Robber beauty. Russia
"Russia" Alexander Blok
Again, like in the golden years,
Three worn out flapping harnesses,
And the painted knitting needles knit
Into loose ruts...Russia, poor Russia,
I want your gray huts,
Your songs are like wind to me, -
Like the first tears of love!I don't know how to feel sorry for you
And I carefully carry my cross...
Which sorcerer do you want?
Give me your robber beauty!Let him lure and deceive, -
You won't be lost, you won't perish,
And only care will cloud
Your beautiful features...Well? One more concern -
The river is noisier with one tear
And you are still the same - forest and field,
Yes, the patterned board goes up to the eyebrows...AND the impossible is possible,
The long road is easy
When the road flashes in the distance
An instant glance from under a scarf,
When it rings with guarded melancholy
The dull song of the coachman!..
Analysis of Blok’s poem “Russia”
Alexander Blok is one of the few Russian poets who accepted the October Revolution, but, disillusioned with the new regime, still did not want to leave his homeland. This behavior is explained not only by patriotism and love for one’s country, but also by the belief that Russia is a truly powerful power that is capable of rising from the ashes.
Long before the revolution, in the fall of 1908, Alexander Blok wrote an amazing poem called “Russia,” which was destined to become prophetic. It is noteworthy that the poet himself remained faithful to the ideas contained in it until his death, believing that war and a change in the political system cannot significantly affect the foundations of the state and the mentality of people - strong, hard-working and accepting with due respect everything that fate has in store for them.
Alexander Blok has no illusions about his homeland, believing that in many respects it is far from developed Western countries. Therefore, he begins his poem with the lines that in Russia, which has already entered the new, 20th century, nothing is changing. Instead of a car, there is an ordinary carriage with worn-out harnesses in the harness. And still, as in the times of the poet’s youth, “painted knitting needles are stuck in loose ruts...”. The author sees all the wretchedness and poverty of peasant life, gray rickety huts and gloomy people who are only concerned about how to feed their numerous families. However, Alexander Blok admits that he does not feel pity for his country, knowing that it and its inhabitants will be deceived more than once. He sees this as a kind of cross of fate, from which there is no escape. All that remains is to accept it and carry it to the very end, strengthening your faith that someday, perhaps, life will change for the better.
Russia, according to the poet, has many weaknesses, one of which is gullibility and simplicity. Therefore, the poet compares his homeland with a deceived woman who, even in the most difficult situations, will not be lost - “one more worry, one tear makes the river louder.” However, the main strength of Russia lies in its monumentality, because even the most powerful shocks are not able to break its traditions and foundations, which have been created over centuries. This heaviness and slowness have repeatedly saved the country from complete collapse, reliably protecting it from both internal and external enemies. However, Alexander Blok understands that the new era brings with it changes that Russia will no longer be able to ignore. However, the poet really hopes that “the impossible is possible,” and instead of the chaos and destruction that awaits Russia when the socio-political formation changes, peace, equality and justice will reign in the country. AND he himself admits the utopianism of such ideas, revealing his cards and secretly laughing at the fact that there is no point in thinking about transformations, “when the muffled song of the coachman rings with melancholy, wary melancholy.”
Today, more than a century after the creation of the poem “Russia,” it must be admitted that Alexander Blok turned out to be right in many respects. After all, Western-style megacities are just the tip of the iceberg called civilization. At the same time, the Russian outback still remains poor, wretched and hopeless. And also, instead of cars, on broken country roads today you can see creaking carts that get stuck in the mud. But it is in this primitiveness and savagery, according to the poet, that lies the true strength of Russia, its unique ability to overcome difficulties and find a way out even from the most difficult situations, which for the Russian people and for the country as a whole are just a drop in the ocean of a series of everyday worries and problems that we all simply stopped paying attention to.
Again, like in the golden years,
Three worn out flapping harnesses,
And the painted knitting needles knit
Into loose ruts...
Russia, poor Russia,
I want your gray huts,
Your songs are like wind to me, -
Like the first tears of love!
I don't know how to feel sorry for you
And I carefully carry my cross...
Which sorcerer do you want?
Give me your robber beauty!
Let him lure and deceive, -
You won't be lost, you won't perish,
And only care will cloud
Your beautiful features...
