At the end of the 19th century in Russia, among many other poetic movements that appeared in the context of the “Silver Age,” symbolism also became popular. A short story about one of the key poets of that era, Konstantin Balmont, and a brief analysis of the poem “I caught the departing shadows with a dream” in this article.

Konstantin Balmont: childhood and youth

The future poet was born on June 15, 1867 in the village of Gumnishchi, near the city of Vladimir. There he spent his childhood, where, under the influence of his mother, he began to read his first books and fell in love with music. When the boy was ten years old, the Balmont family moved to the town of Shuya. There Konstantin begins to study, but a few years later he moves to Vladimir.

In Vladimir, a poet is expelled from an educational institution after his participation in the student movement. A little later, Balmont goes to study in Moscow, but his studies there are not successful either - he is again expelled for participating in student demonstrations. As a student, Balmont begins to read a lot, expands his circle of acquaintances, begins to actively communicate and sympathize with revolutionary movements.

Balmont wrote his first poems at the age of ten, for which he received a scolding from his mother.

In 1885, the young poet’s first publications appeared in the St. Petersburg magazine Zhivopisnoye Obozrenie, which immediately attracted the attention of critics and ordinary readers.

In the late eighties of the 19th century, Balmont experienced poverty, an unsuccessful marriage and depression. He even attempts suicide by throwing himself out of a window. Stays alive thanks to chance. This event changes the poet’s worldview - he writes a lot, tries to publish, and is engaged in translation activities.

The nineties of the 19th century were the heyday of Balmont as a very bright and talented Russian poet. The collections “Under the Northern Sky” (1894), “In the Boundless” (1895) and “Silence” (1898) were published.

Abroad and death

With his second wife, whom he married in 1896, Balmont travels around Europe. Works in English universities.

During the first Russian revolution of 1905, Balmont took an active part in strikes: speaking to students and building barricades. After October 17th happened, Balmont left Russia in 1920 and never returned. After 1920, he published several more collections abroad and wrote autobiographical books “Under the New Sickle” and “Air Route”.

"Silver Age" in Russian literature

In Russia, at the end of the 19th century, a very powerful intellectual upsurge began. This is clearly visible in the fiction, poetry, and philosophy of that period. Russian philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev called this time the “Russian cultural renaissance.” By the way, according to one version, the first use of the phrase “Silver Age” belongs to him.

Poets who felt that era with all their souls saw the approach of changes that were simply tearing the country apart. The first revolution, then the world war, and later the seventeenth year - all this swept through the spiritual elite of Russia, on the one hand, simply destroying many both physically and spiritually, and on the other, giving food for thought. The theme of personality at that time was one of the most important, because it was personality that carried out coups and started wars.

The most outstanding names of that time were Fyodor Sologub, Anna Akhmatova, Nikolai Gumilev, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Alexander Blok, Zinaida Gippius and many others. The symbolist poet Konstantin Balmont also belonged to them.

Symbolism in Russia

Translated from Greek simbolon is "symbol, sign". In Europe, this literary movement appeared in the seventies of the 19th century and was associated with such names as Arthur Rimbaud or Paul Baudelaire. The main idea of ​​this movement was to express the inner world of a person through a symbol.

Symbolism is characterized by such things as:

• rhythmic, but smooth;
• sophistication of expressions;
• allegory;
• understatement, turning a word into a code;
• elitism of art;

Russian symbolism is believed to have begun with an article by one of the most important writers in Russia of that period, Merezhkovsky, entitled “On the Causes of Decline and New Trends in Modern Russian Literature,” published in 1892.

The heyday of Russian symbolism is the work of Alexander Blok, Bely, Ivanov, Annensky and other poets of the early 20th century.

Poem "I caught the departing shadows with a dream"

This poem was written in 1895. Included in the poet's collection entitled "In the Vast."

Carrying out a full analysis of the poem “I caught the departing shadows with a dream,” critics note that this work is not just one of the key ones for Balmont, but for all Russian symbolism as a whole. If you read the text of the work, you can see all the main features of symbolism, namely: allegory, sublimity of language, clear rhythm, but at the same time smoothness and ductility.

Also, having analyzed the poem “I caught the departing shadows with a dream,” we observe that the poet resorted to one of his favorite techniques - repetition of lines. With its help, Balmont connects the quatrains with each other. A specific analysis and text of the work is given below.

Analysis of the poem by the author Balmont “I caught the departing shadows with a dream...”

As critics note, this poem is the poet’s story about his appearance in the poetic world of Russia. Climbing the tower and the trembling steps underfoot is a metaphor for the poet’s entry into the literary world of Russia.

Balmont initially had clear and precise goals - which we read about in the lines where outlines are drawn in the distance. The poet was simply breathtaking from the heights to which he rose. And further in the text we see how high the author is, that night has already fallen below him, and for him the light was shining. And the more “the night fell below,” the brighter and clearer for the poet “the daylight shone.”

