The old man leaves.
You, Salieri,
Not in the mood today. I will come to you
At another time.
Salieri
What did you bring me?
Mozart
No - yes; trifle. The other night
My insomnia tormented me,
And two or three thoughts came to my mind.
Today I sketched them. I wanted
I should hear your opinion; but now
You have no time for me.
Salieri
Ah, Mozart, Mozart!
When am I not interested in you? Sit down;
I'm listening to.
Mozart (for piano)
Imagine... who?
Well, at least I’m a little younger;
In love - not too much, but slightly -
With a beauty, or with a friend - even with you,
I'm cheerful... Suddenly: a grave vision,
Sudden darkness or something like that...
Well, listen.
(Plays.)
Salieri
You came to me with this
And he could stop at the inn
And listen to the blind violinist! - God!
You, Mozart, are unworthy of yourself.
Mozart
So, is that good?
Salieri
What depth!
What courage and what harmony!
You, Mozart, are a god, and you don’t know it yourself;
I know I am.
_________________________________________
1) oh you, who knows(Italian).
Sources
- Bondi S.M. About Pushkin. Articles and research. M.: “Fiction”, 1978.
- Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia Slide 2
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Fantasia "D minor" in modern performance
Mozart and Pushkin Great composer and great poet. Both started creating early. Short life span (36 and 37 years). They created a huge number of works. Both experienced the envy of their ill-wishers
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791), Austrian composer.
Salieri Antonio (1750-1825), Italian composer, conductor and teacher
Salieri works tirelessly. Glory is earned through hard work. Craftsman. Music is a craft. Mozart writes music easily. This is a gift from God. Music is art.
It is Pushkin’s Mozart who is the exponent of the highest wisdom, that “...genius and villainy are two incompatible things” - a truth that Salieri never understood...
Sources Pushkin A.S. “Mozart and Salieri” // Little tragedies. – Internet publication. Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia ru.wikipedia.org Bondi S.M. About Pushkin. Articles and research. M.: “Fiction”, 1978. Tomashevsky B. Pushkin. M: “Fiction”, 1990. Encyclopedia of literary works. Ed. S.V.Stakhorsky. – M: 1998 – pp. 301-302. http://citaty.su/kratkaya-biografiya-mocarta
The tragedy “Mozart and Salieri” is one of the chamber cycle of dramatic works by A.S. Pushkin, which the author himself called “Little Tragedies”. Written in 1830, they raised philosophical and moral problems that were important for the poet and his close circle: challenging fate, contrasting feelings of love with the sanctimonious morality of society in “The Stone Guest”; the destructive power of money in The Miserly Knight; the human and divine nature of the genius, his responsibility for his deeds and works in “Mozart and Salieri”; reluctance to humble oneself in the face of circumstances, protest against fatalism in life in “A Feast in the Time of Plague.”
"Mozart and Salieri"
The tragedy "Mozart and Salieri", a brief summary of which can be reduced to a short retelling, is a philosophically deeply rich work. The author examines in it the most important questions for every truly talented artist, such as whether a genius can do evil and whether he will remain a genius after that. What should art bring to people? Can a genius in art allow himself to be an ordinary, imperfect person in everyday life, and many others. Therefore, no matter how many times “Mozart and Salieri” is reread in the original, the summary of this dramatic work will always find something for the thoughtful reader to think about.
The tragedy is based on rumors that the composer poisoned the brilliant Mozart out of envy. Of course, there is no direct evidence of this crime. But this is not important to Pushkin. Taking such a controversial detective story, the poet focuses his and our attention on something else: why does Salieri decide to interrupt the life of his brilliant friend? or something else? Is it possible to correlate a genius and a craftsman? From the first reading of “Mozart and Salieri”, the summary of the tragedy, of course, does not give an answer. You need to think about Pushkin!
So, Salieri. We meet him at the very beginning of the work. Already in years, caressed by fame, he recalls his first steps in music. In his youth, feeling talent in himself, he nevertheless does not dare to believe in himself, diligently studies the work of great musicians and imitates them, comprehends “harmony by algebra”, without creating music with inspiration, according to the flight of his soul and imagination, as he did would be a genius, but “taking it apart like a corpse” into its components, counting the notes and their variations in each chord and sound. And only after carefully studying the theory, the mechanisms of creating music, its rules, Salieri himself begins to compose, burning a lot, leaving something behind after picky criticism. Gradually he becomes known and recognized. But the composer “suffered” for his fame: writing for him is hard work. He himself understands that he is not a Master - an apprentice in the Great Art. But he has no envy of those who are more famous and talented, because the hero knows: his contemporaries achieved fame in the musical field also thanks to hard, painstaking work. In this they are equal.
