Composition
Nowadays, when moral problems are becoming increasingly important and acute, it is important for us to “see” Mayakovsky more fully and more clearly as the greatest lyricist. He is here - a pioneer of world poetry of the twentieth century. A pioneer not only in political, socially naked, civil lyrics, but also in poems about the revolution, its heroes...
Even in the pre-October period, rejecting the “chirping” bourgeois poets who “with rhymes, squealing, from loves and nightingales” boil “some kind of brew,” Mayakovsky, in the best traditions of Russian and world lyric poetry, acts as a passionate singer and defender of true love that elevates and giving wings to a person:
And I feel -
not enough for me.
Someone breaks out of me stubbornly.
Who's speaking?
Your son is beautifully sick!
His heart is on fire.
Mayakovsky jokingly said that it would be good to find a reasonable use for human passions - at least make the turbines rotate - so that the charges of energy would not be wasted. The joke turned out to be true for at least one of the passions - love. The salvation for the poet turned out to be creativity and inspiration hidden in the underground depths of this passion.
not heaven but tabernacles,
buzzing about
what again
put into operation
cold motor.
The famous lines about the creative power of love (“To love is torn sheets, insomnia, to break down, jealous of Copernicus ...”) were truly a huge artistic discovery of Mayakovsky. In them his talent was freely and widely revealed, celebrating his victory over “chaos” and “inertia.” As if freed from the force that humiliated him, the poet opened up completely to meet a new emotion that reconciled his heart and mind. The poem “Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva” is also characteristic in this regard. The beginning of a poetic message addressed to a beloved woman is surprisingly unusual. At the same time, it is characteristic of Mayakovsky, for whom everything is inseparable from the revolution, both in poetry and in life, in the fate of the Motherland and the fate of each of its fellow citizens:
Is it in the kiss of hands,
in body trembling
those close to me
my republics
blaze.
The addressee of the letter is a person really close to the poet:
You are the only one for me
height level,
stand next to me
with an eyebrow eyebrow,
about this
important evening
tell
humanly.
But it's not that simple. Rejecting with his mind jealousy - “the feelings of the offspring of the nobility,” the poet is jealous of his beloved for Paris: “... it’s not a thunderstorm, but it’s just jealousy that moves mountains.” Realizing that jealousy can offend the woman he loves, he strives to reassure her, and at the same time tell her what she means to him, how dear and close she is:
Passion measles will scab away,
but joy
inexhaustible,
I'll be there for a long time
I'll just
I speak in poetry.
And suddenly a new twist on a deeply personal topic. As if returning to the beginning of the poetic message, the poet excitedly says:
I'm not myself
for Soviet Russia.
Again, at first glance, such a statement may seem, to put it mildly, somewhat strange and unexpected. After all, we are talking about a deeply personal, intimate feeling, about love and jealousy for a woman from Russia, who, due to circumstances, finds herself far from her homeland - in Paris. But the poet dreams that his beloved will be with him in Soviet Russia...
Don't think
just squinting
from under straightened arcs.
Come here
go to the crossroads
my big ones
and clumsy hands.
My beloved is silent. She remains in Paris for now. The poet returns home alone. But you can't order your heart. Again and again he remembers with excitement everything that happened in Paris. He still loves this woman. He believes that in the end his love will win:
Don't you want to?
Stay and winter
and this is an insult
We'll reduce it to the general account.
I don't care
someday I'll take it -
or together with Paris.
To discover a person of the future means to open oneself, to open, to really feel this future in one’s soul and heart. This is how some of the best love poems in our poetry by Vladimir Mayakovsky were born.
Is it in the kiss of hands,
lips,
in body trembling
those close to me
red
color
my republics
Same
must
blaze.
I don't like
Parisian love:
any female
decorate with silks,
stretching, I doze off,
having said -
tubo -
dogs
brutal passion.
You are the only one for me
height level,
stand next to me
with an eyebrow eyebrow,
give me
about this
important evening
tell
humanly.
Five o'clock
and from now on
poem
people
dense forest,
extinct
populated city
I only hear
whistle dispute
trains to Barcelona.