Analyzing the poem “I caught the departing shadows with a dream,” we can also say that this work is not only about the poet’s path to the top, but also about Balmont’s work as a whole. For example, “I learned how to catch passing shadows” is an indicator that the poet’s skill was constantly growing. And if at the beginning of the poem Balmont “caught shadows,” then at the end he already “recognized,” that is, this stage of “recognition” remains in the past and it is necessary to move on - towards new achievements and peaks.

Also, when analyzing the poem “I caught the departing shadows with a dream,” one can, moving away from the author’s personality, say that this work is a description of the path of a person or humanity as a whole from darkness to light, from earth to sky.

It is also necessary to highlight the structure of the poem: constant repetitions that create the impression of isolation. Perhaps this is a symbol of "everything returning to normal." Further, when analyzing the poem “I caught the departing shadows with a dream,” it is necessary to note the contrasts “And the higher I walked ...” and “And below me ...”, symbolizing day and night, earth and sky.

Criticism and admirers of Balmont

In the book “Portraits of Modern Poets” Ilya Erenburg wrote about Balmont that he is majestic, absurd and touching, like an exemplary king who generates admiration, indignation and pity in the hearts. You cannot love Balmont as much as Blok or Akhmatova. For Balmont is autumn flowers, which are very bright, but in their brightness they are scary and uncomfortable.

Alexander Blok noted the “roughness” of Balmont’s lyrics and his coldness as a person. At the same time, Blok highly valued Balmont’s poetry as “the poetry of the sun.”

Konstantin Balmont, as a representative of “older symbolism” in Russia, influenced many of his contemporaries and younger poets.

Conclusion

Any poem, if it is sincere, is considered a work of art. Any real poet is a Creator. In this article, having analyzed the poem “I caught the departing shadows with a dream” (K. Balmont), we touched upon very strong poetry that originated in Russia before the onset of a terrible period for the country. And the fact that after many trials that later befell Russia and the people, such poems live in memory and remain popular - this is an indicator of real, sincere art. Konstantin Balmont was precisely such a Creator, and his poems became such sincere art.

The creative works of Konstantin Balmont quite often contain romantic shades, although in fact, we are talking about quite serious things. The author uses such a literary device as symbolism and with its help creates his beautiful poems.

One of them can be called the work “I caught the departing shadows with a dream...”. In the text of the entire poem, we get acquainted with the author’s thoughts about his creative achievements. In rhymed lines, Balmont writes about his ups and downs, about how painstakingly he reached the pinnacle of his literary activity.

Some irony can be seen in the words: “I climbed the tower, and the steps trembled...”. At first glance, the reader understands that it was quite difficult for the author to climb the literary ladder. But, assessing the meaning of creative work as a whole, we understand that K. Balmont stepped forward with great confidence, not paying attention to envious people.

In the line “And the higher I walked, the clearer ... the outlines in the distance were drawn,” the reader sees that impulse of the soul, that desire for glory, which is actually raging in the author’s soul. And the closer he came to his cherished dream, the more distant his ill-wishers seemed to him.

He writes: “And below me, night had already fallen.” This means that all the past events of his life are just memories that he absolutely does not want to remember. He speaks of them as if they were a dark night that has already been left behind.

In the lines of a creative poem, K. Balmont notes: “With a dream I caught the passing shadows...”. What is meant by them? I think the author has learned to stop time with his skill and talent. In the lines of his works, he captured the most exciting moments of life, to which one should never return. They will remain in verse, in rhymed lines. They will take all grievances and disappointments into the distant past.

The war overtook Blok in Shakhmatovo. He greeted her as a new absurdity in an already absurd life. He loved Germany, German universities, poets, musicians, philosophers; it is difficult for him to understand why peoples should fight to please their rulers. The most difficult and shameful peace is better than any war. Lyubov Dmitrievna immediately learned to become a nurse and went to the front. Mikhail Tereshchenko abandoned all literary activities.

There is complete emptiness all around: it’s as if all the people stopped loving and left, but, however, they probably never loved. I found myself on some island in an empty and cold sea... People with souls never come to the island... On the entire island - just the three of us, somehow strangely related to each other - everything is very crowded.

“A life well lived is a long life.” This saying of Leonardo da Vinci is doubly true in relation to Anna Akhmatova. She not only lived her life well and with dignity, but the time allotted to her on earth turned out to be surprisingly long. However, while rejoicing at Akhmatova’s creative longevity, one cannot help but mention some of the features of memoir literature about her that stem from this factor. Why do we have such rich memoir literature about Alexander Blok or Sergei Yesenin?

Features of symbolism (using the example of K. Balmont’s poem “I caught the departing shadows with a dream ...”)

Borisovskaya E.O.,

Before moving on to the analysis of Balmont's poem, we need to remember what symbolism carries and what features are inherent in it.

Symbolism is usually called a literary movement in Russia that arose in the early 90s of the 19th century. It is based on the philosophical ideas of Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, as well as the teachings of V.S. Solovyov about the Soul of the World. The symbolists contrasted the traditional way of understanding reality with the idea of ​​creating worlds in the process of creativity. Therefore, creativity in the understanding of the symbolists - the contemplation of “secret meanings” - is accessible only to the poet-creator. The symbol becomes the central aesthetic category of this literary movement.

