The lyrics of Bunin occupies a rather significant place in his work, despite the fact that Ivan Alekseevich gained fame primarily as a prose writer. However, Ivan Bunin himself claimed that he was primarily a poet. The path in the literature of this author began with poetry.
It is worth noting that Buninâs lyrics go through all his work and is characteristic not only of the early stage of development of his artistic thought. The original poems of Bunin, unique in their artistic style, are difficult to confuse with the creations of other authors. The poetâs worldview is reflected in this individual style.
The first poems of Bunin
When Ivan Alekseevich turned 17 years old, his first poem was published in the journal Rodina. It is called the "Village Beggar." In this work, the poet talks about the sad state in which the Russian village was at that time.
From the very beginning of the literary work of Ivan Alekseevich, the lyrics of Bunin were characterized by their special style, manner and themes. Many of his early poems reflect the state of mind of Ivan Alekseevich, his delicate inner world, rich in shades of feelings. Bunin's quiet clever lyrics of this period resemble a conversation with a close friend. However, it impressed contemporaries with artistry and high technology. Many critics admired Bunin's poetic gift, the authorâs skill in the field of language. It should be said that Ivan Alekseevich drew many accurate comparisons and epithets from works of folk art. Paustovsky highly appreciated Bunin. He said that every line of it is clear, like a string.
In his early work, not only Bunin's landscape lyrics are found. His poems are also devoted to civilian topics. He created works about a difficult share of the people, with all his soul he longed for changes for the better. For example, in a poem called Desolation, the old house tells Ivan Alekseevich that he is waiting for âdestructionâ, âbold voicesâ and âmighty handsâ so that life blossoms again âfrom the dust on the graveâ.
Leaf fall
The first poetic collection of this author is called "Leaf Fall". He appeared in 1901. A poem of the same name was included in this collection. Bunin says goodbye to his childhood, with his inherent world of dreams. In the poems of the collection, the motherland appears in wonderful pictures of nature. It causes a sea of ââemotions and feelings.
In the landscape lyrics of Bunin, the image of autumn is most often found. It was with him that his work as a poet began. This image will illuminate the poems of Ivan Alekseevich with his golden radiance until the end of his life. Autumn in the poem "Leaf fall" "comes to life": a pine and oak tree smells like a forest that has dried over the summer from the sun, and autumn enters into its "tower" "a quiet widow."
Block noted that few know how to know and love their native nature, like Bunin. He added that Ivan Alekseevich claims to occupy one of the central places in Russian poetry. A distinctive feature of both the lyrics and prose of Ivan Bunin was a rich artistic perception of native nature, the world, and also the person in it. Gorky compared this poet to mastery in creating a landscape with Levitan himself. And many other writers and critics liked the lyrics of Bunin, her philosophical, concise and sophistication.
Adherence to poetic tradition
Ivan Alekseevich lived and worked at the turn of the 19-20 centuries. At this time, various modernist movements were actively developing in poetry. Word-making was in fashion, many authors were engaged in it. To express their feelings and thoughts, they looked for very unusual forms, which sometimes shocked readers. However, Ivan Bunin adhered to the classical traditions of Russian poetry, which Tyutchev, Fet, Polonsky, Baratynsky and others developed in their work. Ivan Alekseevich created realistic lyric poems and did not at all strive for modernist experiments with the word. The poet completely lacked the events of reality and the wealth of the Russian language. The main motives of Bunin's lyrics remain generally traditional.
Ghosts
Bunin is classic. This author has incorporated into his work all the enormous wealth of 19th-century Russian poetry. Bunin often emphasizes this continuity in form and content. So, in the poem "Ghosts" Ivan Alekseevich defiantly declares to the reader: "No, the dead have not died for us!" For the poet, vigilance to ghosts means devotion to the departed. However, this same work suggests that Bunin is sensitive to the latest phenomena in Russian poetry. In addition, he is interested in poetic interpretations of the myth, all subconscious, irrational, sad musical. It is from here - the images of harps, ghosts, dozing sounds, as well as a special melody related to Balmont.
Transformation of landscape lyrics into philosophical
Bunin in his poems tried to find the meaning of human life, the harmony of the world. He claimed the wisdom and eternity of nature, which he considered an inexhaustible source of beauty. These are the main motives of the lyrics of Bunin, passing through all his work. In Ivan Alekseevich, human life is always shown in the context of nature. The poet was confident that all life was reasonable. He argued that one cannot speak of nature separate from us. After all, even the most insignificant movement of air is the movement of our life.
Gradually, the landscape lyrics of Bunin, the features of which we noted, turn into philosophical. For the author in the poem now the main thing is thought. Many of the creations of Ivan Alekseevich are devoted to the theme of life and death. Thematic philosophical lyrics of Bunin are very diverse thematically. His poems, however, are often difficult to fit into a single topic. This is worth mentioning separately.
