“cursed days”- this is how I. A. Bunin, who lived in exile, described the events of 1918. Alexander Blok had a different opinion. In the revolution, he saw a turning point in the life of Russia, which entailed the collapse of the old moral foundations and the emergence of a new worldview.
Absorbed by the idea of establishing a new, better life in the country, in January 1918 Blok wrote one of his most striking works - the poem "The Twelve", which embodied the unstoppable power of the revolution, sweeping away the remnants of the former life in its path.
The image of the old and new worlds in the poem was created by the author in a special form full of hidden philosophical meaning. Each image in the poem that appears before the reader symbolizes the social face of a social class or the ideological coloring of an ongoing historical event.
The old world is symbolized by several images shown in a mockingly contemptuous light. The image of a bourgeois at the crossroads, with his nose in his collar, symbolizes the bourgeoisie, once powerful, but now helpless in the face of a new force.
Under the image of the writer hides the creative intelligentsia, who did not accept the revolution. “Russia is dead!” - the writer says, and his words reflected the opinions of many representatives of this social group, who saw the death of their country in the ongoing events.
The church, which has lost its former power, is also symbolically shown. The author provides our eyes with the image of a priest walking furtively, “with his side behind a snowdrift”, who in former times “went forward with his belly, and his belly shone on the people with a cross”. Now “comrade pop” has neither a cross nor the former arrogance.
The lady in astrakhan is a symbol of secular noble society. She tells the other that they "wept, wept," she slipped and fell. This episode, in my opinion, expressed Blok's opinion about the weak character and unsuitability of the pampered aristocracy in the new life.
All of the above images show that the old world is defeated, only pitiful shadows of its former greatness remain.
There is a bourgeois, like a hungry dog,
It stands silent, like a question.
And the old world, like a rootless dog,
Standing behind him with his tail between his legs.
In this quatrain, the author emphasizes the insignificance of the old world, comparing it with the image of a rootless dog.
A completely different artistic embodiment in the poem has new world. Its main representatives are twelve Red Army men. The image of this detachment, in my opinion, is a reflection of the real face of the revolution. “You should have an ace of diamonds on your back!”, “Lock the floors, today there will be robberies!”, “I’ll slash, slash with a knife!” - similar lines found in the poem, in my opinion, speak more about anarchy than about the struggle of the proletariat for better life. In the conversations of the Red Army, there are never exclamations like: “We are ours, we will build a new world!” One can see only deep contempt and hatred for everything “old”.
The scale of the revolution is emphasized by the images of the raging forces of nature: a blizzard that breaks out, snow curling like a funnel, a black sky. Especially widely the elemental power of the events taking place is symbolized by the wind:
Wind, wind!
A person does not stand on his feet.
Wind, wind
In all God's world!
And finally, one of the main in the poem "The Twelve" is the image of Christ. The presence of this image in the poem can be interpreted in different ways. Personally, I believe that it symbolizes the “god of slaves”, leading the former slaves of the old world and blessing them to fight the oppressors. The name of Christ in the poem is spelled incorrectly. In my opinion, the author did this to emphasize that what is meant here is not the god of the old world, but the god of the new, workers' Russia.
On the whole, it can be said about the work that Blok managed to create a rather impressive picture of life in a short poem, giving an idea of the events of those years in revolutionary Russia and their ideological orientation. Masterfully staged composition, uniquely selected images and symbols rightfully make the poem "The Twelve" one of the best works in the work of Alexander Blok.
Essay on literature on the topic: The old and the new world in A. Blok's poem “The Twelve”
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- A. A. Blok's poem "The Twelve" can be regarded as the culmination of all his work. The motive of the author's irony in relation to the modern "uterine" world and its "inhabitants" permeates the entire work. The modern bourgeois, whose interests are centered only around profit, was so hated by Blok that Read More ......
- It is known that A. Blok belonged to such a direction in Russian poetry as symbolism, or rather, young symbolism. Therefore, the poet's poems are so saturated with symbols, the true meaning of which is not revealed immediately. By definition, a symbol is one of the methods of implicit comparison. In Read More ......
