In the evenings scars are a means of artistic expression. Nikolai Rubtsov, “In the Evenings”: analysis of the poem. A dream of rebirth. “In the evenings” Nikolay Rubtsov
“In the evenings” Nikolay Rubtsov
From the bridge there is a road going uphill.
And on the mountain - what sadness! -
The ruins of the cathedral lie
It’s as if the old Rus' is sleeping.Former Rus'! Wasn't it in those years
Our day is like it’s on our chest,
Was nourished by the image of freedom,
Always flashing ahead!What a joyful life
I burned out and moved away!
And yet I hear from the pass,
How it blows here, how Rus' lived.Still as fun and powerful
Here the guys get along stirrups,
It's warm and clear in the evenings,
Just like in those old days...
Analysis of Rubtsov’s poem “In the evenings”
Nikolai Rubtsov was not a dissident poet, but he did not consider it necessary to hide his views on those issues that he considered important to himself. One of the cornerstones in his many discussions with friends was the topic of religion, which the poet treated with awe and respect. And not because he believed in God, but because he considered faith an integral part of Russian culture, multifaceted and original.
In his poem “In the Evenings,” Nikolai Rubtsov again touches on the topic of religion, emphasizing that its destruction actually crossed out the future not only of the entire country, but also deprived the Russian people of support, whose strength at all times lay precisely in faith. At the same time, the destroyed cathedral, which the author describes in his work, is associated with the collapse of a mighty power. However, the poet emphasizes that Rus' is not dead, it is simply “sleeping,” waiting for better times, when new generations can revive its former power and glory.
Despite the fact that this poem was written 10 years after the end of the Great Patriotic War, the victory of which the Soviet Union can rightfully be proud of, Nikolai Rubtsov still believes that this is a merit of that old Rus', the way of thinking and education that was instilled future defenders of the homeland from birth. The patriotism of Soviet citizens, according to the poet, “was nourished by the image of freedom that always flashed ahead.” And it is precisely this love of freedom, the author believes, that is an integral part of the Russian faith, which has not yet been completely destroyed and trampled.
Looking at the ruins of the old cathedral, Nikolai Rubtsov believes that someday the moment will come when the temple will be restored. Moreover, not as an architectural monument, but as a refuge for the rebellious Slavic soul, which, having lost faith, has lost many virtues. Therefore, the poet notes: “And yet from the pass I hear how it blows here, how Rus' lived.” The author emphasizes that, despite the global changes in society that occurred after the revolution, the Russian village still lives its measured life, the old traditions and customs are still preserved here. “The guys here get along with the stirrups just as cheerfully and powerfully,” notes Nikolai Rubtsov, although the second half of the 20th century is rightfully considered the era of modernization and technical progress. The restrained Russian nature has not changed either, so in the villages “in the evenings the body is as clear as in those old days.” This means that history can be turned back and people can be given back what they lost against their own wishes.
From the bridge there is a road going uphill.
And on the mountain - what sadness! -
The ruins of the cathedral lie
It’s as if the old Rus' is sleeping.
Former Rus'! Wasn't it in those years
Our day is like it’s on our chest,
Was nourished by the image of freedom,
Always flashing ahead!
What a joyful life
I burned out and moved away!
And yet I hear from the pass,
How it blows here, how Rus' lived.
Still as fun and powerful
Here the guys get along stirrups,
It's warm and clear in the evenings,
Just like in those old days...
Analysis of the poem “In the Evenings” by Rubtsov
“In the Evenings” by Nikolai Mikhailovich Rubtsov - a look into the depths of centuries, into the history of Russia, a reflection on continuity.
