The image of Igor in the "Lay of Igor's Host" (with quotations)

"The Lay of Igor's Campaign" is a well-preserved and surviving to us original monument of ancient Russian literature. The work is filled with a strong love for the fatherland and willingness to stand for it until the end. The image of Igor in the "Lay of Igor's Host", contrary to popular belief, is not key, since the role of the protagonist is assigned to the people. Nevertheless, Igor occupies a significant place in the narrative, so his figure needs to be examined in detail.

History of the work

A literary monument was found by the well-known collector of antiquities of the 18th century, AI. Musin-Pushkin. The manuscript was discovered in the walls of the Spaso-Yaroslavl Monastery, and Count Musin immediately turned to the familiar historians for help. N.M. Karamzin insisted on the publication of the work, and in 1800 the light saw the "Word". The publication made a great impression and caused a lot of controversy and research. But unfortunately, the original manuscript burned down during the fire of 1812 in Moscow.

The author of the work has not been established, there are only a lot of guesses and assumptions, none of which, however, stands out against the background of others. The image of Igor in the "Lay of Igor's Host" reflects the literary characteristics and techniques of his time, which allows literary critics to determine the level of development of the writer's art of the 12th-13th centuries.

The subject of "Words" and the role of Igor's image

The plot of the "Lay" was based on real events - the 1185 rally of Prince Igor Svyatoslavovich to the steppe nomads, which ended in defeat. A year before this battle, Russian troops managed to defeat the nomads, but Igor was not in that campaign. And so, yielding to his own selfish motives, the prince gathers his troops and calls for help from the next of kin. The image of Igor in the "Lay of Igor's Host" is completely devoid of any idealization. The narrator makes it clear that the sally was poorly prepared, so the prince was defeated and captured. Here is how the author describes the beginning of Igor's campaign:

"Then Igor looked at the bright sun,

He saw his soldiers, the darkness from him covered up,

And the rivers Igor his squad:

"Brothers and the squad!

It is better for us to be chopped than to be given in full.

Let's sit down, friends, on the greyhounds

Let's see the blue Don!

The prince fell asleep on the mind of hunting,

And the banner came to him desire

To tell Don of the great.

"I want," he said, "to break the spear

At the end of the Polovtsian field with you, people are Russian!

I want to lay my head

Or drink a sham from the Don ... "

As you can see from the passage, "I want" is Igor's main motivation.

But this plot is aimed only at drawing the reader's attention to the main problems of Russia at that time. Namely, to reveal all the shortcomings of the state divided into princely states and constant quarrels between the rulers. In fact, the "Word" - a call for the unification of the Russian lands.

The author also touches on the themes of the past of Rus, emphasizes the heroism of the people. From the standpoint of a patriot, he considers issues of honor, devotion, love, freedom and destiny.

The idea of the work and its connection with the image of the protagonist

As it was already stated above, the main idea of the monument is the call to rally the Russian princes, transferring all power to someone alone. Not idealizing the image of Igor in the "Lay of Igor's Host", the author nevertheless creates an infallible, strong and wise character - Prince Svyatoslav appears in the role of a perfect ruler. This did not correspond to reality, judging by other historical records, however, in order to realize its main goal in the work, this image should have been present.

The author of the "Lay" evaluates the actions of all the characters according to their usefulness for Russia. Igor is rated from the same positions, and the score is not too high. And it manifests itself through the hostility of the forces of nature:

"And the winds, Stribogov's grandsons,

Vejut with the sea arrows

On brave regiments of Igor.

The earth thunders,

The rivers flow dully,

The ashes of the field are covered,

Stitching is a verb! "

As a true patriot, the writer depicts the homeland as a whole, where people are inseparable from nature, and she interferes in their affairs, helping or warning.

The plot and compositional originality

In more detail will help to consider the image of Igor in the "Lay of Igor's Host" a brief summary of the monument. The work itself has a complex organization, where the author's reflections alternate, a description of what is happening, lyrical digressions, epic moments, a description of the past. This makes it difficult to analyze the plot of the "Word".

However, the whole work can be divided into three semantic parts:

1. The introduction, which includes memories of Bayan and the beginning.
2. The main part, describing the unsuccessful campaign of Igor, goes the praise of Svyatoslav, and then tells about the return of Igor from captivity.
3. The conclusion includes the magnification of the princes and, in fact, the completion of the narrative.

In this structure, the role and significance of Igor's image in the "Lay of Igor's Host" is well traced. A brief description of them is that the character has become an example of what can lead to fragmentation and inconsistency princes.

The "Word" begins with the fact that the author compares himself with the famous Bayan and says that he will not praise the princes like him, but will tell the whole truth.

The image of Igor in the "Lay of Igor's Host" with quotations

The main place in the work is given to the images of the princes, one of which is Igor. The author's attitude toward these characters is ambiguous. On the one hand, he is proud of their victories and rejoices at successes, but on the other hand he understands all the ruinousness for Rus of their strife and selfish ambitions. With the image of Igor is connected not only the main storyline, but also the idea of the whole narrative.

The character is represented by an epic hero who does not represent his life without military dignity and honor. He is courageous and brave, but at the same time his personal aspirations are above the good of the people. Igor is a bad short-sighted politician, selfish and reckless, unduly self-interested. All these negative qualities are inherent in other princes, they also caused the fragmentation of the Russian land.

Igor is so greedy to the glory and satisfaction of his selfish impulses that he diligently fails to notice the signs that predict his defeat. Very negatively presented in this episode is the image of Igor in the "Lay of Igor's Host". Examples of the text can be:

"The sun to him was darkening the way;

The night woke with a groan of thunderstorms of birds,

An animal whistle rose ... "

But the prince is deaf to nature. Despite this recklessness, the author also admits Igor's courage:

"And he shook his heart with courage;

Having performed a military spirit,

Casting their brave regiments ... "

However, after returning from captivity, Igor is changing, he is ready to give up personal aspirations for the sake of his native land and go on a joint campaign with other princes. The prince realizes that his actions can only lead to defeat. And the forces of nature show their benevolence:

"The earth clicked and knocked;

The grass rustled:

The Polovtsian Vezhi moved.

Pranil Igor pried up the ermine into the reed,

White gogol on the water;

The prince was thrown on a fast horse,

The bare wolf jumped off him,

And he rushed to the meadow of the Donets ...

Donets says: "You, Igor the Prince!

You do not lack greatness,

Konchak's dislike,

Russian land of cheerfulness! "..."

The image of Yaroslavna and her help to Igor

Yaroslavna is represented by an ideally Russian woman. She is a devoted wife and faithful friend of Igor, the power of her love is so great that it helps her husband escape from captivity. Her crying is of great importance and plays a huge role in justifying the prince's honor, since the flight was considered unworthy of a warrior. But the very forces of nature, rancid by Yaroslavna, help the hero to get out - and here is not dominated by his will, but by the will of the elements. Higher forces rise to defend the prince and point the way:

"To Igor Prince the way the way points

From the land of Polovtsian in the Russian land ... "

The sufferings of the heroine and the torment of the people also became one of the reasons for Igor's emotional rebirth.

The meaning of "Words" for literature

Today, the "Word" is recognized as an ancient written monument of world significance, and is compared with medieval masterpieces of European literature. Not the least role plays in the comprehension and understanding of subjects Image of Igor in the "Lay of Igor's Host". Pictures illustrating this work, today can easily be found in books or textbooks of literature.