To love and be a heavy cross. "To love others is a heavy cross ...", analysis of Pasternak's poem
This poem was written in 1931. The creative period since 1930 can be called special: it was then that the poet sings love as a state of inspiration and flight, comes to a new understanding of the essence and meaning of life. Suddenly he begins to understand the earthly feeling differently in its existential, philosophical meaning. Analysis of the poem “To love others - heavy cross»Is presented in this article.
History of creation
The lyrical work can be called a revelation, since in it Boris Pasternak captured a difficult relationship with two significant women in her life - Evgenia Lurie and Zinaida Neuhaus. The first lady was his wife at the very beginning of the literary path, and the poet met the second much later. Evgenia was about the same circle as the poet, he knew how she lived and breathed. This woman understood art, and literature in particular.
Zinaida, on the other hand, was a person far from bohemian life, she perfectly coped with the daily duties of a hostess. But for some reason, at some point, it was a simple woman who turned out to be clearer and closer to the poet's refined soul. Nobody knows why this happened, but after a short time Zinaida became the wife of Boris Pasternak. Poetic analysis“Loving others is a heavy cross” underlines the depth and anguish of this uneasy relationship with two women. Unwittingly, the poet compares them, analyzes his own feelings. These are the individual conclusions of Pasternak.
"To love others is a heavy cross": analysis
Perhaps, this poem can be considered one of the most mysterious poetic creations. Semantic load in this lyric work very strong, it takes the spirit of real aesthetes and excites the soul. Boris Pasternak himself ("To love others is a heavy cross") analysis own feelings called it the greatest mystery that cannot be solved. And in this poem, he wants to understand the essence of life and its integral component - love for a woman. The poet was convinced that the state of falling in love changes everything inside a person: significant changes take place with him, the ability to think, analyze, and act in a certain way is being revised.
The lyrical hero feels a sense of reverence for a woman, he is determined to act for the benefit of developing a great and bright feeling. All doubts recede, fade into the background. He is so amazed by the greatness and beauty of the state of integrity that has opened up to him that he experiences delight and ecstasy, the inability to live on without this feeling. The analysis "To love others is a heavy cross" reveals the transformation of the poet's experiences.
The state of the lyric hero
In the center is the one who experiences all transformations in the most direct way. Internal state the lyrical hero changes with each new line. His previous understanding of the essence of life is replaced by a completely new understanding and acquires a tinge of existential meaning. What does it feel lyrical hero? He suddenly found a safe haven, a man who can love him wholeheartedly. In this case, the lack of education, the ability for high reflections is perceived by him as a gift and grace, as evidenced by the line: "And you are beautiful without convolutions."
The lyrical hero is ready to devote himself until the end of his days to solving the mystery of his beloved, which is why he compares it with the riddle of life. An urgent need for change awakens in him, he needs to free himself from the burden of previous disappointments and defeats. The analysis “Loving Others is a Heavy Cross” shows the reader how profound and significant changes were taking place with the poet.
Symbols and meanings
This poem uses metaphors that will seem incomprehensible to a common man in the street. To show the full power of the ongoing rebirth in the soul of the hero, Pasternak puts certain meanings into words.
"Rustle of Dreams" personifies the mystery and incomprehensibility of life. This is something truly elusive and piercing, which cannot be comprehended only by the mind. It is also necessary to connect the energy of the heart.
"The rustle of news and truths" means the movement of life, regardless of external manifestations, shocks and events. Whatever happens in the outside world, life in an amazing way continues its inexorable movement. Contrary to everything. Contrary to.
"Verbal litter" symbolizes negative emotions, experiences of the past, accumulated grievances. The lyrical hero speaks of the possibility of renewal, of the need for such a transformation for himself. The analysis “Loving Others is a Heavy Cross” stresses the importance and necessity of renewal. Love here becomes a philosophical concept.
Instead of a conclusion
The poem leaves pleasant feelings after reading. I would like to remember for a long time about it and about the meaning that it contains. For Boris Leonidovich, these lines are a revelation and an open secret of the transformation of the soul, and for readers - another reason to think about their own life and its new possibilities. Analysis of Pasternak's poem "To love others is a heavy cross" is a very deep disclosure of the essence and meaning of human existence in the context of a single human existence.