Well? One more concern -
The river is noisier with one tear
And you are still the same - forest and field,
Yes, the patterned board goes up to the eyebrows...
And the impossible is possible
The long road is easy
When the road flashes in the distance
An instant glance from under a scarf,
When it rings with guarded melancholy
The dull song of the coachman!..
Analysis of the poem “Russia” by Alexander Blok
A. Blok is a unique poet with his own special view of the world. His beliefs often changed throughout his life, but one thing remained unchanged - his love for his country. In 1908, he wrote the poem “Motherland,” which foreshadows the impending horrors of revolution and civil war.
The bloc treats Russia without ostentatious patriotism and deceitful embellishment of reality. His attitude is similar to the views of another famous poet and writer -. Blok understands backwardness very well and low level development of Russia. For centuries, the main productive force has remained the illiterate peasantry. Civilization concerns only big cities. There are still “loose ruts” in the vast Russian expanses.
Nevertheless, the poet is endlessly fond of “poor Russia”, which is a huge number of gray villages. Blok sees its patriarchy and inability to change as a guarantee of stability. Strong traditions, which hinder the modernization of the country, make it possible to preserve the integrity of the state. The author acknowledges that Russia as a whole has the innate traits of the Russian common people: kindness and gullibility. In the poem there arises collective image Russia is a simple Russian woman who has special beauty and attractiveness. It is easy for some “sorcerer” to deceive her, which has happened more than once in history.
But thanks to the innate instinct for self-preservation, Russia has always been reborn and gathered with new strength. The poet is sure that the country will more than once have to become a victim of deception, which over time will become just another tear in the wide river. To the surprise of her enemies, crushed Russia rises again in her great appearance. The author's thought can be considered prophetic, given subsequent events.
The poem is the author's philosophical reflection on the fate of his homeland. It is written in the form of an appeal lyrical hero to Russia. Expressive means emphasize the unenviable position of the country: epithets (“poor”, “gray”), comparisons (“like tears”). The ellipses reinforce the importance of reflection, its infinity.
In general, the poem “Motherland” ends with an optimistic conclusion - “The impossible is possible.” Blok is confident that from all the trials into which Russia will be plunged by external and internal enemies, it will be able to emerge with honor. Weakness and poverty are only purely external indicators. In the depths of the country lurk enormous forces and an unbending folk spirit, based on centuries-old history and culture.
"Russia"
Again, like in the golden years, Three worn out flapping harnesses, And the painted knitting needles knit Into loose ruts... Russia, poor Russia, I want your gray huts, Your songs are like wind to me, - Like the first tears of love! I don't know how to feel sorry for you And I carefully carry my cross... Which sorcerer do you want? Give me your robber beauty! Let him lure and deceive, - You won't be lost, you won't perish, And only care will cloud Your beautiful features... Well? One more concern - The river is noisier with one tear And you are still the same - forest and field, Yes, the patterned board goes up to the eyebrows... And the impossible is possible The long road is easy When the road flashes in the distance An instant glance from under a scarf, When it rings with guarded melancholy The dull song of the coachman!..
Philological analysis of the poem
The poem “Russia,” written by Alexander Blok in 1908, is part of the cycle of poems “Motherland” and the subcycle “On the Kulikovo Field.” The cycle “On the Kulikovo Field” was not immediately appreciated and noticed by Russian critics: its publication in 1909 in the anthology “Rosehip” (book 10) did not cause noticeable critical responses, nor did its reprint in the collection “Night Hours” (1911) and in the third volume of the first edition of the “Lyrical Trilogy” (1912). And only his appearance in 1915 in the collection “Poems about Russia” made him see Blok as a poet of national significance. “Blok’s last poems are truly classic, - wrote G. Ivanov, - but they are not at all like those poems by Bryusov, for example, which are “difficult to distinguish” from Pushkin or Zhukovsky. This is the natural classicism of a master who has gone through all the challenges of his creative path. Some of them are already at that stage of enlightenment of simplicity, when poetry, like a song, becomes accessible to every heart.”.
