It is impossible to read the poem “The Last Bumblebee” by Ivan Alekseevich Bunin without memories of the first autumn days, yellowing trees, and already cool rain. Falling leaves are metaphorically associated with the withering of the human body. In part, autumn is a little death. Thoughts about the end of his life visited the author in the fall of 1916. Then he had no idea about the revolution, which, to some extent, would destroy the Russia that he knew and loved. It is difficult to say whether he had premonitions about this. But his depressed mood is visible to the naked eye.
The text of Bunin’s poem “The Last Bumblebee” is like the author’s search for a kindred soul who can share with him the aching longing for the passing summer. And it doesn’t matter that it’s just an insect. Even it can sense the approaching emptiness. Of course, the bumblebee has no idea about its imminent death. Therefore, the poet treats him condescendingly. He patiently and reverently addresses his little “friend.” Of course, the bumblebee's fate is already sealed. And the author is tormented by a painful feeling of pity and powerlessness in the face of harsh reality.
The poem plunges you into sad reflections. The author makes the reader think that one day he will become this same bumblebee. One fine day everyone will fall asleep in eternal sleep, forgetting about all sorrows and hardships, sinking into oblivion. And this cannot but cause sadness and melancholy. The work must be taught in literature classes in high school. You can read it in its entirety online or download it on our website.
Black velvet bumblebee, golden mantle, mournfully humming with a melodious string, Why do you fly into human habitation And seem to be yearning for me?
Outside the window there is light and heat, the window sills are bright, The last days are serene and hot, Fly, sound your horn - and fall asleep in a dried Tatar coat, On a red pillow.
It is not given to you to know human thoughts, That the fields have long been empty, That soon the gloomy wind will blow away the golden dry bumblebee into the weeds!
Black velvet bumblebee, golden mantle, mournfully humming with a melodious string, Why do you fly into human habitation And seem to be yearning for me?
Outside the window there is light and heat, the window sills are bright, The last days are serene and hot, Fly, sound your horn - and fall asleep in a dried Tatar, on a red pillow.
It is not given to you to know human thoughts, That the fields have long been empty, That soon the gloomy wind will blow away the golden dry bumblebee into the weeds!
Analysis of the poem “The Last Bumblebee” by Bunin
The work of Ivan Alekseevich Bunin is often turned to nature. A master of mixing landscape and philosophical lyrics, he creates the poem “The Last Bumblebee.”
The poem was written in 1916. Its author is 46 years old, his authority in literary circles is very high, he has several collections of poetry and prose under his belt, and a number of travels abroad. During this period, the heaviness on the writer’s heart intensifies; he has a presentiment that the First World War will be followed by a new, even more formidable crisis. He also notices the public's fatigue with art and craving for entertainment.
By genre - elegy, by size - multi-foot anapest with cross rhyme, 3 stanzas. The rhymes are only open. The lyrical hero is the author himself. His sadness has not yet reached the limits of despair, so he almost melancholy watches the bumblebee that has flown into the room with tenderness, even mentally turning to it. The serenity of the unsuspecting bumblebee contrasts with the “omniscience” of man: the lyrical hero has met autumn many times, seen the dying and rebirth of nature, he is almost a predictor of the little bumblebee’s fate. However, his own future is unknown to him. The poem begins with a question and ends with an exclamation. The poet seems to see some kind of affinity between himself and the bumblebee, and is ready to share his sad thoughts with him. He reflects on the fragility of human existence, the mortality of all living things. Maybe he’s a little jealous of the “velvet” insect’s ignorance.
Epithets: a melodious string, bright window sills, hot days, a red pillow, a gloomy wind. Personifications: you are sad, go to sleep. Metaphor: golden mantle. In fact, in the description of the appearance of the unexpected guest there are no original details, except perhaps the beautiful old word “mantle” (a type of richly decorated clothing collar among the nobility). The poet does not drive him out of “human habitation”, he invites him: fly, sound your horn. Tatarka is a prickly weed plant that looks similar to thistle. Since it is “dried up,” it means that the summer days are really coming to an end. The image of the wind resembles the image of a stern janitor. The diminutive suffix adds affection to a situation that is quite dramatic: fall asleep on a red pillow (that is, on a flower). Sleep here means, of course, death.
If I. Bunin's prose of the last pre-revolutionary year acquires a social sound, then the lyrics are still full of reflections about man and his place in the universe.
