Joseph Brodsky is one of the favorite poets of our time. The most famous poems are known to all educated youth. Quotes from his works and letters scatter on social networks. I. Brodsky left Russia a huge number of masterpiece poems.
Life path of I. Brodsky
Joseph Brodsky was born in Leningrad, in 1940. From childhood, he worshiped the mystical atmosphere of Petersburg: wet streets, museums ... All this left its mark on the work and character of I. Brodsky.
His name (and they named Brodsky in honor of Stalin) served as a kind of vital irony, since the poet did not accept Soviet power (this is easy to notice if an analysis of Brodsky's poem is done). Already at the age of 15, Joseph proved himself to be the most obstinate child. Due to the constant propaganda of ideology, he left school after the 8th grade and began to work.
I. Brodsky constantly read. He wanted to absorb everything that is in the world. He studied languages, in particular English and Polish.
I. Brodsky himself said that he began to write poetry at the age of 18, but lovers of his work suspect that it began earlier. He himself was very fond of poetry and considered it necessary to periodically show respect for the works of Tsvetaeva and Rilke.
Court and Link
February 1964 Joseph Brodsky is suddenly arrested, but for what? For parasitism, that is, for life at the expense of others. Perhaps now it will seem strange to us, but in Soviet times it was really a criminal offense. The poet is exiled to a small village in the Arkhangelsk region to work on the Danilevsky collective farm. At first, Brodsky was an ordinary auxiliary worker and performed the most difficult work. But later, for health reasons, he becomes a photographer.
I. Brodsky is released from exile ahead of schedule, he returns to Leningrad and tries to start writing poetry again. However, censorship does not allow them to print. During this time, I. Brodsky, already a man known in literary circles, managed to print only 4 poems.
In 1972, the poet was forced to leave Russia and leave to live in America. There he receives the Nobel Prize in literature, publishes collections of his poems. He is dying in New York.
Creativity I. Brodsky
1972 marks a new stage in the work and life of I. Brodsky. As mentioned above, in 1986 he received the Nobel Prize in Literature for the essay collection "Less than One". This is not the only Brodsky essay collection. Around the same time, another one was released - "Embankment of the incurable." In addition to the essay, the works of I. Brodsky are numerous translations and plays.
In 1972, the collections End of a Beautiful Epoch and Part of a Speech were published, and in 1987, Urania and Around Atlantis: New Poems.
Analysis of Brodsky’s poem "Do not leave the room"
This is one of the most famous poems of the poet. It is permeated with the theme of Soviet power. The main idea: it is better to bury yourself in the walls of the room than to succumb to the temptations of the outside world. And this does not apply to all. The poem is written for duplicitous people who conduct anti-government conversations at night, contain mistresses, and go out during the day and shout about their love for the power of the Soviet Union, as well as inform others. The poem is also addressed to those who want to be free, but cannot afford it.
I. Brodsky in verse recommends that anyone who likes to talk about freedom, the situation of the individual in the modern world, give up small joys. This is the main thing that you need to pay attention to if you are doing an analysis of Brodsky's poem. Let them try to drive out the “live sweetie”, that is, the girl who came to visit. After all, how can you take her in the house if she is not a legal wife? “Do not call the motor,” that is, a taxi, because the average citizen of the USSR cannot afford this.
“On the street, tea, not France,” Brodsky ironically observes (“Don't leave the room”). The analysis of the poem that we cited reveals the main positions of the poet and his worldview.
Analysis of the poem "Love"
Let’s analyze Brodsky’s poem “Love”. It becomes apparent that it is dedicated to a woman. This woman is Marina Basmanova, daughter of a famous artist. According to contemporaries, I. Brodsky even considered her his bride. Not surprisingly, the lines of the poem say: "You dreamed I was pregnant ..."
The poem begins with the fact that the hero wakes up, goes to the window and remembers his dream. The woman dreamed he was pregnant, and the poet experiences a strange feeling. On the one hand, seeing her in a pregnant dream, he feels guilty for not being able to maintain this love relationship between them. On the other hand, he says that "children are just an excuse for our nakedness." And one day, seeing them in a dream, the poet decides to stay with them there, in the world of shadows. This is the main idea, as analysis shows, Brodsky's poem dedicated to love.
Analysis of the poem "Loneliness"
Every person in his life has a period when he feels completely lonely. And before making an analysis of Brodsky’s poem "Loneliness", we turn to the history of its creation. So, the poet is 19 years old, and literary magazines refuse him because of non-standard views. I. Brodsky perceived these refusals with unthinkable pain, because he really turned out to be very lonely. “Better to worship given” - he comes to this conclusion. It is better to forget about your dreams, illusions. To put up with the "wretched standards" of our time, which in the future will become "the railing ... holding your lame truths in balance ...", that is, support. With such lines Joseph Brodsky expresses his emotions.
Analysis of the poem "I hugged these shoulders and looked ..."
In this poem, the above-mentioned Marina Basmanova again pops up. And if we analyze Brodsky’s poem “I hugged”, then it becomes clear how important this woman occupied in the life of the poet. Their romance with I. Brodsky ended because she went to another man. One can imagine what feelings the poet experienced at one time.
The poem was written at the beginning of the relationship between Brodsky and Basmanova, in 1962. The poem is structured as follows: the hero hugs his beloved and notices everything that happens behind her. This is a wall, an extended chair, a dark stove, a light bulb with a high glow, a buffet ... The most lively image that flickers in front of the hero's eyes is a moth. He takes the hero out of his stupor.
The image of a woman in this poem is mysterious. The hero hugs her, but ... in the future, her image is erased. It’s like he’s not. Surprisingly, the poet describes the interior in more than detail, and the hugs of the beloved woman seem to not cause anything in him.
The hero of the poem seems to be standing on the threshold. "And if the ghost here once lived, then he left this house. He left." These lines end the poem. It seems that the hero, speaking of a ghost, has in mind and is going to leave the house with this silent woman.
Analysis of the poem "Christmas Star"
Before analyzing Brodsky’s poem "The Christmas Star", one should recall what time the poet lived. Yes, Soviet power reigned on the street, was it possible to publish works of religious subjects? Therefore, it is obvious that this poem was written after Brodsky emigrated to America.
It was written based on biblical themes and is dedicated to the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. "The baby was born in a cave in order to save the world," the poet writes. Perhaps he already foresaw that the life of his homeland was on the verge of a catastrophe, and soon changes of an economic, political, religious nature awaited her. And only someone special can save her.
“The star looked into the cave. And that was the look of the Father” - the last lines of the poem. Here, the author emphasizes that everything earthly is under the supervision of God, that everything that mankind creates fixes his gaze.
Shortly before I. Brodsky wrote this poem (and it was written abroad), the poet received a letter stating that his father had died. And perhaps, before his death, the poet did not consider his father as someone significant. However, the poem shades through the fact that the father is a person who can provide irreplaceable support. While Jesus is a baby, the Father watches him, protects him.
conclusions
So, we analyzed the work of I. Brodsky in general, in particular, examined some works, made their analysis. Brodsky's poems are not just a few collections. This is a whole era. While many poets were afraid to argue against the Soviet regime, I. Brodsky looked straight into her eyes. When he was not allowed to publish his poems in his homeland, he went to America and gained freedom of speech there.
The works analyzed above are not even half of Brodsky's poems. If you delve into their study, you can see that in most cases the heroes of the poems are leaders, emperors. A certain place is occupied by verses about Christianity.
Joseph Brodsky is now considered not only Russian, but also an American poet.