Alexander Blok is one of prominent representatives Russian symbolism, the modernist literary movement of that time. The symbolists decisively contrasted the inner world with the outer world and recognized the former’s right to truth. It is impossible to exist in the world without knowing it, and as a form of knowledge they proposed a symbol, endowing it with a special, unusual meaning. The symbol was intended to reflect the deep connections of things accessible only to the gaze of the poet. It is fundamentally polysemantic, and this polysemy is achieved through ambiguity, uncertainty, and blurred image. The basic principle of the image is no colors, only shades. The poet's task is to instill in the reader a certain mood. For this you need new system images, a musical organization of the verse is needed. The aesthetics of symbolism is generally characterized by the idea of synthesis various types arts, hence the “musical” and “picturesque” elements in poetry, the desire to convey a visual impression with the help of the auditory, musical - with the help of the visual. Their searches in the field of poetic phonetics (expressive assonance and effective alliteration) turned out to be fruitful; The rhythmic possibilities of Russian verse expanded, and the stanza became more diverse. This is all reflected in the poem “Russia”.
The cycle “On the Kulikovo Field,” which includes the poem “Russia,” is the poet’s highest poetic achievement of 1907-1908. A piercing sense of the homeland coexists here with a special kind of “lyrical historicism”, the ability to see one’s own in Russia’s past, what is close - today’s and “eternal”. In his thoughts about the fate of the Motherland, Blok turns to the appearance of old Russia, which has long been characterized as a poor and humiliated Russia. This is how Blok sees her too.
By the way, Lermontov in the poem “Motherland” also turns his attention to the poverty and poverty of his native land. However, Blok, unlike Lermontov, uses beautiful images, while Lermontov only realistically depicts his homeland.
Blok’s poem conveys specific signs of Russia at the time in which it was written (“painted knitting needles,” “worn harnesses,” “gray huts”).
Alexander Blok continues the Nekrasov tradition, depicting the unity of the everyday (“gray huts”) and the ideal (“the impossible is possible”).
On the one hand, a specific landscape is depicted before the reader (“loose ruts”, “robber beauty”), and on the other hand, Russia appears in the image beautiful woman(“your beautiful features”, “patterned dress up to your eyebrows”).
By 1908, Blok had already experienced a personal drama (Mendeleev fell in love with his friend, Alexander Bely), and he was also shocked by the revolution of 1905, which brought only disappointment to the life of society, so sad motives can be heard in the poem. The image of the Beautiful Lady, who became a symbol of Blok's early poems, found a new embodiment in this poem. According to Blok, the only woman worthy of love is her homeland, Russia.
From all that has been said, we can conclude that the theme of this poem is the fate of Russia, and the idea is the pain that the lyrical hero expresses for the future of his homeland. The motive of tragedy is manifested in words such as “tears”, “longing”, “regrets”, “muffled song”, “and I carry my careful cross”. Blok believes that you don’t choose your homeland and therefore loves Russia as it is.
A poem written in the form of a monologue begins with the word “again” (thus providing the first psychological impact on the reader), as if Blok wants to take us back, and at the same time the image of Gogol’s Rus'-troika immediately appears. It becomes clear that Russia does not change with time, but remains the same as it was.
The text of the poem is divided into stanzas, which organizes and directs the reader’s perception. Each stanza is interconnected with the previous one, and together they form a complete text. Division into stanzas ensures the highlighting of the most important meanings of the text, and also activates the attention of the addressee-reader. The coherence of the text of the poem “Russia” is emphasized with the help of semantic repetitions, namely: exact lexical repetitions (“Russia, poor Russia...”, “Your gray huts are to me, Your songs are windy to me...”, “Well, well! One concern is more - One the river is noisier with a tear...", "Forest, and field, Yes, patterned boards up to the eyebrows...", "When the road flashes in the distance... When it rings with guarded melancholy...") and root repetitions ("Let man it and about man no... And only concern then man it...", "And not possible oh possible O…"). On the one hand, repetitions add melodiousness to the poem, on the other hand, they strengthen the motive of tragedy. The first and last stanzas occupy strong positions in the text: the first!!!, and the last is hope for a bright future for Russia; The oxymoron “the impossible is possible” is especially peculiar. These words, placed side by side, acquire increased semantic significance.
The title “Russia” means addressed to the Motherland. It occupies an absolutely powerful position in the poem, because it is with it that one begins to get acquainted with the text. It introduces the reader to the world of the work and to some extent expresses the theme of the poem.
