Before analyzing the poem, “May Night,” it is necessary to say a few words about the aesthetic views of the poet. Athanasius Fet lived and worked at the same time as Nekrasov, but the poets had a diametrically opposite idea of ​​the purpose of poetry and the lyrics themselves. If Nekrasov saw his Muse as the murmuring sister of a "tormented" people, then at Fet she is a source of "pure thoughts", designed to carry away from "everyday worries." In an era of democratic sentiment, Fet's lyrics were alien to progressive and popular magazines at that time; the poet was ridiculed, criticized, and wrote dozens of parodies of his elegant and not at all social poems.
The meaning of art
Fet's poem, “Still May Night,” was written in 1857. In it, he appears as the true apologist of "pure art." This term means that the purpose of art is to proclaim eternal values, to strive for perfect beauty, and not to depend on current events, and even less to denounce the unrest existing in society. Fet believes that the creative spirit is needed just to overcome the “dark darkness” of everyday life, to break out of it.
Analysis of the poem “May Night Still”: Contents
The secret of true poetry is that, no matter how much you read (or listen to) a lyric work, it finds a deep response and every time it evokes new feelings and images. This is due to the fact that the poet brings to the fore the image-feeling, image-experience and uses expressive artistic means to embody it. Such is Fet's poem, “Another May Night.” In order to fully enjoy the poetic masterpiece, to feel it together with the poet, we will carefully read the poem several times. First, we will see that the lyrical hero inspires admiration on a spring night, breathing in her air, listening to her sounds.
The subsequent reading will surprise us with a whole gamut of emotions that the poet experiences. He is full of excitement, gratitude, bliss and anxiety. A keen intrigue is manifested in the fact that the face of May night gives rapture and at the same time gives rise to thoughts about the finiteness of being.
Composition of the poem
This exquisite lyrical work consists of four quatrains that successively reinforce each other. The first begins and ends with an exclamation, reflects admiration and introduces into the atmosphere of spring. The second quatrain repeats the exclamation in the first line and gives sound and visual images that prepare the excited mood of expectation, unfolded in the next quatrain. It opens with the metaphor of the birch bride, which “trembles” - in this word the physical thrill of foliage in the wind and the emotional state are combined. In the fourth quatrain, the author again turns to night, "explaining" to her as an "incorporeal" lover. The nightingale song (serene and light) is replaced by an “involuntary song” of the inner “I”. Both songs arise instinctively, involuntarily. The last line of the poem, which at first glance sounds discordant with the general mood, nevertheless turned out to be prepared: languor, which at first had a hint of bliss, gradually flowed into a sense of confusion.
Expressive means
The lyrical hero conveys confusion through the appearance of birches that are “waiting” for something. The image of stars is not remarkable, not distant and cold, as is customary, but "warm and gentle" looking into the soul. This personification instantly reduces the time and space of the poem. Everything is now seen to be closely interconnected, interwoven in a mysterious and tender union of the vast Universe and the human soul, containing all of it. It is no coincidence that the poet uses the metaphorical image of the bride in the poem "May Night." The analysis of the synonymic series in which this image is given demonstrates delightfully gentle and intimate intonation. These are carefully selected metaphors and epithets: “newlywed maid”, “bliss”, “fresh”, “clean”, “translucent”, “meek”, “shy”, “shivering”, “beckoning and amusing”.
The analysis of the poem “May Night Still” reveals yet another feature of it: contrasting images and feelings move from external and large-scale perception to internal, elusive and innermost. So, the static kingdom of blizzards, ice and snow is opposed to the fresh flying may, tangible tenderness - incorporeal. Joy is opposed to alienness, anxiety competes with love, perfect beauty with possible death. Poets always keenly feel the abyss between the endless cosmos, the ever-renewing nature and mortal man. Athanasius Fet is no stranger to this idea. "May Night" presents this antithesis: the last song resists the young breath of spring. But Fet would not be himself if he had not softened this opposition with the mysterious “maybe.” In general, it is not in the rules of the poets of the school of “pure art” to set clear accents and confident touches. On the contrary, lack of understanding, the presence of secrets, light contours and hints are welcome. So the poet overcomes the finiteness of being, unites the troubled soul with the unlimited power of love. From this sadness becomes light, gaining wings.
Central idea
Carrying out the analysis of the poem “Another May Night”, it is worth mentioning that Fet goes further than landscape lyrics in which his feather feels so at ease. Before us is a philosophical work that expresses the idea of ​​the harmony of nature and the powerlessness of reason to comprehend this harmony. To this end, the author intentionally uses a non-existent grammatical form - “incorporeal”, where the comparative degree arises not from the qualitative, but from the relative adjective. The idea of ​​the poem is confirmed by its sound organization. Written by five-foot iamba with a cross rhyme, it has a sublime, solemn intonation.