4.7
Average rating: 4.7
Total ratings received: 133.
4.7
Average rating: 4.7
Total ratings received: 133.
Written by A.A. Blok in 1908, the cycle of poems “On the Kulikovo Field” reflected Blok’s thoughts about the past and future of Russia. A brief analysis of “On the Kulikovo Field” according to plan will be useful when studying the work in a literature lesson in 9th grade.
The material was prepared jointly with a teacher of the highest category, Kuchmina Nadezhda Vladimirovna.
Experience as a teacher of Russian language and literature - 27 years.
Brief Analysis
Before reading this analysis, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the poem On the Kulikovo Field.
History of creation - a cycle of poems written by A. A. Blok in 1908 after the First Russian Revolution, when the poet, committed to its ideas, realized what disasters it brought with it.
Topic - Russia, since its ancient history, has been in a constant struggle for its independence, and at the beginning of the twentieth century it again found itself at a crossroads.
The composition - the work consists of five parts, each of which has its own plot, but all parts are united by a common line - a parallel is drawn between the past, present and future of the country.
Genre – lyric-epic cycle: the work combines some features of lyricism and epic, it has a storyline and contains the feelings and experiences of the lyrical hero.
Poetic size - all five parts of the work are written in iambic, the poems are divided into stanzas, each of which consists of four lines, different types of rhyme are used: accurate and inaccurate, male and female; The method of rhyming is cross, that is, the first and third, second and fourth lines rhyme.
Metaphors - “Our path... pierced our chest”, “an arrow of the ancient Tatar will”, “sunset in the blood”, “Under the yoke of the flawed moon”.
Personifications - “The river is spread out... lazily sad and washing the banks”, “... the haystacks are sad”, “frightened clouds are coming”.
Epithets - “...with a prophetic heart”, “...a dark and ominous Don”, “quiet lightning”, “age-old melancholy”, “...a harsh cloud”, “High and rebellious days”, “Free clouds”.
Comparison - “And Nepryadva cleaned up with fog, like the princess with a veil.”
Block Cycle: Analysis. Blok, “On the Kulikovo Field”
“The best thing that happened in Russian literature after Tyutchev,” is how the famous literary critic K. Mochulsky, on whose work this analysis is based, described the cycle approximately. The block “On the Kulikovo Field” wrote on the eve of catastrophic events that determined the fate of Russia once and for all. And the artist of the word felt their closeness, which makes him truly a Russian national poet, who cannot be fit into the narrow framework of any movement or literary school.
Literary context
“On the Kulikovo Field,” 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 key. Also in connection with the Kulikovo cycle, it is necessary to mention the poet’s article “Intellectuals and Revolution”. In it, Blok creates the image of the “enduring silence” that hangs over the country. This is the calm before the storm, preceding the battle. It is in its depths, the poet believes, that the fate of the Russian people matures.
In the article, the poet, referring to the poem “On the Kulikovo Field,” 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 did not exist and could not exist between the Russians and the Tatars.
Composition
Building a cycle is the first thing you need to start your analysis with. The block “On the Kulikovo Field” was divided into five parts. The poem “The River Spreads,” 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 becomes faster and faster.
With such a dynamic introduction, the tender lyrical poem “We, Sam-Friend” comes into contrast. ”, continuing the cycle “On the Kulikovo Field”. Block (the analysis clearly shows this) for the next chapter of his poetic diary - “On the night when Mamai. - defined the role of the compositional center. It is here that the image of the Mother of God appears, in which the features of a Beautiful Lady can be discerned. The last two poems of the cycle (“Again with age-old melancholy” and “And in the darkness of troubles”) continue the motifs of anticipation of a future storm, an all-encompassing silence that precedes an imminent battle.
Historiosophical concept
In 1912, as a note to one of the poems in the cycle “On the Kulikovo Field,” Blok—the analysis must take this into account—called the battle with the Tatars symbolic. In other words, the poet gives the image of the Kulikovo battle 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 seen as a metaphor for the struggle between the forces of darkness and light, and initially the battle is for the soul of a specific person (the lyrical hero), and the victory of one of these sides will finally decide what Russia’s fate is.