Mozart, an “idle reveler,” is a different matter. He composes brilliant things easily, jokingly and as if laughing at the philosophy of creativity that Salieri nurtured and created for himself for so long. The young genius is alien to Salierian asceticism, the strictest self-discipline and the fear of deviating from the recognized canons in art. Mozart creates as he breathes: naturally, according to the nature of his talent. Perhaps this outrages Salieri most of all.
“Mozart and Salieri”, its brief content, boils down, in essence, to Salieri’s internal dispute with himself. The hero solves a dilemma: does art need Mozart? Is now the time to perceive and understand his music? Isn't he too brilliant for his era? No wonder Antonio compares Mozart with an angel, a bright cherub, who, having flown to earth, will serve as a reproach to people for their imperfections. Mozart, having set a certain aesthetic and ethical standard with his work, on the one hand, raises the art and souls of people to new heights, on the other hand, shows what current composers and their creations are worth. But are self-loving mediocrities or simply not very talented people ready to recognize someone as the palm? Unfortunately no! Pushkin himself found himself in a similar situation more than once, far ahead of his time. Therefore, even a brief summary of “Mozart and Salieri” helps to understand how the poet lived, what worried him during the period of creating the tragedy.
Mozart comes to Salieri. He wants to show his friend a new “little thing” that he recently composed, and at the same time “treat” him with a joke: passing by a tavern, Wolfgang heard a poor violinist playing his melody, mercilessly out of tune. This performance seemed funny to the genius, and he decided to amuse Salieri. However, he does not accept the joke and drives the performer away, scolding Mozart, reproaching that he does not value his talent and is generally unworthy of himself. Mozart performs a melody he recently composed. And Salieri is even more perplexed: how is it possible, having composed such a wonderful melody, to pay attention to the false passages of a home-grown violinist, to find them funny and not offensive. Does he really not value himself, his genius? And again the theme of the sublime nature of true art arises: Salieri compares his friend with God, who is not aware of his divinity. At the end of the scene, the friends agree to have lunch together, and Mozart leaves.
When reading the tragedy “Mozart and Salieri”, the analysis of the next scene comes down to how, with what arguments Salieri convinces himself of the need to end the life of his brilliant comrade. He believes that art will only benefit without Mozart, that composers will have the opportunity to write music based on their modest talents and without regard to their great contemporary. That is, by destroying Wolfgang, Salieri will provide an invaluable service to art. To do this, Antonio decides to use poison received as a gift from his former lover.
The last scene is in the tavern. Mozart tells a friend about some strange visitor, a black man who has been haunting him lately. Then we talk about Beaumarchais, the same as Mozart, a man of genius, a playwright with a bright, sparkling talent and complete freedom in creativity. There was a rumor that Beaumarchais poisoned someone, but Mozart does not believe it. According to him, villainy and genius cannot coexist in one person. A genius can only be the embodiment of Good and Light, Joy, and therefore cannot bring Evil into the world. He offers to drink to the three of them, brothers in the Light - Salieri, Beaumarchais and him, Mozart. Those. Wolfgang considers Antonio a like-minded person. And Salieri throws poison into his glass of wine, Mozart drinks, sincerely believing that next to him the heart is as sincere and big as his.
When Mozart plays the Requiem, not even knowing that, in fact, this is a funeral mass for himself, Salieri cries. But these are not tears of remorse and pain for a friend - these are joy from the fact that the duty has been fulfilled.
Mozart feels bad and leaves. And Salieri reflects: if Mozart is right, then he is not a genius, because he committed a crime. But the famous Michelangelo, as they say, also killed his sitter. However, the court of time recognized his genius. So he, Salieri, is still a genius? What if everything about Buanarotti is an invention of a stupid crowd, if the sculptor did not kill anyone? Then Salieri is not a genius?
The ending of the tragedy is open, behind it, as is often the case with Pushkin, is the “abyss of space,” and everyone must decide for themselves whose point of view, Salieri or Mozart, is accepted as the truth.
“Little Tragedies” is dedicated to depicting the human soul, captured by the all-consuming and destructive passion of stinginess (“The Stingy Knight”), envy (“Mozart and Salieri”), and sensuality (“The Stone Guest”). Pushkin's heroes Baron, Salieri, Don Juan are extraordinary, thoughtful, strong natures. That is why the internal conflict of each of them is colored by REAL tragedy.
