About valor, about exploits, about glory
I forgot on the sorrowful land,
Once upon a time your face is in a simple frame
It was shining on the table in front of me.
But the hour came, and you left home.
I threw the treasured ring into the night.
You gave your destiny to someone else
And I forgot the beautiful face.
The days flew by, spinning like a damned swarm...
Vivo and passion tormented my life...
And he called you like his youth...
You sadly wrapped yourself in a blue cloak,
On a damp night you left the house.
I don't know where your pride is sheltered
You, my dear, you, my gentle one, have found...
I sleep soundly, I dream of your blue cloak,
In which you left on a damp night...
This poem was written in 1908 and was included in the third volume, in the “Retribution” cycle. This series continues the theme “ scary world" Retribution, according to Blok, is, first of all, a person’s condemnation of himself, betrayal of the once sacred vows, the payment for which is spiritual emptiness, weariness of life, submissive expectation of death. These motifs are heard in all the poems of the “Retribution” cycle.
The genre of the poem is a love letter. The hero turns to the woman he loves who has left him. He feels a passionate desire to return the love lost many years ago. This desire is conveyed in the poem using anaphors and syntactic parallelism:
And I remembered you in front of the lectern,
And he called you like his youth...
I called you, but you didn't look back,
I shed tears, but you did not condescend.
Having parted with his beloved, the hero lost the meaning of life, terrible days began to flow, swirling in a “cursed swarm.” The image of the “terrible world” is symbolic; it is one of the key ones in the poem. Merging with the image of a damp night, it contrasts with the “blue cloak” in which the heroine wrapped herself when leaving home (blue is the color of betrayal).
The poem “About valor, about exploits, about glory...” has a ring composition: the first stanza repeats the last, but is opposed to it. This technique closes the poem in a hopeless circle: in the words of the lyrical hero there is only bitterness and despair, the pure dream is dispelled, the hero no longer believes in love:
Don't dream about tenderness, about fame,
Everything is over, youth is gone!
Your face in its simple frame
I removed it from the table with my own hand.
About valor, about exploits, about glory
I forgot on the sorrowful land,
When your face is in a simple frame
It was shining on the table in front of me.
But the hour came, and you left home.
I threw the treasured ring into the night.
You gave your destiny to someone else
And I forgot the beautiful face.
The days flew by, spinning like a damned swarm...
Wine and passion tormented my life...
And I remembered you in front of the lectern,
And he called you like his youth...
I called you, but you didn’t look back,
I shed tears, but you did not condescend.
You sadly wrapped yourself in a blue cloak,
I don’t know where my pride has a refuge
You, my dear, you, my gentle one, have found...
I'm fast asleep, I dream, your cloak is blue,
In which you left on a damp night...
Don't dream about tenderness, about fame,
Is everything over, is youth gone?
Your face in its simple frame
I removed it from the table with my own hand.
I was not - and due to my age I could hardly have been - close to Blok. But I met with Blok, spoke with him, I remember a lot of what he said, and I want to talk about it.
The first time I saw Blok was in the first half of 1903 or at the very end of 1902, when Blok was 22 years old and I was only 12. He came to my brother Alexander Vasilyevich1 and sat at our family evening tea, in the gray, as they wore then, a student jacket. Of everything that happened that evening, I remember only one thing, but I remember it well: reading Blok’s poems and talking about them. It began with the fact that my father, in the midst of some seemingly indifferent conversation, suddenly said in a somewhat tense tone, turning to Blok: “Alexander Alexandrovich! Read the poems." To this Blok answered quite calmly and simply: “Yes, I’ll read it with pleasure.” He read "The Queen Watched the Screensavers." My father, an admirer and translator of Dante and Petrarch, smiled with slight irony. “Well, why do you write decadent poetry? Why blue riddles? Why are the riddles blue? Blok, after thinking a little, replied: “Because the night is blue,” but then, laughing, said: “No, of course, that’s not it.” And wanting, perhaps, to deflect the reproach of decadence, he read: “I am young, and fresh, and in love.” “This is a completely different matter. However, these are fragrant tears.” But Blok answered very convincingly: “No, maple’s tears are fragrant. Another question is whether a maple tree can have tears.” This seems to be the end of the dispute.
I will skip rare meetings in subsequent years (in 1906-1909, often at the Komissarzhevskaya Theater - at premieres) and move on to the time when I began meeting with Blok outside
Family and outside of his relationship with my brother, and independently - as a writer.
