Analysis of the poem "The Magic Violin" by Gumilyov from the point of view of symbolism and acmeism

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

Dear boy, you are so cheerful, your smile is so bright, uh

Don't ask for this world-poisoning happiness

You don't know, you don't know what this violin is, What is the dark horror starter game!

To understand Nikolai Gumilyov's poem "The Magic Violin", the analysis of the poem will be the best solution.

Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov is known in the history of Russian poetry as a representative of the Silver Age, as well as the founder of the Acmeism movement. The work "The Magic Violin" was written by him in 1907. Gumilyov was 21 years old. The young man managed to graduate from a secondary school, live in Paris for a year, come home for a short time and go traveling again. In ParisGumilyov attended the Sorbonne course of French literature, went to museums.

Bryusov's influence on Nikolai Gumilyov

In Paris, Gumilyov led an active creative life. He began to publish the literary magazine Sirius, where Anna Akhmatova was first published, and they will continue to write poetry. The poet corresponded with Bryusov, who at that time was 34 years old. Valery Bryusov, poet, prose writer, translator, one of the founders of Russian symbolism, has already become famous as the author of several poetry collections - “To the City and the World”, “Wreath” and other famous works. Younger poets considered it an honor to communicate with Bryusov. It is important for us to understand the history of communication between two great poets in order to analyze the poem "The Magic Violin" by Gumilyov. Gumilyov sent poems to Valery Bryusov and shared his creative ideas.

Friend and teacher

In 1907, Gumilyov returned to Russia for four months, where he met with Bryusov. Then he leaves on a trip to the East and returns to Paris again. He still keeps in touch with his friend and teacher.

I must say that the first poetry collection "The Way of the Conquistadors" by Gumilyov, published while still studying at the gymnasium, was awarded a personal review by Bryusov. The famous symbolist liked the young author. Since then, Gumilyov considered Bryusov his teacher for a long time.

Spleen and violin

In 1907, Nikolai Gumilyov wrote one of his famousPoems "The Magic Violin" By that time, the poet had already created many of his beautiful works - “Giraffe”, “I am a conquistador in an iron shell”, “Lake Chad” and others. On December 26, after Christmas, Nikolai Gumilyov writes a letter to Bryusov, where he asks how old the teacher is and thanks him for the sent book of poems. Gumilyov is in a creative depression, he talks about the state of spleen, and wants to know when the creative flowering of poets comes, at what age. He seeks the answer to his question from a mentor. In addition, he sends him two poems - "The Magic Violin" and "There were five of us … We were captains." In response, Valery Bryusov wrote that he really liked the first poem, and he would gladly use it for Libra (a literary magazine published by V. Bryusov), and also tells Gumilyov the exact date of birth and allegorically praises Gumilyov's successes on the poetic path.

The basics of acmeism

If we analyze the poem "The Magic Violin" by Gumilyov, we will see that the work was written clearly under the influence of Valery Bryusov's work. But at the same time, Gumilyov's perfectly recognizable style is visible in it - mystical solemnity, beauty and capacity of lines, metaphors. This is not yet acmeism, but already a work stylistically different from symbolism.

Before we analyze the poem "The Magic Violin" by Gumilyov, let us also recall two poetic currents of the beginning of the 20th century. Acmeism assumed the use of the poetic word accurately and clearly, perfecting the meaning and poetic form to perfection. Acmeism considered itsduty to give nobility to human nature, idealize feelings, describe images of the objective world and earthly beauty. This was its difference from symbolism, where a hidden meaning reigned, the super-rational sensitivity of the author, hints, understatement was put in the first place. The flow of words resembling musical consonances was encouraged, mobility and ambiguity were required from the word.

Let's start the analysis of Gumilyov's poem "The Magic Violin" according to the plan. The "Magic Violin" tells about a young boy who asks the master to introduce him to the world of music, to give him the opportunity to play the "magic violin". In the analysis of the poem "The Magic Violin" by Gumilyov, we will dwell on this in more detail. An inexperienced musician does not yet know what price he will have to pay for the right to become a master and be initiated into the secrets of art. His mentor grieves about this and pities the student, but he understands that the student must go his own difficult path in creativity, and he has no right to interfere with him. Moreover, the young musician does not believe the words of a wise musician, he lives in a happy expectation of fame, the success of his future.

Gumilyov's poem is permeated with a dreary feeling of fear of the master for his student, but at the same time solemnity of describing the difficulties of the path, bowing before the inevitability.

Poetic vocabulary

The work is written in trochee in eight-foot size and filled with figurative words. Like other works of the master of acmeism, it has a bright rhyme -sonorous but melodic.

The composition of the poem consists of 6 quatrains - quatrains with cross rhyme.

The first quatrain is introductory. This is an appeal to the hero of the work - a boy. Further, the person from whom the narration is being conducted - the violinist, begins to think about the future, and the tension builds up to the fourth quatrain, on the fifth it subsides and in the sixth quatrain the violinist resigns himself to the inevitability of the student's desire to possess a magic violin. The pathos of the syllable and its tension fade away.

The fifth quatrain describes death. The lines are filled with epithets, metaphors, and the alternation of voiced whistling sounds “z” and “s” makes the recitation of the quatrain more accentuated and expressive.

And completing the analysis of N. S. Gumilyov's poem "The Magic Violin", we note how figuratively and accurately the poet uses the word "eyes" twice - in the second quatrain and in the fifth. This unites the lines, but also creates a confrontation: “the serene light of the eyes has disappeared forever” - “a belated, but powerful fright will look into the eyes.”

Place of honor for the "Magic Violin"

The work "The Magic Violin" later opened a collection of poems called "Pearls", and a dedication to Bryusov appeared in it. The book appeared in 1910, and The Magic Violin took the honorary first page.