The poem was written in 1964. Its author is 28 years old, he studies at the Literary Institute, speaks on the radio and publishes several collections of his poems in famous literary magazines. He is the father of a young daughter. In the summer, after troubles associated with his expulsion from the institute (he was later reinstated), the poet came to his native Nikolskoye. By genre - landscape lyrics, elegy, duma, by size - iambic with cross rhyme, 4 stanzas. Except for one, all rhymes are open. The lyrical hero is the author himself. The intonation is excited, nostalgic. Four exclamations and one ellipsis. The main image is Rus'. The poet insists on spelling the name of the country this way. He surveys Russian history, not on a large scale, without details, through the prism of the life of rural residents. The sketch is almost photographic. In the village, a church in honor of St. Nicholas was destroyed, and a bakery was built next to one wall. Already in the first quatrain, the poet clearly expresses his position: what sadness! This exclamation refers to the “ruins of the cathedral” on the mountain. He calls them sleeping Russia (still not dead, but capable of resurrection). Compositional junction: former Rus'. One feels that it is both pleasant and painful for the hero to talk about this. “The image of freedom always flashing ahead”: there is some sad irony here. Indeed, many times it seemed that such alluring freedom was close and promised so much to everyone, but it always remained ahead, in the beautiful “tomorrow”. “I rejoiced, grieved, moved away”: a series of sublime prefixed verbs are intended to convey the poet’s feelings towards historical Russia. He tries to look objectively and not embellish the past. Only he cannot, and does not want to, drive away the thoughts, as well as the melancholy, and the desire to sort it out, understand, bring him closer. “I hear from the pass”: the Russian land is still the same, the nature is unchanged, and sometimes even the people here are almost like the peasants of past centuries. “Guys get along stirrups”: a timeless male activity. Even the weather is pleasantly warm, and it seems that bells are about to ring over the area. Inversion: there is a road, there are ruins. Epithets: former (this is also a lexical repetition), cheerful and powerful. Metaphor: it blows here. Finally, in the final quatrain, a phrase appears that gives the name to the entire poem.
The work “In the Evenings” by N. Rubtsov is one of the peaks of elegiac, patriotic lyrics of the 20th century.
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The works of the wonderful Russian poet Nikolai Mikhailovich Rubtsov emanate amazing purity, strength and freshness of feeling, depth of emotional experience. Whatever he wrote about, he always sought to obey not only reason, but also feeling. Perhaps even feeling - to a greater extent, because, as the poet wrote in his poem "In the Evenings"
The ruins of the cathedral lie
It’s as if the old Russia was sleeping. Nikolai Rubtsov wrote with feeling, wrote with his heart, his very soul.
The harmony of the motive in Rubtsov’s poems is amazing. Reading his works, you never tire of being amazed at how obedient the words are to the author, how naturally they form lines, and the lines smoothly flow into one another. No matter what Nikolai Rubtsov writes about, there is unique harmony, strength, and beauty in everything. His poems show the beauty of Russian nature, sincere love for the motherland, and the rich and varied inner life of a person. They also contain a biography of the poet himself.
Still as fun and powerful
Here the guys get along stirrups,
It's warm and clear in the evenings,
Like in those old days... it’s as if he remembers his past.
35-37 years is a fatal age for many Russian poets. Why? It's hard to say, but for some reason it is so. It also became tragic for Nikolai Rubtsov.
Biography
To understand why and on what topics Nikolai Rubtsov wrote, one must think about how difficult his life was: unsmooth, uneven, all in tossing and searching. When Kolya was 6 years old, his mother died, and then his father was taken to the front. The boy ended up in an orphanage. He was a soft and shy child. The father returned from the front alive and did not take any children - he had a new family. Another scar in my soul. There will be many of them later. The surname is symbolic to some extent: they cut him to the quick. Nikolai, having graduated from the seven-year school, never received another education, although he tried to study at a variety of educational institutions, from the Forestry College to the Literary Institute. He started publishing. Readers liked his poetry, but he received almost no support from his colleagues - they saw him as having average abilities. This is confirmed by one of the later poems that Nikolai Rubtsov wrote, “In the Evenings.” Analysis of the poem speaks of a lyrical perception of the world, but there is no insight into reality. The poet's earlier works are both more lyrical and deep. “My quiet homeland” penetrates the soul, “catches,” as they often say. Meanwhile, life went on. He was expelled from the institute. He and his family went to a village in the Vologda region.