The analysis (Blok, “On the Kulikovo Field” - the field of the great battle) can be carried out in a different way. The first poem of the cycle indicates the motive of moving forward, causing suffering. On this basis, it would be interesting to compare the works of Blok and Bryusov. The latter, in one of his poems, greeted the Huns who had come to destroy, which raised natural questions and complaints from the reading public. In fact, Valery Bryusov (as well as Blok) understood the inevitability of future changes, albeit very painful ones.
Let's continue the analysis. The block “On the Kulikovo Field” was filled with symbolically polysemantic, universal images. Thus, 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 dull gaze of a sorcerer” - it is likely that the poet used a reference from the story “Terrible Vengeance”. The image of the Beautiful Lady – the Mother of God – is also interesting. He points out the specifics of Blok’s patriotism: the poet’s love for the Motherland is permeated with an erotic feeling, which is comparable to a craving for the woman he loves.
Means of expression
The analysis (Blok, “On the Kulikovo Field”) would be incomplete without studying the means of expression. The poet abundantly uses emotionally charged exclamatory sentences, which 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 (sad river, bloody sunset). The latter will inevitably cause the reader to associate with ancient Russian literature - in particular, “The Word. " and "Zadonshchina". The poetic meter of the cycle is iambic.
Thus, as the analysis demonstrated (Blok, “On the Kulikovo Field”), the field provides literary scholars with a lot of material for research. At the same time, the poet’s cycle is considered one of the peaks of his work, along with “The Twelve” and “Scythians”.
Subject
The theme running through the entire work is Russia's eternal struggle for its freedom. The Battle of Kulikovo becomes a symbol of liberation from the Mongol yoke. A. A. Blok transfers the problem of the historical confrontation between Rus' and the Horde to the entire course of the country’s development, including the present, predicting a new “Battle of Kulikovo” for Russia, which will free it from the monarchy. The poet's revolutionary ideas were caused by the events that took place: the revolution of 1905–1907, the maturation of a new social explosion by 1917.
Composition
The cycle consists of five interconnected poems, so it is necessary to characterize its compositional content in parts. In the first part, the reader is presented with a picture from the history of Russia: the Tatar-Mongols are advancing on the country (“In the steppe smoke the holy banner and the steel of the Khan’s saber will flash…”).
Blok associates the image of the Motherland with a “steppe mare” who rushes forward: “The steppe mare flies, flies and crushes the feather grass...”, “The steppe mare gallops!” as a symbol of strength and femininity. Here the poet uses a phrase that will later become popular; it accurately conveys the author’s idea that Russia is destined to constantly defend its independence: “And eternal battle! Rest only in our dreams…".
The second and third parts are devoted to a description of the preparation for the Battle of Kulikovo and victory over the enemy. The image of the Mother of God appears as the defender of the Russian land and its warriors: “Your face, not made by hands, was bright in the shield forever.”
The last two parts of the series are devoted to a description of modern Russia through the prism of its ancient history. The poet feels the rise of revolutionary forces, the already obvious changes in life, saying: “Again, darkness has risen and spread over the Kulikovo field.” The thunder of battle and the ringing of weapons have not yet been heard, but the lyrical hero clearly foresees them, addressing: “But I recognize you, the beginning of high and rebellious days!” It consists of five parts, which, in turn, are divided into stanzas (quatrains) written in iambic. The rhyme used is exact (pain - will), inaccurate (lazy - cliff), masculine (Rus - I'm afraid), feminine (bonfires - banner).
The rhyming method is cross ABAB.
Analysis of Blok’s poem “On the Kulikovo Field”
The work is a short cycle of five poems.
Alexander Blok touches on many poetic aspects here - the historical past of Russia, the upcoming changes, a description of Russian nature, the image of his wife, etc. The victory in the Battle of Kulikovo at one time changed the course of history and freed the Russians from the centuries-old Tatar-Mongol yoke. It was this symbolism that Blok chose in his thoughts about contemporary Russia and the impending changes. He is very concerned about the fate of the country, the fate of the people and intelligentsia and the outcome of the revolution.
The poem was written by the poet in 1908, the revolution was just maturing, and Blok associated liberation from the yoke of the monarchy with liberation from the yoke of the Tatar-Mongols.
The plot of the work is based on completely real historical events - military campaigns, bloody battles, terrible fires, while the event outline is permeated with extraordinary lyricism and epicness.
The cycle opens with a thoughtful landscape sketch, but already from the second stanza the narrative is enlivened, replete with exclamations and appeals of the hero, the dynamics of the plot are emphasized by iambic meter.