Surprisingly, the first two lines of this lyric poem by Boris Pasternak have long become aphorisms. Moreover, they are quoted in different situations and with different emotional connotations: - with bitterness and a sense of doom, and sometimes sarcasm; "And you are beautiful without convolutions"- with humor or irony. Poetic lines, in which there is a frank antithesis, took on a life of their own and ceased to be associated with people directly with Pasternak's poem. Well, this situation can be corrected by understanding what the author was writing about and what was the basis of his work.
The biography of the writer shows that the poem "To love others is a heavy cross", dated 1931, had its addressees and more than a specific life plot... The first line of the poem expresses the whole burden of life with the poet's first wife, the artist Yevgenia Lurie, who was once passionately beloved by him, who was engaged in creativity all day and night and did not touch everyday life at all. As a result, the poet was forced to master the skills of a housewife and completely lost interest in the prospect of indulging the whims of a "bohemian" wife.
The second line of the poem should be taken almost literally. It was dedicated to the poet's new muse, which was fundamentally different from its predecessor. At the time of meeting with Brice Pasternak, she was married to his friend pianist Heinrich Neuhaus, but, unwittingly breaking the conventions, she completely charmed the poet with her spontaneity and naivety. Apparently, in contrast to Eugenia, his wife, Zinaida Neuhaus significantly won with her down-to-earthness and lack of "Convolutions"... Under this metaphor the poet implies both the simplicity of the temper of his new muse and the lack of intelligence (a special case when this is perceived as a virtue).
The interest in Zinaida, with whom the poet married after the divorce, later justified itself, since Pasternak lived with his second wife for many years in mental and domestic comfort. “Weirdness, mystery,” someone will say. And he will be right. Even for the poet himself, the "charm" of his wife's "secret" was "The answer to life is tantamount"... That is, incomprehensible, and therefore, probably, interesting.
The poet's heart is dear and "Rustle of dreams", and "Rustle of news and truths", of which, thanks to his wife, his serene family life consists. Obviously, metaphor "Rustle of news and truths" means talking about simple and understandable, and therefore real things that the poet accepts with all his heart. A "Rustle of dreams" can mean both frequent discussion of dreams, and light and happy Days like a dream. This assumption is supported by the phrase: "Your meaning, like air, is selfless", - in which there is a characteristic comparison - "like air"... This is how the lyrical hero of the poem sees his beloved. But Pasternak also notices the sources of such an easy disposition and attitude towards life: “You are from a family of such foundations,” and this causes his indisputable approval. Surprisingly, it is pleasant for an intelligent and intelligent person, in whose head there is a constant creative process ...
It's easy to wake up and see
Shake the verbal dirty linen from the heart
And live without clogging up in the future,
Not getting clogged? … What does the poet mean? Perhaps not just verbal rubbish, but rubbish of long and painful clarifications. He contrasts them with families of other "foundations" and sums up: "All this is not a big trick".
An ingenuous, but melodic poem, consisting of 3 stanzas, is easily remembered by the reader thanks to the used in it iambic tetrameter(two-syllable foot with stress on the second syllable) and cross rhyme.
Pasternak, discovering in his new beloved a noticeable confusion and misunderstanding of his poems, made a promise that especially for Zinaida he would write poetry in a simpler and more understandable language. The work "To love others is a heavy cross" may well be a confirmation that the poet sought to be understood by his wife and, most likely, achieved his goal.
Irina Morozova
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- "July", analysis of Pasternak's poem
In the life of Pasternak, there were three women who were able to win his heart. A poem is dedicated to two of the lovers, the analysis of which is presented in the article. It is studied in the 11th grade. We invite you to familiarize yourself with brief analysis“To love others is a heavy cross” according to the plan.
Brief analysis
History of creation- the work was written in the fall of 1931, two years after meeting Zinaida Neuhaus.
Poem theme- love; qualities of a woman deserving love.
Composition- The poem is created in the form of a monologue-address to your beloved. It is laconic, but, nevertheless, is divided into semantic parts: the hero's attempt to unravel the secret of the special beauty of his beloved, brief reflections on the ability to live without "litter" in the heart.
genre- elegy.
