The epic “Sadko” is one of the pearls of Russian folk epics of the Novgorod cycle. Its main theme is a colorful description of the trading merchant life of Novgorod and the fantastic wanderings of the merchant-guslar through the depths of the sea.
The plot of the epic is constructed in conventional three parts, each of which has its own inherent self-sufficiency. And the work itself has a clearly expressed dramatic conflict of a historical nature.
Story
According to historians, the first basis of the ancient epic about Sadko was a song about a Novgorod merchant whose name was Sodko Sotynets. He was mentioned in the Novgorod Chronicle of 1167 as the builder of the Boris and Gleb Church in Novgorod. It is noteworthy that the prototypes of the main characters - Sadko the Guslar and the Sea King - are found in the epic narratives of different peoples - Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Kyrgyz and Old French tales.
Analysis
Description of the work
The action takes place in a rich and prosperous Novgorod. The young guslar singer Sadko pleases numerous Novgorod merchants with his sweet-voiced singing. At one of the feasts, realizing that no one is listening to him, the saddened singer goes to the shore of Lake Ilmen. Having poured out his soul in a beautiful, but at the same time filled with sadness song, Sadko excited with his singing the king of the sea, who thanked the guslar with the opportunity to gain wealth. Having won an argument with three merchants that there are fish with golden feathers in Lake Ilmen, Sadko becomes a rich man and over the course of twelve years increases his property many times over.
One day, Sadko the merchant sets off on a long trading journey, loading thirty ships with untold riches. A sudden strong storm forces Sadko to try to appease the king of the sea, but the lot shows that the ruler of the sea does not need wealth, he needs a sweet-voiced psaltery singer. Sadko pleased the tsar and his entire retinue with his play from morning to evening, he was promised untold riches, but dreams of his beloved Novgorod turned out to be stronger than the devilish temptation underwater world. Thanks to his love for the sea beauty Chernavushka and the help of the famous saint Nicholas the Wonderworker (Mozhaisky), Sadko returns to his hometown, throws a feast and builds a church in the name of the saint who saved him.
Epic quotes
“How can I brag about something, Sadku? But I don’t have a lot of countless golden treasury, And I don’t have a beautiful young wife, But how can I, Sadku, only have one thing to brag about: In Ilmen and like in the lake And there are fish like golden feathers, after all.”
“And how hello, rich merchant, Sadko and Novgorod! And how no matter how much you traveled across the sea, And how you never paid tribute to the king of the sea in the blue sea, And now he himself came to me all and in gifts.”
“And whoever boasts about something at a feast: And another boasts about his countless golden treasury, And another he boasts about a good horse, And another he boasts about his strength and good luck; And now how smart he is, how he boasts about A and his old father, his old mother, And how the crazy fool now boasts, And how he boasts about his young wife.”(Narrator)
Main characters
A talented young guslar singer. He sacrifices himself during a storm, thereby saving the lives of his squad. In this act, the Christian spirit of the hero is manifested, along with high morality and patriotism.
The image of the ruler of the seas is very ambiguous; it combines both power and destructive force, and love for the talent of the guslar singer Sadko. This character acts first as a benefactor, and as time passes - as an enslaver of the singer, while he does not understand that for Sadko earthly life in hometown there is nothing.
Structure of the work
The plot and compositional structure of the epic includes three self-sufficient parts. According to Belinsky, the work clearly expresses a dramatic conflict of a historical nature. The uniqueness of the work is the combination of three epics from different times of writing, starting from the early pagan (the image of the good sea king) and ending with the Christian (the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker). Also unusual is the choice of the main character - not an epic hero, but a poor talented guslar singer.
Final conclusion
The epic “Sadko” is a unique monument of Russian culture, which expresses the entire historical and patriotic essence of the image of a wandering guslar singer who defeated both merchants and the seductive temptations of fantastic underwater life.
The holiness of the image of his native Novgorod is what turns out to be above all for Sadko, a patriot and Christian. The epic is of particular historical value - it shows with great truthfulness the everyday life of Novgorodians in all its manifestations.