Passion that burns the soul of Salieri ("Mozart and Salieri"), an envious toad. Salieri “deeply, painfully” envies his brilliant, but careless and funny friend Mozart. The envious person, with disgust and mental pain, discovers in himself this feeling, previously unusual for him:
Who can say that Salieri was arrogant?
Someday a despicable envier,A snake, trampled by people, alive
Sand and dust gnawing helplessly?
The nature of this envy is not completely clear to the hero himself. After all, this is not an envious toad of mediocrity for talent, a loser for the darling of fate. “Salieri is a great composer, devoted to art, crowned with glory. His attitude to creativity is selfless service. However, there is something terrible, frightening in Salieri’s admiration for music. For some reason, images of death flicker in his memories of his youth, of his years of apprenticeship:
Killing the sounds
I tore apart the music like a corpse. Believed
I algebra harmony.
These images do not arise by chance. Salieri has lost the ability to easily and joyfully understand life, he has lost the very love of life, so he sees the service of art in dark, harsh colors. Creativity, Salieri believes, is the lot of the chosen few and the right to it must be earned. Only a feat of self-denial opens access to the circle of dedicated creators. Anyone who understands the service of art differently is encroaching on what is sacred. In the carefree gaiety of the brilliant Mozart, Salieri sees, first of all, a mockery of what is sacred. Mozart, from Salieri’s point of view, is a “god” who is “unworthy of himself.”
The soul of the envious person is also burned by another passion: pride. He strongly feels offended and feels like a stern and fair judge, an executor of the highest will: “... I chose to stop him...”. Mozart's great works, argues Salieri, are ultimately destructive for art. They awaken in the “children of the dust” only “wingless desire”; created without effort, they deny the need for ascetic labor. But art is higher than man, and therefore Mozart’s life must be sacrificed “or we will all perish.”
The life of Mozart (of man in general) is placed in bondage by the “benefits” that he brings to the progress of art:
What good is it if Mozart lives?
Will it still reach new heights?
Will he elevate art?
Thus the noblest and most humanistic thought of art is used to justify murder.
In Mozart, the author emphasizes his humanity, cheerfulness, and openness to the world. Mozart is happy to “treat” his friend with an unexpected joke and he himself laughs heartily when the blind violinist “treats” Salieri with his pathetic “art.” Mozart certainly mentions playing on the floor with a child. His remarks are light and spontaneous, moreover, when Salieri (almost not jokingly!) calls Mozart “god”: “Oh, right? Maybe... But my deity is hungry.”
Before us is just a human, and not a priestly image. A cheerful and childish man sits at the table in the Golden Lion, and next to him is the one who says about himself: “...I love life a little.” A brilliant composer plays his "Requiem" for a friend, not suspecting that his friend will become his executioner. A friendly feast becomes a feast of death.
The shadow of the fatal feast flashes already in the first conversation between Mozart and Salieri: “I am cheerful... Suddenly: a grave vision...”. The appearance of a messenger of death is predicted. But the severity of the situation lies in the fact that the friend is the messenger of death, the “coffin vision.” Blind worship of the idea turned Salieri into a “black man,” into a Commander, into a cobblestone. Pushkin's Mozart is endowed with the gift of intuition, and therefore he is tormented by a vague premonition of trouble. He mentions the “black man” who ordered the “Requiem”, and suddenly feels his presence at the table, and when the name Beaumarchais comes out of Salieri’s mouth, he immediately remembers the rumors that stained the name of the French poet:
Oh, is it true, Salieri,
That Beaumarchais poisoned someone?
At that very moment, Mozart and Salieri seem to change places. In the last minutes of his life, Mozart for a moment becomes the judge of his killer, pronouncing again, sounding like a sentence for Salieri:
Genius and villainy
Two things are incompatible.
The actual victory goes to Salieri (he is alive, Mozart is poisoned). But, having killed Mozart, Salieri could not eliminate the source of his moral torture - the envious toad. This deeper meaning is revealed to Salieri at the moment of farewell to Mozart. That genius is because he is endowed with the gift of inner harmony, the gift of humanity, and therefore the “feast of life” is available to him, the carefree joy of being, the ability to appreciate the moment. Salieri was severely deprived of these gifts, so his art is doomed to oblivion.
, "Mozart and Salieri". The poet planned to create nine more plays, but did not have time to realize his plan.
