Analysis of the poem "I had a voice" by Akhmatova. Anna Akhmatova ~ I had a voice

When in anguish of suicide

The people of the German guests were waiting,

And the harsh spirit of Byzantium

He flew away from the Russian church,

When the Neva capital,

Forgetting your greatness

Like a drunken harlot

Didn't know who was taking it

He said, "Come here

Leave your land, deaf and sinful,

Leave Russia forever.

I will wash the blood from your hands,

I will take out black shame from my heart,

I will cover with a new name

The pain of defeat and resentment.

But indifferent and calm

I covered my ears with my hands

So that this speech is unworthy

The mournful spirit was not defiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Analysis of Akhmatova's poem “I had a voice. He called consolingly ... "

The revolution of 1917 completely changed the life of Anna Akhmatova. By this time, she was already a fairly well-known poetess and was preparing her third literary collection for publication. However, overnight it suddenly became clear that no one needed her poems, and all personal savings and a small inheritance from her parents turned into dust. For the first time, Anna Akhmatova, in whose arms her 5-year-old son was left, realized that she could simply die of hunger, becoming another innocent victim of the Red Terror. Indeed, it practically ceased to be published, and there was no means of subsistence. As for her husband, the poet Nikolai Gumilyov, he was in France at that moment and could not help the family in any way, although he offered Akhmatova to work so that she could leave rebellious, rebellious and hungry Russia.

It was during this difficult period of life, when the whole familiar world was collapsing before our eyes. Like a house of cards, Anna Akhmatova wrote the poem “I had a voice. He called consolingly ... ". This short work contains all the inner experiences and mental anguish of the poetess, who faced a difficult choice - to escape from devastated Russia abroad or to share her difficult, tragic and sad fate with her homeland.

Akhmatova's answer was unexpected and inflexible. She did not succumb to the inner voice that whispered: “Leave your land deaf and sinful. Leave Russia forever." Instead of packing her bags in the hope that life abroad would be more well-fed and free, Akhmatova decided to leave in her heart the “black shame” that she felt when she looked at what was happening around. She managed to get a divorce from Gumilyov and a few months later she married the scientist Vladimir Shileiko, thanks to which she was able to live in relative prosperity the most troubled and tragic years associated with the formation of Soviet power.

Biographers of Akhmatova are still arguing about what this marriage was based on, and come to the conclusion that the poetess gave up her own feelings for the sake of the opportunity to stay in Russia and not die of starvation. In fact, she got married so that her little son had a place to live and what to eat. Having settled into a new and such a strange world for her, the poetess filed for divorce and connected her life with another person. However, until her death, she never regretted that she once gave a merciless rebuff to her inner voice, “so that mournful hearing is not defiled by this unworthy speech.”

It is difficult to say whether Akhmatova knew what lay ahead of her. However, completely ignoring the new government, she remained a true patriot of her country, sharing her fate not only during the revolution, but also during the Great Patriotic War, part of which she spent in besieged Leningrad. Her more successful girlfriends have long arranged their personal lives in Europe, watching from the sidelines how Russia, which they love so much, is changing before their eyes. Akhmatova, on the other hand, found herself in the thick of things and witnessed these difficult changes, which resonated with pain in her heart. Nevertheless, the poetess admitted that she would feel much worse if she were on the other side of the barricades, becoming an outside observer of many historical events. And in these words there was no irony, resentment, bragging, or desire to present oneself in a more favorable light. Anna Akhmatova sincerely believed that her life was inextricably linked with Russia, even if for this she had to endure hardships, insults, insults, slander and deceit, and also put an end to her literary career, which the poetess cherished very much.

It is clear that in the 1940 edition this poem could not be reproduced in full. In a volume published before war, lines: " in anguish of suicide, the people of the German guests were waiting could actually sound suicidal. Especially for the author.

But this poem was not included only in The Run of Time, they were also from the Akhmatov volume of the Great Library of the Poet, which came out ten years later, in 1976, although it was for the elite and claimed to be academic.