Ancient Rus', as a rule, featured heroes fighting evil for the Russian land. They reflected the reality of the 11th-16th centuries. An epic is a unique genre in which historical events seem to be reflected, but with figurative exaggerations. The heroes in them have superpowers or other abilities (the ability to act, sing); and the enemies are absolutely fantastic: the Serpent Gorynych, the Nightingale the Robber, the King of the Sea. Since the epic is a song genre, it has a rhythm, a special syllable. Reading it, it’s as if you’re stepping back into the historical past and seeing a film, because it’s rich in figurative expressions.
Epic "Sadko"
The epic "Sadko" is a little different from other stories, summary which, by the way, you won’t read much longer than the song itself.
If you are not lazy, you will get much more pleasure and benefit from reading the source than from someone else’s retelling. Although if you have problems understanding ancient Slavic words, then, of course, a summary of “Sadko” will help you better understand the essence of the mythical and slightly fantastic story. We recommend that after reading the presentation, turn to the original source and experience the beauty of the play on words.
What is the story about?
The epic "Sadko" is beautiful, unusual and different from other legends. Its summary may not make the right impression. There are no heroic heroes in it. There are no battles with obvious enemies. But it contains an idea about how important it is to have talent, the patronage of the Higher powers for personal qualities. The epic also talks about the fight against human vices, in particular, boasting. But all this can be found out indirectly by drawing your own conclusions, and not necessarily the same, perhaps completely different. Reading the summary of “Sadko”, you only learn the sequence of events.
Retelling
Once upon a time Sadko was a guslar. He was young, handsome and talented, but “goal like a falcon.” Gusli - all his property was. But Sadko loved to sing and play so much that even when no one wanted to listen to him, he came to the shore of Lake Ilmen and devoted himself to his favorite work alone. At least that's what he thought. After all, everything around was quiet. All nature listened to the wonderful singing.
I heard it one day and rose from the depths to reward the guslar for his marvelous playing. He ordered Sadko to make a bet with the merchants, mortgaging his head, that a wonderful gold-feather fish lived in Lake Ilmen. And in return he ordered to ask them to pledge their goods and trading shops (business in our opinion). The three richest merchants agreed to a deal - they wanted to destroy Sadko out of envy. But the singer won the argument. The sea king kept his word and caught Sadko's goldfish in a net. On the advice of the Lord, he did not argue anymore and soon became rich thanks to the good he had acquired. But several years passed, he got married and became a merchant, the richest of whom was not in the city. He gave a noble feast, as was customary then. Many people made speeches there: the stupid ones boasted about their young wife, the smart ones revered their parents. Sadko could not resist and began to boast about his wealth and bet that he could buy out all of Novgorod. But when he began to buy all the goods, gold and silver quickly began to run out. Sadko decided to sail to other cities to sell his goods. During the trip, a strong storm arose on the lake. And he would have sunk the ships, but Sadko understood in time: the Tsar demands tribute from the sea.
He ordered to pour a barrel of silver into the water, then gold, but the waves did not subside. Sadko understood: the king needs a human sacrifice. There was (this is an interesting point; it’s impossible to fit everything into a brief summary of “Sadko”). Sadko was chosen, even though he tried to be cunning. They lowered him into the water on a board, where he fell asleep, and woke up at the bottom of the sea in front of the chambers of the Lord, who was glad to have a guest. Sadko played for the king until he broke the strings (not without the intervention of other forces, which we also cannot fit into the summary of “Sadko”). Then the king invited the singer to choose a wife - one of his daughters, which meant remaining forever in the underwater kingdom. The hero (also not without the help of the Saint) chooses a living girl, thereby freeing the captive and himself.
Drawing on a plate by E. Populov
Sadko is a young guslar from Veliky Novgorod. At the beginning of the story, he is poor, proud and proud. His only asset is the spring harp, which he plays, moving from one cheerful feast to another.
However, a day comes, and then another, a third, when Sadko is not invited to an honest feast. The hero’s pride is hurt, but he shows no offense to anyone. He goes alone to Lake Ilmen, sits on a white-flammable stone on the shore and takes out the treasured harp. Sadko plays, bringing his soul into the music. His play caused the water in the lake to ripple. Ignoring this, Sadko returns back to the city.
