Everything is quite natural. Whenever I sit on the couch looking at my bookshelf, I came across the book by Yevgeny Yevtushenko “White Snows Are Falling”. She looks at me challengingly, testing my patience. And so, literally, the other day I couldn’t resist the temptation and opened it, stumbling upon a poem with the same name. After reading to the end, I was very upset. There were many unclear points left after reading that haunted me, so I decided to conduct a little “literary investigation.” I tried to understand the author, about whom Evgeny Vinokurov wrote in the introductory article: “a detailed poet, Yevtushenko likes to tell stories slowly, he loves the plot.”
“White snow is falling,
like sliding on a thread...
To live and live in the world,
Yes, probably not.”
Personally, for me the word “snow” raises deep doubts, or rather doubts about the existence of this word as such. Perhaps the author uses it in the plural to show that snow is falling everywhere. In addition, the poem was dated about half a century ago and it is difficult to say anything clearly. Already in the first quatrain there is a repetition of “to live and live in the world.” There is a feeling that the author writes quickly and casually. You can think and find more precise words to convey the meaning, for example: “to live forever in the world.”
"Someone's souls, without a trace
Dissolving into the distance
like white snow,
they go to heaven from the earth.”
A very subtle and figurative metaphor about souls that, like white snow, go to heaven after leaving their corporeal shell. The problem is that it is difficult for the average reader to understand. Here it is worth considering that Yevtushenko is a poet with a social orientation of “a tenfold sense of the day of life, of being,” for which snow must certainly fall to the ground, and not fly up to the heavens. This goes against his writing style.
“I don’t believe in miracles.
I'm not snow, I'm not a star,
and I won't do it anymore
never ever".
This unnecessary repetition of “never, never” negates the meaning of the entire written quatrain, or rather, it simply becomes unclear what the author is talking about, what he wants to convey with these lines, what idea he was going to convey to the reader. We can only guess and assume. Why does the author deliberately use repetitions, when you can think, and a new line will definitely appear, more accurate, more clear. It may take an hour or half a day, but it's worth it. The reader will be grateful.
"If it was hard,
I didn't bother too much.
Let me live awkwardly -
I lived for Russia."
It is impossible to ignore these lines; it is very precisely and wisely said: “Even though I lived awkwardly, I lived for Russia.” Imprecise rhyme indicates that the author paid Special attention meaning, and not the external facet of the poem, and he was right. The lines turned out to be extremely memorable and life-like.
"Let her forget
About me without difficulty,
Just let it be
Forever, forever..."
It is obvious that the author emphasizes repetition. Perhaps this is a kind of refrain and a wonderful line for a song, but I’m talking about poetry now. This is not the first time in the course of the poem that such lines appear. I would like to draw attention to this, since again the meaning that the author puts into this quatrain is lost. Even though the meaning is clear even without the last line, the reader is still left slightly perplexed, unsure of his guesses. Of course, you can think and compose a more precise line, for example: “just let her always be in my heart,” but the author does not set such a goal.
In addition, the size of the poem is confusing. Usually in similar situations the reader, having read the poem to the end, begins to intensively scratch his head, remembering what happened at the beginning. IN this poem the situation is the opposite. It seems that thanks to the same lines we are marking time in one place. Here lines emerge about Pushkin and Stenka, about immortality. What can be contained in one quatrain, the author manages to stretch it into several, and completely without reason.
Summing up the results of my little “literary investigation”, I would like to note that repetitions brought a special discord into the poems, thanks to which a seemingly simple poem was filled with many unnecessary and incomprehensible riddles to the reader, which there was no longer any energy or time left to solve.
Evgeny Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko died... My favorite poet... I remember his poems, piercing, eternal:
"White snow is falling,
As if sliding on a thread...
To live and live in the world,
But probably not.
Someone's soul without a trace,
Dissolving into the distance.
Like white snow
They go to heaven from earth.
White snow is falling...
And I will leave too.
I'm not sad about death
And I don’t expect immortality.
I don't believe in miracles
I am not snow, not a star.
And I won't do it anymore
Never ever.
And I think, sinner,
Well, who was I?
That I'm hasty in life
Did you love more than life?
And I loved Russia
With all the blood, the ridge-
Its rivers are in flood.
And when under the ice.
The spirit of her five-walled.
The spirit of her pine forests.
Her Pushkin, Stenka
And her old people.
If it wasn't sweet,
I didn't bother too much.
Let me live awkwardly.
I lived for Russia.