Poetic size- written in iambic tetrameter, cross rhyme ABAB.
Metaphors – “To love others a heavy cross”, “your secret to the solution of life is tantamount to charm”, “rustle of dreams”, “rustle of news and truths”, “to shake verbal dirty linen from the heart”.
Epithets – "You are beautiful", "meaning ... unselfish", "not a big trick".
Comparison – "Your meaning is like air."
History of creation
The history of the creation of the poem should be sought in the biography of Pasternak. The first wife of the poet was Evgenia Lurie. The woman was an artist, so she did not like and did not want to engage in everyday life. Boris Leonidovich had to do household chores himself. For the sake of his beloved wife, he learned to cook, wash, but for a long time he was not enough.
In 1929 the poet met Zinaida Neuhaus, the wife of his pianist friend Heinrich Neuhaus. The modest, pretty woman immediately liked Pasternak. Once he read his poems to her, instead of praise or criticism, Zinaida said that she did not understand anything from what she had read. The author liked this sincerity and simplicity. He promised to write more clearly. Love relationship Between Pasternak and Neuhaus developed, she left her husband and became the poet's new muse. In 1931 the analyzed poem appeared.
Theme
The poem develops a popular theme of love in literature. The poet's life circumstances leave an imprint on the lines of the work, therefore, poetry should be read in the context of Pasternak's biography. The lyrical hero of the work completely merges with the author.
In the first line, Pasternak hints at a relationship with Evgenia Lurie, whom it was really difficult to love, since the woman was quick-tempered and wayward. Further, the lyrical hero turns to his beloved. He considers its advantage to be "the absence of convolutions", that is, not too high intelligence. The poet believes that this is what gives a woman charm. Such a representative of the weaker sex is more feminine, can be an excellent housewife.
The author believes that the beloved lives not so much with the mind as with the feelings, so she knows how to hear dreams, news and truths. It is as natural as air. In the last stanza, the poet admits that it is easy for him to change next to such a woman. He realized that it is very easy to "shake out the verbal rubbish from the heart" and not allow a new contamination.
Composition
The poem is created in the form of a monologue addressing your beloved. It can be divided into semantic parts: the hero's attempt to unravel the secret of the special beauty of his beloved, brief reflections on the ability to live without "litter" in the heart. Formally, the work consists of three quatrains.
genre
The genre of the poem is an elegy, since the author ponders an eternal problem, in the first line one feels sadness, apparently from the fact that he felt this "heavy cross" on himself. There are also signs of a message in the work. The poetic meter is iambic tetrameter. The author uses the ABAB cross rhyme.
Expression tools
To reveal the theme and create the image of an ideal woman, Pasternak uses artistic means. Main role plays metaphor: "To love others a heavy cross", "your secret to the solution of life is equal to your charms", "the rustle of dreams", "the rustle of news and truths", "to shake out the verbal rubbish from the heart."
Much less in text epithets: "You are beautiful", "meaning ... unselfish", "not a big trick." Comparison just one thing: "your meaning is like air."
And you are beautiful without convolutions,
And your delights are a secret
The answer to life is tantamount.
In the spring, the rustle of dreams is heard
And the rustle of news and truths.
You are from a family of such foundations.
It's easy to wake up and see
Shake the verbal dirty linen from the heart
And live without clogging up in the future,
All this is not a big trick.
Analysis: Already in the first lines of the poem, the main idea of the work is outlined. The lyrical hero singles out his beloved, believing that the beauty of this woman is in simplicity. But at the same time, the heroine is idealized. It is impossible to understand and unravel her, therefore "her secret's charm is equivalent to the answer to life." The poem is a confession of a lyric hero who can no longer imagine his life without his beloved.
In this work, the author only touches on the theme of love. He does not address other problems. But, despite this, it should be noted the deep philosophical meaning of this poem. Love, according to the lyrical hero, lies in simplicity and lightness:
In the spring, the rustle of dreams is heard
And the rustle of news and truths.
You are from a family of such foundations.
Your meaning, like air, is selfless.