Features of symbolism:

• · Musicality of verse, development of sound recording;
• · Elevation of the subject matter;
• · Ambiguity, vagueness of images;
• · Understatement, allegories, hints;
• · The presence of the idea of ​​two worlds;
• · Reflection of reality through symbols;
• · Religious quests;
• · The idea of ​​the World Soul.

We can see most of these features of symbolism in the poem by the senior representative of the symbolic movement K. Balmont “I caught the departing shadows with a dream...”.

I dreamed of catching the passing shadows,

And the higher I walked, the clearer I saw

The more clearly the outlines in the distance were drawn,

And some sounds were heard around,

Around me there were sounds from Heaven and Earth.

The higher I climbed, the brighter they sparkled,

And below me the night had already fallen,

Night has already come for the sleeping Earth,

For me the light of day shone,

The fiery luminary was burning out in the distance.

I learned how to catch the passing shadows

The fading shadows of the faded day,

And higher and higher I walked, and the steps trembled,

And the steps shook under my feet.

Balmont's poem "I caught the departing shadows with a dream..." was written in 1895.

It most clearly reflects the work of Balmont and is a hymn of symbolism. The key motif in the poem is the motif of the path. It is known that the path motif is one of the most important archetypal motifs of symbolism. It is no coincidence that this poem is placed at the beginning of the book “In the Boundless” and is in italics. L.E. Lyapin believes that this poem is programmatic for Balmont. Therefore, in my opinion, the features of symbolism should be revealed using the example of this poem.

symbolism poem Balmont soul

Analysis of a lyrical work.

K. Balmont’s poem “I caught the departing shadows with a dream” was created in 1894 (collection “In the Boundless”). The work was included at the beginning of the collection and highlighted in italics. It was supposed to become the prologue of the entire book and, according to L. E. Lyapina, “it was thought to be programmatic.” (1, p. 59) The history of the creation of the poem is as follows: the poet wanted to write a work about the human path to the light.

Balmont's work is an elegy.

The theme of the poem is the poet’s narration about his creative achievements.

Several meanings can be distinguished in the poem: philosophical (search for the meaning of life), poetic (the theme of the poet and poetry), universal (the thought of harmony with oneself)

Personal intonations predominate, as evidenced by the frequent use of the pronoun “I”.

The composition of the poem is circular. This composition does not add completeness. The author's poetic thought is not complete: the path to the top is long. This movement is cyclical, eternal.

The main idea of ​​the poem is that a person must move forward all the time, regardless of any obstacles on the way to achieving his goal.

The use of book vocabulary (heights, gaze, luminary) gives a special solemnity to the text of the work.

The text of the poem often uses verbs (enter, tremble, go, find out, catch...), which create a feeling of constant movement. The personal pronoun “I” occurs 11 times. The poetic self is the basis of the poem.

With the help of epithets (“farewell radiance”, “slumbering mountains”, “fiery luminary”) and personifications (“heights... tenderly caressed”) K. Balmont spiritualizes nature, conveys its active nature. The text of the work repeats the metaphor “the steps trembled” four times. The trembling steps are a symbol of the fragile staircase of the path that the lyrical hero chose. It can be assumed that the hero’s path is unexplored, unsteady and incredibly difficult. Using the metaphor “catching with a dream,” the author conveys the desire of the lyrical hero to stop and remember something pleasant.

The extended metaphor “the passing shadows of a dimmed day” symbolizes the day that has been lived coming to an end.

Analysis of the syntactic level of the poem allows us to identify the following techniques: epiphora, anaphora, inversion. Epiphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the end of nearby poetic lines:

I dreamed of catching the passing shadows,

The fading shadows of the fading day,

I climbed the tower, and the steps trembled,

A syntactic device such as anaphora allows the poet to highlight lexemes that carry an important emotional and semantic load. The anaphoric words “and with what” are repeated, which do not allow you to stop until the very end of the reading.

And the higher I walked, the clearer I saw

The more clearly the outlines in the distance were drawn...

The higher I climbed, the brighter they sparkled,

The brighter the heights of the dormant mountains sparkled...

And higher and higher I walked, and the steps trembled,

And the steps shook under my feet.

Inversion gives special expressiveness and melody to artistic speech: “The clearer the outlines were drawn in the distance”, “And some sounds were heard in the distance”

The rhythm of the verse is syllabic - tonic. The poem is written in caesured tetrameter anapest with full and cross rhyme.

K. Balmont widely uses alliteration and assonance. The frequent use of hissing [w], [zh], [x], [h] (32 in total) makes the reader hear rustling and rustling, and plunge into an atmosphere of mystery and enigma. The abundance of sounds p, [l], [m], [n] gives the work a special musicality. Among the vowels, the following are often repeated: [i] (51), then [a] (50) and [u] (50). (3, p. 64) Thanks to sound repetitions, the speech of the poem becomes more euphonious.

I learned how to catch the passing shadows

The fading shadows of the faded day,

And higher and higher I walked, and the steps trembled,

And the steps trembled under my feet. (2, p. 207)

The truth has been revealed to the lyrical hero; he wants to convey the main idea to other people who are just starting this difficult path.