Anna Akhmatova clasped her hands under her black veil. Analysis of Akhmatova’s poem “Clenched her hands under a dark veil...

Each verse of Anna Andreevna Akhmatova touches the finest strings of the human soul, although the author does not use many means of expressiveness and figures of speech. “Clenched her hands under a dark veil” proves that the poetess could talk about complex things in fairly simple words, accessible to everyone. She sincerely believed that the simpler the language material, the more sensual, vibrant, emotional and life-like her poems became. Judge for yourself...

Features of Akhmatova's lyrics. Thematic groups

A. A. Akhmatova proudly called herself a poet; she did not like it when the name “poetess” was applied to her; it seemed to her that this word belittled her dignity. And indeed, her works stand on a par with the works of such grandiose authors as Pushkin, Lermontov, Tyutchev, Blok. As an Acmeist poet, A. A. Akhmatova paid great attention to word and image. Her poetry had few symbols, few figurative means. It’s just that every verb and every definition was selected with special care. Although, of course, Anna Akhmatova paid great attention to women's issues, that is, topics such as love, marriage. There were many poems dedicated to her fellow poets and the topic of creativity. Akhmatova also created several poems about the war. But, of course, the bulk of her poems are about love.

Akhmatova’s poems about love: features of the interpretation of feelings

In almost no poem by Anna Andreevna, love was described as a happy feeling. Yes, she is always strong, bright, but fatal. Moreover, the tragic outcome of events can be dictated by various reasons: inconsistency, jealousy, betrayal, indifference of a partner. Akhmatova spoke about love simply, but at the same time solemnly, without diminishing the importance of this feeling for any person. Often her poems are eventful, in them one can distinguish a unique analysis of the poem “Clenched her hands under a dark veil” confirms this idea.

The masterpiece called “The Gray-Eyed King” can also be classified as love poetry. Here Anna Andreevna talks about adultery. The gray-eyed king - the beloved of the lyrical heroine - dies by accident while hunting. But the poetess slightly hints that the husband of this very heroine had a hand in this death. And the ending of the poem sounds so beautiful, in which a woman looks into the eyes of her daughter, the colors... It would seem that Anna Akhmatova managed to elevate a banal betrayal to a deep poetic feeling.

A classic case of misalliance is depicted by Akhmatov in the poem “You are my letter, dear, don’t crumple.” The heroes of this work are not allowed to be together. After all, she always has to be nothing to him, just a stranger.

“Clenched hands under a dark veil”: theme and idea of ​​the poem

In a broad sense, the theme of the poem is love. But, to be more specific, we are talking about separation. The idea of ​​the poem is that lovers often do things rashly and without thinking, and then regret it. Akhmatova also says that loved ones sometimes show apparent indifference, while in their souls there is a real storm.

Lyrical plot

The poetess depicts the moment of parting. The heroine, having shouted unnecessary and offensive words to her lover, hurries up the steps after him, but, having caught up, she can no longer stop him.

Characteristics of lyrical heroes

Without characterizing the lyrical hero, it is impossible to make a full analysis of the poem. “Clenched Hands Under a Dark Veil” is a work in which two characters appear: a man and a woman. She said stupid things in the heat of the moment and gave him “tart sadness.” He - with visible indifference - tells her: “Don’t stand in the wind.” Akhmatova does not give any other characteristics to her heroes. Their actions and gestures do this for her. This is a characteristic feature of all Akhmatova’s poetry: not to talk about feelings directly, but to use associations. How does the heroine behave? She clasps her hands under the veil, she runs so that she does not touch the railing, which indicates the greatest tension of mental strength. She doesn't speak, she screams, gasping for breath. And there seems to be no emotion on his face, but his mouth is twisted “painfully,” which indicates that the lyrical hero cares, his indifference and calmness are ostentatious. Suffice it to recall the verse “Song of the Last Meeting”, which also says nothing about feelings, but a seemingly ordinary gesture betrays inner excitement, the deepest experience: the heroine puts a glove on her left hand on her right hand.

An analysis of the poem “Clenched her hands under a dark veil” shows that Akhmatova constructs her poems about love as a lyrical monologue in the first person. Therefore, many mistakenly begin to identify the heroine with the poetess herself. This is not worth doing. Thanks to the first-person narration, the poems become more emotional, confessional and believable. In addition, Anna Akhmatova often uses direct speech as a means of characterizing her characters, which also adds liveliness to her poems.

Then like a snake, curled up in a ball,

He casts a spell right at the heart,

That's all day long like a dove

Coos on the white window,

It will shine in the bright frost,

It will seem like a lefty in the slumber...

But it leads faithfully and secretly

From joy and from peace.

He can cry so sweetly

In the prayer of a yearning violin,

And it’s scary to guess it

In a still unfamiliar smile.

Tsarskoe Selo

And the boy who plays the bagpipes

And the girl who weaves her own wreath,

And two crossed paths in the forest,

And in the far field there is a distant light, -

I see everything. I remember everything

I cherish it lovingly and meekly in my heart.

There's only one thing I never know

And I can’t even remember anymore.

I'm not asking for wisdom or strength.

Oh, just let me warm myself by the fire!

I'm cold... Winged or wingless,

The merry god will not visit me.

Love conquers deceitfully

In a simple, unsophisticated chant.

So recently, it’s strange

You weren't gray and sad.

And when she smiled

In your gardens, in your house, in your field,

Everywhere it seemed to you

That you are free and at liberty.

You were bright, taken by her

And drank her poison.

After all, the stars were larger

After all, the herbs smelled different,

Autumn herbs.

Autumn 1911

She clasped her hands under a dark veil...

“Why are you pale today?”

- Because I am tartly sad

Got him drunk.

How can I forget? He came out staggering

The mouth twisted painfully...

I ran away without touching the railing,

I ran after him to the gate.

Gasping for breath, I shouted: “It’s a joke.

All that has gone before. If you leave, I’ll die.”

