Blok’s poem “Russia” is built on the principle of contrast, a sharp collision of ideas and images. Already in the first stanza, times are compared: the “golden years” and modernity - this comparison was very relevant for Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, shaken by wars, revolutions and social catastrophes:
Again, like in the golden years,
Three worn out and flapping harnesses...
Three erased harnesses mean a poetic allusion to the image of Rus'-troika - a symbol of “unstoppable” movement and power. This famous image was used at the end of the poem by N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls". Allusion means a hint, an indication; it is a technique used in literary work. The contrast is completed by a combination of images: “painted spokes” that get stuck in the impassable mud of the road. This contrast repeats the motifs of the road from Gogol’s poem. The three worn-out harnesses also represent an almost elusive hint of the three historical principles of Russian statehood - Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality. Thus, in the first stanza the complex problems of time are symbolically conveyed in its cultural and historical light.
The second stanza develops the images and ideas of the poem by M.Yu. Lermontov’s “Motherland” (1841), which compares wealth, poverty and creativity of the Russian people:
I see a complete threshing floor
A hut covered with straw
Window with carved shutters...
Blok’s lyrical hero sees with deep sadness “poor Russia”, “gray huts”, hears heartbreaking “wind songs”, but for him this sadness is of the same nature as man’s strongest love, which he calls “the first tears of love”. Motives appear in the poem love lyrics, which will develop in the following stanzas into the theme of love for Russia.
Another important one for Blok’s poem “Russia” artistic device- personification. In the third - fifth stanzas, the image of Russia-the Motherland acquires the features female image. At first, Russia is depicted abstractly:
Which sorcerer do you want?
Give me your robber beauty!
Then the fate of Russia is compared with the fate of a woman:
You won’t be lost, you won’t perish,
And only care will cloud
Your beautiful features...
The verb “clouds” introduces extensive personification into the poem, an almost complete identification of natural and human traits and images:
And you are still the same - forest and field,
Yes, the patterned board goes up to the eyebrows...
The face of a beautiful Russian woman appears in the natural landscape of her native land.
In the last stanza of the poem “Russia” by Blok, opposite, even incompatible ideas and images are placed side by side: “impossible” - “possible”, “long road” - “easy”, “road distance” - “instant glance”, “ringing” - “ dull song." This technique in poetry is called an oxymoron (from the Greek. oxymoron - witty-stupid) and consists in combining concepts and definitions that are opposite in meaning, as a result of which new meanings arise. Thus, the poetic thought of the last stanza summarizes the contradictory states of the lyrical hero, who mourns the plight of the Motherland and at the same time loves it with an incomprehensible love, like to the lyrical hero Lermontov in the poem “Motherland”. Therefore, the use of the oxymoron device at the end of the work expresses unshakable faith in the future of Russia, despite all its disasters.
Composition
The theme of the homeland, Russia, is the cross-cutting theme of Alexander Alexandrovich Blok’s lyrics. On one of latest performances poet, where he read a variety of his poems, Blok was asked to read poems about Russia. “It’s all about Russia,” Blok answered and did not bend his heart, because the “Russian theme” was near and dear to him. One way or another, almost all of the poet’s work can be attributed to this topic.
Blok’s poem “Russia,” written in 1908, is the most famous of the “Motherland” series. It combines a feeling of love for the homeland and faith in its future revival. The poem begins with an image of a road:
Again, like in the golden years,
Three worn out flapping harnesses,
And the painted knitting needles knit
Into loose ruts...
What does the author mean by the phrase “golden years”? What time does Blok compare modernity with? It can be assumed that this paraphrase refers to the golden age of Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol. A lot of time has passed since then, but Russia does not change, it is still the same.
To reveal the image of the Motherland, the antithesis of “painted spokes” - “loose ruts” is very important. This is a country where incredible wealth and terrible poverty coexist. A lot of money is spent on “painted spokes”, and not on improving Russian roads.