The beloved of the lyrical hero is part of the force that is called truth. The hero is well aware that you can very easily get away from this all-consuming feeling. You can wake up once, as after a long sleep, and no longer plunge into a similar state:
It's easy to wake up and see
Shake the verbal dirty linen from the heart.
And live without clogging up in the future,
All this is a little trick.
But, as we can see, the hero does not accept such a departure from his feelings.
The poem is written in two-tone iambic, which gives the work a great melody, helps to subordinate it to the main idea. The love in this poem is as light as its size.
Pasternak refers to metaphors that he often uses in his text: "secret delights", "rustle of dreams", "rustle of news and truths", "shake out the verbal rubbish from the heart." In my opinion, these tropes give this amazing feeling a great mystery, contradiction and, at the same time, some elusive charm.
In the poem, the poet also resorts to inversion, which, to some extent, complicates the movement of the lyric hero's thought. However, this technique does not deprive the work of lightness and some airiness.
The poet also conveys the feelings and experiences of the lyric hero with the help of sound writing. So, in the poem sibilant and whistling - "s" and "sh" prevail. These sounds, in my opinion, give this amazing feeling a lot of intimacy. I think these sounds create a whispering feeling.
Pasternak considers the state of love to be the most valuable that a person has, because only in love do people show their best qualities. “To love others is a heavy cross ...” is a hymn to love, its purity and beauty, its irreplaceability and inexplicability. I must say that before last days it was this feeling that made B.L. Pasternak is strong and invulnerable, despite all the difficulties of life.
For the poet, the concept of "woman" and "nature" are fused together. Love for a woman is so strong that the lyrical hero begins to feel a subconscious dependence on this emotion. He does not think of himself outside of love.
Despite the fact that the poem is very small in volume, it is nevertheless very capacious in terms of ideology and philosophy. This work attracts with its lightness and simplicity of the truths hidden in it. I think this is the manifestation of Pasternak's talent, who at times could difficult situations find truth that is perceived very easily and naturally.
The poem "To love others is a heavy cross ..." became, in my opinion, the key work about love in the work of Pasternak. To a large extent, it was it that became the symbol of the poet's work.
Size - 4 iamb
PINE
In the grass, between the wild balsams,
Chamomile and forest bathing,
We lie with our hands thrown back
And raised their heads to the sky.
Grass on a pine clearing
Impenetrable and thick.
We'll look at each other and again
We change positions and places.
And now, immortals for a while,
We are numbered among the pines
And from diseases, epidemics
And deaths are set free.
With intentional monotony
Like an ointment, thick blue
Lays down as bunnies
And stains our sleeves.
We share the rest of the redwood,
Under the goose bump
Pine sleeping pill
Lemon with incense breathing.
And so frantic on the blue
Run up the trunks of fire
And we won't take our hands out for so long
From under the broken heads
And so much breadth in the gaze,
And everyone from the outside is so submissive,
That somewhere behind the trunks the sea
Dreams all the time to me.
There are waves above these branches
And falling off a boulder
Hail the shrimp
From the agitated bottom.
And in the evenings behind the tug
Dawn stretches on traffic jams
And casts fish oil
And a hazy haze of amber.
It gets dark, and gradually
The moon buries all traces
Under the white magic of the foam
And the black magic of water.
And the waves are getting louder and higher
And the audience on the float
Crowded by the post with the poster,
Indistinguishable in the distance
Analysis:
The poem "Pines" can be attributed to the genre category landscape-reflection... Reflection on the concepts of the eternal - time, life and death, the essence of all that exists, the mysterious process of creativity. Considering that during this period the destructive wave of the Second World War was in full swing across Europe, these poems sound especially poignant, like an alarm bell. What should a poet do in such terrible times? What role can he play? Pasternak, being a philosopher, was painfully looking for an answer to these questions. All his work, especially the late period, suggests that the poet is trying to remind humanity of things beautiful and eternal, to return to the path of wisdom. Creative people always see beauty, even in ugly things and events. Isn't this the main vocation of the artist?