Smiled calmly and creepily

And he told me: “Don’t stand in the wind.”

Kyiv

The grass is yellower.

The wind blows early snowflakes

Just barely.

It no longer flows in narrow channels -

The water is getting cold.

Nothing will ever happen here -

Oh, never!

The willow spread out in the empty sky

The fan is through.

Maybe it's better that I didn't

Your wife.

The memory of the sun in the heart weakens.

What is this? Dark?

Maybe!.. He will have time to come overnight

Kyiv

High in the sky the cloud turned gray,

Like a squirrel skin spread out.

He told me: “It’s not a pity that your body

It will melt in March, fragile Snow Maiden!”

In the fluffy muff, my hands were cold.

I felt scared, I felt somehow vague.

Oh how to get you back, quick weeks

His love, airy and momentary!

I don't want bitterness or revenge,

Let me die with the last white blizzard.

I wondered about him on the eve of Epiphany.

I was his girlfriend in January.

Spring 1911

Tsarskoe Selo

The door is half open

Linden trees blow sweetly...

Forgotten on the table

Whip and glove.

The circle from the lamp is yellow...

I listen to the rustling sounds.

Why did you leave?

I don't understand…

Joyful and clear

Tomorrow will be morning.

This life is beautiful

Heart, be wise.

You're completely tired

Beat slower, slower...

You know, I read

That souls are immortal.

Tsarskoe Selo

You drink my soul like a straw.

I know that its taste is bitter and intoxicating.

But I will not break the torture with prayer.

Oh, my peace lasts for many weeks.

When you finish, tell me. Not sad

That my soul is not in the world.

I'll go the short way

Watch children play.

Gooseberries bloom on the bushes,

And they are carrying bricks behind the fence.

Who are you: my brother or lover,

I don’t remember, and I don’t need to remember.

How bright it is here and how homeless,

A tired body rests...

And passers-by think vaguely:

That's right, I just became a widow yesterday.

Tsarskoe Selo

I'm having fun with you when I'm drunk -

There is no point in your stories.

Early autumn hung

Yellow flags on elms.

Both of us are in a deceitful country

We wandered and bitterly repent,

But why a strange smile

And we smile frozen?

We wanted stinging torment

Instead of serene happiness...

I won't leave my friend

And dissolute and tender.

Paris

I’m sitting here writing an interpretation of this poem. I don't understand what to write about. Do you really like it? I don't see the point in it. Maybe it's because I'm forced to do it. Who likes being forced? Or maybe it’s the aunt who writes dumbly. In any case, I don't understand her. Sorry if something is wrong. I shouldn’t have written to you, because you have a paid account, and this already means a lot... well, at least that you don’t care about people like me.
Thank you

Analyzing is always difficult.

It's probably never been read aloud to you...

Excellent verse, simply wonderful! It shows the whole story of the breakup... what’s not clear???

A somewhat distorted musical version of this poem:
http://ru.youtube.com/watch?v=CW2qyhGuVvQ

And I think it’s very cool. There’s such an interesting attitude between the hero and the heroine. He believes that she doesn’t want to see him next to her, but nevertheless worries about her.

That's right, I agree with your statement!

in fact, he just doesn’t care about her feelings. in response to the admission that she can’t live without him, he just pretends to be worried about her... very sad verse

This is just a magnificent poem; out of all the work Akhmatova covered at school, I only remembered this.

brilliant poem! I understand it this way: the girl “became bitchy”, for which she paid...

I really love this poem!
“Don’t stand in the wind” - that’s how I feel - because he doesn’t believe her anymore, that “if you leave, I’ll die.” For some reason I remembered from the film “The Hussar Ballad”: “- Do you want the truth? - No, I don’t play this game anymore. I don’t want the truth or lies.”

But in fact, he still loves her. Just very tired.

During the evacuation, Akhmatova and Ranevskaya often walked around Tashkent together. “We wandered around the market, around the old city,” Ranevskaya recalled. Children ran after me and shouted in unison: “Mulya, don’t irritate me.” This was very annoying, it prevented me from listening to Anna Andreevna. In addition, I acutely hated the role that brought popularity for me." I told Akhmatova about this. “Don’t be upset, each of us has our own Mylya!” I asked: “What is your “Mylya?” “I clenched my hands under a dark veil” - these are my “Mules,” said Anna Andreevna.”

the poem is actually brilliant.. about love and the severity of parting.. about how absurdly a careless word can kill trust and feelings.. when I read it for the first time, a chill went down my spine.. you don’t even understand it, you have to feel it

I read this poem before, but did not think about its depth..
and now, finding myself in a similar situation to the heroine, I felt it and let it pass through me - I burst into tears

I really liked it)

but it seems to me that starting with the words “clasped her hands under a dark veil” this means he has already died and she remembers what was the impetus for this accident, for such a separation

There is some kind of understatement in this poem. He is so indifferent to the heroine, and she is so indifferent to him, as they say, with all her heart. I wanted the best, but it turned out...

Great poem

This poem talks about how the girl was just playing... she didn’t want it, but he just couldn’t stand it and left, she realized it too late... he still loves her “don’t stand in the wind,” but he can’t be brought back. .. I really like this poem... I know it by heart...