The works of Ivan Alekseevich Bunin often touch on the theme of life and death. Such scenes occupy a significant place in the work of the poet and prose writer. A striking example of such a plot is the poem “The Last Bumblebee.” The author wants to share his thoughts with the reader that a person who is able to perceive the world differently, at a certain moment in life, realizes what the real meaning of his life’s path is. The poet thinks about the personal significance of his existence and invites the reader to share philosophical thoughts with him.
The theme of connecting natural nature and human personality has been used by many writers. Humanity, having a gift given to it from above, constantly strives to harmonize with nature. That is why each author tries to reveal as much as possible the possible reasons why this or that person gradually moves away from the created harmony.
The idea of "The Last Bumblebee"
The theme of Bunin's "The Last Bumblebee" is directly related to the historical setting of the time the poem was created. The lyrical hero is concerned about public sentiment. As you know, Bunin had a hard time with the revolution, being an educated person. In 1916, he already understood that something vague and heavy was approaching, bringing destruction. However, there is still hope that this bumblebee, bringing unfavorable changes, will be defeated by people. His life, although destructive, will be short, and the people will win.
An analysis of Bunin's poem "The Last Bumblebee" shows the depth of the author's inner experiences and his faith in the best. There is hope that the threat that hangs over the country, over the people, will go away, that the necessary, effective weapon will be found against it.
Analysis of the poem “The Last Bumblebee”
The theme of harmony, accompanied by life and death, is very accurately described in Bunin’s work “The Last Bumblebee”.
Already from the title itself, a lot becomes clear, and the reader can guess what the work will be about. There is a feeling that the topic of something sad and tragic will now be touched upon. In his poem, the poet, with the help of a bumblebee, represents all natural nature, in all its beauty. This nature is constantly moving and lives its own separate life.
Despite the fact that one specific idea can be traced in the stanzas of the work, when analyzing, the poem can be safely divided into three separate parts. Each of them hides a certain meaning and tells us about certain features.
Meaning of the name
An analysis of Bunin's poem "The Last Bumblebee" can begin by referring to its title, which is a phrase. Let's look at both of its components. The main component of the phrase is “bumblebee”. Usually this insect is associated with something furry and buzzing. When you hear the word “bumblebee,” you immediately get a feeling of buzzing or noise. Another component of the name is the adjective “last.” The last one is always the point, the end, nothing will happen further. The name already suggests the idea of destruction, destruction. Without analyzing Bunin's poem "The Last Bumblebee", only based on its title, one can assume that the poem will be permeated with motifs of the end, decline: something big will disappear, collapse.
Human world
The first part of Bunin’s work “The Last Bumblebee” tells exactly about the life path of humanity, represented by various representatives.
The poem is narrated on behalf of a certain lyrical hero, and talks about the peculiarities of the unity of the human world and the world of nature, which is represented here in the form of a bumblebee. It may seem to many that these worlds are completely different, and are divided into two separate layers. The use of inversions in the text draws the reader’s attention to the fact that a person has a separate home, and the bumblebee is only a guest in this house. In the work, the author uses imperfect verbs, indicating that the actions described have a kind of cyclical nature. This allows us to note that the human world is still not particularly separated from natural nature, because such meetings happen quite often.
There is a kind of mutual understanding between humans and insects. The author tries to show that communication between the bumblebee and the lyrical hero occurs on an equal level. The bumblebee perfectly understands and feels the melancholy of the lyrical hero.
The person describes the insect with respect, focusing special attention on the appearance of the bumblebee. The author used sublime epithets that sound noble. Such lines make it possible to raise the image of an insect to the level of a full-fledged interlocutor who is a like-minded person of the lyrical hero.
When a bumblebee appears in the plot, the appearance of a phonetic sound structure is also felt. A kind of alliteration using hissing sounds. There is also assonance here, combining deep and buzzing vowels. All these means make it possible to evoke sadness and sadness in the reader.
There is also a comparison in the lines. The author notes that the bumblebee is humming, and at the same time points out its melodiousness. In the lines of the poem, Ivan Alekseevich tries to tell that thoughts, presented under the guise of a bumblebee, appear in the world on their own and are capable of conveying a certain pain in the soul. The author notes that even the melodiousness of an insect does not remove sadness and sadness.