The simplicity with which The Pines are written, prose, the description of the most ordinary landscape - all this borders on sacredness, causes an incomprehensibly aching feeling of love for the homeland, real, sewn into the subconscious at the genetic level. Iambic tetrameter with pyrrhic as the size was chosen by the poet subconsciously, I don’t want to believe in other reasons for this choice. There is something pagan, eternal in the way these verses sound. It is impossible to remove or rearrange the words in places, they are woven into a single wreath. Everything is natural and irreplaceable, like Mother Nature. The heroes fled from the hustle and bustle, civilization, murder and grief. They merged with nature. Ask the Mother for protection? We are all children of a huge planet, beautiful and wise.
Size - 4 iamb
FROST
The dead time of falling leaves,
Shoals of the last geese.
No need to get upset:
Fear has big eyes.
Let the wind, the rowan be busy,
Scares her before bed.
The order of creation is deceiving
Like a fairy tale with a good ending.
You will wake up from hibernation tomorrow
And, going out onto the winter surface,
Again around the corner of the pumping station
You will stand rooted to the spot.
Again these white flies
And the roofs, and the Yuletide grandfather,
Both the pipes and the lop-eared forest
Dressed as a jester in a masquerade.
Everything is icy in a big way
In a hat to the very eyebrows
And a creeping wolverine
The path dives into a ravine.
Here frost vaulted tower,
Lattice boards on the doors.
Behind a thick snowy curtain
Some kind of gatehouse wall,
The road, and the edge of the copse,
And a new thicket is visible.
Solemn calm
Threaded
Looks like a quatrain
About the sleeping princess in the coffin.
And to the white dead kingdom,
Throwing mentally in a shiver,
I whisper softly, "Thank you,
You give more than they ask. "
Analysis: Aesthetics and poetics of B.L. Pasternak, the most extraordinary and complex poet of the twentieth century, is based on the interpenetration of individual phenomena, on the fusion of everything sensual.
In a poem "Frost" it is expressed so strongly that it is difficult to understand who the author is telling us about. Whether he depicts a landscape or depicts a person.
The dead time of falling leaves
Shoals of the last geese.
No need to get upset:
Fear has big eyes.
In fact, lyrical hero inseparable from nature, there are no barriers between them.
The intricate labyrinth of Pasternak's metaphoricity seems to grow in "Frost" from line to line. Landscape space becomes larger, from one emotion - "Don't get upset" caused by natural wilting increases to the whole world "And the white dead kingdom".
The poem "Hoarfrost" was written not in the first person, but not in the third, and this is not a paradox, but filigree skill.
Endless life nature freezes in momentary constraint. Frost, a fragile crust of ice, seems to make life slow down, which gives the soul of the lyrical hero the opportunity to open up towards nature, to dissolve in it.
The main motive works are the motive of the road.
And the more dynamic it moves lyrical plot, the further the hero rushes to the knowledge of the complex and multifaceted world, the slower time moves, bewitched by frost. The road here is not a linear path forward, but the wheel of life, "Order of creation" in which autumn is replaced by winter.
The fabulousness, the enchantment of natural life is created through a difficult associative series:
Looks like a quatrain
About the sleeping princess in the coffin
Pushkin motives it is no coincidence here, because the poem "Hoarfrost" is an aspiration to truth and beauty, which constitutes the basis of spiritual life, and Pushkin's lyrics are a word that bewitches with its simplicity, harmonious elements of the word. In general, the poem is full of references to Russian classical lyrics. You can also see a forest that looks like a fairytale tower. But behind the fairy tale Pasternak hides life, such as it is.
Death images that filled the poetic space of the last lines do not create a feeling of doom, although the notes that indicate mental pain creep into the narrative. But nevertheless, here these motives indicate that consciousness rises to a different, more high level... And like dissonance "Dead kingdom" life-affirming lines of the ending sound:
I whisper softly "Thank you"
Their solemnity unites the broken Parsnip syntax into a harmonious artistic structure.
The title of the poem "Hoarfrost" is significant. This natural phenomenon B.L. Pasternak attached importance to the transition from one state to another, the path that the lyrical hero takes, he overcomes through a breakdown, while the frost is also a breakdown stage between autumn and winter, testifying to the whirlwind of life, unstoppable in its striving forward.
Size - 3 amphibrachia
JULY
A ghost roams the house.