I would compare this poem to photography. photography in motion. Everything is clearly visible and you can even examine the details, understand the presence of a conflict and the drama of the situation. But, just like looking at a photograph, for example, of a girl looking detachedly out the window, one can only guess about the reasons for her thoughtfulness, or maybe sadness... Also in the work in question, someone believes that the last phrase thrown is “don’t stand in the wind " - dictated by concern for the still loved one, some considered it a period, others an ellipsis. What is certain is that this is not a dot above the “i”. This is precisely why I don’t really like so-called “multi-layered works”, for which I am often criticized. Everyone says that the author wanted to tell us in his work... What did the author want to say? The author no longer exists, and everyone decides for themselves what the author wanted to tell us, or rather invents. Someone reads critics - enlightened interpreters and translators from the divine to the philistine. Although they link the lines of the work with the facts of the biography, they, nevertheless, also make assumptions regarding the author’s intention. As a result, we get the very problem that haunts almost everyone, and which is captured in this photograph in verse - she said, he answered. He understood the meaning of what she said in his own way, turned around, left... The meaning of his answer is a mystery to her, and to the reader too. What is this? Care or indifference? Desire to leave uncertainty? For what? To come back or to make you go dark in revenge? There are no answers. And for the reader’s soul, rushing about in search of an answer, who may have found himself in a similar situation in his life, suffered, did not know what to do, how to understand the reasons for the tragedy unfolding in his life, such uncertainty, understatement is painful and unpleasant. In essence, it forces you to repeat your personal experience in miniature, without receiving the answers that the reader is often looking for in works, because if you think about it, few people read lyrics solely for the beauty of the style or just to see the picture (description of the situation), in fact, from quite everyday life. It is this repeated experience that explains the fact that sensitive people can even burst into tears when reading it, they are so “touched to the quick.”

In conclusion, I would like to summarize)))) Drawing conclusions is always very difficult. It is much easier to describe the situation in a comprehensive, elegant style, and put a long ellipsis at the end, inviting you to draw your own conclusions. If the author's goal is to start a vengeful process in the reader's head, perhaps this is the best way. But this goal is unlikely to be achievable if the reader has not experienced something similar to what is described in his life. In this case, the reader will simply skim the text with his eyes and pass by; the text will not evoke a response in his soul. If the reader is close to the described experiences, he probably himself has repeatedly thought about the questions that arise, but did not find answers, conducting a long and painful monologue with himself. And, in this case, after reading the work, the reader first relives his little tragedy, then again finds no answers and falls into the void... Perhaps you will tell me that there are no universal and correct answers, so what are they for? To this I will answer that there must certainly be an answer, a conclusion, a crystallization of the thought embedded in the work. The reader can agree with this conclusion or, on the contrary, disagree, present his own arguments and, thus, come to the only truth acceptable to himself, find his answer, emerging from the labyrinth of events and facts in which he has been wandering for a long time.
So I, in my written, “dissenting” opinion, reached the moment when it is necessary to draw a conclusion from everything that was said, the expressed opinion crystallized in one phrase. And I will tell you again that it is difficult. I will say that it’s easier to put a long ellipsis after the word “wanders”, something beautiful, philosophical))))) So that you, being my reader at the moment, leave the table a little hungry)))
So, IMHO - literary works in which the author, having spread his thoughts throughout the entire work, does not give himself the trouble at the end to express his own opinion, attitude, for me, in some abstract sense of the word, are faceless, since they do not contain the most important part of the author who created them - his attitude to the situation, to the issues presented in his work, his personal opinion. Having cut out a picture from life from paper and words, even if it was cut out very beautifully, the author did not endow the idea with a soul. Therefore, having thought about why some works, despite the majesty and significance attributed to them, are categorically uninteresting, I found the only answer - because they are empty, despite the beauty of their style.

I remember from school it was with him that my love for poetry began. The cruel girl, I feel very sorry for her, without even realizing it, she ruined her great feeling for her. He loves her, but he doesn’t have the strength to be there, it’s easier to leave than to stay.

He is a very proud man who cannot get over himself. Yes, she did not understand to the very last point what this man meant to her. She liked it, it flattered her vanity that he was selflessly in love with her. But when I realized that I could lose him, I was horrified by this thought alone and ran after him. I'm afraid that it's too late - it's burned out(((. It's a shame that few modern poets can express such a range of feelings in a few lines. In fact, at least, a big story ran through me when I read this short brilliant poem. BRAVO !

He is not worried about her, but mockingly tells her not to follow him and that it is completely useless to return him. With this phrase he puts an end to their relationship.

“Clenched her hands under a dark veil...” (1911)

The collection “Evening” opened with a poem in the title of the book.<>Rogo identified its main theme - “Love”. Waiting for feelings, moments of meetings, separation, memories - experiences that fulfill the inner world of the lyrical heroine Akhmatova. Each of them is subjective, intimate and at the same time unusually creative, as it awakens the soul to life:

Then in the bright frost it will flash, It will seem like a left-handed tree in the slumber... But faithfully and secretly it leads Or to joy and from peace...

("Love", 1911)

The poem “Clenched her hands under a dark veil...” is one of the first in the collection of miniatures, which detail episodes of the heroine’s life and love. Their specifics are reminiscent of diary entries (“In a fluffy muff, my hands were cold...,” “Forgotten on the table // A whip and a glove...”, “It struck three in the dining room...”, “I lost my mind, oh strange boy. ,//On Wednesday, at three o’clock!..”, “I put on my right hand//The glove from my left hand...”). This poem also begins with the following detail: “I clenched my hands under a dark veil...”

Key details carry a double meaning: they not only record the situation, but also convey the psychological mood of the lyrical heroine, the reflection of which is the artistic purpose of the poem. Thus, in this miniature, love appears as a tragic experience, full of insoluble contradictions (“...If you leave, I’ll die” - “...I got him drunk with tart sadness,” “He came out staggering” - “He smiled calmly.. ."). It fills the inner world of the heroes, it is evidenced by their features (“Why are you pale today?”, “Your mouth is twisted painfully...”). But it does not bring happiness, since each of the lovers is not able to shout to the beloved (“Gasping, I shouted: “A joke // that’s all that happened...””), to achieve understanding and sympathy. Psychological experience, thanks to the depiction of a dramatic episode, acquires a generalized meaning: the poem reflects not a momentary mood, but the eternal tragedy of the separation of people on the road.

The figurative antitheses also find correspondence at the phonics level; the instrumentation of the poem is based on the alliterative sounds “r” - “l”:

How can I forget? He came out staggering. My mouth twisted painfully... I ran away, without touching the railing, I ran after him to the gate.