And I'm hopeful
(full of secret worries)
That at least a little
I helped Russia.
Let her forget
About me without any difficulty.
Just let it be.
Forever, forever.
White snows are falling
As always,
Like under Pushkin, Stenka
And like after me.
It's snowing big,
Painfully bright
Both mine and others'
Covering my tracks.
It's not possible to be immortal
But my hope
If there is Russia,
So, I will too..."
Thank you, Evgeniy Alexandrovich, for this confessional, sincere poem, for your creativity...
Your Russia will not forget you... And you will always be with us...
You felt it yourself: our love, gratitude during your last visit to your country.
Thank you for deciding to find your last refuge in your homeland, in Peredelkino... Next to Pasternak... So they believed in our love, for you, your creativity...
Your readers will have the opportunity to come and venerate your ashes...
You will forgive us... The Lord gave you long life... You were needed on this Earth... Your creativity is immortal.. This means you can live forever... You were wrong about this...
You, our great poet... Bow to you and recognition... Eternal memory...
Thank you for the truth... Yesterday I listened to your conversations with Solomon Volkov all evening.. Not a shadow of guile... You had a presentiment of your departure... That's why the meeting took place, according to your desire.. And you put it off for so long... Good that we managed...
You said that you had to tell us... About yourself, your contemporaries... And bad things about no one... Thank you.. They only blamed themselves for everything... Piercing frankness is worth a lot..
And in the White Studio... Only the truth... Compliments to the presenter... Until the end of your life - You are a ladies' man... The same, young, irresistible, Zhenya Yevtushenko...
Your poems remained with us... Life is reflected in books, films... Documentary footage... We will not forget... We will read and re-read... And when we leave, following you, your poems will remain for our children.. Thank you for everything... You are still with us...
I said goodbye... My soul is a little bit lighter... Although there are tears in my eyes... And next to me are poems...
“White snow is falling...” Evgeny Yevtushenko
White snows are falling
like sliding on a thread...
To live and live in the world,
but probably not.Someone's souls without a trace,
dissolving into the distance
like white snow,
go to heaven from earth.White snow is falling...
And I will leave too.
I'm not sad about death
and I don’t expect immortality.I don't believe in miracles
I'm not snow, I'm not a star,
and I won't do it anymore
never ever.And I think, sinner,
Well, who was I?
that I'm hasty in life
loved more than life?And I loved Russia
with all the blood, the ridge -
its rivers are in flood
and when under the ice,the spirit of her five-walled,
the spirit of her pine trees,
her Pushkin, Stenka
and her elders.If it wasn't sweet,
I didn't bother too much.
Let me live awkwardly
I lived for Russia.And I have hope,
(full of secret worries)
that at least a little
I helped Russia.Let her forget
about me without difficulty,
just let it be
forever, forever.White snows are falling
as always,
as under Pushkin, Stenka
and how after me,It's snowing big,
painfully bright
both mine and others'
covering my tracks.It's not possible to be immortal
but my hope:
if there is Russia,
that means I will too.
Analysis of Yevtushenko’s poem “White Snows Are Coming...”
Yevgeny Yevtushenko, like many poets of the Soviet era, was forced to write poems praising the communist system and preaching the ideals of a workers' and peasants' society. However, this did not prevent him from remaining a true patriot of his homeland and serving the Russian people. An example of this is the poem “White Snows Are Falling...”, written in 1965, in which the author sums up his work and expresses the hope that he did not live his life in vain.
The first part of the poem is devoted to discussions about life and death. Yevtushenko notes that he wants to “live and live in the world, but, probably, it’s impossible.” The poet emphasizes that he does not expect immortality and does not hope for a miracle. Sooner or later, his turn will come to leave for another world, so the author is worried about the thought of what exactly he will leave behind.
In this case, we are not talking about creative heritage, since during the period when this work was created, Yevtushenko’s poems were criticized by all and sundry, accusing the poet of sycophancy. Therefore, the author declares that his most valuable asset is that all his life he sincerely and devotedly loved Russia, its wooden huts, fields and forests, its amazing people, full of their own pride and fortitude. The poet emphasizes that “even though I lived hard, I lived for Russia.” And he hopes that his life was not in vain, and his work helped home country become stronger, more successful and prosperous.
Yevtushenko does not put himself on a par with the classics of Russian literature, but emphasizes that any poet is mortal. And the fate to leave this world was destined for more famous writers than him. At the same time, the “white snows” covered up the traces of people who played a significant role in Russian poetry, and the author will not be an exception huge list iconic figures, in which he assigns the first place to Pushkin.