The name “small tragedies” appeared thanks to Pushkin himself, who described his dramatic miniatures this way in a letter to the critic Pletnev. Readers became acquainted with “Mozart and Salieri” at the end of 1831 in the almanac “Northern Flowers”. But the first drafts of the work are dated 1826, which indicates the author’s long-term interest in this topic.
The tragedy "Mozart and Salieri" can be attributed to classicism. The work is written in white iambic pentameter, which is also called “Shakespearean.” The action takes place in a very short period of time, events develop sequentially. This is how the unity of time, place and action is maintained. It is known that the play was originally called “Envy”. She was dedicated to the study and exposure of this vice.
The work consists of only two scenes. But, despite the brevity, Pushkin raises deep questions here, reveals the tragedy of the human soul, and penetrates into the psychology of his heroes. Friendship, creativity, attitude towards the world and oneself, the concept of talent and genius - all this is intertwined and seasoned with acute dramatic conflict.
There are only three in the play actors: Salieri, Mozart and the blind violinist. All characters in the work are fictional. They only conditionally coincide with composers who actually lived in the 18th century. Pushkin used the legend of Mozart's poisoning to show how envy dries up a person's soul and leads him to crime.
The central figure of the tragedy is Salieri. His path to fame was long and difficult. From childhood, in love with music and able to subtly sense its beauty, Salieri sacrificed his entire life on the altar of art and abandoned other activities and joys. He worked hard to study all the secrets of music and master the laws of its creation. “I put craft at the foot of art”, - the hero admits.
Thanks to his diligence, Salieri managed to rise to the top of fame. He learned to create works according to the rules of harmony, but there is no true life in his creations, "divine spark". “Having killed the sounds, I tore apart the music like a corpse”, says the composer.
Salieri considers art to be the work of a select few. He looks with contempt at ordinary people who do not belong to the musical elite. As long as Salieri is surrounded by equally talented "hard workers" like him, the composer is happy and calm. It never occurs to him to envy the fame of those who have achieved recognition in the same way. But then Mozart appears. His music is light, joyful, free and so beautiful that no one can create something like it. And envy creeps into Salieri’s heart like a black snake.
He considers it unfair that such a gift was received not as a reward for dedication to art and enormous work, but by chance, at birth. Mozart is marked by God, he is a genius. Salieri sees this and admires his music: “You, Mozart, are God, and you don’t know it yourself.”. But the behavior of a genius does not in any way correspond to his status. Salieri cannot forgive Mozart's light and cheerful disposition, his love of life, says a friend "idle reveler" And "madman".
You can't name your brilliant works "trifle", you can’t laugh at how a blind violinist distorts your beautiful compositions. "You, Mozart, are not worthy of yourself", Salieri pronounces his verdict. He realizes that he is jealous, understands the baseness of this feeling, but tries to justify himself by reasoning that Mozart’s genius is useless. No one can learn anything from him or reach his heights. Genius is necessary “to stop, otherwise we will all die”.
Art for Mozart is life itself. He creates not for fame and profit, but for the sake of music. But the ease with which works are created is deceptive. The composer talks about the insomnia that tormented him, as a result of which he came "two or three thoughts". Mozart undertakes to write a Requiem to order because he needs money. He sincerely considers Salieri a friend and immediately classifies him as a genius. Mozart is open and honest, and does not allow the idea that a person who has devoted himself to the bright ideals of art is capable of villainy.
It’s interesting what artistic means Pushkin finds for his heroes. Salieri's speech is smooth, pompous, full of literary cliches. He speaks out often and confidently, but talks to himself. Almost the entire work is based on his monologues. Mozart speaks little and uncertainly. In his speech the words constantly appear: "something", "somebody", "something". But the main phrase of the tragedy “genius and villainy are two incompatible things” It is Mozart who pronounces it. And in the play only Mozart’s music is heard and there is not a single note of Salieri.
- “Mozart and Salieri”, a summary of scenes from Pushkin’s play
- “The Captain’s Daughter”, a summary of the chapters of Pushkin’s story
Pushkin’s tragedy “Mozart and Salieri” is a very controversial work: who, if not Alexander Sergeevich himself, knows what envy is and what its “fruits” are. For a complete and detailed analysis of the work, it is advisable to know the main milestones of the writer’s life and work, his worldview and life position. In our article you will find all the necessary information on the topic, including the history of creation, theme, idea and features of the composition of the play.
Brief Analysis
Year of writing-1830.