But Russia for the most part remains poor:
Russia, poor Russia,
I want your gray huts,
Your songs are windy to me -
Like the first tears of love!
The author talks about peasant Russia, where poverty really reigns. He calls “gray huts” the personification of just such a homeland. We understand that Blok does not describe urban Russia, with its luxurious palaces, squares, and art monuments. No, it is the rural homeland with its space, breadth and poverty that is dear to the author. The poet compares Russian “wind songs” with “the first tears of love.” This means that a feeling of love for Russia permeated the poet’s soul.
I don't know how to feel sorry for you
And I carefully carry my cross...
Which sorcerer do you want?
Give back the robber's beauty!
The lyrical hero sees everything that happens to his beloved Russia. He is tormented by the awareness of the troubles and misfortunes that fill the fate of his country. But the hero readily bears his cross. He feels like a Russian person through and through and is not going to retreat from the fate of his homeland.
The last two lines characterize the history of Russia, which willingly gives itself into the hands of any “sorcerer.” Many rulers of Rus' are hidden in this image, “luring” and “deceiving” her, like a naive girl with “robber beauty.” But the author understands: no matter what happens, Russia “will not be lost, will not perish.” It is, in its essence, stronger than all troubles and disasters. “And only care will cloud” her “beautiful features.” Over the years, the poet’s favorite country does not change:
Well then? 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...
Russia has shed a whole stream of tears, so one more misfortune is like another drop falling into the river. But misfortunes do not dim the beauty of the country.
The last stanza consists of six lines because it is the most important. It is here that the author expresses his main idea: despite everything, Russia is amazing country, where “the impossible is possible.” Blok even poeticizes the suffering of the simple peasant people. The long road flies by unnoticed for him, “when the muffled song of the coachman rings with melancholy, cautious melancholy!..”.
From this poem we see how much A. A. Blok loves Russia, sincerely worries about it and glorifies it in his work. The motif of the road, longing, but at the same time confidence that the poet’s long-suffering homeland has a future runs through the entire work.
The theme of the Motherland appears more than once in Blok’s poems; Alexander loved his country and carried this love from the first to the last line of his work. In 1909, the poem “Russia” was written, in which the poet shows his vision of the fatherland with its pros and cons. An analysis of the poem will help you understand Blok’s thoughts and views.
In the first lines, the poet shows one of the main Russian problems - roads. The wheels got stuck in a loose rut both at the beginning of the 20th century and a century later. Painted wheel spokes are shown against the background of the road. This shows well inner world a Russian man who does not forget about the personal, but does not pay attention to the public - the quality of the roads. For the time being, of course - when trouble comes and the enemy stands at the gate, then the state matter dominates the personal one.
Rus' in the heart of Blok
Further, the poet writes that with all the poverty of Russia, with all its grayness in the provinces, the country is dear to his heart in any form. Brilliant St. Petersburg and the dull village form a single whole, complementing each other and forming in this symbiosis a country called Russia.
Blok has love for the Motherland, but no pity, as can be seen from the lines:
I don't know how to feel sorry for you
And I carefully carry my cross...
Pity is condescension, but the poet does not have such feelings for Russia; he is above condescension, accepting Rus' in all its diversity, where robber beauty is combined with the grayness of huts, and across the road there is a church and a tavern. This versatility and sincerity in everything does not allow Rus' to disappear and disappear:
You won't be lost, you won't perish,
And only care will cloud
Your beautiful features...
The greatness and poverty of Russia
Yes, care has more than once darkened the brow of the Motherland, but it has never been broken by any sorcerer. There were Mongol-Tatars, the Swedes and Napoleon came, and Russia was only clouded with care, exchanged the plow for a sword and everything returned to normal - gray huts, loose roads, wind songs and painted knitting needles.
The river is noisier with one tear.
A lot of tears have accumulated in the river over centuries of history, but the water has not overflowed the banks, on which even today, like a century ago, girls in a patterned scarf sing songs in the evenings, and men repair the seine. Subtly playing with the threads of symbolism, the author of the poem shows a multifaceted image of Russia, in which brilliance and poverty, heroism and the dullness of everyday life go hand in hand.
