Aphorisms from "Woe from Wit" by Griboyedov

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

1824 was quite a busy year for Russia. Complicated relations with Georgia, the Caucasus does not want to pass into the status of "peace". In November, St. Petersburg is in captivity of the elements - one of the strongest floods in the 19th century, which claimed human lives and painfully hit the poorest sections of the population. In different parts of the empire, pockets of popular unrest break out. The southern and northern Decembrist societies are stepping up their activities, preparing an uprising. Philosophical and political life is in full swing, the country is seething like a stormy sea. And it is no coincidence that it was in 1824 that the public got acquainted with an amazing work, which was destined not only to outlive its creator, but also to gain immortality. We are talking about the comedy by A. S. Griboedov "Woe from Wit".

A few words about the history of creation

The author worked on the text for about two years, from 1822 to 1824. When Griboedov tried to print the comedy, the censorship imposed an unambiguous and unconditional ban on the work. Only a few fragments saw the light, and then with large bills. However, the comedy instantly spread throughout St. Petersburg in the lists and stepped far beyond the capital. The text was learned by heart, the popularity of "Woe from Wit" grew day by day. No obstacles of the autocracy could prevent this. One of the main explanations for the phenomenon of mass fame and readers' love for comedy is its language and style. Literally immediately, the work broke into quotes. Not without reason in Pushkin's diaries there is an entry that half of the text will be included in proverbs. He turned out to be right. Aphorisms from "Woe from Wit" not only became an integral part of the speech of the educated sections of society of that time, but to this day help us express our thoughts brightly, juicy, accurately and figuratively.

Classification of aphorisms

What is the purpose of the author so often resorting to winged expressions? Where does he get the language resources for their formation? Aphorisms from "Woe from Wit" perform several functions in the work. Firstly, they are necessary for Griboedov to individualize the speech of the characters. Indeed, each character in the comedy speaks his own language, and Famusov's lines are as different from Chatsky's words as Molchalin is from Skalozub. Secondly, the aphorisms from "Woe from Wit" are required by Griboyedov in order to give an accurate assessment, an accurate description of the comedy characters. Thanks to their expressiveness and capacity, the author reveals the essence of the image with a few words, while in ordinary speech he would need to say a single sentence. Thirdly, the aphorisms from "Woe from Wit" make it possible to give an emotional and figurative assessment of the events mentioned in the comedy. And, finally, this is a wonderful way to show your attitude to something or someone through the figurative and expressive means of the language.

Origins of comedy aphorisms

Aphorisms from “Woe from Wit” look like proverbs and sayings. They are close to the works of oral folk art in terms of their internal structure and models of construction. Linguists who have studied the language of comedy have long drawn attention to this fact. Griboyedov, who sharply criticized the dominance of the foreign in the culture of the nobility, actively fought for the original culture and the Russian language to come to the fore. Aphorisms from "Woe from Wit" prove that the playwright not only knew folklore remarkably well, but also saw in it an invaluable source of linguistic brightness and expressiveness. In addition, the content of proverbs and sayings is familiar to all native speakers, regardless of origin and social level. Their meaning is clear to the nobleman, and the tradesman, and the merchant, and the peasant. Thus, the writer put deep philosophical ideas into aphoristic forms, made them close and accessible to his readers from various walks of life.

Referring to the text: action 1, phenomenon 2

Let's try to remember some aphorisms from "Woe from Wit" on actions by analyzing them. In Act 1, Appearance 2, Liza, Sophia's maid and confidante, utters a phrase that we still often recall in a suitable situation. This expression is about the fact that the lord's anger and love are equally dangerous and let it be better to pass than to be poured out on us. "Why is that?" - you ask. Everything is clear about anger, but what are dangerous and bad"good feelings"? Recall Famusov: in public, especially with his daughter, he sanctimoniously praises his virtues and "monastic modesty." And with his subordinates, he behaves like a true feudal lord: he harshly scolds Molchalin, scolds, on what the light stands, Petrushka. And to someone, but Lisa is well aware of the variability of the master's mood. Therefore, Famusov's affection and his discontent will come out sideways to her. In relation to the present time, we can say that the aphorism corresponds to any situation where the boss abuses his official position. Subordinates tend to be extreme and suffer.