Death in The Last Bumblebee
The second part of the poem constantly points to the theme of death.
The author tells the reader in plain text that the last days are left, the last moments are passing. It becomes clear that there is a hidden subtext here. The last days of the insect are comparable to the last days of the passing summer. The reference to death serves as a special reminder to a person that life is fleeting and sooner or later everything ends. The author pays special attention to natural nature. He shows that she is still beautiful and is trying with all her might to preserve her gradually fading beauty. The poet points out that only man can understand that this calm will soon be replaced by a storm, and it will not be possible to avoid it. Death will soon come for many living beings, and nature itself will fall asleep for a certain period of time.
Bunin points out that a person has isolated himself from the outside world and looks at everything that happens through the window. In this situation, it is the bumblebee that is the central link connecting two separate worlds - the human world and the natural world.
The first lines of the second part most colorfully and richly describe the world in which nature finds itself, awaiting its death - it is still beautiful, but is already beginning to realize its inevitability. The author ends the line with a cancerous expression - the last days.
And now the outcome of subsequent events becomes completely clear. Nature faces inevitable death. That is why the lyrical hero, while communicating with a bumblebee, asks him to go back to freedom. The phrases do not sound in an orderly tone, but rather in a recommendatory, instructive tone. The lyrical hero sympathizes with the insect and regrets that the bumblebee will never be able to realize that his death will come soon in any case. That is why the author asks the insect to fall asleep.
The hero invites the bumblebee to rest, placing him on the red tartar. Thus, Bunin indicates that the bumblebee is destined for a truly royal death.
Human and nature
The third part of Ivan Alekseevich’s poem “The Last Bumblebee” talks about the superiority of man over an insect that is not able to realize the real essence of what is happening in his life.
An insect cannot talk about the transience of life, about death and rebirth. Here the final separation of the natural world and the human world takes place. Gradually, the lyrical hero feels his importance and elevates himself above the insect, predicting his inevitable death.
The author notes that death is an inevitable phenomenon. The fate of the bumblebee is the fate of all life on earth, including the human being. It is this feature that is the basis of the entire work, because even at the very beginning of the poem it was indicated that the humming of a bumblebee seems mournful to a person.
The short work is written using cross rhymes in the form of a tetrameter anapest. It should be noted that the first and third stanzas have a couple more syllables, and the fourth and second have a stressed syllable. This feature gives the rhymes a unique completeness.
The use of anapest when writing, if you look at the rhythm of the organization, is presented to the reader in a rather measured manner. This is done exquisitely and does not allow the work to be classified as iambic, reminiscent of a march or some kind of counting rhyme for children.
The rhythm used creates the nature of the conversation, which allows you to fully experience the inner world gradually revealed by the author. All the hero’s experiences are turned to the very essence. And this essence lies in the finale of life’s journey.
I. A. Bunin showed his artistic perception of nature very subtly in his poetry, from which, in principle, he began his creative path. Here he showed the characteristic features of his poetic and literary talent. In his lyrical works there are gentle and subtle notes of harmony and optimism, where the laws of life of human nature are freely perceived. Bunin has absolutely no doubt that only in merging with nature can one feel the strong threads of contact with life and come to an understanding of God’s plan. Bunin's poem "The Last Bumblebee" is a clear example of this. Its title immediately sets up a wave of light sadness and melancholy, withering and the end, which, according to the systematic course of the poem’s plot, receive a smooth and melodious development.
Analysis of I. Bunin’s poem “The Last Bumblebee”: connection with history:
The gallery of Russian writers is full of worthy names known throughout the world. One of them is Ivan Alekseevich Bunin, whose work is devoted to various problems: philosophical, folk, love, civil. Bunin is famous for being the first Russian writer and poet to receive the Nobel Prize. This speaks to the significance of the author’s creativity and talent.
Russian poet and writer of the 20th century
Ivan Bunin was born into a poor but noble family. He spent his childhood communicating with the children of peasants. He began writing at the age of 16, although he had no education. I went to high school for four years, but was expelled for the reason that my family could not pay for school fees.
His young years were characterized by instability, Bunin was forced to change jobs, his beloved woman left him for his friend. It was only when he was over 30 years old that he met his true love, who became his wife. Bunin traveled a lot and wrote all the time; his thoughts and experiences were reflected in his works.