Yevtushenko himself does not believe in immortality in the generally accepted sense of the word; he does not consider himself higher and better than others to be awarded such an honor. Nevertheless, the author expresses the hope that “if there is Russia, then I will be there too.” With this phrase, the poet emphasizes that he cannot imagine his existence without a country, which for him is not just his homeland. Russia is a key image in Yevtushenko’s civil lyrics, which the author views not only through the prism historical events. In the poet’s concept, Russia is something eternal and unshakable: people pass away, but a great power remains, being a symbol of the power and authority of the Slavic peoples.
The main theme of the poem is expressed already in the first stanza: the lyrical hero, admiring fabulous beauty winter, bewitching quiet snowfall, says:
To live and live in the world,
But probably not.
The theme of the short-term life of man and the eternity of nature, the endless change of generations, care old life and the arrival of the new is the eternal theme of poetry. So, A.S. Pushkin, reflecting on it in the poem “Do I wander along the noisy streets...” (1829), reconciles the moment and eternity:
And let at the tomb entrance
The young one will play with life,
And indifferent nature
Shine with eternal beauty.
The second stanza of the poem echoes the thoughts lyrical hero Yesenin in the poem “The golden grove dissuaded...” (1924). In Yevtushenko’s poem “White Snows Are Falling...” snowflakes, “gliding like a thread,” connect the earth with the sky with a continuous connection:
Someone's souls without a trace,
dissolving into the distance
like white snow,
go to heaven from earth.
Yesenin’s philosophical lines affirm the idea that people who lived on earth will remain in its memory forever:
Whom should I feel sorry for? After all, everyone in the world is a wanderer -
He will pass, come in and leave the house again.
The hemp plant dreams of all those who have passed away
With a wide moon over the blue pond.
The lyrical hero Yevtushenko, admitting that he “does not believe in miracles” and “does not expect immortality,” looks for value in human existence, finds it in love for Russia, the Motherland:
And I loved Russia
with all the blood, the ridge...
Love for Russia is love for its past, its history and spirit; the lyrical hero loves everything about it:
the spirit of her five-walled walls,
the spirit of her pine forests,
her Pushkin, Stenka
and her elders.
These lines continue the traditions of Russian poetry, which affirmed the internal connection with the Motherland as the basis of being and love for the world. Let us remember the poems of M.Yu. Lermontov “Motherland” (1841), A.A. Blok “Russia” (1908), S.A. Yesenin “Go you, Rus', my dear...” (1914) and other poets. This connection is clearly expressed in the exclamation of the lyrical hero Yesenin:
I will say: “There is no need for heaven,
Give me my homeland."
The last lines of Yevtushenko’s poem proclaim the idea that human immortality lies in eternal life Motherland, and not in personal immortality:
if there is Russia,
that means I will too.
Evgeny Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko begins his creation during the “thaw of the sixties”. The poem “White Snows Are Falling...” attracts the reader with its brightness and originality at the same time. Most of the poet’s works, including “The White Snows Are Falling...” are filled with the voice of truth and conscience of absolutely all of Russia.
E. Yevtushenko’s poem “White Snows Are Coming...” is one of the first in the poet’s lyrics. In the poem, the poet depicts snow in parallel with human life, denoting important and eternal problems of humanity. Indeed, all of them directly related to the life of the writer, so it is not without reason that he writes this poem.
Having brought the image of snow to life, he states that snow slips away as quickly as people’s lives, and their souls dissolve like snow. Steadfastness native land- this is what is important for the essence of man. In general, “White Snow is Falling...” carries with it philosophical meaning. However, this does not immediately become clear to the reader. In order to understand its deep meaning, the reader must carefully read each line of the verse. And only under this condition will the whole meaning of the poem be revealed to him.
The poem “White Snow is Falling...” traces the connection of several generations. After reading the poem, the reader realizes that only those who possess true creativity will receive immortality, which means they treat the Motherland with great respect and love. The poem “White Snows Are Falling...” traces indecision, hope and contradiction great country the poet himself.
In E. Yevtushenko’s poem, words of folk memory are heard; he hints to his reader that everyone has the opportunity to leave their mark in the history of the country. The poet hopes that he will leave something for Russia and, if they forget about him, he dreams that his homeland will continue to exist.
In the poem “White Snows Are Coming...” the poet uses a ring composition, and the refrain is traced by the phrase “white snows are falling.” With this technique, E. Yevtushenko depicts the connection between nature and Russia, the transience of time.