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- Alexander Blok went a long way from a chamber poet who sang of the “pink cloud of dreams” and “sweet warrior”, “dressed in silver”, to the creator of the poem “The Twelve”, who expressed with great force the terrible “music of destruction” and longing for other music, music “new age”, which “will rise among the Read More ......
As in the poem by A. A. Blok "The Twelve". Is the brokenness of the old world revealed?
Contemporaries of the poet Alexander Alexandrovich Blok and later researchers of his work, again and again referring to the poem "The Twelve", asked themselves the same rhetorical question: “How could a person brought up in the spirit of the noble traditions of the 19th century dedicate a poem to those who eradicate these traditions in a violent, barbaric way?” Such bewilderment is quite understandable, because during the revolution and after it, the creative intelligentsia was widely perceived as an artistic conductor of the ideas of the “bourgeois and kulaks”. And the revolution itself, according to the plan of its theorists and practitioners, in its “minimum program” was supposed to lead to the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat, which implied a completely unambiguous attitude towards all other segments of the population. So why did the symbolist poet Alexander Blok glorify this revolution in his poem? In fact, Blok laid the answer to this question in the poem “The Twelve” itself. The music of the revolution that the poet hears, he tries to convey to the reader through poetry. Blok said: "With all your body, with all your heart, with all your consciousness - listen to the Revolution." The revolution, according to Blok, is beautiful! Despite the horror and chaos that have gripped the country, all this is the essence of a cleansing that Russia simply needs to go through. And if you look at the poem through the prism of such a perception of events, it will no longer seem strange that Blok so enthusiastically described the brokenness of the old world in The Twelve. The symbol of the triumph of the new world is given to the reader immediately, without any preliminary preparation: A rope is stretched from building to building.
On the rope - a poster: "All power to the Constituent Assembly!".
This triumph is a fait accompli. He is no longer questioned by ironic intonation or some ridiculous epithet. And already to him, this fact, firmly standing on the feet of proletarian freedom - not the one that “ends where the freedom of another begins”, but the all-permissive and anarchic one, is opposed by the silhouettes of the old world beating in death convulsions: An old woman, like a chicken, Somehow she jumped over the snowdrift.
Oh, Mother Protector! - Oh, the Bolsheviks will drive into the coffin! ..
And who is this? -Long hair And says in an undertone: - Traitors! Russia is dead! -
The writer must be Vitya...
There is a lady in karakul To the other she turned up: Already we were crying, crying ...
Slipped And - bam - stretched out! ..
Human images, symbolizing the old world breaking before our eyes, are ridiculous and comical. They, like dolls from the Theater of the Absurd, which are unceremoniously pulled by the strings, forcing them to perform various body movements and utter nonsense in distorted voices, fill the emptiness of the soap bubble, and their faces reflected on the iridescent convex surface cause only a bitter smile: And there is the long-haired one - Sideways - for a snowdrift ...
What is gloomy now, Comrade pop? Do you remember how it used to be The belly went forward And the belly shone like a cross on the people? ..
Alexander Blok, as a true genius of symbolism, with one unpretentious phrase demonstrated the bottomless abyss that opened up between the worlds opposing each other. It is “comrade pop” that is a symbol of the antagonism of the old and the new, their complete incompatibility and the most severe ugliness in random combinations, which does not cause a drop of pity.
The totality of social and moral values in the souls and minds of the Red Guards, through whose mouths Blok voices the mood of the new world, corresponds to ideas about the relationship between the goal and the means to achieve it. If we are to destroy the old world, then it is cruel, blasphemous and to the ground: Revolutionary, take a step! The restless enemy does not sleep! Comrade, hold the rifle, don't be afraid! Let's fire a bullet into Holy Russia - into the condo, into the hut, into the fat-ass! ..