Two sonorant sounds, contrasting in their emotional coloring, permeate all three stanzas, creating the impression of swaying scales, leaning either towards a smooth, melancholy “l” (which is especially noticeable in the rhymes of the first stanza: “veil” - “sadness”), then towards a rolling, alarming “ R". Rhymes with “r” (“I’ll die”, “in the wind”) crown the poem, emphasizing the tragic hopelessness in the mood of the lyrical heroine.

(first version “When in the anguish of suicide...”-1917, final text-1921)

The events of 1917 became a new “bitter” milestone for Akhmatova in the history of the country. She was one of the first to see the beginning of “terrible circumstances” already in the February revolution ( Briefly about yourself. 1965). Being in Petrograd at that time, despite the shooting, she walked around the city, observing what was happening and absorbing new impressions. In her opinion, modernity appeared as a “Troubled and anxious hour,” when the country continued to live, “as under Catherine,” “boring on the islands” and in the theater, forgetting how, “frightened by their own groans, // The crowd rushes about in mortal anguish "("Every day there is one...", "The river flows slowly through the valley...", "Now goodbye, capital...", "And all day long, afraid of your own groans..." - all 1917. ).

In September 1917, Akhmatova’s third collection, “The White Flock,” was published. Recalling the time when he appeared, Akhmatova wrote in her autobiography: “Transport froze - it was impossible to send a book even to Moscow... Magazines were closed, newspapers too... Hunger and devastation grew every day” (“A Brief About Me”) . The poems included in her next books (“Plantain”, 1921; “Anno domini” (“In the Lord’s Summer”), 1921-1922) reflected changes in the author’s worldview caused by “the pain of defeats and insults,” and at the same time confirmed the internal regularity of the poet's path.

In the lyrical heroine of the poem “I had a voice. He called comfortingly...” a new incarnation of Pushkin’s “prophet” is visible. Again, as in the early miniature “A dark-skinned youth wandered through the alleys...”, “a century” separates the poets. In 1817, the ode “Liberty” was written, which is indicated as a source of reminiscence by the eight-line in the first stanza of Akhmatova’s poem, repeating (inaccurately) Pushkin’s stanza, and the size of both works (iambic tetrameter), and the similarity in some supporting images. The image of “shame” in Pushkin’s ode is repeated twice:

Autocratic villain! I hate you, your throne...

You are the horror of the world, the shame of nature...

Oh shame! oh the horror of our days! Like beasts, the Janissaries invaded!.. Inglorious blows will fall... The crowned villain died...

For A. Akhmatova, this is one of the important concepts in characterizing modern Russia:

I will wash the blood from your hands, I will take the black shame from my heart...

Thanks to Pushkin’s reminiscence, it becomes clear what has become the new “horror of our days,” “the shame of nature.” In the ode “Liberty”, both “tyrant” and “murderers”, violence “on thrones” and in popular “storms” are equally unacceptable for the lyrical hero, after which the “terrible voice of Klia” (the muse of history) is always heard, broadcasting a new “ slavery". The revolution is included in a chain of tragic misfortunes in Russia, its “defeats and insults,” which are repeated with living inevitability and evoke a desire to “leave” this world, this unfortunate country “forever.”

The “voice,” bringing consolation, “called” to leave Russia, which was turning into a desert, a “deaf land,” promising to give a “new name” to the lyrical heroine. She finds herself at a “crossroads,” like the hero of another Pushkin poem, who saw “in the dark desert” the appearance of the “six-winged seraphim” and heard the “voice of God,” giving him a “new name” as a prophet:

“Arise, prophet, and see and heed, Be fulfilled by my will, And, going around the seas and lands, Burn the hearts of people with your verb.”

("Prophet", 1826)

The lyrical heroine of A. Akhmatova hears not “God’s voice”, but “unworthy speech”, the “voice” of the tempter, calling to “defile” oneself with betrayal, to abandon Russia in “blood”, in sin, after “defeat” in the next historical battle. The “grievances” of the lyrical heroine are inseparable from the troubles of “her land”; oblivion will not satisfy them. These “sad lines,” as in Pushkin’s “Memoirs” (1828), cannot be “washed away” neither with tears nor with time, cannot be “covered” with a “new name,” especially since in the context of Akhmatova’s poem this is the name of Judas.

Pushkin's "prophet", thanks to a miraculous transformation, "in the dark desert" heard "noise and ringing", learned that only a "wise", fiery word can find an echo in the "hearts of people." The “prophet”, not finding understanding among his “neighbors,” returned to the “desert”, where all “creatures... earthly”, keeping the “eternal covenant,” were “submissive” to him. For the lyrical heroine A. Akhmatova, as well as for Pushkin’s hero, the desert is filled with suffering and life, it has a “name”, a history in which contemporaries participate, whose “sorrowful spirit” is the legacy of the past. Awareness of our role as continuers of tradition gives peace in trials, prophetic knowledge of the future.

The reminiscent background and the solemn rhythm of iambic tetrameter complement the odic intonation of the poem. The celebration of perseverance, courage, dignity, and loyalty is the answer to both temptation and the historical question about the fate of Russia. “Sorrowful circumstances” are opposed by the Russian national Character, the “sorrowful spirit”, invincible by the outside world.

“I am not with those who abandoned the earth...” (1922)

In A. Akhmatova’s poems of the post-revolutionary years, the motive of chosenness, the exaltation of those whom: In a bloody circle, day and night, cruel languor fills with more and more significance...

("Petrograd, 1919")

Above them is the “Black Death... wing”, around “Everything is plundered, betrayed, sold”: “collapsed dirty houses”, “hungry melancholy”, but it is they (“we”) who are destined to see the “wonderful”, “unprecedented”, “desired from the ages” light (“Everything is plundered, betrayed, sold...”, 1921).