Referring to the text: act 1, phenomenon 4

Do you know what feature Griboyedov brought to the work? “Woe from Wit”, aphorisms from which we analyze, can enter into synonymous and antonymous linguistic relations. Lisa calls Famusov a "spoiler" and a "windwind". And in the 4th appearance, he tells Sophia about himself completely the opposite: “There is no need for a different model,” when he himself, Famusov, is a worthy example to follow. In this phenomenon, the hero has another remark, which reveals him as an ardent hater of foreigners and those pseudo-cultural trends dictated by fashion. Famusov is a representative of the old lordly Moscow, sedately living according to the laws of the past century. Everything patriarchal, originating from feudal relations, the laws of serfdom, is dear to him. He calls the destroyers of "pockets and hearts" not only sellers in fashion stores on Kuznetsky, but also publishers of books, newspapers and magazines, in general.all who are connected with foreign countries. Indignant against “bonnets and ribbons”, “authors and muses”, Pavel Afanasyevich, as a blood enemy, hates everything new, which in one way or another can shake his usual and seemingly unshakable way of life. If you write out the aphorisms of Griboedov (“Woe from Wit”) collected throughout the text, which are pronounced on behalf of Famusov, you can see how retrograde and far from social progress the hero’s worldview is. However, we admit that many of his postulates are not devoid of reasonableness! And the statements about the imitation of Russian nobles to everything foreign are quite applicable to our time!

Referring to the text: act 1, phenomenon 6

In act 1, 6 appearance, the main character of the work, Alexander Andreyevich Chatsky, appears on the stage. The aphorisms of the comedy "Woe from Wit", put into his mouth, are associated with proverbs and sayings. The famous remark about the "smoke of the Fatherland" is synonymous with the saying that no matter how good it is everywhere, at home is still better. No less accurate is another statement, built on the basis of the proverb: "it is better where we are not." Or this remark: "in whom you will not find spots." You can immediately recall the saying that there are even in the sun. Or the biblical saying of Jesus that anyone who is sinless himself can throw a stone at him.

Characteristic and self-characteristic

As already noted, the aphorisms from Griboedov's "Woe from Wit" are an excellent means of the author's characterization of the characters and at the same time act as a means of theirself-disclosure. What does Chatsky's famous “would be glad to serve” mean? The fact that he is ready to give his mind and knowledge, talents and strength to the cause. But it is precisely the cause that he is ready to serve, and not to curry favor with someone, as was customary in the 19th century and with which many sin already in our century, the 21st. Careerism, servility and, in contrast to them, conscientiousness and a responsible approach to what you do, were in the time of Griboedov and are now very common.

Internal conflict

Another interesting aphorism of Chatsky about houses that are new and prejudices that have remained the same is interesting. He appears as a truly advanced person, far ahead of his time, in monologues where serfdom is criticized, “Fathers of the Fatherland”, depravity, crime and cruelty of the serf system are brought to light. The life and customs of the Moscow nobility are exposed, starting from the language, which is a monstrous mixture of “French and Nizhny Novgorod”, and ending with the persecution of education, enlightenment, and freedom. And when Famusov, in horror, calls the hero a carbonarius who does not recognize authorities and preaches liberty, we understand: this is the most faithful and important characteristic of Griboyedov, a hero close to him in spirit, and Famusov's self-disclosure with his boundless inertia and conservatism.

Classicism, romanticism, realism

Griboyedov's comedy organically combines all three literary trends. The language of the work is a clear example of this. Comedywas considered a low genre, and it had to be written in the language of the common people, that is, colloquial. The playwright used this to a certain extent, achieving the effect of lively colloquial speech. And in his aphorisms there are many dialectisms, vernacular. However, his heroes belong to the Moscow nobility, i.e., to sufficiently educated sections of society. Hence the maximum closeness of the language of the characters to the Russian literary language. Foreign borrowings or archaisms, words from the Old Slavonic language are rarely found here. This also applies to aphorisms. Each one is simple and straightforward, and embellishes the comedy like a gem.