Block cycle: analysis. Blok, "On the Kulikovo Field"

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

“The best thing that happened in Russian literature after Tyutchev,” is how the well-known literary critic K. Mochulsky described the cycle, on whose work this analysis is based. Block "On the field of Kulikovo" wrote on the eve of the catastrophic events that determined once and for all the fate of Russia. And the artist of the word felt their closeness, which makes him a truly Russian national poet, who cannot be fit into the narrow framework of any direction or literary school.

Literary context

"On the field of Kulikovo", the analysis of which is presented in this article, was created in 1908 and was part of the "Motherland" cycle. The poet's work on the poem is evidenced by his drama "Song of Fate", in which historical themes are presented in a lyrical vein. Also in connection with the Kulikovo cycle, it is necessary to mention the poet's article "Intelligentsia and Revolution". In it, Blok creates the image of "unbreakable silence" that hangs over the country. It's the calm before the storm, before the battle. It is in her bowels, the poet believes, that fate ripensRussian people.

In the article, the poet, referring to the poem "On the field of Kulikovo", analyzes the relationship between the people and the intelligentsia in contemporary Russia. Blok defines these two classes as secret enemies, but there is a line between them that connects them - something that was not and could not be between Russians and Tatars.

Composition

Building a cycle is the first thing you need to start your analysis with. Block "On the field of Kulikovo" divided into five parts. The poem "The River Spreads Out", which is the first in the cycle, embraces the reader with a gust of steppe wind. In the center is the image of Russia, which, like a whirlwind, rushes through the darkness of the night. And with each new line, this movement is getting faster.

With such a dynamic introduction, the gentle lyrical poem “We, my friend…”, which continues the cycle “On the Kulikovo Field”, enters into contrast. Blok (analysis clearly shows this) for the next chapter of his poetic diary - "On the night when Mamai …" - determined the role of the compositional center. It is here that the image of the Virgin appears, in which the features of the Beautiful Lady are guessed. The last two poems of the cycle ("Again with the longing of the ages" and "And the mist of troubles") continue the motifs of expectation of the future storm, the all-encompassing silence that precedes the imminent battle.

Historiosophical conception

In 1912, as a footnote to one of the poems of the cycle "On the Kulikovo Field", Blok - the analysis should take this into account - called the battle with the Tatars symbolic. In other words, the poet gives the image of Kulikovskybattles are universal features, which means that it turns out to be applicable in relation to other turning points in Russian history, including the upcoming ones. The battle with the Tatars can be viewed as a metaphor for the struggle between the forces of darkness and light, and initially the battle is fought for the soul of a particular person (lyrical hero), and the victory of one of these parties will finally decide what fate Russia has.

It is possible to analyze (Block, "On the Kulikovo field" - the field of the great battle) in a different way. In the first poem of the cycle, the motive of moving forward, causing suffering, is indicated. On this basis, it would be interesting to compare the work of Blok and Bryusov. The latter in one of his poems greeted those who came to destroy the Huns, which caused natural questions and claims from the reading public. In fact, Valery Bryusov (as well as Blok) understood the inevitability of the coming changes, albeit very painful ones.

Images

We continue the analysis. The block “On the Kulikovo Field” saturated with symbolic, multi-valued, universal images. So, Russia, its path is depicted in an emphatically dynamic way - so much so that one involuntarily recalls Gogol's successful comparison of his country with a swift troika that is constantly rushing somewhere. Interestingly, in one of Blok's poems there is an image of Russia "with the cloudy gaze of a sorcerer" - it is likely that the poet used a reference from the story "Terrible Revenge". The image of the Beautiful Lady - the Mother of God is also interesting. He points to the specifics of Blok's patriotism: the poet's love for the Motherland is permeatederotic feeling, which is comparable to craving for the woman you love.

Means of expression

Analysis (Block, "On the field of Kulikov") would be incomplete without the study of means of expression. The poet abundantly uses emotionally charged exclamatory sentences that help to reveal the inner state of the lyrical hero of the cycle. Some of the tropes were borrowed from folklore - epithets and metaphors that create folk poetic images (a sad river, a bloody sunset). The latter will inevitably cause the reader to associate with ancient Russian literature - in particular, "The Word …" and "Zadonshchina". The poetic size of the cycle is iambic.

Thus, as shown by the analysis (Blok, "On the Kulikovo field"), the field provides literary critics with a lot of material for research. At the same time, the poet's cycle is considered one of the pinnacles of his work, along with The Twelve and Scythians.