In the black sky
lightning step,
thunder
swear
in the heavenly drama, -
not a thunderstorm
and this
Just
Jealousy moves mountains.
Stupid words
don't trust raw materials
don't be scared
this shaking -
I will bridle
I will humble you
feelings
offspring of the nobility.
Passion measles
will come off as a scab,
but joy
inexhaustible,
I'll be there for a long time
I'll just
I speak in poetry.
Jealousy,
wives,
tears…
well them! -
milestones will swell,
fits Viu.
I'm not myself
and I
I'm jealous
for Soviet Russia.
Saw
patches on the shoulders,
their
consumption
licks with a sigh.
Well,
we are not to blame -
hundred million
it was bad.
We
Now
so gentle towards those -
sports
You won’t straighten out many, -
you and us
are needed in Moscow,
not enough
long-legged.
Not for you
in the snow
and typhus
walking
with these legs
Here
for caresses
hand them over
at dinners
with oil workers.
Don't think
just squinting
from under straightened arcs.
Come here
go to the crossroads
my big ones
and clumsy hands.
Don't you want to?
Stay and winter
and this
insult
We'll reduce it to the general account.
I don't care
you
someday I'll take it -
one
or together with Paris.
Analysis of the poem “Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva” by Mayakovsky
In the life of V. Mayakovsky there were few women whom he truly loved. He devoted almost his entire life to this love and wrote several poems. However, in 1928, the poet visited Paris, where he met a Russian emigrant, the famous actress T. Yakovleva. The feeling was mutual, but the lovers did not agree on political beliefs. Mayakovsky could not imagine life abroad, and Yakovleva flatly refused to return to Soviet Russia. Regarding this disagreement, the poet wrote a poetic message to his beloved woman, which was published in the USSR only in 1956.
Towards the end of his life, Mayakovsky noticed more and more shortcomings in the communist system. But this did not stop him from hoping for the best and remaining a patriot of his country. At the same time, he continued to experience hatred for bourgeois countries, which he did not hide at all. Therefore, he perceived Yakovleva’s refusal not so much on a personal, but on a social level. In his characteristic rude manner, the poet declares that he can easily tame his male passion for sophisticated French “females.” He treated Yakovleva completely differently. The actress emigrated in 1925, therefore, according to Mayakovsky, she still remained a Russian woman at heart. Yakovleva respected Mayakovsky not only as a man, but also as a poet, which gave him the right to declare: “You are the only one as tall as me.”
The poet was really offended that a woman who survived the horrors of the civil war traded her country for “dinners with oil workers.” Personal motives completely fade into the background in the phrase “... I am jealous of Soviet Russia.” Mayakovsky understood perfectly well that after all the upheavals, the country had forever lost many of its best representatives, both killed and emigrated. It will not be easy to make up for these losses: “we don’t have enough long-legged people in Moscow.”
Tenderness is not at all characteristic of Mayakovsky’s love lyrics, so at the end of the work an outright threat is heard. The poet considers Yakovleva’s decisive refusal a serious insult, which he equates to the general hatred of the Western world for communism (“we’ll be humiliated on a common account”). The answer to this will not be just the revenge of one deceived man, but the victory of Soviet Russia over the entire bourgeois system (“I will... take you... together with Paris”).
“Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva” Vladimir Mayakovsky
In the kiss of hands, or lips, in the trembling of the body of those close to me, the red color of my republics should also glow. I don’t like Parisian love: decorate any female with silks, stretch, and doze off, saying - tubo - to the dogs of brutal passion. You are the only one who is as tall as me, stand next to my eyebrow and let me tell you about this important evening like a human being. Five o'clock, and from now on the dense forest has become silent, the inhabited city has died out, I hear only the whistle of the trains to Barcelona. In the black sky there is a tread of lightning, the thunder of swearing in a heavenly drama - not a thunderstorm, but it is simply jealousy that moves mountains. Don’t trust stupid words with raw materials, don’t get confused by this shaking - I will bridle, I will humble the feelings of the sons of the nobility. The measles of passion will scab away, but the joy will never dry up, I will live for a long time, I will simply speak in poetry. Jealousy, wives, tears... come on! - the eyelids will swell, just right for Viy. Not myself, but I am jealous for Soviet Russia. I saw patches on the shoulders, consumption licks them with a sigh. Well, it’s not our fault - hundreds of millions felt bad. We are now gentle with such people - not many people can be straightened out by sports - we need you and we in Moscow don’t have enough long-legged ones. It’s not for you, who walked in the snow and typhus with these feet, to give them out to dinner with oil workers for affection. Don’t think, just squinting from under the straightened arches. Come here, come to the crossroads of my large and clumsy hands. Don't you want to? Stay and winter, and this is an insult to the general account. I will still take you someday - alone or together with Paris.
Analysis of Mayakovsky’s poem “Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva”
The lyrics of Vladimir Mayakovsky are very unique and particularly original. The fact is that the poet sincerely supported the ideas of socialism and believed that personal happiness cannot be complete and comprehensive without public happiness. These two concepts were so closely intertwined in Mayakovsky’s life that for the sake of love for a woman he would never have betrayed his homeland, but on the contrary he could have done very easily, since he could not imagine his life outside of Russia. Of course, the poet often criticized the shortcomings of Soviet society with his characteristic harshness and straightforwardness, but at the same time he believed that he lived in the best country.
In 1928, Mayakovsky traveled abroad and met in Paris the Russian emigrant Tatyana Yakovleva, who in 1925 came to visit relatives and decided to stay in France forever. The poet fell in love with the beautiful aristocrat and invited her to return to Russia as his legal wife, but was refused. Yakovleva reacted with restraint to Mayakovsky’s advances, although she hinted that she was ready to marry the poet if he refused to return to his homeland. Suffering from unrequited feelings and from the realization that one of the few women who understands and feels him so well is not going to part with Paris for his sake, Mayakovsky returned home, after which he sent his chosen one a poetic message - sharp, full of sarcasm and, at the same time, same time, hope.
This work begins with the phrases that the fever of love cannot overshadow the feelings of patriotism, since “the red color of my republics must also burn,” developing this theme, Mayakovsky emphasizes that he does not love “Parisian love,” or rather, Parisian women, who skillfully disguise their true essence behind clothes and cosmetics. At the same time, the poet, turning to Tatyana Yakovleva, emphasizes: “You are the only one who is as tall as me, stand next to my eyebrow,” believing that a native Muscovite who has lived in France for several years compares favorably with cutesy and frivolous Parisians.
Trying to persuade his chosen one to return to Russia, Mayakovsky tells her without embellishment about the socialist way of life, which Tatyana Yakovleva is so stubbornly trying to erase from her memory. After all, the new Russia is hunger, disease, death and poverty, veiled under equality. Leaving Yakovleva in Paris, the poet experiences an acute feeling of jealousy, as he understands that this long-legged beauty has enough fans even without him, she can afford to travel to Barcelona for Chaliapin’s concerts in the company of the same Russian aristocrats. However, trying to formulate his feelings, the poet admits that “it’s not me, but I am jealous for Soviet Russia.” Thus, Mayakovsky is much more gnawed by resentment that the best of the best are leaving their homeland than ordinary male jealousy, which he is ready to bridle and humble.
The poet understands that besides love, he can offer nothing to the girl who amazed him with her beauty, intelligence and sensitivity. And he knows in advance that he will be refused when he turns to Yakovleva with the words: “Come here, to the crossroads of my large and clumsy hands.” Therefore, the ending of this loving and patriotic message is filled with caustic irony and sarcasm. The poet’s tender feelings transform into anger when he addresses his chosen one with the rather rude phrase “Stay and winter, and this is an insult to the general account of the underdog.” By this, the poet wants to emphasize that he considers Yakovleva a traitor not only to himself, but also to his homeland. However, this fact does not at all cool the romantic ardor of the poet, who promises: “I will take you sooner – alone or together with Paris.”