A special tragedy was added to A. Akhmatova’s worldview during this period by her difficult personal experience - on August 25, 1921, she was shot on charges of counter-revolutionary activity. Despite the fact that their marriage ended in divorce in 1918, the image of a “friend”, “darling” in A. Akhmatova’s lyrics throughout her career was often based on the personality of her first husband. Aware of his importance as a poet, she spent her entire life engaged in biographical and historical-literary research related to his work.

In the poem “I am not with those who abandoned the earth...” the image of the homeland is created in “bloody”, “black” tones: “the dull child of a fire”, death, “blows”. But the road of those “who abandoned the earth” is also “dark.” The motive of Their guilt is strengthened: they left her “to be torn apart by enemies.” But the lyrical heroine does not feel anger towards them, but pity:

I always feel sorry for the exile, Like a prisoner, like a patient.

“Wanderers” remain alone in a “foreign” land and fall out of the chain of generations that create Russian history. They are doomed to oblivion “in a later assessment,” but in the present their life is bitter,

Like "wormwood".

The lyrical heroine “not with those... who abandoned the earth,” she

remains

Here, in the depths of the fire

Ruining the rest of my youth...

In this choice, we follow the concept that is expressed in Tyutchev’s “Cicero” (1830), a poem from which reminiscences were characteristic of a variety of authors in the post-revolutionary period. Few, like A. Akhmatova, saw in the “terrible circumstances” of the revolution “sublime spectacles,” a “feast” of the gods, to which the “all-good” “called” the one “who visited this world // In its fatal moments.” The lyrical heroine of Akhmatov’s poem, without rejecting “a single blow” of fate, becomes a participant in a tragedy full of high passions and self-sacrifice. However, the style of the poem is different from Tyutchev’s: there is no poeticization in the imagery, there is no odic solemnity in the intonation, reduced, everyday, “rude” vocabulary is used (“threw the earth”, “rude flattery”, “pathetic...//Like a prisoner, like a sick person”, “someone else’s bread”). The compositional structure also reveals the author’s desire to “remove” the tragic pathos. The first and third stanzas characterize polar positions, each of which is a reflection of the tragedy of time, and in the second and fourth the tension is relieved. The tragedy has become an everyday reality. And its heroes are no longer Tyutchev’s “interlocutors” of the gods, “spectators” of their “council”, like “celestial beings”, but people whose “remaining youth” fell on “fateful minutes”. The image became more specific, epic content appeared in it, a reflection of actual features and events. At the same time, lyrical “songs” become that divine “cup” from which they, following Tyutchev’s heroes, drink “immortality”:

And we know that in the later assessment every hour will be justified... But in the world there are no more tearless people, more arrogant and simpler than us.

Akhmatova’s patriotic lyrics continue to follow the two trends that are presented in the poems of the post-revolutionary years - the understanding of what is happening as a tragedy that requires heroism, courage and high thoughts from contemporaries, and the desire to express love for the homeland in “simple”, real images.

"Courage" (1942)

The Great Patriotic War found Akhmatova in Leningrad. After some time, she was evacuated to Moscow, then to Tashkent. In 1944 she returned to the destroyed Leningrad. During the war, Akhmatova recalled: “Like other poets, she often performed in hospitals and read poetry to wounded soldiers.”

The poem “Courage” was included in the cycle “Wind of War” (1941 - 1945). The cycle has a rich emotional palette - from everyday sketches to a folk “oath” and a funeral lament. In the image of the lyrical heroine, the most important characteristic is her unity with the people, with the history of the country:

We swear to the children, we swear to the graves, That no one will force us to submit! (" Oath", 1941)

She personifies the soul of her homeland, for her there is no “bad, no good, no average”, everyone is “baby”, she sees her own in everyone child." At the same time, a generalized view of events is combined with a very personal feeling of pain:

And you, my friends of the last call!

In order to mourn you, my life has been spared.

Do not freeze over your memory like a weeping willow,

And shout all your names to the whole world! (“And you, my friends of the last draft...”, 1942)

The poem “Courage” is a hymn to the strength of spirit of those who, having been caught up in the historical wave, have not lost the idea of ​​true, timeless values. For the “great Russian word” the people are ready to pay the highest price - to remain homeless, “to lie under dead bullets,” since this concept expresses the essence of the national soul, which contemporaries of great events must pass on to their “grandchildren” as “free and pure” as received from our ancestors:

It’s not scary to lie under dead bullets, It’s not bitter to be left homeless, And we will preserve you, Russian speech, the Great Russian word... We will carry you free and pure, And we will give you to our grandchildren, and we will save you from captivity...

The statement is sealed with a final chord, reminiscent of the end of a prayer: “Forever!” The struggle of “mortal hearts” appears eternal both in Akhmatova and in the poem, which is a reminiscent background for “Courage,” in “Two Voices” (1850) by Tyutchev. The rhythm itself reminds of him - all the odd and tenth lines of Akhmatov’s poem are written in amphibrach tetrameter, like Tyutchev’s.

But the most important thing is thematic and figurative proximity. In Tyutchev’s poem, two “voices” are heard arguing with each other, one of which contrasts the earthly view of people’s lives (“For them there is no victory, for them there is an end”) with the romantic exaltation of “unyielding hearts”:

Who, while fighting, fell, defeated only by Fate, He snatched the victorious crown from their hands.

A. Akhmatova, creating the image of the “hour of courage,” was based on Tyutchev’s appeal addressed to all “mortals”:

Take courage, O friend, fight diligently, Even though the battle is unequal...

No matter how brutal the battle...

A. Akhmatova’s image of courage has a specific characteristic; it is closely connected with modernity, it glorifies the dedication of the defenders of the homeland and the great values ​​of the national spirit. In contrast to the inviting, instructive intonation of Tyutchev’s “voice,” the lyrical heroine of Akhmatov’s poem feels like one of those “performing” a feat, entering into a “battle,” creating the fate of her fatherland. This determines the form of the oath in the first person:

We know what is now on the scales and what is happening now. The hour of courage has struck on our watch, And courage will not leave us...