Soon history repeats itself. Sadko is not invited to the feast again - once, twice, three times. He again goes to Lake Ilmen, again sits down on the flammable stone and begins to play. And again the water in the lake sways, foreshadowing something.
When Sadko comes to Lake Ilmen for the third time, a miracle happens. After his playing on the harp, the waters part and from the depths of the lake the sea king himself appears, who addresses the hero with the following words:
Oh, you, Sadko Novgorodsky!
I don’t know how to greet you
For your great joys,
Al countless golden treasury?..
The sea king gives Sadko advice: make a bet with the merchants that he will catch fish in the lake - golden feathers. The Tsar promises to throw these fish into Sadko’s net.
At the next feast, the musician follows this advice. In a circle of very tipsy merchants, he proposes an argument, boasting that he knows “the wonderful miracle in Lake Ilmen.” He suggests to his rivals, who laugh at his stories:
Let's hit the big bet:
I'll lay my violent head down
And you patch up the red goods shops.
Three of the merchants agree. The dispute ends with Sadko's complete victory. Throwing the net three times, he pulls out three goldfish. The merchants give him three shops of expensive goods.
From this moment on, Sadko begins to rapidly grow rich. He becomes a successful trader and receives “great profits.” His life changes, he acquires luxury, giving free rein to his whimsical imagination. In his white stone chambers, Sadko arranges “everything like heaven”:
There is sun in the sky and sun in the chambers,
There is a month in the sky and a month in the chambers,
There are stars in the sky and stars in the chambers."
He sets up a rich feast, to which he invites the most eminent Novgorod citizens. At the feast, everyone eats, gets drunk and begins to boast to each other - some about their bravery, some about their countless treasury, some about their good horse, some about their noble family, some about their beautiful wife. Sadko remains silent for the time being. The guests finally wonder why the owner doesn’t “boast” about anything. Sadko importantly replies that his superiority is now too obvious to start an argument. And as proof of his power, he declares that he is able to buy up all Novgorod goods.
Before he has time to say this, all the guests shout at him “Oh great bet”, offended by such exorbitant pride. They decide that if Sadko does not keep his word, he will give thirty thousand rubles to the merchants.
The next day, Sadko wakes up at dawn, wakes up his brave squad, gives each squad member a lot of money and one single order: to go to the shopping malls and buy everything. He himself also goes to the living room, where he buys everything indiscriminately.
The next morning the hero gets up early again and wakes up the squad again. In the shopping and dining aisles, they find goods twice as high as before and again buy up everything that comes to hand. The shops and ruins are empty - but only until a new day. In the morning, Sadko and his warriors see an even greater abundance of goods - now there are three times as much, and not twice as much as before!
Sadko has no choice but to think about it. He understands that it is not in his power to buy goods in this wonderful trading city, he admits that overseas goods will also come in time for Moscow goods. And no matter how rich the merchant is, glorious Novgorod will be richer than anyone. So the vain hero learns a good lesson in time. After losing, Sadko humbly gives thirty thousand to his rivals, and with the remaining money he builds thirty ships.
Now Sadko - reckless and daring - decides to see the world. Through the Volkhov, Ladoga and Neva, it enters the open sea, then turns south and reaches the possessions of the Golden Horde. There he successfully sells the Novgorod goods he had taken with him, as a result of which his wealth increases again. Sadko pours barrels of gold and silver and turns the ships back to Novgorod.
On the way back, the caravan of ships encounters a terrible storm. The waves hit the ships, the wind tears the sails. Sadko understands that his old acquaintance, the sea king, who has not paid tribute for a long time, is fooling him. The merchant turns to his squad with the order to throw a barrel of silver into the sea. But the elements do not calm down. The ships cannot move due to the storm. They throw a barrel of gold - the same result. Then Sadko understands: the sea king demands “a living head in the blue sea.” He himself invites his warriors to cast lots. They throw twice, and both times the lot falls on Sadko.
And now Sadko the merchant gives his last orders before sinking to the bottom. He bequeaths his estates - God's churches, to his young wife and poor brethren, and the rest to his brave warriors. Having said goodbye to his comrades, he takes an old spring harp and remains on the waves on one board. At the same moment the storm subsides, the ships take off and disappear into the distance.