The first such meeting took place at the beginning of 1909. It took place, as it were, symbolically for me - almost literally on the threshold of the editorial office of the “New Journal for Everyone”2 and “New Life”, where I went to receive one of my first literary fees. “Are you in the “Magazine for Everyone”? - asked Blok. Were these your poems in the magazine? I liked it". This stingy praise would have been even more dear to me if I could then have foreseen his later and equally stingy: “I didn’t like it.” When I went up to the editorial office, I saw on the editorial table a piece of paper written in Blok’s clear handwriting. The lines that caught my eye:
You sadly wrapped yourself in a blue cloak.
On a damp night you left the house.
I didn't ask myself why the cloak was blue. By that time, Blok with his entire system of images had firmly entered into my consciousness, into my entire life.
V.V. Gippius "Meetings with Blok"
Read by V. Kachalov
Alexander Alexandrovich Blok lived and wrote in very difficult historical conditions, painfully feeling the lack of harmony in the “terrible world.” He did not feel it in his soul either. Only love could bring Blok that necessary, desired peace, without which it was impossible to live. Love was designed to eliminate chaos not only in the soul, but also in the world around the poet. Blok deified love, which revealed to him the high meaning of life. He dedicated a large number of poems to this wonderful feeling. One of them is “About valor, about exploits, about glory...”.
This work was written in 1908. It has the structure of a ring composition: the first line repeats the last, but is opposed to it; at the conclusion of the poem, the author seems to want to repeat the first line, but he no longer thinks about valor or exploits, he is looking for at least tenderness, but does not find it either.
The genre of the poem is a love letter. The hero turns to the woman he loves who has left him. He feels a passionate desire to return the love lost many years ago:
And I remembered you in front of the lectern,
And he called you like his youth...
I called you, but you didn't look back,
I shed tears, but you did not condescend.
Those days when the beloved’s face shone were replaced by terrible days, spinning like a “cursed swarm.” The image of a “terrible world” is symbolic; it is one of the key ones in the poem. Merging with the image of a damp night, it contrasts with the “blue cloak” of the past, the cloak in which the heroine wrapped herself when leaving home (the blue color is treason):
You sadly wrapped yourself in a blue cloak,
On a damp night you left the house.
I don’t know where my pride has a refuge
You, my dear, you, my gentle one, have found...
I sleep soundly, I dream of your blue cloak,
In which you left on a damp night...
Days are like nights, life seems like a dream (“I am fast asleep”). Found in the poem a large number of epithets: “on a sorrowful land”, “cherished ring”, “cursed swarm”, “on a damp night”. The tenderness with which the hero remembers his beloved, comparing her with his youth: “And he called you like his youth...” is emphasized in the work with such epithets as: “beautiful face”, “you, dear”, “you , tender.” There are personifications and metaphors in the poem: “when your face in a simple frame shone on the table in front of me”, “I threw the treasured ring into the night”, “you gave your destiny to another”, “the days flew by”, “wine and passion tormented my life "
If you carefully read the poem “On valor, on exploits, on glory...”, then it is easy to notice that it echoes the poem by A. S. Pushkin “I remember wonderful moment....” From Blok:
When your face is in a simple frame
It was shining on the table in front of me.
From Pushkin:
I remember a wonderful moment:
You appeared before me.
“And I forgot your beautiful face” - “and I forgot your gentle voice”; “days flew by” - “years passed”, etc. But, despite such a similar scenario, the endings of the works are completely opposite: in Pushkin, by the end of the poem, the awakening of the soul occurs, in Blok we see only bitterness and despair (the hero did not return his beloved) .
A. Blok always believed in the saving power of love, love as a cleansing bright feeling and strived to give all of himself to love, great love to the woman, to the homeland. He dedicated his feelings, thoughts, and soul to love, which is clearly expressed in his work.
“About valor, about exploits, about glory...” Alexander Blok
About valor, about exploits, about glory
I forgot on the sorrowful land,
When your face is in a simple frame
It was shining on the table in front of me.But the hour came, and you left home.
I threw the treasured ring into the night.
You gave your destiny to someone else
And I forgot the beautiful face.The days flew by, spinning like a damned swarm...
Wine and passion tormented my life...
And I remembered you in front of the lectern,
And he called you like his youth...I called you, but you didn't look back,
I shed tears, but you did not condescend.
You sadly wrapped yourself in a blue cloak,
On a damp night you left the house.I don't know where your pride is sheltered
You, dear, you, gentle one, have found...
I sleep soundly, I dream of your blue cloak,
In which you left on a damp night...Don't dream about tenderness, about fame,
Everything is over, youth is gone!
Your face in its simple frame
I removed it from the table with my own hand.
Analysis of Blok’s poem “About valor, about exploits, about glory...”
