Who is honest in his poverty
Ashamed and everything else
The most pathetic of people
Cowardly slave and so on.
For all that,
For all that,
Let us be poor
Wealth -
stamp on gold,
And golden -
We ourselves!
We eat bread and drink water
We cover ourselves with rags
And all that stuff
Meanwhile, the fool and the rogue
Dressed in silk and drinking wine
And all that stuff.
For all that,
For all that,
Don't judge by the dress.
Who honestly feeds on labor,
Such I call the nobility,
This jester here is a natural lord.
We must bow to him.
But let him be stiff and proud,
A log will remain a log!
For all that,
For all that,
Though he is all in braces, -
A log will remain a log
And in orders, and in ribbons!
The king of his lackey
Appoint a general
But he can't nobody
Designate an honest fellow.
For all that,
For all that,
Awards, flattery
And so on
Do not replace
Mind and honor
And all that stuff!
The day will come and the hour will strike,
When mind and honor
The whole earth will have a turn
Stay in first place.
For all that,
For all that,
I can predict you
What will be the day
When around
All people will become brothers!
Analysis of the poem "Honest Poverty" by Burns
The Scottish poet Robert Burns lived in the 18th century, at a time when the aristocracy was in power, and the merits and demerits of a person were determined solely by his origin. But it was a revolutionary time, and new ideas were already gaining momentum.
The poet himself was from a poor peasant family. From childhood, he observed the life of the common people, worked hard and knew how often stupidity and greed accompany wealth and a high title. The main theme of his poem "Honest Poverty" is the opposition of the nobility, prim, pompous and empty, and the poor people. The author considers poverty to be honest, and calls the one who is ashamed of it pathetic.
The poems describe the social structure of that time. The king may grant any rank to a lackey, but he cannot endow him with honesty and intelligence. And the real nobility, according to Burns, are those who have true wealth: a clear conscience, the dignity of a working person and kindness. But these people are forced to eat bread, drink water and cover themselves with rags, while the titled rogues are dressed in silks, drink wine, enjoy various privileges and govern the country. This extremely unfair state of affairs aroused the indignation of progressive people, a revolution had already taken place in France, all of Europe was on the verge of change. The poet is sure that the time will come when intelligence and honesty will take their rightful place, diligence will be appreciated, and all people will become brothers.
The poem is written in the style of a folk song, which later became. Easy in form and style, it was to the taste of the common people and imitates earlier folk compositions that were sung during work or after it in a cheerful company. Despite the weight of the social problems exposed in the lines, the tone of the work is upbeat, cheerful, it conveys the mood of the poor, who, in conditions of hard work and deprivation, still sing songs and enjoy life. And the author in verse is not an outsider, he unites himself with the common people, expresses their thoughts.
“Honest Poverty” is a work that has not lost its relevance even today. Issues of social inequality are not as acute as they were two hundred years ago, but they still worry thinking people. And, although the poems no longer have the popularity of a folk ballad, they are studied by schoolchildren and students, used in theatrical productions, and remind us of love for people and faith in justice.
Walter Scott recalled: “He felt great modesty, simplicity and ease ... In his whole appearance, intelligence and strength were felt, and only his eyes betrayed his poetic nature and temperament. Large and dark, they burned when he talked about something with force and enthusiasm. Never in my life have I seen such eyes. His speech was full of freedom and confidence, without the slightest smugness. He expressed his convictions firmly, but with restraint and modesty. He read his poems slowly, expressively and with great force ... "
The future poet was born near the Scottish city of Eyre, in the family of a poor farmer. The family did not have their own land. I had to rent from the landlord. From childhood, Robert worked in the field, helped his father. I had to work hard. But the stony soil gave a meager harvest. The poverty of the family is also evidenced by the fact that Robert and his brother had one pair of shoes for two, so when it was time to go to school, they studied in turns.
Rice. 1. Portrait. Robert Burns. 1759 - 1796 ()
Despite poverty, the atmosphere of love and kindness reigned in the family. Mother from childhood instilled a love for Scottish culture, sang folk songs, told fairy tales. The father was engaged in raising his sons and even wrote for them the book "Instructions on Faith and Piety." About his father, Robert will write kind words:
My father was an honest farmer.
He didn't have enough
But from their heirs
He demanded order.
Taught dignity to keep,
Though there is no penny in the pockets.
It is more terrible - honor to change,
Than to be in torn rags.
The poetic gift woke up early in Robert. In his notebook he will write: “The rhyme and melody of the verse have become the voice of my heart. I longed to communicate with people, possessed a natural liveliness of character, the ability to notice everything, to make my own judgments about everything.