Steps overhead all day.
Shadows flicker in the attic.
A brownie wanders around the house.
Dangling out of place everywhere
He gets in the way of everything
In a dressing gown sneaks up to the bed
Tears the tablecloth off the table.
Do not wipe your feet at the threshold,
Runs in in a whirlwind of draft
And with a curtain like a dancer
Soaring up to the ceiling.
Who is this ignorant mischief
And this ghost and double?
Yes, this is our visitor,
Our summer vacationer.
For all his short rest
We rent the whole house to him.
July with a thunderstorm, July air
Rented rooms from us.
July carrying in clothes
Dandelion fluff, burdock,
July, going home through the windows,
Everything is loudly speaking out loud.
Steppe unkempt disheveled,
Smelled of linden and grass
The tops and the smell of dill,
July meadow air.
Analysis: The work "July" written by the poet in the summer of 1956 during his vacation at his dacha in Peredelkino is sustained in a similar vein. From the first lines, the poet intrigues the reader, describing the phenomena from the other world and claiming that "a brownie wanders around the house," who pokes his nose into all affairs, "rips the tablecloth off the table," "runs in in a whirlwind of draft," and dances with the window curtain. However, in the second part of the poem, the poet reveals his cards and notes that the culprit of all mischief is July - the hottest and most unpredictable summer month.
Despite the fact that there is no more intrigue, Pasternak continues to identify July with a living being, which is characteristic of an ordinary person. So, in the perception of the author, July is a “summer resident-vacationer” to whom a whole house is rented out, where he, and not the poet, is now a full-fledged owner. Therefore, the guest behaves accordingly, pranks and frightens the inhabitants of the mansion with incomprehensible sounds in the attic, slamming doors and windows, hangs "dandelion fluff, burdock" on his clothes and does not consider it necessary to observe at least some decency. The poet compares July to a steppe unkempt mess who can afford the most stupid and unpredictable antics. But at the same time, it fills the house with the smell of linden, dill and meadow grasses. The poet notes that uninvited guest, which rushed into his house like a whirlwind, very soon becomes sweet and desirable. The only pity is that his visit is short-lived, and soon July will be replaced by the August heat - the first sign of the impending autumn.
Pasternak is not at all embarrassed by such a neighborhood. Moreover, the poet speaks of his guest with light irony and tenderness, behind which lies a genuine love for this time of the year, filled with joy and serene happiness. Nature seems to dispose to postpone all important matters for a while and keep the naughty June company in his harmless amusements.
Size - 4 iamb
Sergey Alexandrovich Yesenin
was in the literary trend of Imagism.
the reason for coming to imagism. the desire to find a solution to the most important conflict in life: the revolution that Yesenin dreamed of and to which he dedicated his art, more and more fueled by the frenzied glow of corpses. Imagism stood outside politics. in 1924 the poem "Song of the Great Campaign" was published, where the party leaders Trotsky and Zinoviev were mentioned.
main themes in creativity:
1.the theme of homeland and nature;
2. love lyrics;
3.poet and poetry
the theme of the homeland is one of the vast themes in the poet's work: from patriarchal (peasant) Russia to Soviet Russia.
Goy you, Russia, my dear,
Huts - in the vestments of the image ...
There is no end and no end to be seen -
Only the blue sucks the eyes.
Like a visiting pilgrim,
I watch your fields.
And at the low outskirts
The poplars are ringingly withering away.
Smells like apple and honey
Through the churches, your meek Savior.
And hums behind the korogod
There is a merry dance in the meadows.
I'll run along a crumpled stitch
To the freedom of green lech,
Meet me like earrings
Girlish laughter will ring.
If the saint's host cries out:
"Throw you Rus, live in paradise!"
I will say: "There is no need for paradise,
Give me my homeland. "
Analysis:
early poem. 1914
Yesenin's image of the homeland is always associated with images of nature. this technique is called psychological parallelism
in this poem, the poet glorifies the patriarchal principles in the life of the village "huts in the vestments of the image", "Through the churches, your meek Savior."
in the poem one can hear the sadness of the outgoing patriarchy. and this once again proves the boundless love for their land.
the poet refuses paradise, accepting any homeland.