It should be noted that Mayakovsky never managed to see Tatyana Yakovleva again. A year and a half after writing this letter in verse, he committed suicide.
Vladimir Mayakovsky is one of the most extraordinary poets of Soviet times. His poems could inspire people, expose human weaknesses or shortcomings of the social system, but the most amazing were his poems on a love theme. Unlike most poets, Mayakovsky even clothed his lyrical creations in a sharp, sometimes rude form. But this did not repel, but, on the contrary, helped to reveal the full depth of the poet’s feelings. Below we will present an analysis of the “Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva.”
History of writing
This poem is one of the most lyrical and poignant among all the works of the rebel poet. One of the points of analysis of “Letters to Tatyana Yakovleva” will be the story, thanks to which one of his best lyrical works appeared. - this is a real person, the poet’s Parisian passion, which happened to him in the most romantic city.
In 1928, Vladimir Mayakovsky arrived in Paris, where he met the Russian emigrant, the beauty Tatyana Yakovleva. She had already been living in France for several years: in 1925, she came to visit relatives and decided to stay in this country. Mayakovsky fell in love with Tatyana, and his feeling was so strong that he invited her to return back to the Soviet Union in the status of his legal wife.
In the analysis of Mayakovsky’s “Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva,” it should be added that the Russian beauty reservedly accepted his advances, but hinted at a possible marriage. But, having received the offer, she refused. Mayakovsky, full of pain and disappointment, returns to Moscow and from there sends the woman a letter full of sarcasm and emotional distress. In the analysis of the poem “Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva,” it should be noted that the poet considered her a person who understands and shares his feelings, but living in France was unacceptable for the poet.
Social motives
One of the points of analysis of the poem “Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva” is the search for motives in the work. Here we should not forget that Mayakovsky was a poet-orator who often spoke from the stands, supported Soviet power and did not recognize any other political system.
Also in the analysis of “Letters to Tatyana Yakovleva” it should be written that the poet was not afraid to write about the difficulties that existed in Soviet times. But nevertheless, he would never trade his country for anything, so he despised the bourgeoisie. At the same time, he was sorry that many talented people left the Soviet Union. In this poem, the social motive is organically combined with the theme of love.
Love line
One of the important points in the analysis of “Letters to Tatyana Yakovleva” is the lyrical component of the poem. Mayakovsky considered the emigrant from Russia to be favorably different from French ladies. Even if this was said in a harsh manner. She was the only one he considered his equal, and it was all the more painful for him to hear her refusal.
Despite the harsh and caustic tone of the letter, love and despair are felt in its lines, which at the same time are inseparable from Mayakovsky’s social views. He was jealous of Tatyana not only of the men with whom she communicated, but also of the whole world, because the woman loved to travel. But despite all the passion that the poet felt for Tatyana, his duty to society and political convictions were more important to him.
End of the work
Also, in the analysis of Mayakovsky’s poem “Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva,” one can highlight its ending as a separate point. The last lines say that the poet will still achieve his goal and conquer her, albeit not alone, but with Paris. How can this be explained?
Here there is a combination of two motives: social and love. By taking it not alone, but with Paris, he meant that he was confident that the communist system would exist throughout the world. And even bourgeois Paris will change its capitalist structure. But there is also hope that maybe Tatyana will change her beliefs and agree to return. In these lines you can see Mayakovsky’s hope for a new meeting with his beloved Tatyana Yakovleva and confidence in the absolute victory of communism.
Rhythm and rhyme of the poem
Another point of analysis of “Letters to Tatyana Yakovleva” is the writing style. The poem is written with Mayakovsky's famous "ladder", and this immediately gives the creation a recognizable rhythm. Thanks to it, the poet manages not only to highlight the most significant words and expressions intonationally, but also to emotionally color the entire poem. The poet refuses precise rhyming, but at the same time he manages to achieve significant sound proximity.
Means of expression
In the analysis of Mayakovsky’s poem “Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva,” it should be noted that the poet used simple vocabulary so that talking about love would resemble an ordinary conversation about life. Therefore, the text uses many objects from everyday reality. He tries to maintain a conversational tone to make his work simple and convincing.