Undoubtedly, word-symbols, sound and color writing, as well as the syntactic organization of the poem “Russia” are the dominant features of this text, the consideration of which allows us to better understand the system of artistic images of the poem and the development of the author’s idea.
In Alexander Blok's poem we encounter words that, under his pen, acquired additional semantic and semantic nuances. For example, “cross” takes on an additional meaning in this poem: the cross as a symbol of a heavy burden, the difficult fate of the Russian person. And at the same time, this is a holy sign, giving us the right to hope that God will definitely help; this is hope for a bright future. Russia is not only a country, but also the only woman worthy of love.
To enhance the feeling of sadness and melancholy against the backdrop of all this poverty, Blok uses sound recording, thanks to which the reader can plunge into this “gray” day of Russian everyday life, hear the squelching of dirt underfoot, the creaking of wheels and the distant sounds of a woman’s cry. Sadness, grief, poverty are intensified by the alliteration of voiceless consonants: “t” (again, golden, three erased, fluttering - in the first; will deceive, care will cloud its features - in the fourth quatrain); “sh” (you won’t disappear, you won’t perish, just). In the last six-line, on the contrary, there are a lot of sonorous consonants, which emphasizes the optimism of the poet’s view of the Motherland and hope for a bright future.
In terms of color, the poem has a discreet flavor (“gray huts”), which emphasizes the author’s love for any Russia, even a poor one.
The tropics of Blok’s “Russia” are unique. The poem contains only life-like artistic images. For example, metaphorical epithets: “sloppy ruts”, “long road”, “instant glance”, “cautious melancholy”, “dull song”, “gray huts”, which make it brighter, more aesthetic, the pictures seen become more real. The epithet “robbery” to the word “beauty” is very important. It expresses rebellion, stubbornness, and unpredictability. In the first stanza, the constant epithet “golden years” is used, adding expressiveness to poetic speech.
It is not difficult to notice the unity of temporal and spatial representations, which are commonly called chronotope. In “Russia” the present tense is presented, which is spoken of by verbs used in the present tense, for example: “chatter”, “get stuck”, “ringing” - and the future, this can be judged by the verbs of the future tense: “will lure”, “deceive” ", "you will disappear", "you will not perish", "fog", "shine". The space in this poem is Russia, as depicted by Blok.
“Russia” is written in iambic tetrameter, which gives a slight melodiousness and enlightenment. In the third foot, pyrrhic is observed, which makes the poem unique and filled with thoughtfulness.
Thanks to the cross rhyme, “Russia” becomes like a conversation.
The alternation of male and female rhyme gives the poem smoothness and completeness.
Of course, the syntax of the poem “Russia” is interesting. Almost every stanza contains sentences with ellipses, which means that the author was in thought and was thinking while writing the poem. Exclamatory sentences add emotional coloring and inspiration.
In addition, in “Russia” there is an inversion: “golden years”, “harnesses flutter”, “knitting needles get stuck”, “painted knitting needles”, “grey huts”, “wind songs”, “patterned board”, “long road”, “the gaze flashes”, “the song rings” - thereby causing intonational emphasis on the key words.
The last stanza is special, consisting of six lines. In it, Blok lists the features inherent in Russia. Roads, distances, coachman songs, “instant glance,” that is, the penetration of the soul - all these are purely Russian realities.
Thus, such language means, as semantic repetitions (exact lexical and root), words with incremented semantic and semantic meanings, alliteration of consonant sounds carry an important semantic load in the poem “Russia”. Tropics, metrics and syntax enhance the emotional and aesthetic impact on the reader. This poem very successfully combines the general linguistic, general stylistic and individual author, since words consisting of real morphemes are combined with stylistic devices (repetitions, metaphors, epithets) and with the implementation of individual author new formations, such as repetitions, word-symbols, inversion , alliteration. Taking into account the general linguistic, general stylistic and individual author's, you come to the conclusion that patriotic feelings for the lyrical hero, who is close to the author, are above all. Russia for Blok is God’s chosen special country with its own national pride. He predicts the coming storms and tragedies of Rus', but despite this, Blok loves Russia and believes in it.