Sadko falls asleep on his raft right in the middle of the sea. He wakes up in the domain of the sea king. In a white-stone underwater palace, he meets with the king himself. He does not hide his triumph:
For a century you, Sadko, traveled on the sea,
He did not pay tribute to me, the king,
And all the nons came to me as gifts.
The king asks the guest to play the harp for him. Sadko begins a dance melody: the king, unable to bear it, begins to dance, becoming more and more excited. Sadko plays for a day, then the second and third - without a break. The king continues his dance. A terrible storm arose at sea from this dance. Many ships sank and broke, the shores and villages were flooded. People everywhere prayed to Mikola Mozhaisky. It was he, the saint, who pushed Sadko on the shoulder, quietly and sternly explaining to the guslar that it was time to stop dancing. Sadko objected that he had an order and he could not disobey the Tsar. “And you rip out the strings,” the gray-haired old man taught him. And he also gave this advice. If the sea king orders you to get married, do not argue with him. But from hundreds of proposed brides, choose the very last one - Chernavushka. Yes at first wedding night not to commit fornication with her, otherwise he will forever be destined to remain at the bottom of the sea.
And with one movement, Sadko breaks the treasured strings and breaks his favorite harp. The storm subsides. Grateful for the music, the sea king invites Sadko to choose a bride for himself. Early in the morning, Sadko goes to the bride. He sees three hundred painted beauties, but misses them all. Behind everyone walks, with downcast eyes, the girl Chernavushka. Sadko calls her his betrothed. After the wedding feast they are left alone, but Sadko does not touch his wife. He falls asleep next to Chernavushka, and when he wakes up, he discovers that he is in Novgorod, on the steep bank of the Chernava River. On Volkhov he sees his suitable, intact ships. There his wife and squad remember Sadko. They don’t believe their eyes when they see him alive, meeting them in Novgorod.
He hugs his wife, then greets his friends. Unloads his wealth from ships. And he builds the cathedral church of Nicholas of Mozhaisk - as the saint asked him to do.
Since then, “Sadko no longer went to the blue sea, / Sadko began to live in Novi Grad.”
Retold
The events in the epic unfold in the city of Novgorod. It splits into two parts (Sadko receives wealth and Sadko from the Sea King). Main character - guslar Sadko. At the beginning of the epic, the Novgorod boyars neglected him and stopped inviting him to feasts. Offended, Sadko goes to Lake Ilmen, sits on the “white-flammable stone” and begins to play “yarovchaty guselki”. The Sea King liked his game:
Just then the water in the lake began to stir, the king of the sea appeared, came out of Ilmen from the lake, and himself said these words: “Oh, you, Sadke of Novgorod! a gentle game." 1
The Sea King decided to help Sadko and give him untold wealth. He told him to make a bet with the Novgorod merchants that he would catch a fish in the lake - a golden feather. The king will send this fish to Sadko in the net.
Guslyar did just that and won three shops of red goods in a dispute with merchants, became rich, erected magnificent chambers, decorating them with marvelous paintings:
Sadke arranged everything in heavenly fashion: There is sun in the sky and there is sun in the chambers, There is a month in the sky and there is a month in the chambers, There are stars in the sky and there are stars in the chambers. 2
Sadko “invited noble guests to his honorable feast,” who at the feast ate, got drunk and all boasted with boasts." Sadko boasted of buying up all the goods in Novgorod, argued with him about the wealth. But the bet lost: no matter how much he bought goods in Novgorod shops, in the morning more and more people brought from all over Rus' appeared in them. And Sadko realized that he was not the rich merchant of Novgorod - his glorious Novgorod was richer. And if at the beginning of the epic the popular consciousness was on the side of the poor guslar, then Sadko was the merchant who imagined. that he is richer and stronger than the entire trading city, deprived of the sympathy of the people. The epic forces him to recognize the victory of Novgorod. It clearly expresses the idea of \u200b\u200bthe trading power of the great city of northern Rus'.