Also, when analyzing Mayakovsky’s “Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva,” it should be noted that he also uses metaphors in order to give his creation greater expressiveness. The poem also contains hyperbole, which, combined with metaphors, makes the monologue even more emotional and energetic.
An analysis of the poem “Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva” shows readers how emotional and uncompromising the poet was. After all, even despite the shortcomings of the political system, for Mayakovsky it was the best in the world. He could not compromise with himself and change his beliefs in order to be with his beloved. But the poet managed to create one of his best lyrical works, in which he put words about love into a sharp form and thereby made his creation even more expressive.
The poet's life story tells about an old meeting that happened in Paris. It was here that he met a beautiful young woman whose name was Tatyana Yakovleva. He immediately fell in love with the girl and invited her to go with him to Moscow, back to the Soviet Union. But Tatyana refused to leave France, although she was ready to connect her life with the poet if he settled with her in Paris. After Mayakovsky left, the young people corresponded for some time and in one of his letters he sent poetic lines to his beloved.
“Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva” V. Mayakovsky
Is it in the kiss of hands,
lips,
in body trembling
those close to me
red
color
my republics
Same
must
blaze.
I don't like
Parisian love:
any female
decorate with silks,
stretching, I doze off,
having said -
tubo -
dogs
brutal passion.
You are the only one for me
height level,
stand next to me
with an eyebrow eyebrow,
give me
about this
important evening
tell
humanly.
Five o'clock
and from now on
poem
people
dense forest,
extinct
populated city
I only hear
whistle dispute
trains to Barcelona.
In the black sky
lightning step,
thunder
swear
in the heavenly drama, -
not a thunderstorm
and this
Just
Jealousy moves mountains.
Stupid words
don't trust raw materials
don't get confused
this shaking -
I will bridle
I will humble you
feelings
offspring of the nobility.
Passion measles
will come off as a scab,
but joy
inexhaustible,
I'll be there for a long time
I'll just
I speak in poetry.
Jealousy,
wives,
tears...
well them! -
eyelids will swell,
fits Viu.
I'm not myself
and I
I'm jealous
for Soviet Russia.
Saw
patches on the shoulders,
their
consumption
licks with a sigh.
Well,
we are not to blame -
hundred million
it was bad.
We
Now
so gentle towards those -
sports
You won’t straighten out many, -
you and us
needed in Moscow
not enough
long-legged.
Not for you
in the snow
and typhus
walking
with these legs
Here
for caresses
hand them over
at dinners
with oil workers.
Don't think
just squinting
from under straightened arcs.
Come here
go to the crossroads
my big ones
and clumsy hands.
Don't you want to?
Stay and winter
and this
insult
We'll reduce it to the general account.
I don't care
you
someday I'll take it -
one
or together with Paris.
Analysis of the poem “Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva”
The work begins with lines that are an appeal. The author focuses on the fact that this message, a letter in verse, is addressed to Tatyana Yakovleva. The poet tries to present the lines as simply and clearly as possible, using a colloquial form. It should be noted that there is a lot of sincerity in the poem, it is written in a confidential tone and is very similar to the assertive confession of the central character of the creation.
A couple of lines are enough and the image of the woman to whom the author is addressing becomes clear to the reader. Mayakovsky describes both the appearance and the internal state of the heroine. Vladimir calls his beloved to talk.
When reading the poem, one gets the impression that the work consists of two separate parts. There are contrasts between two worlds, each of which is assessed by the poet - these are Paris and the Soviet Union. These two worlds, in the author’s perception, are very huge and are capable of drawing into their orbit both the heroes themselves and their thoughts, feelings, and abilities.
Paris in poetic lines is not described in the most unflattering way. It is full of luxury and all sorts of pleasures that are unacceptable for a poet. The author is not comfortable with Parisian suspicious love. Mayakovsky describes the city as boring and mentions that after five in the evening all movement stops there. In Russia, everything is completely different. He likes his homeland, he loves it and believes in its speedy revival.