Thematic facets of poems
Speaking of the lyrics of Ivan Alekseevich, it is difficult to clearly define the themes of his poetry, since it is a collection of different thematic faces. The following faces can be distinguished:
- poems about life
- about her joy
- about childhood and youth,
- about longing
- about loneliness.
That is, Ivan Alekseevich wrote as a whole about a man, about what touches him.
"Evening" and "The sky opened"
One such facet is a poem about the world of man and the world of nature. So, "Evening" is a work written in the form of a classic sonnet. Both Pushkin and Shakespeare can find philosophical sonnets and sonnets about love. In Bunin, the world of nature and the world of man are glorified in this genre. Ivan Alekseevich wrote that we always only remember happiness, but it is everywhere. Perhaps this is the "autumn garden behind the shed" and clean air pouring out the window.
People are not always able to look at familiar things with an unusual look. We often simply do not notice them, and happiness eludes us. However, neither the bird nor the cloud will escape the keen gaze of the poet. It is these simple things that bring happiness. His formula is expressed in the last line of this work: "I see, hear, happy. Everything is in me."
In this poem, the image of heaven prevails. Related to this is, in particular, the affirmation of the eternity of nature in Bunin's lyrics. He is the leitmotif in all the poetic works of Ivan Alekseevich. The sky represents life, because it is eternal and unusual. His image is depicted, for example, in the verse "The sky opened." Here it is the center of thoughts about life. However, the image of the sky is closely connected with other images - light, day, birch. They all seem to illuminate the work, and the birch gives the verse a white satin light.
Reflection of modernity in the lyrics of Bunin
It is noteworthy that when the revolution had already begun in Russia, its processes were not reflected in the poetic work of Ivan Alekseevich. He remained true to the philosophical theme. It was more important for the poet to know not what was happening, but why it was happening to a person.
Ivan Alekseevich correlated modern problems with eternal concepts - life and death, good and evil. Trying to find the truth, he turned in his work to the history of various peoples and countries. So poems about ancient deities, Buddha, Mohammed appeared.
It was important for the poet to understand the general laws by which an individual and society as a whole develop. He acknowledged that our life on earth is only a stretch of the eternal existence of the universe. Hence the motives of fate and loneliness. Ivan Alekseevich foresaw the impending catastrophe of the revolution. He believed that this was the greatest misfortune.
Ivan Bunin sought to look beyond reality. He was interested in the riddle of death, the breath of which can be felt in many verses of this author. The destruction of the nobility as a class, the impoverishment of the landed estates made him feel doomed. However, despite pessimism, Ivan Alekseevich saw a way out, which consists in the merging of man with nature, in its eternal beauty and peace.
The lyrics of Bunin are very multifaceted. Briefly, within the framework of one article, only its main features can be noted, and only a few examples can be cited. Let's say a few words about the love lyrics of this author. She is also very interesting.
Love lyrics
In Bunin's works, the theme of love is one of the most common. Ivan Alekseevich, both in poetry and in prose, often sang this feeling. The poetry of love from this author anticipates Bunin's famous cycle of short stories "Dark Alleys."
Poems dedicated to this topic reflect various shades of love. For example, the work "The sadness of the eyelashes shining and black ..." is filled with sadness of farewell to her beloved.
"The sadness of the eyelashes shining and black ..."
This poem consists of two stanzas. In the first of them, the author recalls his beloved, whose image still lives in his soul, in his eyes. However, the lyrical hero bitterly realizes that his youth has passed, and he will not be able to return his former lover. His tenderness in the description of the girl is emphasized by various means of expressiveness, for example metaphors (âeyelash sadnessâ, âeye fireâ, âdiamonds of tearsâ) and epithets (âheavenly eyesâ, âdisobedient tearsâ, âshining eyelashesâ).
In the second stanza of the poem, the lyrical hero thinks about why his beloved still comes to him in a dream, and also recalls the delight of meeting this girl. These reflections are expressed in the work by rhetorical questions, to which, as you know, there is no answer.
"What is ahead?"
Another poem on a love theme - "What is ahead?" It is filled with an atmosphere of calm and happiness. To the question "What is ahead?" the author replies: "Happy long journey." The lyrical hero understands that happiness awaits him with his beloved. However, he sadly thinks about the past, does not want to let him go.
Bunin's lyrics: features
In conclusion, we list the main features that are characteristic of Bunin's lyrical poetry. This is the brightness of details, the desire for descriptive details, laconicism, classical simplicity, the poetization of eternal values, especially native nature. In addition, the work of this author is characterized by a constant appeal to symbolism, a wealth of subtext, a close relationship with Russian prose and poetry, and a tendency to philosophical. He often has roll calls with his own stories.