Infinity of the road
At the end of the poem, Blok repeats the eternal truth that in Rus' even the impossible is possible. The ending again returns us to the road, where the coachman’s song, so dear to the poet’s heart, sounds, and in the road dust, no, no, and the burning gaze of a local beauty flashes from under a scarf.
In the poem, Blok confesses his love to the Motherland, despite all its shortcomings. Comparing Russia with a girl whom a sorcerer wants to deceive, the author predicts a long future for the country, because the girl still has to become a woman and give birth to a new life.
Unfortunately, Russia today remains that modest and beautiful girl, who somehow fails to become a woman, although this is not Blok’s fault...
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 windy 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 thing to worry about -
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!..
The poem "Russia" is read by V Tatarsky. Excellent reading, in which you can feel the depth of the lines.
"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 then? 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 October revolution, but, disappointed in 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 change political system cannot significantly influence 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 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 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 of even 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 , which we all simply stopped paying attention to.
Composition: Blok A. A. - Miscellaneous - "Traditions and innovation in the poems of A. Blok"
"Traditions and innovation in the poems of A. Blok"
TRADITIONS AND INNOVATION IN A. BLOK’S POEMS “AUTUMN WILL” AND “RUSSIA”
Russia, poor Russia, Your gray huts are to me, Your wind songs are to me - Like the first tears of love! A. A. Blok Alexander Alexandrovich Blok is the deepest lyricist who managed to express the most secret feelings and thoughts, convey the subtlest shades of emotional experiences. Knowing perfectly well the classical heritage of Russian literature, the poet becomes a worthy successor to the traditions of the nineteenth century. Getting acquainted with the poem “Autumn Will”, you remember Lermontov’s “I go out alone on the road.” Nekrasov’s “Troika” is also surprisingly close to him. But Blok does not imitate his great predecessors. He reveals his understanding of the Motherland, which is in tune with them. In this I see commitment to tradition, worship and reverence for the memory of “teachers” and the same reverent and deep feeling for Russia that Lermontov and Nekrasov had. I go out on the road, open to view, The wind bends the elastic bushes. Broken stone lay along the slopes, scanty layers of yellow clay. Autumn has cleared up in the wet valleys, It has exposed the cemeteries of the earth, But the dense rowan trees in the passing villages The red color will begin to shine from afar. What is it that attracts the poet so much to his homeland? He does not idealize his land, he sees Russia without embellishment, poor, hungry and intoxicated, but this is his land, and the poet does not want anything else. This boundless love surprises Blok himself, but that’s how he is, this is the poet’s pain and joy, his essence. There are many of us - free, young, stately - Dying without loving... Shelter you in the vast distances! How to live and cry without you! The poem “Russia” reveals the poet’s patriotism even more deeply and clearly. Again, as in the golden years, Three worn out harnesses fray, I knit painted knitting needles into loose ruts. Russia, poor Russia, I want your gray huts. Your songs are like the wind to me - Like the first tears of love! Blok finds surprisingly subtle and figurative epithets that emphasize the selflessness and devotion of his filial love for the Motherland. The poet is confident that Russia will not perish, its age-old traditions and vast expanses will hold the country together. Yes, such is her difficult fate, to be the eternal protector of the weak, to bleed and bleed with tears, but this only makes her sweeter and more beautiful, dearer to her heart. Let him lure and deceive, - You will not be lost, you will not perish, And only care will cloud Your beautiful features. Well then? One more care - One tear makes the river noisier, And you are still the same - forest, yes field, Yes, patterned cloth up to the eyebrows... The poem was written during a difficult period for Blok, when he was experiencing a mental crisis. And the only thing that supported the artist during these years, forced him to live and work, was his homeland - Russia. And the impossible is possible, The long road is easy, When the road flashes in the distance A momentary glance from under a scarf, When the dull song of the coachman rings with cautious melancholy!..