Robert reflects his observations and thoughts in poems, which he often composes while following the plow. Burns sings of the life of the common people, the hard work of peasants, plowmen, coal miners, shepherds and blacksmiths - "those who are pure in heart, straight in soul and lived the way they should", those who truly love their land and admire its intoxicating beauty. The poet writes about those who know how to value friendship and love:
No loud rank, no papal rank,
Nor the London Rich Bank
Bliss is not given.
But the reward of the awards -
Tear of love, participation look,
Good eye smile!
And if we get into trouble,
And we will find good in it.
Let the trouble be hard for us
But in it you will know
How to distinguish good from evil
Where is the truth and where is the lie.
Burns' timid attempt to publish his poems unexpectedly for a poor peasant was crowned with success. In 1786, his first book of poems was published, only 600 copies. They broke up in a few days! The book was read everywhere! The collection reached the capital of Scotland - Edinburgh, and from there came a letter from the poet Blacklock with a laudatory review and a promise of support to the talented poet.
On November 27, 1786, on a strange horse, without a single letter of recommendation and almost without money, Burns set off for the capital, taking with him his new works. Edinburgh welcomed "poet-plowman", "poetic miracle from the province". The following collections of poems and poems will be printed here.
Burns' poems captivated readers with their sincerity, simplicity, and purity. They are close to folk ballads and songs, the love for which the poet absorbed with his mother's milk. Burns was the first to show the Scots and the English the importance of folk speech, publishing at the age of 27 a collection of poems, mostly written in the Scottish dialect, and then he managed to collect and prepare for publication works of Scottish poetic folklore: folk tales, ballads, songs, poems. It can be said that Robert Burns rediscovered the treasury of folk art for his homeland.
In one of his last poems, the poet exclaimed:
Long live the right to write!
Only he is afraid of the true page,
Who is forced to hide the truth.
All his life the poet searched for the truth. What is the truth about?
Honest poverty.
Rice. 2. Peasant family. Hood. Louis Le Nain ()
Who is honest in his poverty
Ashamed and everything else
The most pathetic of people
Cowardly slave and so on.
For all that,
For all that,
Let us be poor
Wealth -
stamp on gold,
And golden -
We eat bread and drink water
We cover ourselves with rags
And all that stuff
Meanwhile, the fool and the rogue
Dressed in silk and drinking wine
And all that stuff.
For all that,
For all that,
Don't judge by the dress.
Who honestly feeds on labor,
Such I call the nobility,
Rice. 3. Courtiers ()
This jester here is a natural lord.
We must bow to him.
But let him be stiff and proud,
A log will remain a log!
For all that,
For all that,
Though he is all in braids, -
A log will remain a log
And in orders, and in ribbons!
The king of his lackey
Appoint a general
But he can't nobody
Designate an honest fellow.
For all that,
For all that,
Awards, flattery
Do not replace
Mind and honor
And all that stuff!
The day will come and the hour will strike,
When mind and honor
The whole earth will have a turn
Stay in first place.
For all that,
For all that,
I can predict you
What will be the day
When around
All people will become brothers!
Composition features:
verse + chorus;
refrain (repetition of lines in the chorus);
antithesis (artistic opposition).
Examples of opposition (antitheses):
Conclusion: the life of the poor is harsh, full of deprivation and grief, but if you choose between honest poverty and vile wealth, Robert Burns is on the side of the poor.
In the poem "Honest Poverty" Robert Burns is merciless to the rich. His criticism is striking in its bold directness. He calls the lord - jester and log (i.e. blockhead), general - lackey. The poet sympathizes with the king who surrounded himself liars and fools.
Burns dreams of a time when honesty and integrity will be rewarded:
The day will come and the hour will strike,
When mind and honor
The whole earth will have a turn
Stay in first place.
The poet himself did not live to see that day. He died at the age of 37. Hard, exhausting work, constant deprivation, need - all this brought his premature death closer.
In Russian literature, Burns' poetry becomes popular from the beginning of the 19th century. So, for example, I. S. Turgenev wrote to Nekrasov: “I am sure in advance that you will be delighted with Burns and will soon undertake to translate him with pleasure. Burns is a pure fountain of poetry."
- Didactic materials on literature Grade 7. Author - Korovina V.Ya. - 2008
- Homework in literature for grade 7 (Korovina). Author - Tishchenko O.A. - year 2012
- Literature lessons in grade 7. Author - Kuteynikova N.E. - year 2009 Recommended homework
- Carefully consider the illustrations for Burns' poem "Honest Poverty". What compositional technique do they enhance?
- Think about the intonation with which you need to read the poem "Honest Poverty." (sad or uplifting?)