Yesenin delights with the discreet beauty of nature "poplars are withering away"
in his early poetry the poet is pleased with everything that he notices in nature.
the poem looks like folk song... epic motives.
pictorial and expressive means:
a metaphor, "blue sucks the eyes", which expands the space of the verse.
comparison,
antithesis
"To love others is a heavy cross" Boris Pasternak
To love others is a heavy cross,
And you are beautiful without convolutions,
And your delights are a secret
The answer to life is tantamount.In the spring, the rustle of dreams is heard
And the rustle of news and truths.
You are from a family of such foundations.
Your meaning, like air, is selfless.It's easy to wake up and see
Shake the verbal dirty linen from the heart
And live without clogging up in the future,
All this is not a big trick.
Analysis of Pasternak's poem "To love others is a heavy cross"
The personal life of Boris Pasternak was full of fleeting novels and hobbies. However, only three women were able to leave an indelible mark in the poet's soul and cause a feeling, which is usually called true love... Boris Pastrenac got married quite late, at the age of 33, and a young artist Yevgenia Lurie became his first wife. Despite the fact that the spouses were crazy about each other, quarrels constantly broke out between them. The poet's chosen one turned out to be a very hot-tempered and wayward lady. Plus, she considered it beneath her dignity to be engaged in the arrangement of everyday life while another unfinished painting was waiting for her on the easel. Therefore, all household chores had to be taken over by the head of the family, who for several years family life learned to cook, wash and do the cleaning perfectly.
Of course, Boris Pasternak and Evgenia Lurie had a lot in common, but the poet dreamed of family comfort and that there would always be an ordinary person with him, devoid of creative ambitions. Therefore, when in 1929 he was introduced to the wife of his friend, pianist Heinrich Neuhaus, literally from the first moments he fell in love with this modest and sweet woman. During one of his visits to a friend, Boris Pasternak read several of his poems to Zinaida Neuhaus, but she honestly admitted that she did not understand anything about them. Then the poet promised that he would write especially for her in a simpler and more accessible language. At the same time, the first lines of the poem "To love others is a heavy cross" were born, which were addressed to the lawful wife. Developing this theme and addressing Zinaida Neuhaus, Pasternak noted: "And you are beautiful without convolutions." The poet hinted that the subject of his hobbies is not distinguished by high intelligence. And it was this that most of all attracted the author in this woman, who was an exemplary hostess and fed the poet with excellent dinners. As a result, something happened that should have happened: Pasternak simply recaptured Zinaida from his legal spouse, divorced his own wife and remarried the one who had become his true muse for many years.
In this woman, the poet admired her simplicity and artlessness. Therefore, in his poem, he noted that "the charm of your secret to the clue of life is equivalent." With this phrase, the author wanted to emphasize that a woman is not painted by her mind or natural attractiveness. Its strength lies in the ability to live according to the laws of nature and in harmony with the surrounding world. And for this, according to Pasternak, it is not at all necessary to be an erudite person who is able to support a conversation on philosophical or literary topics. It is enough just to be sincere, to be able to love and sacrifice oneself for the sake of loved one... Addressing Zinaida Neuhaus, the poet writes: "Your meaning, like air, is selfless." This simple phrase is full of admiration and admiration for a woman who does not know how to pretend, flirt and conduct small talk, but is pure in her thoughts and actions. Pasternak notes that it is not difficult for her to wake up in the morning and "shake the verbal dirty linen from her heart" in order to start the day from scratch, joyfully and freely, "to live without clogging up in the future." It was this amazing quality that the poet wanted to learn from his chosen one, and it was precisely such spiritual purity, poise and prudence that he admired.
At the same time, the author noted that it is not at all difficult to love such a woman, since she seemed to be created for a family. Zinaida Neigauz became for him the ideal wife and mother, who won his heart with disinterested care for loved ones and the desire to always come to the rescue in difficult times.
However, touching affection for his wife did not prevent Boris Pasternak in 1946 from again experiencing love agony and having an affair with an employee of the magazine “ New world»Olga Ivanskaya. But even the news that his chosen one was expecting a child did not affect the poet's decision to keep his own family, in which he was truly happy.
