Fable of Dmitriev "The Fly": the history of creation, morality

"We plowed" - a winged expression that characterizes the actions of slackers who attribute themselves to other people's achievements. Its source is the product of the XIX century. But this actual phrase has not lost its actuality two hundred years later. Fable of Dmitriev "Mucha" is a small moralizing work, which, like other works in this genre, will always be relevant.

Russian fabulist

With fables in the Russian language, first of all, the name of Krylov is associated. But the author of not only remarkable songs and fairy tales, but also instructive poems was Ivan Dmitriev. The fable "The Fly" is one of his translations from the French language. Like other works created in the genre, taking sources in ancient literature, it is an ornament of the work of the Russian poet. The work is distinguished by an easy language, which is characteristic more for the post-Pushkin era. Dmitriev's translation has a free and smooth version.

Satire and the plot

An important place in the creative activity of this author was occupied by satire. It was, as a rule, directed to the address of talentless writers of long odes. In the times of Lomonosov and Derzhavin, such graphomaniacs were full. But - and this is confirmed by Dmitry Dmitriev's fable "The Fly" - a simple human vice does not change its face. Idleness, stupidity and boasting were met in Pushkin's times and are manifested in the same form in modern people.

The fable tells how a bull-worker returns after a hard work to a well-deserved rest. And on the horns, the fly sits unperturbed. Meeting his girlfriend, she boasts of works that she allegedly committed recently. The short phrase "we plowed" the heroine of the fable throws as if by the way, not only convincing the companion, but as if she herself is confident that she is a participant in the work done.

Translation of the work of the French author

It is known that the Russian composers of fables drew plots in the work of French poets. Regarding the source of Dmitriyev's fable "The Fly", based on which source, there are several opinions. However, the authors who created in this genre were united by the fact that their translations were freestyle. If we assume that Dmitriev's work is borrowed from the work of the French poet Lafontaine, then the content of the "Fly" is closest to the fable "The Fly and the Road".

This work is also translated by Ivan Krylov. But in the performance of Dmitriev, the fly is not so intrusive and active. She blithely settled on the horns of a bull, returning from the plow after righteous labors. What the boastful heroine of the poem did before is unknown. But, having met his sister, when asked about where she is going from the way, she casually throws the phrase: "Where? We plowed. " These words conceal self-confidence, the desire to ascribe to themselves other people's merits. The character Krylov character is more restless. Here the main vices are stupidity and excessive fuss.

Aesop's translation

Lafontaine was not the creator of the original genre. His works he wrote on the basis of the works of the ancient Greek author, whose existence is still in doubt today. This semi-legendary poet still owns the fable "Flies". It tells of greed, which leads to death. The meaning of this ancient work can be reduced to the wise words of Petrarch: "Know the limit of lust." The fable "The Fly" has a different moral goal. Dmitriev put in his little poem a satirical look at a combination of such unsightly human qualities as cunning, stupidity, laziness, deceit, boasting. A mixture of these vices in one of his interlocutors was met at least once by each person.

The uniqueness of the fable

The fable of "The Fly" is unique in its content. Dmitriev, perhaps, translated the work of one of the French authors, who, in turn, used the ancient Greek sources, but did it very subtly and skillfully. Human shortcomings at all times are equally unsightly. The Russian poet, thanks to his light style, conveyed such subtle nuances that it is hardly possible to find something identical in the world literature.

Dmitriev's style

Fable of Dmitriev "Mucha" is very concise. In order to convey the main idea, the author needed only ten lines. The moral of the fable "The Fly" Dmitriev derived in one phrase. The poet in the moralizing ending says that this is often found in life. And, as if addressing the reader, he asks about whether he ever heard self-praise without any foundation. Bragging and laziness, he denounces the example of the behavior of his heroine, giving it an exceptionally common human vices. Moral of the fable "The Fly" Dmitriev formulated in four lines, where he summed up his satire on people suffering from fanfare and idleness.

Ivan Dmitriev created more than eighty works in the moralizing genre. The fable "The Fly", despite the small volume, is one of the brightest. It should be said: this work is translated into German, which indicates its uniqueness. Similar satirical poems were formed in French literature. But further development was obtained in the literature of other countries.

Instead of an afterword

One of the creators of works in an original style, which can be conditionally called the "Russian fable" genre, is I. I. Dmitriev. "Fly" - an essay that, along with the works of other Russian satirists, should be known to the modern reader. Mocking shortcomings, short narration performs an important moral function. For while there are people in the world who prefer not to act, but only to be close to those who work, the fable of Dmitriev "The Fly" will not lose relevance.