Headless, this poem looked like a rejection of emigration and the acceptance of Soviet power.

Great sadness and pain in this great poem... And determination. A. Blok liked it very much. He never tired of repeating: "Akhmatova is right."
Blok especially noted the greatness of the gesture: "I blocked my hearing with my hands."

These verses were often quoted in intellectual circles in the 1970s and 1980s, urging those who were thinking about leaving to stay and "indifferently and calmly close the hearing with their hands," which was disturbed by the enemy voices of Western radio stations.

And in emigration they were read without the last lines, but with the first ones, because in this case there was a "voice" - clearly offering to leave the God-forsaken Fatherland, THE VOICE OF WHOM IS NECESSARY (such a turn was correlated with the "voice from above"):

Leave your land, deaf and sinful,
Leave Russia forever.

It is interesting that dating still raises questions this poem. And from her, in turn, depends on who is meant by the "German guests." The versions are very different: from the "guests" who arrived in Petrograd in a sealed carriage, to the guests who were supposed to go to Petrograd as a result of the Brest Peace.

But the image of the revolutionary state is striking:

Capital,
Forgetting your greatness
Like a drunken harlot
Didn't know who was taking it.

Harlot City , which itself does not observe its strength and integrity, is "open" on all four sides, waiting for its fall. Like a drunk b... who doesn't know who her...

Here is a reference to the biblical text - “How the faithful capital, full of justice, became a harlot. . .” (Book of Isaiah, 1.21).

1. History of creation. The poem "I had a voice" was written by A. Akhmatova in 1917. It was included in the collection "White Guard".

2. Genre of the poem- civil lyrics.

3. Main idea works - patriotism. In one of the most difficult periods in the history of Russia, the Russian intelligentsia faced a difficult question: is it worth living in this unfortunate country, where a bullet can overtake at any second. Many people could not stand the monstrous stress and left Russia. Akhmatova had a sharply negative attitude towards those who, out of cowardice, left the country in trouble. Emigrants aroused contempt in her. The poetess remained in Russia. She could not do otherwise.

The point of view of the poetess is clearly stated in the poem. The mysterious "voice", calling to leave the country, symbolizes all that petty and cowardly that is in the soul of every person. This voice lulls, makes you avoid risk and danger for the sake of self-preservation. He was obeyed by thousands of Russian people who fled abroad. For many, emigration was the only way out.

It should be noted that only an insignificant part of Russian emigrants was able to find their place in a foreign land. The overwhelming number of refugees became beggars, living off odd jobs. For Akhmatova, persuasion "voices" are "unworthy speech." She understands that if you constantly listen to him, think about escape, then in the end this thought will completely take over consciousness. Therefore, the poetess resolutely "closed her hearing." She remained in her homeland and, together with her, experienced all the incredibly difficult trials and hardships.

4. Composition. The work can be roughly divided into two parts. The first describes the voice calling for emigration and its seemingly correct and fair arguments. The second part (the last quatrain) is the courageous decision of the poetess not to attach importance to seductive speech.

5. The size of the work- four-foot iambic with cross rhyme.

6. Expressive means. Akhmatova emphasizes the gloomy atmosphere in revolutionary Russia with epithets: "deaf and sinful", "black", "mournful". The metaphor looks very impressive: "I will take black shame out of my heart." The poem is written in a solemn form, reminiscent of an ode.

7. Main idea works - you can not succumb to the voice of temptation, calling to commit a betrayal in relation to their homeland. Of course, most of the intelligentsia did not take part in the hostilities and did not provide real assistance to the white army. These people often became innocent victims. However, those who remained in Russia symbolized the banner of stubborn resistance to the new government.

By their example, they proved that in any situation they feel their blood connection with the Motherland. No one and nothing can make a real patriot shamefully flee. Many emigrants (even those who have achieved success abroad) felt guilty towards Russia until the end of their lives and dreamed of returning back. Akhmatova had a premonition of this back in 1917, so she rejected any hint of the possibility of leaving.