1916 in the life of I. Bunin
“The Last Bumblebee” by Ivan Bunin is one of the famous poems of the early 20th century. This poem is connected both with historical events and with the life of the author.
1916 is the date of writing “The Last Bumblebee” by Bunin, who at that time was already a famous writer and poet. He lived and worked in Petrograd, managed to write a huge number of works and became an honorary academician.
At this time, he met his love, with whom he traveled to different parts of the planet and who, 6 years later, became his wife.
Social and political situation in 1916
The history of the creation of Bunin’s “The Last Bumblebee” is connected with the era of that time. It was 1916, pre-revolutionary times. The country, of course, did not yet know that a Revolution would occur in a year, that Russia would soon be engulfed in Civil War, but these events were already being prepared.
The people felt the approach of something incomprehensible, frightening, and everyone wondered what this new thing would bring, whether it would lead the country to prosperity or collapse. These same feelings and thoughts tormented the poet.
“The Last Bumblebee” by Ivan Bunin appeared on the pages of newspapers and magazines in such an unclear time.
Meaning of the name
An analysis of Bunin’s poem “The Last Bumblebee” can begin by referring to its title, which is a phrase. Let's look at both of its components. The main component of the phrase is “bumblebee”. Usually this insect is associated with something furry and buzzing. The word “bumblebee” immediately evokes a feeling of buzzing and noise.
Another component of the name is the adjective “last”. The last one is always the point, the end, nothing will happen further. The name already suggests the idea of destruction, destruction.
Without analyzing Bunin’s poem “The Last Bumblebee,” only based on its title, one can assume that the poem will be permeated with motifs of the end, of decline: something big will disappear, be destroyed.
Bunin: analysis of the poem “The Last Bumblebee”
This poem consists of three stanzas, each of which contains a separate compositional part. The first can be considered an introduction; it immediately makes clear the character’s train of thought and defines his complex psychological state.
Together with his hero, Bunin also feels these fading colors of the soul. An analysis of the poem “The Last Bumblebee” suggests that the bumblebee becomes an assistant and guide to the hero’s melancholy state. The insect has become a kind of symbol of care, melancholy and death. Why such sadness and sorrow? This secret will be revealed a little later, at the very end of the work. In the meantime, there is a call to the imaginary interlocutor to rejoice and enjoy the magnificent, serene and hot, but last, summer days. And, in the end, having caught all these rosy moments, he will have to fall asleep forever. As quickly as time flies for this insect, so does a person’s life - one moment, and he will already be, like that bumblebee, lulled to sleep by nature.
The second quatrain is filled with bright life tones and colors, but they sharply contrast with the theme of rapid fading, which makes the human soul scared and lonely, and all the more painful at the thought of unexpected and inevitable death.
“The Last Bumblebee”, analysis of Bunin’s poem
The Russian poet Ivan Alekseevich Bunin is one of those masters of the pen whose work is difficult to limit to any limits. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he became famous for his lyrical works, releasing seven collections of poems about his homeland, life, and love over 20 years. Many critics specifically note his love poetry, imbued with erotic motives. In 1903, the Academy of Sciences even awarded the young poet the Pushkin Prize for his poetry collection “Falling Leaves” and his translation of “The Song of Hiawatha” by the American poet G. Longfellow.
Bunin's prose brought him even wider fame. The story “Antonov Apples”, the stories “Village” and “Sukhodol” expressed the author’s truly poetic attitude towards the world. In these works, the author expressed his sadness over the disappearance of the former noble way of life. As a result, never accepting the changes in Russian society, especially after the October Revolution of 1917, Ivan Alekseevich Bunin left Russia forever, ending his life at the Saint-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery in Paris.
Perhaps it is the state of “great sadness,” the feeling of something passing away, the last thing in life, that the poet conveys in his poem “The Last Bumblebee,” written in 1916. This poem will be the subject of analysis. Small in volume, it evokes a whole range of feelings in the reader. In terms of theme, it can rather be classified as philosophical lyricism, because this poem contains serious reflections on life and death, on purpose in this world, on the frailty of earthly existence - in a word, on everything that is typical for lyricism of this kind.
The lyrical plot is quite simple: the hero sees a bumblebee accidentally flying into the room, but it, “humming mournfully,” evokes in the hero a feeling of melancholy and sadness. Of course, such thoughts do not bring joy, so the hero asks with some degree of reproach:
Why do you fly into human habitation And seem to be pining for me?
