A. A. Akhmatova: "Courage". Analysis of the poem

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Anna Akhmatova didn't like being called a poetess. She heard something disparaging in that word. Her poetry, on the one hand, was very feminine, intimate and sensual, but, on the other hand, there were quite masculine themes in it, such as creativity, historical upheavals in Russia, war. Akhmatova was a representative of one of the modernist trends - acmeism. Members of the "Workshop of Poets" group - an organization of acmeists - believed that creativity is a kind of craft, and a poet is a master who must use the word as a building material.

Akhmatova as an acmeist poet

Akemism is one of the currents of modernism. Representatives of this trend came into conflict with the symbolists and their mysticism. For acmeists, poetry is a craft, it can be learned if you constantly practice and improve. Akhmatova was of the same opinion. Acmeists have few images and symbols in their verses, words are carefully selected, so it is not at all necessary to use them in a figurative sense. One of the most famous poems that Akhmatova wrote is "Courage". An analysis of the poem shows how significant the Russian language was for the poetess. Ator treats him very reverently and respectfully: this is manifested both at the level of form and at the level of content. There are practically no means of expression in the poem, the phrases are short and capacious.

Anna Akhmatova "Courage"

Analysis of a poem must begin with the history of creation. Anna Akhmatova began work on the collection "Wind of War" immediately after it began, in 1941. It was supposed to be her contribution to the victory, her attempt to raise the morale of the people. The poem "Courage" was included in this cycle of poems and became one of the most striking.

Theme and idea of the poem

The main theme of the poem is the Great Patriotic War. Akhmatova implements this theme in her own way. The main thing that people need, Akhmatova believes, is courage. An analysis of the verse shows how, in just a few lines, the poetess was able to express the idea that the enemies claim to destroy Russian culture, to enslave the Russian people. She does this by naming the most important thing for a Russian person - the Russian language, original and unique.

Meter, rhyme, rhetoric and stanza

Analysis of the verse "Courage" by Akhmatova must begin with a consideration of its construction. It is written in pentameter amphibrach. This size makes the verse recitative andclarity, it sounds abruptly, invitingly, rhythmically. The poem has three stanzas. Two of them are full-fledged quatrains, that is, they consist of four lines connected by a cross rhyme. The third stanza suddenly ends on the third line, which consists of only one word - "forever". Akhmatova thereby emphasizes the significance of this word, her steadfastness and confidence in the power of the Russian people and the country as a whole. With this word, she sets the general mood of the text: Russian culture will exist forever, no one can destroy it. Of course, neither the language nor the culture of the country can stand without the people, who must necessarily show courage, simply cannot give up.

"Courage", Akhmatova: analysis of means of expression

In any plan of analysis of a verse, there is always an item "means of expression". Moreover, it is not enough just to write them out, you also need to determine the function of each of the means in the text. As noted above, the acmeists used few visual means in their poems, and Akhmatova adhered to the same principle. "Courage", the analysis of which necessarily requires consideration of lexical and syntactic figures of speech, is of great interest. The poem begins with a detailed metaphor. "Our Watch" is a gloomy modernity. Hard times fell on Akhmatova’s lot: World War I, revolution, civil war… And then World War II… Akhmatova didn’t leave the country when the first wave of emigration receded, she didn’t leave it even inyears of the Nazi invasion. Akhmatova personifies Russian speech and the Russian word, referring to him as a friend, to "you". In connection with this personification, a metaphor arises - we will save from captivity. This metaphor means that in the event of the victory of Nazi Germany over Russia, the Russian language would fade into the background, it would not be taught to children, it would cease to develop. And the decline of the Russian language means the complete decline of Russian culture and the destruction of centuries-old traditions and the nation as a whole.

The poem uses lexical repetition, the author draws attention to some meanings: hour-hour, courage-courage (in the first stanza). The poetess also used syntactic parallelism in the second stanza, which enhances the effect of the expressed idea that the Russian people will fight desperately, to the last drop of blood, not sparing themselves, showing courage. Akhmatova (analysis proved this) does not change the canons of acmeism, but speaks of a topical issue.