In the second part of the epic, Sadko, a rich merchant, equips ships and sets off with his comrades to trade overseas:
Strong weather met on the blue sea, The blackened ships stagnated on the blue sea: And the wave hits, tears the sails, Breaks the blackened ships; But the ships do not move from their place on the blue sea. 3
This is how landscape is introduced into the epic. The ships are at sea - the Sea King does not let Sadko in and demands a ransom from him. First, the shipbuilders try to pay off with a barrel of pure silver, red gold, but the wave hits everything, tears the sails, and “the ships still do not move from their place on the blue sea.” Sadko guesses that the Tsar of the Sea demands “a living head in the blue sea.” They cast lots three times as to who should go to the Sea King. And no matter how hard Sadko tried, the lot fell on him. Taking only the harp, Sadko rushes into the depths of the sea.
The image of the underwater kingdom in the epic is real, the landscape is realistic:
In the blue sea at the very bottom. Through the water I saw the baking red sun, the evening dawn, the morning dawn. I saw Sadko: in the blue sea there was a white stone chamber... 4
What we see here is not fantasy, but rather a certain amount of convention. The King of the Sea himself is also depicted. The epic gives only one detail of his portrait: “the king’s head is like a heap of hay.” The singers use the technique of hyperbolization: the king’s head is compared to a heap of hay, which indicates its significant size and introduces an element of comedy.
How Sadko began to play guselki yarovchaty, How the king of the sea began to dance in the blue sea, How the king of the sea began to dance. Sadke played for a day, others played too, and Sadke and others played, And still the king danced in the blue sea. 5
Grateful for the fun, the Sea King began to persuade Sadko to marry one of his thirty daughters. Meanwhile, in the blue sea, the waters shake, ships break, and righteous people drown.
In reality, an Orthodox person, in search of deliverance from misfortunes, always turns to Christian saints, which is reflected in the epic: “the people began to pray to Mikola of Mozhaisk.” It is no coincidence that the image of the Christian intercessor Mykola, the patron saint of all seafarers and sailors, is introduced into the epic. This reveals the general Christian idea of Russian folklore:
The saint appeared before Sadko on the seabed: He turned around and looked at Sadko of Novgorod: A gray-haired old man was standing there. Novgorodsky said to Sadka: “I have no will of my own in the blue sea, I am ordered to play guselki yarovchaty.” The old man says these words: “And you tear out the strings, And you break out the pins. Say: “I didn’t have any strings, And the pins weren’t useful, There’s nothing else to play with: The verge-shaped goosenecks broke.” 6
Saint Mikola teaches the unlucky guslar how to return to Novgorod. He must choose as his bride the last daughter of the Sea King, the girl Chernavushka. Having obeyed wise advice, the next morning Sadko found himself on land, and the girl he chose turned out to be a Novgorod river. In gratitude, Sadko built the cathedral church of Mykola Mozhaisky.
In the Novgorod Chronicle, under 1167, the name of a certain Sadko Sytinets is mentioned, who founded the church. The epic Sadko coincides with a real historical figure.
V.G. Belinsky wrote about Novgorod epics that all the rest of Russian fairy-tale poetry is visible in front of them. A new and special world is visible, which served as the source of the forms and very spirit of Russian life, and therefore of Russian poetry. About “Sadko” he writes: “The whole poem is imbued with extraordinary animation and is full of poetry. This is one of the pearls of Russian folk poetry.”
1. The epic “Sadko” belongs to the Novgorod cycle of epics. Researchers date the emergence of Novgorod epics to the 12th century, the time of the decline of Kievan Rus and the heyday of Novgorod. Novgorod was the largest trading city; it was not directly affected by the Tatar-Mongol invasion. D.S. Likhachev wrote: “The heyday of Kyiv was in the past - and epic tales about military exploits are attached to the past of Kyiv. The heyday of Novgorod was for the 12th century living modernity, and the themes of modernity were primarily social and everyday.
The theme of the epic is the life of the merchants. organization of trade.