Due to the fact that the heroine expresses not a philosophical conclusion, but a personal feeling that unites her with the whole people, the image acquires a realistic sound, like the heroic pathos of the oath. The promise to “preserve” the Russian word, to “save” the homeland is not a romantic exaggeration, it comes from the depths of the national spirit, its significance is confirmed by the thought. The motive of history is embodied in an appeal to the future (“grandchildren, to eternity. The final exclamation (“Forever!”), forming a monometer line in the free amphibrach of the poem, in connection with the rhythmic expectation is repeated in the reader’s mind, strengthening the affirmative intonation, prolonging the sound of the stanza and establishing its projection into infinity.

"Seaside Sonnet" (1958)

The 1950s were a time to sum up the poet’s long and fruitful life, so rare in Russian literature. Akhmatova, concluding her autobiography, wrote: “I never stopped writing poetry. For Me, they contain my connection with time...” This applies primarily to patriotic lyrics, to the awareness of one’s place in the formation of national character. But the lyrical heroine A. Akhmatova has a special sense of time - she lives not only in modern times, but also in history and in eternity. In this regard, summing up, she perceives her earthly existence as a stage in the world

“Seaside Sonnet” was included in the unpublished collection “Odd” (1936-1946), which later became one of the sections of the “Seventh Book”. The poem embodies such a solid form as a French sonnet. His lyrical heroine has an unusually keen sense of the temporality and instantaneity of her life:

Everything here will outlive me,

Everything, even the old birdhouses...

“Spring Air” also evokes thoughts about the approaching end, the impossibility of a new “spring,” and the irreversibility of time for humans. The heroine hears the “voice of eternity,” sounding “with an unearthly irresistibility.” The focus on the thought of death puts A. Akhmatova’s poem on a par with the thoughts of the lyrical hero in poems of the late 1820s - 1830s, including in the elegy “Am I wandering along the noisy streets...” (also written in iambic tetrameter , 1829). In a sonnet, just like in an elegy, a chain of antitheses is built, expressing the opposition of life and death. To the blossom and radiance of life (“blossoming cherry”, \ “The radiance of the light month is pouring”) Akhmatova gives central

place, in contrast to the aspirations of the lyrical hero AC. Pushkin, in every sign of life, “guess” the “anniversary of the coming death.” The phonic originality of Pushkin’s elegy is built on the assonant sound “u”, which is already from the first stanza, when it is unclear

Whether I wander along the noisy streets, or enter a crowded temple, or sit among crazy youths, - I indulge in my dreams... Such sound symbolism is noticeable in the future: I say: the years will fly by...

I look at the solitary oak...

And even though an insensible body is equal to decay everywhere...

And indifferent nature...

The contrast to such a minor tonic is the combination of vowels in the last line (in the text of the remaining stanzas they are not emphasized by the corresponding vocabulary): “Shine with eternal beauty.”

In Akhmatova they appear at the very beginning of the sonnet, and in the second stanza a figurative and phonic reminiscence of the last line of Pushkin’s elegy is used:

For Akhmatov’s lyrical heroine, death is the road to eternity, and it “seems so easy,” “white,” “bright.” It is one for everyone, and on it you can meet with the most cherished roads, here

Everything looks like the alley near the Tsarskoye Selo pond.

To one of those alleys along which the “swarthy youth” “wandered” in the poem written by Akhmatova forty-seven years earlier. Thus, several time layers intersected in the sonnet: the youth and maturity of the poets, the “hour” about which they reflected in poems, the future that their descendants will see, looking closely at the silent witnesses of their earthly existence (“... the patriarch of the forests // will outlive my age forgotten..."; "Everything here will outlive me,//Everything, even the old birdhouses..."). Events in all “centuries” develop in parallel, like the plots of different writers who become peers and contemporaries of the reader. Therefore, for the heroine Akhmatova, life (“the emerald thicket”) and the “unearthly invincibility” of eternity, which seems “even brighter” as it approaches, are equally beautiful. Following Pushkin, she, freeing herself from the random, the superficial, strives to be “closer to the sweet limit,” leaving “everything” external in the earthly world, bringing the most precious things to the “Tsarskoye Selo pond.”

"Native Land" (1961)

The epigraph (the last two lines from the poem “Not with those who abandoned the earth...”) returns to the events and the moods of forty years ago. Remembering again “those who abandoned the land,” the lyrical heroine argues with how emigrants determined the reasons for leaving. The constant for them was the exaltation of their choice as abandonment of their homeland for the sake of freedom.

In the same 1961, a book by one of the “younger” Acmeists, “The Contribution of Russian Emigration to World Culture,” was published in Paris. In exile, Adamovich became the head of the “Parisian school” of Russian poets, one of the most famous critics. Comparing the literary process in Russia and abroad, he wrote: “We have no more talent in emigration, of course. But our personal creative responsibility remained inviolable - the life-giving condition of any spiritual creation - we still had the right to choose, doubt and search, and therefore in some areas we were truly destined to represent that Russia, whose voice had been in our native land for forty years. has been suppressed for more than a year.”

Akhmatova’s lyrical heroine, on the contrary, understands freedom as a feeling of unity with the people and country. For her, the homeland is “not involved in anything”, is not to blame for people’s misfortunes, and itself is “silent” along with them. The poet's freedom is inseparable from a sense of duty: he can write “Poems About Her” only by seeing what is happening from the inside. To confirm his thoughts, the author uses a number of reminiscences from classical examples of Russian civic and patriotic lyrics. The compositional structure of the poem is similar to Lermontov’s “Motherland” (1841). The first eight-line of A. Akhmatova, like the initial stanza of Lermontov, is dedicated to refuting the usual understanding of patriotism:

We don’t carry it on our chests in treasured amulet, We don’t write poems about her to the point of sobbing, She doesn’t awaken our bitter dreams, It doesn’t seem like a promised paradise...