Many of A. Akhmatova's poems amaze with a close interweaving of personal and civic motives. An example of this layer of her lyrics is "I had a voice." Learn it in 11th grade. We offer to facilitate the preparation for the lesson by reading a brief analysis of “I had a voice” according to the plan.

Brief analysis

History of creation- the work was written in 1917, during the period of the revolution. Later it was included in the White Guard collection.

Theme of the poem- bloody historical events and loyalty to the Motherland.

Composition- The poem is written in the form of a monologue of the lyrical heroine, which can be divided into three parts: a story about historical events, lines dedicated to a mysterious voice, a description of the reaction of the lyrical heroine to what she heard.

Genre- civic poetry.

Poetic size- iambic tetrameter, cross rhyme ABAB.

Metaphors – “when, in anguish of suicide, the people of German guests were waiting”, “the harsh spirit of the Byzantines”, “the Neva capital, forgetting its greatness ... did not know who would take it”, “I will take black shame out of my heart”.

epithets – "Prineva capital", "deaf and sinful land", "mournful spirit".

Comparisons- capital, "like an intoxicated harlot."

History of creation

The poem “I had a voice” is a cry from the soul of the poetess, which escaped under the pressure of events in the personal life of the poetess and in the life of the Russian people. The work appeared in 1917, when a revolution was raging in Russia. In Russian literature, it is known as an original interpretation of the events of the early twentieth century. Anna Andreevna was an eyewitness to the famine and the Red Terror. The woman was well aware that she and her son could also become a victim of rebellious events.

At that time, A. Akhmatova lived very poorly, because she was hardly published, and a five-year-old child was left in her arms. Nikolai Gumilyov, the husband of the poetess, then lived in France. He tried to petition for his wife to move in with him, but the woman refused. Apparently, Gumilyov became the prototype of the mysterious voice.

Subject

In a laconic work, A. Akhmatova reveals two themes - bloody historical events and loyalty to the Motherland. In the center of the poem is a lyrical heroine. From her mouth sounds the characteristics of other images of the poem: Russia, the capital and the voice.

The first stanzas are metaphorical descriptions of the homeland of the lyrical heroine. The woman tells how the people were waiting for the German "guests", feeling that they would bring death with them. The heroine notices that the coup even affected the church, and the "spirit of Byzantium" left it. A woman speaks very sharply about the capital of Russia, comparing her with a dissolute girl. This association, apparently, is also inspired by revolutionary events.

In the verses of the third stanza, the image of a voice appears. The lyrical heroine does not admit to whom it belongs, or maybe she simply does not know it. She recalls how the voice tried to persuade her to leave Russia. He even promised to wash the woman's hands and erase her pain. However, love for the motherland was stronger. The heroine, without hesitation, made her choice: she closed her ears so as not to defile her spirit.

In the analyzed poem, the poetess realized the idea that sincere love for the Motherland is not subject to circumstances dictated by history or society.

Composition

The composition of the work is simple. It is created in the form of a monologue of the lyrical heroine, which is divided into parts by meaning: a story about historical events, lines dedicated to a mysterious voice, a description of the reaction of the lyrical heroine to what she heard.

Genre

The genre of the work is civil lyrics. The lines of the work are written in iambic tetrameter. The poetess used the cross rhyme ABAB.

means of expression

A. Akhmatova used expressive means to reveal the topic and convey ideas to the reader. Dominate the text metaphors: “when, in anguish of suicide, the people of German guests were waiting”, “the harsh spirit of Byzantium”, “the Neva capital, forgetting its greatness ... did not know who would take it”, “I will take black shame out of my heart”.

epithets less, but they help to give thoughts completeness and the necessary emotional shades: “the Neva capital”, “a deaf and sinful land”, “a mournful spirit”. Comparison there is only one thing in the text - the capital, "like an intoxicated harlot."

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