But there was no money, and there was no peace in the family. Nikolai managed to recover at the institute’s correspondence department, and even had to spend the night at train stations. But he was expelled again, and another wandering began. Melancholy set in. This came out in poems. Neither the city nor the village accepted him. He was an outcast. Nikolai considered himself an atheist, but in reality there are no such things. People either believe or simply don't know what they believe. The hope that the ruins of the cathedral will be restored, which Nikolai Rubtsov sees in his late work (“In the Evenings”), is not confirmed by the analysis of the poem, since the work itself calls for a turn back. And life, the way it works, only goes forward. The poet's life was tragically cut short on Epiphany morning, shortly after he turned 35 years old.
Dreamer
The poet begins the poem realistically and at the same time metaphorically. In front of him there is a road up, and on the mountain there is a ruin: the ruins of a holy temple. What does Nikolai Rubtsov (“In the Evenings”) hope for in his work? An analysis of the poem says that it is for the revival of patriarchal Rus'. But Russia, albeit slowly, is gaining momentum, it is urbanizing. This is a worldwide process; it cannot be stopped by any calls or lamentations. Nikolai Rubtsov (“In the Evenings”) dreams of gaining freedom. Analysis of the poem calls this into question. Even the ancient Greeks, the creators of democracy, understood that it does not exist for everyone. It is only for certain people. Freedom only attracts people without giving it to them.
Stanza three
What kind of life does the poet dream of in the third stanza? What did Rus' live in, in his opinion? In reality, if you remember Lermontov, Russia was poor and destitute. Its endless steppes and boundless forests stopped giving birth to heroes. Mikhail Yuryevich's villages are sad huts, not shying away from attempts to decorate them with carved shutters, but poor, thatched. And on holidays - dancing to the talk of drunken men. Simple and true. And the third stanza of Rubtsov is full of perfect idyll. What kind of unprecedented, once exultant life does the landscape that opens up bring to him? It is not clear what kind of life the poet sees before him when he climbs the mountain.
Utopia
This is the fourth stanza. Everything happens in it so smoothly and smoothly that it even takes your breath away. The peace and quiet, which are missing in the poet’s own life, find their way into the poem. Even for Lermontov, the legends of antiquity did not stir up joyful dreams. He saw the realities of life too clearly and did not believe in fairy tales. Another one that appears before the reader is Nikolai Rubtsov’s poem “In the Evenings.” The guys are fiddling with the stirrups. Where do horses come from in our lives, we ask. This is from that fictional Rus' that never existed. But after the sadness with which the work began, there comes an antithesis: everything has become cheerful, warm, and clear. You rejoice for the lyrical hero: he has found an outlet for himself. In the modest northern nature, apparently, he finds an inexplicable charm that takes the weight off his soul.
Subject
In dreams of a popular popular village, as analysis shows, Nikolai Rubtsov (“To Povecheram”) writes his lyrical story. The theme of the poem is unconditional love for the Motherland, for a return to the roots, to the original, but, unfortunately, irrevocable past of Mother Rus'. The elegiac lyricist tenderly and subtly conveys his nostalgia for mythical times. He clearly does not realize that even a newly rebuilt temple will not return splendor and clarity: life moves so vainly and quickly. Christian virtues will not return to life in full. People call “thou shalt not kill” and “thou shalt not steal,” but what else do they remember from the Ten Commandments? Do they reveal the “New Testament”? And will they open? Are they leafing through it? Or is it a museum book that almost no one touches and no one discusses? What traditions could be preserved in a dying village? What will happen to the village in ten to fifteen years? Abandoned houses with boarded-up windows, courtyards overgrown with tall grass, where voices used to be heard, stoves burning, smoke coming from chimneys. The poet prefers not to think about such prospects. This is too hard for the poet’s tender and affectionate soul, sad, but expecting that life, like in a fairy tale, will give everyone joy and happiness.