The murder of the “fat-faced Katya”, who has “Kerenki in her stockings” and who knows what is doing in the tavern with Vanyusha, is not perceived as a crime, but, on the contrary, as an act aimed at strengthening the new world. Some moral hesitation of Petrusha, who doubted the righteousness of what he had done, soon, thanks to the exhortations of the other eleven, passes into a phase of absolute confidence in the correctness of the path that they have chosen for themselves. There is no way back: Eh, eh! Having fun is not a sin! Lock the floors, Today there will be robberies! Open the cellars - Walking today is a squalor! ..
The finale of the poem puts a final and fat point in the conflict of the old and the new. The appearance of Jesus Christ under the bloody banner of the revolution, leading the harmonious march of the twelve apostles-revolutionaries, was the last nail in the coffin of the old world, the final and unconditional brokenness of which was symbolically depicted in his poem by Alexander Blok.
Of course, only history can give an objective assessment of any socio-political events. Too much water must flow away before it becomes finally clear which of the two opposing sides was closest to the truth, which of the two evils was the least for the country. Almost a century has passed since the revolution took place, but there has never been a unanimous opinion on this matter, and there is not to this day. Moreover, it is impossible to find an answer to the question: “Who is right?” in the poem "The Twelve". Blok did not set himself the task of stigmatizing the “bourgeois” and erecting a literary monument to the proletarians of all countries, united in a single and passionate impulse. He outlined the most difficult for him and his contemporaries, and for everyone who lived before him and will live after him, the problem of choice: either rot along with the decaying remains of the old bourgeois society, or burn out like a spark in the ruthless fire of the revolution.
Bibliography
For the preparation of this work, materials from the site http://www.coolsoch.ru/ were used.
A poem by A.A. Block "The Twelve" can be seen as the culmination of all his work. The motive of the author's irony in relation to the modern "uterine" world and its "inhabitants" permeates the entire work. The modern bourgeois, whose interests are centered only around profit, was so hated by Blok that, by his own admission, he reached "some kind of pathological disgust." And in the revolution, the poet saw a purifying force capable of giving the world a new breath, freeing it from the power of people who are far from spiritual aspirations, from the ideals of justice and humanity, who live only by a thirst for material wealth and guided by their petty passions. This attitude directly echoes the gospel parable of the rich man who cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
The first chapter is an exposition of the poem, which shows the background of the city, its motley population. Blok, in the spirit of a folk joke, describes the inhabitants of Petrograd who do not understand what is happening:
An old lady like a chicken
Somehow rewound through the snowdrift.
- Oh, Mother Protector!
- Oh, the Bolsheviks will drive into the coffin!
The fact that the figures of the "old world" have not human, but animal characteristics, gives rise not only to the heroes of the poem, but also to the readers, an attitude of pity.
The wind is biting!
The frost is not far behind!
And bourgeois at the crossroads
He hid his nose in the collar.
The mask has been torn off the eloquent writer by the October whirlwind, and the author, not recognizing, asks: “Who is this?” The image of the "terrible accuser" is pathetic, he mutters threats that cause not horror, but laughter. The sublime "vitia" turns into an angry, contemptuous, derogatory nickname. Precise, biting words branded all those who, behind empty chatter, tried to hide their empty life, disgust in relation to people's sorrows.
And there is the long-haired one -
Side for - snowdrift ...
What is unhappy today
Comrade pop?
Do you remember how it used to be
Belly walked forward
And the cross shone
Belly on the people? ..
There is a lady in doodle
Turned up to the other:
We were crying, we were crying...
slipped
And - bam - stretched out!
Mockingly sympathetically sounds after an almost lubok, cheerful paradise picture
Pull up!
Along with the satire on the "old world", caused by its inconsistency, narrowness and primitive outlook of its representatives, the author also brings a more serious accusation of cruelty to this world. By the "terrible world" Petka's beloved was taken away, and he takes revenge for this. If you look objectively at the actions of the twelve Red Guards, then, apart from the murder of Katya, they do not perform any other actions throughout the entire time of the poem. Nowhere is it said about any lofty goal that would move them. Gradually, the author's intention is revealed: love is a concept that is more understandable and close to a person than any political idea. Therefore, the whole horror of the "old world" lies in the fact that love is being killed in it, it is not worth anything here.