The hero of the Novgorod epic Sadko is not a warrior-hero, but a merchant. The epic consists of three parts, which also occur as independent epics. The most ancient part of the epic tells about Sadko’s stay in the underwater kingdom. This plot goes back to the myths about the hero’s journey to the “other world”. Such myths are found among all nations. Later, the epic included a story about how Sadko became rich with the help of goldfish given to him by the king of the sea, who heard him playing on the shore of Lake Ilmen. Some storytellers in this part of the epic say not the “sea” king, but the “water” king. This suggests that we're talking about about two different characters. It is known that in Russian folklore there is an idea of a three-level hierarchy of water spirits: water spirits, living in small streams, rivers and lakes, water spirits - the owners of larger bodies of water, and the sea king - the ruler of the world's oceans. The latest part of the epic is a colorful story about how Sadko tried to “buy up all Novgorod goods.” Some researchers believe that the epic Sadko had a real prototype - the rich Novgorodian Sadko Sytinich, mentioned in the chronicle due to the fact that in 1167 he built a stone church in Novgorod in the name of Boris and Gleb .
Sadko lived in the glorious city of Novgorod. Sadko did not have a gold treasury, he only had spring gooses. Sadko walked and played at honest feasts, entertaining the Novgorod people. Yes, it happened once - they didn’t invite Sadko to the feast. Out of such resentment, Sadko went to the shore of Lake Ilmen, sat down on a white-flammable stone and began to play spring goose for himself. Suddenly Lake Ilmen shook, became muddy from the yellow sand, high waves came over it - the king of the water rose from the water. The water king Sadko says: “Oh, you, Sadko of Novgorod! You amused me in Lake Ilmen, you disrespected me! How can I reward you for your game? Perhaps I’ll give you three fish, and not ordinary ones, but with golden feathers. Go.” now to Novgorod, make a bet with the Novgorod merchants that you will catch such fish from the lake. Put your wild head as a bet, and let the merchants put red goods in the shop." Sadko returned to Novgorod and said to the Novgorod merchants: "And you, merchants. Novgorod! I know a wonderful miracle in Lake Ilmen: there are three fish - golden feathers - and I will catch those fish." Sadko's merchants did not believe him, then he made a great bet with them - he laid his wild head against the red goods shops.
2. Sadko is the hero of epics. According to Novgorod epics, guslar Sadko, whose playing was loved by the King of the Sea, makes a bet with Novgorod merchants that he will catch fish with “golden feathers” in Lake Ilmen. With the help of the Sea King, Sadko wins the bet and becomes rich. Sadko equips merchant ships. However, they stop at sea - the guslar must descend by lot to the seabed. Once in the chambers of the Sea King, Sadko plays for him. The sea king begins to dance, causing the sea to ripple and seafarers to die. Sadko, on the advice of Mikola the Pleasant who appeared to him, stops playing, breaking the strings of the gusli. The sea king invites Sadko to marry a sea maiden. Guslyar, on the advice of Mikola Ugodnik, chooses the girl Chernava. Sadko falls asleep after the wedding feast and wakes up on the banks of the Chernava River. At the same time his ships return. Sadko erects churches in Novgorod in gratitude.
3. The sea king had 12 daughters and all were unmarried. Sadko was sailing on a ship, the sea king raised a terrible storm, a storm, the bottom of the ship was sunk, the king lined up all the daughters in front of the young man and put him down, but he loved his Lyubava and the whale helped Sadko got ashore and saved him. The journey ended happily: Sadko brought untold wealth to the city and married Lyubava, they lived happily ever after!
4. for the harp, swing at one of the daughters.
As Sadko went to Lake Ilmen, sat down on a white-flammable stone and began to play spring goose. Just then the water in the lake began to shake, the king of the sea appeared, came out of Ilmen from the lake, and himself spoke these words: “Oh, you, Sadko of Novgorod! I don’t know how you will be rewarded with For your great pleasures, For your necessary game: Or with countless golden treasury? Otherwise, I’ll go to Novgorod and hit the big bet, lay down my violent head and strip the other merchants of the shops of red goods and argue that in Lake Ilmen there are fish - gold-feathers. As soon as you strike a great bet, go and tie a silk net and come to Lake Ilmen to catch: I’ll give you three fish—gold-feathers. Then you, Sadko, will be happy!”