Alexander Blok's love lyrics are very controversial and contradictory. Until now, researchers of the poet’s work are trying to understand the complex relationship between the author and his wife Lyubov Mendeleeva, who was Blok’s muse. However, their marriage was not happy, and a few years after the marriage, Mendeleeva left for the poet Alexander Bely. Then she returned, repenting of the mistake she had made, and started again new novel, from whom she gave birth to a son. Blok himself also experienced several romantic interests during this period. The spouses could not see each other for months, since Lyubov Mendeleeva was an actress and often went on tour. But they still remained friends at the insistence of the poet, who believed that spiritual intimacy is much more important than physical intimacy.
However, Blok had a very hard time experiencing problems in family life. And in 1908, when Lyubov Mendeleeva met Alexander Bely, he wrote his famous poem “About valor, about exploits, about glory...”, in which he spoke about his experiences. And he admitted that he managed to overcome his painful passion for a woman, who, by the will of fate, played a fatal role in the fate of the poet.
It is worth noting that the future spouses knew each other since childhood, as their families were friends. However, when they met years later, they hardly recognized each other. Blok fell madly in love with a 16-year-old beauty who dreamed of becoming an actress. She responded to his advances with complete indifference. By that time, Blok was keen on mysticism and looked for secret signs of fate in any set of circumstances. And then one day, as a student and aspiring poet, he met Mendeleeva on the street, believing that this was not a coincidence. Blok not only convinced himself that he loved this woman, but also infected Mendeleeva herself with an unshakable belief that they were destined to be together. In 1903, the couple got married, but they truly became husband and wife only a year later, since the poet refused to overshadow what he believed was an ideal spiritual union with carnal pleasures.
Indeed, many eyewitnesses recalled that in life Blok treated Mendeleeva not as a wife, but as a muse. And, remembering parting with her, he wrote in his poem that “tears shed, but you did not descend.” The symbol of love for Mendeleeva for the poet was “a face in a simple frame” - a portrait of his wife, which after the wedding always stood on the poet’s table. And this, too, was a kind of symbol to which Blok attached special significance. He was convinced that this particular portrait would help him in his work, without paying any attention to his wife, who could be standing behind him. As a result, the poet states the inevitable: “You sadly wrapped yourself in a blue cloak, you left the house on a damp night.”
It is noteworthy that for the poet Mendeleev’s Love was not only a symbol of spiritual purity, but was also associated with youth. Therefore, the author notes that her departure marked the end of her carefree youth. “Can’t we dream about tenderness, about glory, everything is over, youth is gone?” asks Blok. And he answers to himself that this is really so. The woman whom the poet idolized took with her not only the feeling of lightness and carefreeness inherent in youth, but also inspiration. However, Blok still managed to cope with his feelings, so he wrote: “I removed your face in a simple frame from the table with my own hand.”
The poet could not even imagine that fate would forever connect him with this woman. She left and came back. Blok even agreed to recognize her son as his own child, but at the same time he started affairs on the side. However, until his death, he believed that Mendeleev’s Lyubov was a “holy place of the soul.”
Alexander Blok devoted many of his works to the theme of love. He put all his essence, emotions, experiences into these works.Being an extremely romantic person, generous with spiritual personal feelings, with his poems he literally created a school of love experiences.
Dedicating poems to his muse, his beautiful lady, the poet literally dissolves in his own emotional impulses and difficult moods. This is the highest value of his life.
Blok considered spiritual intimacy to be the pinnacle of relationships.
The history of the conception and creation of the poem
Blok's poem "About valor, about exploits, about glory..." was created on real events which happened to the poet himself. It is known that when he saw his future wife for the first time, the author was captivated and delighted. That is why the lyrics of this period are so passionate and so impressionable. He hoped that his marriage with the woman he loved would be happy. But everything turned out to be completely different from what the poet had planned.
But Lyubov Mendeleeva was missing something in her marriage. She became interested in someone else again and went to him. She gives birth to a son from this man, but then decides to return to the poet again. All this time they did not interrupt contact, since Alexander Blok himself insisted on friendship, for whom spiritual intimacy was always more important than physical intimacy. It is known that they knew each other from early childhood, but then, having separated for a while, they met again. After they began to live together, the poet did not want any carnal relationships, since for him it was secondary and overshadowed spiritual intimacy. Lyubov Mendeleeva was an actress who, every time, both after her tours and after new hobbies, still returned to Alexander Blok.
All these love triangles eventually spilled out into a lyrical work in 1908.
About valor, about exploits, about glory
I forgot on the sorrowful land,
When your face is in a simple frame
It was shining on the table in front of me.
But the hour came, and you left home.
I threw the treasured ring into the night.
You gave your destiny to someone else
And I forgot the beautiful face.
The days flew by, spinning like a damned swarm...
Wine and passion tormented my life...