The poet chose the lines of Vladimir Solovyov as the epigraph to the fifth poem of the cycle: “And the mist of irresistible troubles / The coming day was shrouded.” It is thanks to the influence of V. Solovyov that in all the work of A. Blok there is a mystical and at the same time very recognizable image of eternal femininity. The poet compares Russia to his wife and addresses her as his wife.
Old Russian toponymy continues the patriotic spirit - “Nepryadva”, “Kulikovo field”, “eagle screech”, “Tatar camp”. As in other ancient Russian patriotic works, Russian nature comes to life and also helps in the fight against the enemy.
The poet includes in the poem the image of a steppe mare, which flies forward against the background of the sunset, and this image symbolizes Russia, which is also looking towards the future.
The work is full of contrasts: good and evil, peace and dynamics, dark and light beginnings. Russia wins because good must win, because it is under a bright leadership. It is not without reason that the author uses words such as “face not made by hands”, “holy banner” and others.
The poet is confident that Russia will have to endure such a significant event as the Battle of Kulikovo more than once in order to turn the tide of history again in a difficult, hopeless situation.
Analysis of A. Blok’s poetic cycle “On the Kulikovo Field”
The plot of the cycle “On the Kulikovo Field” has a historical basis - the centuries-old opposition of Rus' to the Tatar-Mongol invasion. The lyric-epic plot combines a concrete historical event outline: battles, military campaigns, a picture of his native land covered in fire - and a chain of experiences of the lyrical hero, capable of comprehending the entire centuries-old historical path of Rus'. The cycle was created in 1908. This is the time of reaction after the defeat of the 1905 revolution.
The central theme in the cycle is the theme of the homeland, thoughts about its complex historical fate. The first poem of the cycle opens with an elegiac landscape sketch, which immediately sets the mood for reflection and reminiscence. Starting from the second stanza, the plot becomes more dynamic, enlivened by appeals and exclamations, chopped syntactic structures.
This plot harmoniously corresponds to the size of the verse - iambic heterometer. AA Blok compares his homeland with his wife. This shows the influence of V. Solovyov, thanks to whom the image of eternal femininity, recognizable and mystical at the same time, penetrates into the work of AA Blok. It is no coincidence that for the fifth poem of the cycle the author chose an epigraph from a poem by V. Solovyov. At the end of the first poem, a romantic image of a steppe mare appears, racing against the backdrop of a bloody sunset. It also ties into the theme of Russia looking to the future. The words “steppe”, “steppe” emphasize the expanses of the native land.
Old Russian toponymy plays a special role in the development of the patriotic theme: Nepryadva, Don, and Kulikovo. The creation of images of the natural world goes back to the traditions of ancient Russian literature (to “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, “Zadonshchina”) (feather grass bent to the ground, haystacks are sad, swans are screaming, the screech of eagles is heard in the Tatar camp). In the cycle, contrast plays an important role (rest and movement, dark and light principles, good and evil). However, the Tatar-Mongol yoke will be overthrown, for on the side of Rus' is holiness (“holy banner”, “face not made by hands”),
In the last poem of the cycle, the author talks about the coming day. A motif of cyclicality appears in the development of historical events
Again over the Kulikov field
The darkness rose and spread.
And Blok’s poetic phrase “But I recognize you, the beginning of the High and Rebellious Days” is no longer addressed to distant history, but to the present. Thus, Blok’s cycle “On the Kulikovo River” can be perceived not only as a work about the glorious and rebellious pages of Russian history, but also as a unique experience of historical foresight. It becomes clear that the Battle of Kulikovo interests the writer primarily as a landmark, turning point event in Russian history.
Means of expression
Blok used various artistic means. These include personifications : “The river spreads out... is lazily sad and washes the banks”, “... the haystacks are sad”, “frightened clouds are coming”, metaphors : “Our path... pierced our chest”, “an arrow of the ancient Tatar will”, “sunset in the blood ", "Under the yoke of the flawed moon", . In addition, the poet used the epithets : “Free clouds”, “... with a prophetic heart”, “... the dark and ominous Don”, “quiet lightning”, “age-old melancholy”, “... a harsh cloud”, “High and rebellious days”, and comparison : “And Nepryadva got away with fog, like the princess with a veil.”