One of the most famous works of the great Scottish poet, in which he expresses his opinion about the poverty of wealth, should be read the verse “Honest Poverty” by Robert Burns. The author directly says that it is better to be an honest poor man than to bathe in ill-gotten wealth. This poem was written shortly before the death of the poet and was inspired by the events of the French Revolution, which Burns saw as a solution to the problems of hard-working people, but not burdened with wealth. Teaching it in a literature lesson in the classroom is like a poetic testament of a farmer who has become a poet.
In the text of Burns's poem "Honest Poverty" there is both mockery, and very caustic, and accusatory irony against the rich, and almost prophetic lines that social inequality must still come to an end. The poetic lines are filled with sincere hope that a world in which those who work will be happy can be built. After reading the work online in full, one can also see the optimism and confidence in the future of the simple Scottish people, of which its author was a part. Expressing his opinion, the talented Scot speaks in a simple but vivid language.
Who is honest in his poverty
Ashamed and everything else
The most pathetic of people
Cowardly slave and so on.
For all that,
For all that,
Let us be poor
Wealth -
stamp on gold,
And golden -
We ourselves!
We eat bread and drink water
We cover ourselves with rags
And all that stuff
Meanwhile, the fool and the rogue
Dressed in silk and drinking wine
And all that stuff.
For all that,
For all that,
Don't judge by the dress.
Who honestly feeds on labor, -
Such I call nobility!
This jester is the court lord,
We must bow to him
But let him be stiff and proud,
A log will remain a log!
For all that,
For all that,
Though he is all in braids, -
A log will remain a log
And in orders, and in ribbons!
The king of his lackey
Appoint a general
But he can't nobody
Designate an honest fellow.
For all that,
For all that,
Awards, flattery
And so on
Do not replace the mind and honor
And all that stuff!
The day will come and the hour will strike
When mind and honor
The turn will come on the whole earth
Stay in first place.
For all that,
For all that,
I can predict you
What will be the day
When around
All people will become brothers!
Robert Burns, the famous Scottish poet, wrote the poem "Honest Poverty". The domestic reader probably got acquainted with this work translated by Samuil Marshak. As can be seen from the title of the work, the author asks eternal questions. It is important for him to understand: what is poverty and what is wealth, what is honor and what is intelligence. Is it possible for one person to combine honor and intelligence at the same time as poverty? Can a rich man be called honest and intelligent?
Robert Burns lived in the 18th century. At that time, Britain was ruled by wealthy English nobility. They were not always the smartest and could make informed and rational decisions, but the presence of titles and money gave them many rights, including the opportunity to take part in the government of the country.
At the same time, many people who showed intelligence and honored dignity, but at the same time were not rich enough and did not have a noble origin, could not find themselves in this life, were not included in the processes of governing the country. This situation seemed unfair to the poet, and criticism of the then order is openly and loudly heard in his work.
Whom does Burns consider to be real noble and worthy of veneration people? First of all, he refers to them those who independently earn their living by their labor. According to Burns, it is impossible to judge a person by the clothes he wears, but the wine he drinks, by the food he eats - such assessments will be superficial and will not fully reflect the inner peace of the interlocutor. Much more important are the spiritual characteristics of a person - kindness, intelligence, honesty. And then questions of origin, the presence of money in the wallet fade into the background.
The poem is built on the opposition of the poor, but honest, with the rich, but dishonest. The author claims that wealth often does not give its owner the characteristics of an honest and noble person. More often there are people whom wealth has made stupid and dishonest. Never, according to the author, money and titles will replace the mind and conscience, which, unfortunately, were lost on the way to fame and fortune.
According to literary critics, the political events that took place in Europe during the life of Robert Burns (for example, the French Revolution) could not but affect him, in his manner of writing and coverage of social problems. The author sincerely considered the revolution a way out for the situation that had arisen in England, seeing no other way to save a person from poverty and lawlessness, into which the desires of those in power plunged them.
In the course of the story, Burns attacks the absolute monarchy as the social order that dominated Europe at that time. According to the author, a king who could do whatever he thought of. which could not be argued at all and which could not be criticized, in fact, was the quintessence of all the evil that dominated the society of that time.
The Scottish poet's poems have been popular among literature lovers for over 200 years. The lines of his most famous works eventually became the slogans under which revolutions were made. Reading Honest Poverty, one wonders how a simple farmer (namely, this was the origin of the author) could create such exquisite ballads, various messages and biting epigrams. At the same time, he worked physically, and his work was hard and at times even overwhelming, but even constant need could not hide in him that joy of life, that fun and that love for humanity that runs through all his works.