It should be noted that the work combines both personal and civil views on life in an original way. Gradually, the lyrical beginning moves on to a discussion of the social values of the young state, the Soviet Union, and the poet begins to talk about his beloved homeland. He points out that the jealousy comes not only from him, but also from Russia itself. The theme of jealousy in the work is of particular importance; it is traced in almost all stanzas of the poem and is closely related to the civil plan.
According to some critics, the work “Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva” can be called completely differently - “The Essence of Jealousy.” The author notes that he does not understand jealousy, and this is how he expresses his thoughts about love and the existing universe.
Jealousy in the work is presented in the form of a universal cataclysm. Thus, the author tries to convey to the reader the state of his own soul, and also shows the possibilities of the titanic power of passion that boils in his chest. It is also worth noting that the poet is very ashamed of the fact that he is jealous and considered such passions to be a dangerous disease.
Mayakovsky believes that those words that were uttered under the influence of love are very stupid. In this case, only the heart speaks and the phrases take on a simplified form, without taking into account the true purpose. The author tries to convey to the reader that the need for beauty is required not only for a person, but also for the entire Motherland. At the same time, the poet feels offended that his beloved remains in Paris and does not want to come to him. Here he notes that due to the fact that there were constantly various wars on the territory of the state, people truly began to appreciate the beauty of their homeland.
The poem “Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva” provides reflections on the real essence of love. Vladimir contrasts this feeling with jealousy and distinguishes two types of sensations. The first is the Parisian relationship, which he rejects in every possible way, because he does not believe that it can be truly sincere. The opposite type of love is a united love for a woman and for Russia itself. This decision and outcome of actions is the most correct for the poet. He gives many arguments indicating the obviousness of his decision.
But nothing can be done about it... the poet and his beloved girl belong to completely different worlds. Tatyana Yakovleva completely loves Paris and only with it does a woman associate images of love. The author gives his whole soul to his homeland - the young state, the Soviet Union.
The poet notes that although a new state was formed in place of Russia, this is precisely the land on which Tatyana once walked. He seems to appeal to the heroine’s conscience, shames her and is offended by the woman’s reluctance to remain faithful to her land to the end. But somewhere in the middle of the poem, Mayakovsky allows his beloved to remain in a foreign country: “stay and spend the winter,” taking a certain break.
The work also touches on the theme of military operations in Paris. The author recalls Napoleon and the fact that Russian troops had previously defeated the French with defeat - in 1812. This raises the hope that the Parisian winter will weaken his beloved, just as the winter in Russia once weakened Napoleon’s army. He hopes with all his might that sooner or later Tatyana Yakovleva will change her decision and still come to Russia.
The main lyrical character is described in a special way in the work. He looks like a big child, who combines both limitless spiritual strength and defenselessness. The author strives to protect his loved one in a unique way, to surround him with warmth and care.
Mayakovsky explains to the girl the compatibility of personal preferences with public ones, doing it directly and openly. He knows that there is always a choice. But everyone must make this choice themselves, without looking at their surroundings. Vladimir made his choice a long time ago. He cannot imagine his life away from his homeland. Its interests are firmly intertwined with the interests of the young state. For Vladimir there is no difference between personal and public life; he combined everything into one single thing.
The poem traces true sincerity. The poet wants to receive beauty and love not only for himself, but for all of Secular Russia. The author's love is compared to a national debt, the main one of which is to return Tatyana Yakovleva to her homeland. If the main character returns, according to the author, Russia will receive that piece of beauty that has been missing for so long against the backdrop of disease and dirt. It is precisely this that is missing for the revival of the homeland.
Love, according to the poet, is a certain unifying principle. The author believes that it is revolution that can revive its former glory and put an end to conflicts. It should be noted that for the sake of love for a bright future, Mayakovsky was ready to do anything, even step on his own throat.
Before his death, the poet becomes disillusioned with his previous views and beliefs. It was only towards the end of his life that he realized that love has no boundaries, neither in personal preferences nor in social ideas.