It is even more terrible that the symbol of the "old world" for the heroes-"comrades" is "Holy Russia", endowed with "bodily" attributes ("fat-assed"). The "old world" in the poem is also likened to a "beggar", "hungry" and "cold" dog. Sometimes researchers point to the image of the "dog" in the poem as the personification of the forces of evil (remember Goethe's poodle-Mephistopheles). But why is the “poor”, “hungry” and “rootless” dog for revolutionary “badness” in the neighborhood with the rejected class alien “bourgeois”? Perhaps because he, like the "old world", which is not yet ready to give up, is a threat:
... Bares his teeth - the wolf is hungry -
The tail is tucked in - does not lag behind -
A cold dog - a rootless dog ...
- Hey, answer, who's coming?
Already in the first chapter, before the mention of the “twelve”, against the background of the caricature figures of an old woman, a bourgeois, a whiting writer, a priest, the call sounds: “Comrade! Look / Both! In the second chapter, the image of the “restless enemy” appears for the first time (“The restless enemy does not sleep!”), And again an appeal to the “comrade” is heard: “Hold the rifle, don’t be afraid!” In the sixth chapter, the formula “The restless enemy does not sleep” is repeated, and in the tenth it sounds menacingly: “The restless enemy is near!” The motive of anxiety and fear is most strongly manifested in the eleventh chapter of the poem. In a snowstorm, the Red Army soldiers are blind, the red flag obscures their eyes, the image of the “enemy” is mentioned twice:
Their rifles are steel
To the invisible enemy...
In the alleys are deaf,
Where one dusty blizzard ...
Yes, in downy snowdrifts -
Don't take off your boots...
It beats in the eyes
Red flag.
And although fragments of revolutionary songs, the anthem "Varshavyanka" sound, the expectation of danger does not leave the heroes:
Is distributed
Measure step.
Here - wake up
Fierce enemy...
And the blizzard dusts them in the eyes
Days and nights
All the way…
Go-go,
Working people!
However, do the heroes really see their enemy in the "old world"? The fear of the Red Army before this unknown enemy grows throughout the poem. But at the same time, the characters are shown full of courage, they have "malice seething in their chests", they are ready to mock the "old world" ("Eh, eh! / It's not a sin to have fun!"). And the characters of the "old world" are represented by the victims ("I'm already with a knife / Strip, strip"). That is, it is obvious that they cannot act as an enemy. On the contrary, retribution to the "terrible world" comes from those whom he himself gave birth to.
Blok accepted the revolution, but not from a Marxist position (as a struggle between the oppressors and the oppressed), but from a religious and philosophical one, believing that the world was mired in sin and deserved retribution. The main revolution, according to Blok, must take place not outside, but within people. “World fire in the blood” is a symbol of spiritual rebirth. From this point of view, the revolution is the Apocalypse, the Last Judgment, accompanied by the second coming of Christ. And the black deed of the “twelve”, their revenge on the bourgeoisie, the settling of personal scores is a tool in the hands of Divine justice. And they themselves will be buried under the rubble of this "old world".
... In January 1918, I surrendered to the elements for the last time. During and after the end of The Twelve, for several days I felt physically, with hearing, a lot of noise around - the noise is merged (probably the noise from the collapse of the old world)
A.A. Block from Notes on the Twelve.
The poem "The Twelve" was published in 1918, according to Blok, it was written in two days. The work has become new in every sense: after all, before this Blok was known as a writer who writes with beautiful, radiant, light, gentle words.
In the poem, he does not skimp on abuse, obscene language. People who had previously revered Blok became his opponents, and those who did not love him at first, suddenly felt unusually warm feelings for him.