If the flight of the bumblebee inspired the great Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to create an immortal masterpiece of the same name, full of joy, vigor and movement, then Bunin’s poem sounds very measured, unhurried, largely thanks to the tetrameter anapest with which this work is written. The name itself - “The Last Bumblebee” - evokes an association with the passing of summer, with the onset of autumn, and then winter, which in the lyrics is traditionally associated with dying in nature. Bunin's theme of death the theme of memory . That is why the heroine of the story “Dark Alleys” says: “Everything passes, but not everything is forgotten.”
Wise nature arranged it in such a way that her children - birds, animals, insects - do not have intelligence, which means they cannot know that their lives are sometimes too short. This is probably what makes them happier than a person who knows that sooner or later death awaits him, and thinking about it plunges him into a pessimistic state. For the bumblebee from Bunin’s poem, death is just a dream: without painfully waiting for death, he will simply fall asleep “in a dried Tatar coat, on a red pillow,” therefore his last days can be considered serene, that is, devoid of thoughts about what will happen after of death.
Probably the lyrical hero states with some envy:
It is not given to you to know human thoughts, That the fields have long been empty...
After all, a person just thinks, and often thinks about death. He was always worried about the question: how much has fate measured out for me? Some people jokingly try to find out this from the cuckoo, others go to fortune tellers or clairvoyants. The lyrical hero of this poem hides his emotions: his internal state can only be recognized by epithets - “mournfully humming” and “gloomy wind.”
Overall, the poem does not produce the gloomy impression that may arise from discussions about death. Yes, the hero is endowed with knowledge of the end of his earthly existence, but this, rather, should help him choose a worthy path in life in order to leave a memory of himself for centuries. This is exactly the path that Ivan Alekseevich Bunin, a writer, poet and philosopher, chose for himself, during his long life he probably knew well its true value.
- Analysis of the story “Easy Breathing”
- “Dark Alleys”, analysis of Bunin’s story
- Brief summary of Bunin’s work “Caucasus”
- “Sunstroke”, analysis of Bunin’s story
- “Cuckoo”, a summary of Bunin’s work
- “Evening”, analysis of Bunin’s poem
- “Clean Monday”, a summary of Bunin’s story
- “Lapti”, a summary of Bunin’s story
- “Numbers”, a summary of Bunin’s story
- “Antonov Apples”, analysis of Bunin’s story
- “The Grammar of Love”, analysis of Bunin’s story
- “Village”, analysis of Bunin’s story
- “Beauty”, analysis of Bunin’s story, essay
- “Falling Leaves”, analysis of Bunin’s poem
- “Cricket”, analysis of Bunin’s story
According to the writer: Bunin Ivan
Inevitable sadness
And finally, the third stanza puts everything in its place, or, more precisely, brings the topic to its logical conclusion. Where does this sadness and sadness come from? Because sooner or later a person comes to understand that life is fleeting, and therefore he begins to be overcome by thoughts about its frailty and fleetingness. After all, very soon the summer warmth and joy will be replaced by the piercing and cold wind of autumn, and the bumblebee, as an integral part of a joyful and happy time, will be killed by the ruthless forces of the harsh laws of nature.
Here Bunin surpasses himself. An analysis of the poem “The Last Bumblebee” says that the author seems to feel sorry for his lyrical hero. The bumblebee will soon disappear, and from a deep understanding of this comes great pain and regret. This is how life, without having time to begin, can sometimes disappear in its prime, since death will come at the most unexpected moment.
Metaphorical image of a bumblebee
Ivan Bunin created “The Last Bumblebee” based on metaphorical artistic expression. Without the attractive image of the bumblebee, it would not be so beautiful and sincere; for the author, he is a mute interlocutor to whom the writer asks rhetorical questions.
Phonetic means of expression are used very accurately - with the help of whistling and hissing sounds, the writer conveys the behavior of a bumblebee - “a mournful hum”, as well as the autumn “gloomy wind”.
This verse is very poignant and alarming, suggesting philosophical thoughts. This is most likely what Bunin was counting on. An analysis of the poem “The Last Bumblebee” suggests that it was created on the model of philosophical lyrics, which touches on the eternal issues of the transience of life and the inevitability of death, and in the period of youth you need to have time to enjoy every moment of earthly existence.
