Afanasy Fet: "Whisper, timid breathing". Analysis

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

One of the most famous poems by Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet, which incorporates the most characteristic techniques of the author, is "Whisper, timid breathing …". The analysis of this poem should begin with the atmosphere that the poet draws before us. The author creates the effect of smooth dynamics without using a single verb: "sleepy brook rippling", "sweet face changes". Here the famous "non-verbose" that Fet was famous for is manifested.

"Whisper, timid breathing", the analysis of which was undertaken by many literary critics, is also distinguished by the division of the experiences of the lyrical hero: the first quatrain is entirely devoted to sounds (these include whispers, breathing, and a nightingale song), the second describes visual images (light and shadows, the face of the beloved), and in the finale of the poem - the sensual experiences of the hero.

At the same time, in the last line, the dawn plays a culminating role, bringing all the feelings of the hero to their highest point.

The lyrical hero goes through a sensual gradation from "timid" whispers and breathing to "kissing andtears" until dawn, and this path is shown in the form of separate, successive frames - the poet allows us to independently draw in our imagination the images of the poem "Whisper, timid breathing." Analysis of the poem is impossible without paying attention to the deliberate repetition of elements in the lines "Light of the night, night shadows. Shadows without end", which creates an element of static among the changing scenes of the night. With its help, the author shows the "endless" length of time for lovers, which is very important for a lyrical hero.

"Whisper, timid breathing", the analysis of which we are conducting, is usually attributed to the works of Fet's love lyrics. But, as in other characteristic works of this poet, next to the sensual experiences of the lyrical hero, observations of the states of nature coexist. The author alternates these two sources of impressions to create a complete picture. Thus the poet shows that human feelings are akin to the natural world. In the finale, they are combined into a single whole with the line "And the dawn, the dawn!" This word is used here both literally and figuratively (and therefore twice). We are talking about the "dawn of love", accompanied by the morning dawn. Complementary at first, the world of nature and the world of the senses merge here as a new beginning.

The epithets used by the author ("magic changes", "timid breathing", "sweet face") show tendernessrelationship between lovers.

And we see a similar feeling in relation to the lyrical hero to nature - diminutive "clouds", "silver stream".

We see that not only the author, but also his character perceive the surrounding and inner world as a whole.

And it is important to take this feature of the poet's view into account when building an analysis.

"Whisper, timid breath" is one of the key works of Fet's lyrics.

In it, the author creates, with the help of images of "frozen moments", a picture of the development of human feelings and their connection with the surrounding nature.

It is not for nothing that many musicians (Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev, Medtner and others) have noted this particular poem to create their compositions.