"Twelve" - can be called the best work Blok. A work inspired by the October Revolution, which inspired him as an artist. Blok, usually mercilessly strict with himself, said after the end of the poem: "Today I'm a genius."
The poem reflected Blok's view of the revolution: for him, it is a destructive element, the "Dionysian principle", which replaced the dilapidated culture. Revolution in Blok's understanding is retribution to the old world.
The poem "The Twelve" is composed almost entirely of symbols. Moreover, the meaning of some is clear to us, but over the meaning of others we have to pretty rack our brains. The explanation is simple: many of the symbols in the poem "The Twelve" have a double meaning. For example, the lines:
black evening,
White snow.
They carry not only a color conflict, but also personifies the conflict between the old and the new world. And it is this conflict that can be called the main one in the poem.
The struggle of two "worlds": the old, obsolete, and the new, which came with the victory of the revolution, is shown through the interaction, interweaving of numerous images in the poem. With their help, we see that the old world, doomed to perish, is still alive and fighting.
Due to the fact that Blok skillfully mastered the word, we ourselves, perhaps not wanting it, become direct participants in all events. And at this moment, on a black evening, we hear the howling of the wind, the whistle of a blizzard, we feel the approach of something grandiose that will turn this whole pre-established world upside down, something that will change the further course of history. We understand that this is something - this is a revolution. On this black evening the old world will collapse...
In the howling, whistling of a blizzard, wind, snowstorm, the poet hears the "music of the revolution", in which he sees the possibility of reviving Russia. The main character of the new world in the first chapter is the wind. Perhaps it is he who will carry away with him the prejudices, customs of the world and purify the light for a new and improved world.
Black evening.
White snow.
In my opinion, this comparison prepares us in advance, says that the new world will conquer. "White snow", as a symbol of a new, pure world, stands out most clearly against the background of the black sky, a symbol of an evil, hostile world. If day reigned in nature, then the snow would dissolve, become less expressive against its background. And in the evening, the snow almost without difficulty, only fighting a little with the wind, lays down and covers the whole earth. In this revelry of the elements, through the howling of the wind and blizzards, Blok heard the music of the revolution and, most importantly, what he noted in it was polyphony. In the poem, everything is subject to the elements - struggle, love, the morals of people.
- a bourgeois who stands like a hungry dog;
- an old woman who is an echo of a terrible and hungry world;
- the writer Vitiy, who did not believe in the future of Russia;
- long butt;
- a lady in karakul, who slipped and fell.
What can I say, almost all the participants in the poem are part of the old world. Only the twelve Red Army men, who become the center of the second chapter of the story, cannot be attributed to their number.
Blok laughs at the representatives of the old world.
He has a bourgeois at the crossroads
He hid his nose in the collar.
Maybe he is afraid of change and seeks protection by hiding with his nose in his collar. To ridicule these people, Blok uses not just humor, but black satire.
Do you remember how it used to be
Belly walked forward
And the cross shone
Belly on the people? ..
Before the eyes immediately appears the image of a fat priest, who ate for other people's money and offerings. But before he had everything, and now there is nothing ...
Even a hungry, rootless, mangy dog is an echo of the old world. At the end, we see that the half-dead dog is clinging to the guards. This fragment suggests that the old world is still alive, it is somewhere nearby, it is trying to adapt and hide, but it does not have long to live. After all, absolutely everything, including the rhythm of the verse, changes with the advent of twelve Red Army soldiers.
All representatives of the evil world disappear, except for the dog, and this reminds the Red Army soldiers that the vile, old side of life has not gone anywhere: it follows on their heels, breathes cold breath into the back of the head:
And the old world is like a bald dog
Standing behind him with his tail between his legs...
... Get off you, mangy,
I'll tickle with a bayonet!
The old world is like a bald dog
Fail - I'll beat you!
The eternal problem, conflict - the struggle of the old and the new world. This motif is present in many works, and in the poem "The Twelve" the conflict turns into a revolution. Here we see a clear line between winners and losers. The old world, although it still clings to life, is doomed to perish. The conflict of light and darkness, new and old is eternal, like history itself.