History of creation- written during the Boldino period, the work went fruitfully, in 1831 the tragedy was published in the almanac “Northern Flowers for 1832”. The basis was the legend of the untimely death of the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the rumors associated with it.
Subject– envy, talent and hard work, rationalism and creativity, “handicraft” and genius.
Composition- a traditional composition typical of the tragedy genre. Salieri's monologues structurally ring the action in the play.
Genre- a tragedy in two acts. Pushkin characterized his genre as a “small tragedy”; this concept has taken root in literary criticism.
Direction– classicism (unity of place, time and action).
History of creation
According to researchers of the poet’s work, Pushkin’s idea was born back in 1826. The period of the Boldino autumn is the brightest in Pushkin’s work; it was then that his most brilliant works were created, the work went easily and fruitfully. “Mozart and Salieri” belongs to the cycle of so-called “small tragedies”, of which the writer managed to write only four, although he planned to write nine.
In the twenties of the 19th century, there was a kind of cult of Mozart. They admired him, they were interested in his life and the details of his death, and all of Europe was at a loss about the fate of the brilliant composer. It should be noted that after Alexander Sergeevich created his tragedy, the myth that Mozart was poisoned became so popular that over time it turned into a stereotype. And the name Salieri became a household word meaning “envious.”
Alexander Sergeevich was amused by the public’s reaction to his creations; he loved artistic mystification, deliberately confused “traces,” and referred to scandalous rumors. Tragedy is nothing more than the author’s creative vision of human envy, and the images of the main characters are secondary. The problem of human destinies always occupied Pushkin, so he looked up to great geniuses, but created his own creative truth. There is no historical fact confirming that the composer Salieri poisoned Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, for this reason the work cannot be considered a historical tragedy. Initially, the author planned to call the tragedy “Envy”; this simply and succinctly characterized the meaning and essence of the action.
Subject
The conflict between rationalistic and creative- an eternal plot in literature. A hardworking elderly composer, Salieri sees his profession as one of mathematics, science and hard work. Mozart is a young composer, he does not understand his genius, wastes his talent, enjoys life and composes as he breathes. Despite the friendly ties, Salieri is tormented by envy, decides to poison Mozart because he is wasting his genius on trifles, does not understand his chosenness, and is not grateful to heaven for his happy fate.
Envy, as the most destructive thing, becomes the main driver of the plot. One of the most terrible mortal sins, which is envy, forces the already middle-aged composer to commit a crime: to poison his own friend, a young colleague of Mozart. Main thought, what this work teaches is simple: having committed a sin, a person is left alone with his conscience; the problem is within the person himself, not outside him. The poisoned Mozart triumphs, astonishing his friend with the phrase that genius and evil are incompatible. He is ahead again, he is above villainy and malice.
Composition
The composition of the work begins with an exposition - a monologue by Salieri about his life and art. The remaining structural components are fully revealed in the work: an obvious climax, a philosophical denouement.
The peculiarity of the composition is that both actions consist of monologues and dialogues of the main characters. The circular composition of the work is made by Salieri’s deep, painful monologues; they seem to envelop the entire action. It is the thoughts of the old composer that begin the tragedy, and they also sound in the final lines of the play. Envy, like a snake, creeps into a person’s consciousness and slowly strangles him. This is the semantic side of the author's compositional system. The mental state of the hero, personifying evil (Salieri), flows from the depths of the human essence into real action - murder.
It is the clash of good and evil that is the internal basis of the composition.
Main characters
Genre
The genre in which the work is written is characterized by acute conflict, a clear idea, pressing issues and a tragic ending. Most tragedies are written in poetic form, Pushkin’s too – in white iambic pentameter, which is commonly called “Shakespearean”.
The volume of the work is small, the plot is simple, it does not contain additional branches: two main characters and a blind violinist, who is rather an episodic character. The tragedy in two acts is called small precisely because of its uniqueness in the genre system. However, Pushkin’s small work is huge and meaningful in semantic and philosophical terms.
In “Mozart and Salieri”, an analysis of the internal structure and genre features allows us to draw a conclusion about the uniqueness of Pushkin’s invention - the “little tragedy”. This genre includes “The Stone Guest”, “A Feast during the Plague” and “The Miserly Knight” by A. S. Pushkin. These works, written in the direction of classicism, are characterized by a classical artistic trinity, eternal themes and insoluble conflicts.
Work test
Rating Analysis
Average rating: 4.3. Total ratings received: 318.