They live here, “sick, in poverty,” resting from worries in a “bitter sleep,” not believing illusions, “not even remembering” their native land. The lyrical heroine, like the entire people with whom she feels her unity (“we”), is related to her by everyday reality, herself

Yes, for us it’s dirt on our galoshes, Yes, for us it’s a crunch in our teeth...

The realistic specificity of the image of Russia evokes associations with the lyrics. The impression is reinforced by rhythmic echoes: the use of hexameter lines in the free iambic first octet of A. Akhmatova makes one recall Nekrasov’s “Motherland” (1846) and “Elegy” (1874), in which, in turn, Pushkin’s reminiscences are visible (primarily from “The Village”, --1819). The analogy with the tragic pathos of “Elegy” is important for understanding how Akhmatova embodies the theme of poetry. Similar to her, the poet’s life appears as a battle for “worthy” ideals of people’s happiness. The artist is obliged to share the fate of his country, without thinking of making it “in his soul / an object of purchase and sale.” Again his “incorruptible voice” should become “an echo... of the people”:

Love and secret freedom inspired a simple hymn in my heart, And my incorruptible voice Was the echo of the Russian people.

(. *KN, Y. Pluskova", 1818)

Akhmatova’s “simple hymn,” built on “not composed” images (their reality was emphasized by the interjection “yes” in the ninth and tenth lines), ended with a philosophical generalization. The thirteenth line began with the conjunction “but”, since the final thought in its sublime tone contradicted the deliberate reduction of the previous details. The lyrical elaboration of the image of the “native land” gave special poignancy to the assertion of the rightness of those who did not “abandon” the country in order to “become” its history:

But we lie down in it and become it,

That's why we call it so freely - ours.

The semantic diversity is emphasized by rhythmic polymetry. The first eight lines, which outline the “strange love” for the fatherland (Lermontov, “Motherland”), are written in free iambic. It is replaced by a three-foot anapest in a quatrain, in which from the denial of the usual signs of patriotism (“We don’t wear it on our chests,” “we don’t compose,” “we don’t even remember”) the lyrical heroine moves on to characterize the features of her “native land” that are important to her (“Yes, for us it is..."). The final couplet (tetrameter anapest) is the semantic pinnacle of the poem, sharply different in intonation. This intonation difference is also characteristic of a number of poems (“No matter what the year, the strength decreases...”, 1861; “The heart is torn from torment...”, 1863), in which the poet is “stunned” by the sounds of “Drums, chains, an axe.” , only by the power of lyrical “providence” imagined a “golden spring” over the “fatherland”, wherever

In the expanse of freedom

Everything merged into the harmony of life...

(“My heart breaks from agony...”)

A century later, Akhmatova, rejecting such a departure from reality, found within it the grounds for the elevation of man. The era that called the poet’s contemporaries “more tearless, // More arrogant and showed their strength of spirit. Without expecting a “promised paradise”, reward, incorruption, realizing that everything will be mixed up in the “dust” of history, they poeticize their fate, do not complain, do not write “poems” about it, but find the highest manifestation of freedom in selflessness, seeing their wealth is to call “your” “native land”.

Poem “I learned to live simply, wisely...”

Akhmatova’s poetic phenomenon is not limited to her own ironic confession: “I taught women to speak...” In Akhmatova’s lyrics, we are close and understandable not only to the vivid experiences of a woman’s heart, but also to the deep patriotic feelings of the poet, who lived through the tragic events of the twentieth century together with his people. The lyrics “I am Akhmatova are philosophical and genetically connected with Russian

classics, primarily with Pushkin. All this allows

talk about her as one of the best poets of the twentieth century.

The poem “I learned to live simply, wisely...” reminds us of the young poetess who had just published her first collections “Evening” (1912) and “Rosary” (1914), which received approving reviews from experts and the favor of a discerning reader. The unexpected metamorphoses of the lyrical heroine, her variability, the authenticity and drama of her experiences, the poetic skill of the author of their books attract us even now.

The rosary,” dedicated mainly to the theme of love, opens with an epigraph from Baratynsky:

Forgive me forever! but know this

That there are two guilty

Not just one, there are names

In my poems, in love stories.

Reading the poems of the cycle, you notice that in many of them, in addition to the lyrical heroine, whose appearance changes, there is also a lyrical addressee: the lyrical “I” and the lyrical “you”. The poem “I learned...” is perceived as a lyrical narrative of the heroine, the starting point of which is “I” and the ending point is “you”.

The first verse sounds like a statement by the lyrical heroine (“I”), emphasized by the form of the verb and convincing in my aphorism. The lyrical “you” will appear in the last, I it stanza and will sound in the context of the assumption:

which will emphasize the psychological depth of the lyrical heroine’s experiences and give a new shade to her “I”.

This highlights the significance and permanence of the actions and states they denote. The 1st stanza of the poem is one complex sentence, the main part of which is very widespread and built on the principle of syntactic parallelism, enhanced by gradation (simple, wise) which emphasizes the intonation of the statement. However, the stressed “and” in the words “learned”, “live”, “pray”, “tire” introduces some kind of piercing note, which somewhat contrasts with the very content of the statement that a way to cure love has been found. The word “love” is not uttered; here there is a certain “figure of silence,” the meaning of which is hinted at by the striking metaphor “to tire out unnecessary anxiety.” The lyrical heroine appears before us as strong, proud, but at the same time lonely and suffering. Her spiritual world is rich, she strives for a simple and righteous life (“live simply, wisely,” “pray to God”) and this is close to the author, Anna Akhmatova.

The 2nd stanza reveals new aspects of the image of the lyrical heroine, strengthening her connection with the author. The motif of an evening walk, continuing to sound, is first filled with mystery, thanks to the sound recording (“rustling... burdocks”); then the brightness of the sound and colors intensifies (a bunch of yellow-red rowan trees), and “unnecessary anxiety” gives rise to a creative impulse: the lyrical heroine turns out to be a poet. She really learned to “live wisely,” for “cheerful”, that is, life-affirming, poems are written about “perishable life.” The amazing melodiousness of the verse is achieved by inversion and some special purity of sound:

I write funny poems

About life that is perishable, perishable and beautiful.