Alexander Alexandrovich Blok created the poem "The Twelve" shortly after the October Revolution, in January 1918. Thus, the work became a direct spontaneous response to the changes taking place in Russian society and reflected the author's first, emotional impressions of the revolution. Despite the fact that the poem was written in a very short time, "The Twelve" is unusually cohesive. piece of art, striking in its harmony and musicality. Having finished the poem, Blok himself exclaimed: “Today I am a genius!”
The main conflict of the poem lies in the opposition of the old, outgoing world of tsarist Russia, and the new order caused by the revolution. The image of the old world is depicted satirically and consists of portraits of passers-by, whom twelve Red Army soldiers meet on the streets of the city. These characters complain about the revolution, fearing it. New orders are alien to them.
- Oh, Mother Protector!
- Oh, the Bolsheviks will drive into the coffin!
Before us is a writer, frightened whispering:
- Traitors!
- Russia is dead!
Here comes the "comrade pop", next to the "lady in astrakhan fur". These characters are depicted with a certain amount of irony. Pop recalls how satisfying and calm he lived before:
Do you remember how it used to be
Belly went forward
And the cross shone
Belly for the people?
On the one hand, the characters, symbolizing the passing past, are drawn by the author with irony. They are cowardly, pitiful, insignificant. Looking at them, the old world appears
not worth regretting. However, the old woman, looking at the poster, does not think about the victory of the revolution, she worries not about her own fate, but about the poor and hungry children.
The author does not feel sorry for the old world. The image of the bourgeois becomes a symbol of a bygone era. The bourgeois is compared to a hungry dog, tail between its legs in fear. The poet does not accept his cowardice and indecision. Such a world is doomed to disappear. The new world is depicted by Blok in more detail. It is symbolized by a detachment of twelve Red Army soldiers. Undoubtedly
they represent a serious force, uncontrollable and powerful. Neither wind nor snow can stop them.
The wind is blowing, the snow is falling.
Twelve people are coming.
Representatives of the new order, the new government, the creators of the new life - yesterday's workers and peasants, perhaps convicts. Most of these people are unaware of fear, sympathy, regret, moral hesitation. They are ready to fight for their future with weapons in their hands, without thinking about the casual victims of such a struggle.
Such unlimited freedom, permissiveness, lack of moral boundaries and the presence of weapons that can be used at any moment without hesitation, leads to murder.
Where is Katya? - Dead, dead!
Shot head!
However, even among the Red Army there is a place for humanity. A. A. Blok sympathizes with Petrukha, who killed his unfaithful mistress Katya. His regrets are sincere and cause empathy.
However, very soon Petruha recovered from his act and was again ready to fight for revolutionary ideals. Not accepting the obsolete old way of life, Blok does not idealize the revolutionary present either.
The achievement of a new order at any cost, the absence of moral guidelines is by no means welcomed by the poet. It seems that the present is made up of uncertainty, disorder, chaos, and people are lost in this whirlpool. It is no coincidence that twelve Red Army soldiers are constantly surrounded by wind and blizzard, night and darkness. ... go without a name. saint
All twelve are off.
Ready for everything
Nothing to regret...
The symbolism of color also emphasizes the author's perception of current events. Twelve Red Army men are accompanied by black and red colors, darkness and blood, evil and
murder. It seems that there is no light in this darkness. Despite the rather gloomy mood of the work, at the end of the poem there is hope for a better future, the hope that in the new world there will be a place for humanity, spirituality, and morality. These concepts are associated with the bright image of Jesus Christ, which, however, is still far away.
The poem "The Twelve" is a masterpiece of the work of A. A. Blok. With extraordinary power, the poet conveyed the atmosphere of destruction, chaos that engulfed revolutionary Russia. This is one of the most powerful works in Russian literature, reflecting the author's direct view of the changes taking place in society. "The Twelve" is a kind of poetic diary, a document of the era, conveying the feelings and experiences of the poet.
