Recall popular expressions from Krylov's fables

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

Ivan Andreevich Krylov was favored by the attention of the public and the authorities during his lifetime. By the time of his death in 1844, the fabulist's books had already been published in Russia in the amount of 77,000 copies. He received awards and a generous pension from the Tsar, and his jubilee in 1838 became a great national holiday under the auspices of the Emperor.

The writer was called the Russian La Fontaine. Of course, there was some truth in this: of the 200 fables he created, many were written based on the works of Aesop and La Fontaine. But many of the works are based on the original plot. For readers of the 19th century, these poetic parables were interesting not only for their satire and good Russian language, but also for the fact that they ridiculed events and people (including high-ranking persons) whose contemporaries were readers. It was something like the parodies that comedians create today.

But the creations of the Russian Lafontaine touch upon problems that are also characteristic of our time: bribery, bureaucracy, laziness, arrogance, greed and many other vices still flourish today. But even if it seems to the reader that he does not know or does not like itwriter - he is mistaken, because the popular expressions from Krylov's fables have long become part of the active vocabulary of almost any Russian-speaking person.

Angry at a child who does not want to fulfill our demands, we bitterly exclaim: "And Vaska listens and eats!" Having found a simple solution to a problem that seemed complicated, we grin: “But the chest just opened!” Noticing that some business is not moving forward, we sigh: “But things are still there.” Telling friends about the frantic pace of modern life, we lament: "I'm spinning like a squirrel in a wheel." Sometimes we will be amused by a couple of officials bowing to each other, and we will sarcastically comment: “The cuckoo praises the rooster for praising the cuckoo.”

Sometimes we do not very accurately quote popular expressions from Krylov's fables, but use them partially or slightly modify them. Those who cannot agree among themselves are compared with the Swan, Cancer and Pike from the fable of the same name. Out of place assistance provided by someone will be called a disservice. We notice the fussiness, excessive talkativeness of a person at the mention of a sensitive topic and mentally “see the light”: “And his stigma is in the cannon!” Noticing after a long search a large object lying in a conspicuous place, we laugh: “I didn’t notice the elephant!” And to a kitten who is trying in vain to catch a goldfish swimming in an aquarium, we will instructively say: “What, Ryzhik, sees the eye, but the tooth is numb?”

Sometimes we don't know who owns famous phrases and images. It seems to us that such household heroes andexpressions have always existed. However, they owe their origin to this fat, lazy and careless person, who only took his creativity seriously and thoughtfully, endlessly honing every little masterpiece.

Winged expressions from Krylov's fables over the past 200 years have become an integral part of the Russian language.

By the way, it always seemed to literary critics and ordinary readers that Ivan Andreevich is a purely domestic phenomenon that cannot be transferred to foreign soil without damage to the content. Meanwhile, in Britain it is still the most translated Russian poet of the 19th century. How the British translate popular expressions from Krylov's fables, which have actually become idioms, is a topic for a separate study.

So on one of the long winter evenings one could re-read a volume of Russian Lafontaine's works - without prejudice, but with gratitude.