Analysis of the poem "Wait for me and I'll be back" by K. Simonov. Military lyrics

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

The poem by the poet Konstantin Simonov "Wait for me and I'll be back" is a text that became one of the symbols of the terrible war that ended in 1945. In Russia, they know him almost by heart from childhood and repeat from mouth to mouth, recalling the courage of Russian women who were expecting sons and husbands from the war, and the valor of men who fought for their own homeland. Listening to these lines, it is impossible to imagine how the poet managed to combine death and the horrors of war, all-embracing love and endless fidelity in a few stanzas. Only real talent can do this.

About the poet

The name Konstantin Simonov is a pseudonym. From birth, the poet was called Cyril, but his diction did not allow him to pronounce his name without problems, so he chose a new one for himself, retaining the initial, but excluding the letters “r” and “l”. Konstantin Simonov is not only a poet, but also a prose writer, he wrote novels and short stories,memoirs and essays, plays and even screenplays. But he is famous for his poetry. Most of his works are created in the military theme. This is not surprising, because the life of the poet from childhood is connected with the war. His father died during the First World War, the second husband of his mother was a military specialist and a former colonel in the Russian Imperial Army. Simonov himself served for some time as a war correspondent, fought at the front and even had the rank of colonel. The poem "All his life he loved to draw war", written in 1939, most likely has autobiographical features, since it clearly intersects with the life of the poet.

It is not surprising that Simonov is close to the feelings of a simple soldier who misses his loved ones during difficult battles. And if you make an analysis of the poem “Wait for me and I will return”, you can see how alive and personal the lines are. The important thing is how subtly and sensually Simonov manages to convey them in his works, to describe all the tragedy and horror of the military consequences, without resorting to excessive naturalism.

The most famous piece

Of course, the best way to illustrate the work of Konstantin Simonov is his most famous poem. An analysis of the poem "Wait for me and I will return" should begin with the question of why it became such. Why is it so sunk into the soul of the people, why is it now firmly associated with the name of the author? After all, initially the poet did not even plan to publish it. Simonov wrote it for himself and about himself,more specifically about a particular person. But in a war, and especially in a war like the Great Patriotic War, it was impossible to exist alone, all people became brothers and shared their most secret with each other, knowing that perhaps these would be their last words.

Here Simonov, wishing to support his comrades in difficult times, read his poems to them, and the soldiers listened to them with fascination, copied, memorized and whispered in the trenches, like a prayer or a spell. Probably, Simonov managed to catch the most secret and intimate experiences not only of a simple fighter, but of every person. “Wait, and I'll be back, just wait a long time” - the main idea of all wartime literature, what soldiers wanted to hear more than anything in the world.

Military literature

During the war years, an unprecedented upsurge occurred in literary creativity. Many works of military subjects were published: stories, novellas, novels and, of course, poetry. Poems were memorized faster, they could be set to music and performed at a difficult hour, passed from mouth to mouth, repeated to oneself like a prayer. Military-themed poems became not just folklore, they carried a sacred meaning.

Lyrics and prose raised the already strong spirit of the Russian people. In a sense, the poems pushed the soldiers to exploits, inspired, gave strength and took away fear. Poets and writers, many of whom themselves participated in hostilities or discovered their poetic talent in a dugout or tank cabin, understood how important universal support is for fighters, the glorification of a common goal.- saving the motherland from the enemy. That is why the works that appeared in large numbers at that time were assigned to a separate branch of literature - military lyrics and military prose.

Analysis of the poem "Wait for me and I'll be back"

In the poem, the word "wait" is repeated many times - 11 times - and this is not just a request, it is a prayer. 7 times in the text cognate words and word forms are used: “waiting”, “waiting”, “waiting”, “waiting”, “waiting”, “waiting”. Wait, and I will return, just wait a long time - such a concentration of the word is like a spell, the poem is saturated with desperate hope. It seems as if the soldier completely entrusted his life to the one who stayed at home.

Also, if you do an analysis of the poem "Wait for me and I'll be back", you can see that it is dedicated to a woman. But not a mother or daughter, but a beloved wife or bride. The soldier asks not to forget him in any case, even when children and mothers no longer have hope, even when they drink bitter wine for the commemoration of his soul, he asks not to commemorate him with them, but to continue to believe and wait. Waiting is equally important for those who remained in the rear, and first of all for the soldier himself. Belief in infinite devotion inspires him, gives him confidence, makes him cling to life and pushes the fear of death into the background: “Those who did not wait for them cannot understand how you saved me in the midst of the fire with your expectation.” The soldiers in battle were alive because they realized that they were waiting for them at home, that they were not allowed to die, they had to return.

1418 days, or about 4 years, lasted the GreatPatriotic War, seasons changed 4 times: yellow rains, snow and heat. During this time, not losing faith and waiting for a fighter after so much time is a real feat. Konstantin Simonov understood this, which is why the poem is addressed not only to the fighters, but also to everyone who, to the last, kept hope in his soul, believed and waited, in spite of everything, “to spite all deaths.”

Military poems and poems by Simonov

1. "The General" (1937).
2. "Fellow Soldiers" (1938).
3. "Cricket" (1939).
4. The Hours of Friendship (1939).
5. "Doll" (1939).
6. "The son of an artilleryman" (1941).
7. "You told me 'I love you'" (1941).
8. From the Diary (1941).
9. Polar Star (1941).
10. "When on a Scorched Plateau" (1942).
11. Rodina (1942).
12. The Mistress of the House (1942).
13. Death of a Friend (1942).
14. The Wives (1943).
15. Open Letter (1943).