All imperfective verbs are used in the present tense, and writing poetry is perceived not only | as a result of anxious spiritual yearning, humble acceptance of God’s world as corruptible and beautiful, but as a process internally, deeply connected with this world. Unexpectedly, an implicit lyrical motif of autumn appears. It was heavy. the cluster of ripe rowan trees “grows”, and the burdocks “rustle”, perhaps because they have dried out. The epithet “perishable” in combination with the autumn motif evokes an association with Tyutchev (“How fading is sweet!..”) and Pushkin (“I love nature’s magnificent withering...”), fitting Akhmatova’s poem into the context of Russian philosophical lyrics. The antithesis of “perishable and beautiful life” enhances this feeling.

The significance of the 2nd stanza, the density of its poetic “substance” is increased by an unexpected and bright rhyme: “burdocks are poems”, which has a deep meaning.

Burdocks in a ravine and a bunch of rowan trees - reproduced by the author in accordance with the Acmeist requirement of “beautiful clarity” (M. Kuzmin)- details of the rural landscape. Slepnev’s impressions, the “scarce land of Tver” became the most important motif in the collection “Rosary Beads”, convincingly developed in later lyrics. On the other hand, the famous “burdocks” are part of that “trash” from which, as Akhmatova put it, “poems grow without knowing shame.” Thus, it becomes obvious that the poet’s creative credo was already taking shape during the “Rosary” period.

After the 2nd stanza, an intonation change occurs.
The high style (“composed”, “perishable”, “beautiful”) is replaced by a simple syllable. Returning from the world of poetry occurs as naturally as leaving it. The appearance of a fluffy cat” seems to bring a feeling of homeliness and tranquility, enhanced by alliteration (“face - palm - purrs touchingly”), but there is no enclosure of the space by the protective walls of the house. A bright light "on the turret of a lake sawmill" like a beacon

For someone who has lost their way, the sharp cry of a stork - a bird symbolizing home, family - creates an alarming background for the anticipation of the event. At the sound level, it is expressed by the alternation of sounds “sh” - “zr” - “pr” - “sh” - “kr” - “sh” - (“Only occasionally the cry of a stork cuts through the silence...”)

The ending of the poem is unexpected:

And if you knock on my door, It seems to me that I won’t even hear, -

And at the same time justified. The psychological subtext of these verses is obvious, thanks to the strengthening of the expression “it seems to me”, an intensifying particle, assonance (“it seems to me even”). The lyrical heroine (of that sudden knock on the door, listening to the silence, peering into the distant light.

The poem “I learned...” is one of the best in the poetry of early Akhmatova. It is deep in content and perfect in form. The strength of feeling and the significance of the lyrical heroine’s experiences are depicted by the poetess with the skill of a great artist. The poetic language of the poem is laconic, devoid of pretentiousness and complex symbolism. This is the so-called “spoken verse”, aimed at women’s colloquial speech. At first glance, this style is imprinted with the canons of Acmeism, the declaration of “joyful admiration of being” (N. Gumilev). However, Acmeism sank into oblivion, and Akhmatova continued to “live wisely” and compose poems about life “perishable and beautiful.”

The first resounding success did not foretell a smooth creative path for Akhmatova. She had to endure both persecution and oblivion. Real fame came to her after her death. Anna Akhmatova has become a favorite poet of many art connoisseurs both in Russia and abroad.

She clasped her hands under a dark veil...
“Why are you pale today?”
- Because I am tartly sad
Got him drunk.

How can I forget? He came out staggering
The mouth twisted painfully...
I ran away without touching the railing,
I ran after him to the gate.

Gasping for breath, I shouted: “It’s a joke.
All that has gone before. If you leave, I will die."
Smiled calmly and creepily
And he told me: “Don’t stand in the wind.”

Analysis of the poem “Clenched her hands under a dark veil” by Akhmatova

Russian poetry has provided a huge number of brilliant examples of male love lyrics. The more valuable are love poems written by women. One of them was A. Akhmatova’s work “Clenched her hands under a dark veil...”, written in 1911.

The poem appeared when the poetess was already married to. However, it was not dedicated to her husband. Akhmatova admitted that she never truly loved him and married only out of pity for his suffering. At the same time, she religiously maintained marital fidelity and had no affairs on the side. Thus, the work became an expression of the poetess’s inner love yearning, which did not find its expression in real life.

The plot is based on a banal quarrel between lovers. The reason for the quarrel is not indicated, only its bitter consequences are known. The heroine is so shocked by what happened that her pallor is noticeable to others. Akhmatova emphasizes this unhealthy pallor in combination with a “black veil”.

The man is not in a good position. The heroine indirectly indicates that she was the cause of the quarrel: “she got him drunk.” She cannot banish the image of her loved one from her memory. She did not expect such a strong manifestation of feelings from a man (“the mouth twisted painfully”). In a fit of pity, she was ready to admit all her mistakes and achieve reconciliation. The heroine herself takes the first step towards. She catches up with her loved one and tries to convince him to consider her words a joke. In the cry of “I will die!” there is no pathos or well-thought-out pose. This is an expression of the sincere feelings of the heroine, who repents of her actions.

However, the man had already pulled himself together and made a decision. Despite the fire raging in his soul, he calmly smiles and utters a cold, indifferent phrase: “Don’t stand in the wind.” This icy calm is more terrible than rudeness and threats. She does not leave the slightest hope for reconciliation.

In the work “Clenched Hands Under a Black Veil,” Akhmatova shows the fragility of love, which can be broken because of one careless word. It also depicts the weakness of a woman and her fickle nature. Men, in the poetess's mind, are very vulnerable, but their will is much stronger than women's. The decision made by a man can no longer be changed.