And I remembered you in front of the lectern,
And he called you like his youth...
I called you, but you didn't look back,
I shed tears, but you did not condescend.
You sadly wrapped yourself in a blue cloak,
On a damp night you left home.
I don’t know where my pride has a refuge
You, dear, you are tender, you found...
I sleep soundly, I dream of your blue cloak,
In which you left on a damp night...
Don't dream about tenderness, about fame,
Everything is over, youth is gone!
Your face in its simple frame
I removed it from the table with my own hand.
With great sadness, the poet describes the situation in which he found himself. The departure of the beloved is a tragedy that plays out before the reader’s eyes. Complete despair and disappointment engulfs the main character in “I threw the treasured ring into the night.”
Memories remain, a bright image, and as proof that everything happened, a photograph on the table “of your face in a simple frame.” Sadness and pain of loss do not cause negative feelings. The main character remembers the bright image “in front of the lectern.” Even the fact that the beloved has left for another man does not allow her image to be tarnished.
The poet does not blame anyone for his suffering; not a single bad word is said about the departed woman. The hero has no choice but to accept his fate. With a heavy heart, he mentally lets go of the object of his adoration.
To make it easier to cope with the loss, the abandoned lyricist removes the woman’s photograph with his own hand, hoping that this will make him feel better.
Composition “About valor, about exploits, about glory...”
Blok’s entire poem is divided into three large parts: the first is the author trying to forget the woman he loves, the second is his memory of her, the third is the decision to let go. he ends up removing her photograph from his desk. The composition in the work is circular and helps the author show the present time, the past and what awaits in the future.
The poet, trying to explain to the reader his main idea, uses a large number of verbs, but all of them are used in the past tense. The poet shows that everything has already passed, and there is now no suffering in his life at all. The author talks about those feelings that he has already experienced, it’s just that the memory remains of them. The soul of the main character has now calmed down and he can even sleep, calmly and without worries.
An interesting female image is shown by Alexander Blok in just a few descriptive features. She is beautiful, gentle, independent, fearless and proud. The poet’s attitude towards her is tender, as if he is creating a deity out of her. And her photograph, like an icon, stood on his table. He dreams of her as if she were bliss; dreams of her bring joy to the poet, not suffering. Perhaps that is why the author chooses the form of a message for this poem - a declaration of love.
Expressive means
The declaration of love that sounds in Alexander Blok's poem refers to the time when they were together with the woman they loved, but now this time has passed and will never return. The author tries to use as much as possible expressive means, which diversify the literary text:
★ Metaphors.
★ Anaphora.
★ Epithets.
★ Syntactic parallelism.
★ Comparisons.
★ Paraphrase.
★ Personifications.
★ Inversion.
★ Dots.
All this helps the perception of the poem. By the end of the work, the reader sincerely sympathizes with the author, sharing his tragedy.
Symbols in the poem
One of the symbols that the author successfully introduced into the text is a ring. His main character throws into the night, as an indicator of a complete rupture. The rings that spouses gave each other are no longer a symbol of love and fidelity, so there is no need to stand on ceremony with this accessory.
The second symbol is a blue cloak, which is repeated several times in the text. The cloak is a symbol of the road, and the blue color itself is anxiety and loneliness. Blue color is also the color of betrayal. For our lyrical hero, everything is mixed up from the betrayal of his beloved woman and disappointment, and Blok chooses a blue cloak to show even more clearly the tragedy of the situation.
Photography becomes a symbol of love and tenderness, and the author emphasizes “in a simple frame” several times. The author is so in love that he doesn’t care what quality the frame is. Photos are dear to my heart.
Analysis of the poem
The love story described in the poem is controversial and controversial. You can't return your former happiness. A problem that has arisen in family life is a fateful fate!
Alexander Blok treated his own wife more like a muse, like a creative inspirer. And Lyubov Mendeleeva, although she was a person of art and an actress, apparently wanted to remain an earthly woman. This was the contradiction between the spouses, so talented and so different.
For the poet, his wife is not only a source of purity. He associates it with freshness, with youth. He notes that after her departure there is a farewell to youth: “Everything is over, youth is gone!” It’s as if with the woman’s departure the main character lost all his bearings, but realized that this was the point of no return. The point of no return to youth, love, former happiness.
His hopes were dashed, which is why he removes the portrait of his beloved woman from the table at the very end of the poem. It’s difficult for him to do this, but he understands that he must. The poet showed the reader that reason still triumphed over feelings, and no matter how sad he was, he still committed the final act. This decision turned out to be the most correct and correct. Now this enormous feeling of love will no longer bring him so much pain and suffering. And maybe happiness will soon appear in his life, and sadness and tragedy will go away.