A. Fet - poem “On a haystack at a southern night...”.
The main theme of the poem is man alone with the universe. However, it is not hostile towards the lyrical hero: the night here is “bright”, welcoming, the “choir of luminaries” is “lively and friendly”. Lyrical hero perceives the world around him not as chaos, but as harmony. Plunging into space, he feels like “the first inhabitant of paradise.” Nature here is in inextricable unity with man. And the hero completely merges with her. Moreover, this movement is mutually directed: “Did I rush towards the midnight abyss, Or did hosts of stars rush towards me?” The poem is filled with personifications: “a choir of lights, alive and friendly,” the earth is “mute,” the night reveals its “face” to the hero. Thus, the poet’s lyrical thought is optimistic: plunging into Space, he experiences confusion, delight, and the joyful feeling of a discoverer of life.
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- on a haystack at night southern analysis
- analysis of the poem on a haystack at night in the south
- on a haystack at night southern analysis of the poem
Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet
On a haystack at night in the south
I lay with my face to the firmament,
And the choir shone, lively and friendly,
Spread all around, trembling.
The earth is like a vague, silent dream,
She flew away unknown
And I, as the first inhabitant of paradise,
One saw the night in the face.
Was I rushing towards the midnight abyss,
Or were hosts of stars rushing towards me?
It seemed as if in a powerful hand
I hung over this abyss.
And with fading and confusion
I measured the depth with my gaze,
In which with every moment I
I'm sinking more and more irrevocably.
The philosophical and meditative mood of the poem of 1857 brings it closer to Tyutchev’s “Dreams”. The lyrical situation is also similar, which immerses the hero in the element of night, revealing to him the secrets of the universe. Both authors create an image of the abyss: in Tyutchev’s version, fiery infinity surrounds the “magic boat” of the lyrical “we,” and people witness a grandiose confrontation between cosmic and chaotic principles. The analyzed work lacks the tragic context characteristic of Tyutchev’s lyrics. What feelings does the unearthly “sleepless darkness” generate in Fetov’s hero?
Appearance key image preceded by a description of the real life situation: the lyrical subject, seated on a haystack, peers into a wide panorama of a clear starry sky. The latter is indicated by the metaphor “choir of luminaries”: both the phrase itself and the adjoining epithets indicate meaningfulness and high degree orderliness of the heavenly landscape.
The hero, who outwardly remains motionless, at the allegorical level experiences a series of changes. Real earthly space becomes unstable and practically disappears. The observer, deprived of his usual support, encounters the unknown “alone.” The state of loneliness and acute novelty of the experience is conveyed by comparison with the “first” and only inhabitant of paradise.
The third stanza continues playing with space. The lyrical subject feels a rapid approach to the “midnight abyss.” The observer records the result of the transformation, but cannot determine how it happened. Without understanding the vague trajectories, a person again focuses on his feelings: it is as if he is hanging over an abyss, held by a fantastic “powerful hand.”
In the final quatrain, rapid movement gives way to a slow descent into infinite depth. The finale does not bring a resolution, leaving the process of immersion of the confused and numb hero at the development stage.
The question of the meaning of the abstract category of the abyss should be considered in connection with the interpretation of the emotions of the lyrical “I”. Involuntary fear is secondary here, and the main reaction is delight: the greatness of the world, revealed as a revelation, delights the beholder. Positive feelings are more clearly expressed in the work “How tender are you, silver night...”, written in the same period. The luxurious landscape, decorated with “diamond dew,” inspires and inspires the soul of the hero-observer.
On a haystack at night in the south
I lay with my face to the firmament,
And the choir shone, lively and friendly,
Spread all around, trembling.The earth is like a vague, silent dream,
She flew away unknown
And I, as the first inhabitant of paradise,
One saw the night in the face.Was I rushing towards the midnight abyss,
Or were hosts of stars rushing towards me?
It seemed as if in a powerful hand
I hung over this abyss.And with fading and confusion
I measured the depth with my gaze,
In which with every moment I
I'm sinking more and more irrevocably.
Analysis of Fet’s poem “On a haystack at a southern night...”
The philosophical and meditative mood of the poem of 1857 brings it closer to Tyutchev’s “Dreams”. The lyrical situation is also similar, which immerses the hero in the element of night, revealing to him the secrets of the universe. Both authors create an image of the abyss: in Tyutchev’s version, fiery infinity surrounds the “magic boat” of the lyrical “we,” and people witness a grandiose confrontation between cosmic and chaotic principles. The analyzed work lacks the tragic context characteristic of Tyutchev’s lyrics. What feelings does the unearthly “sleepless darkness” generate in Fetov’s hero?
The appearance of the key image is preceded by a description of a real life situation: the lyrical subject, seated on a haystack, peers into a wide panorama of a clear starry sky. The latter is indicated by the metaphor “chorus of luminaries”: both the phrase itself and the adjoining epithets indicate the meaningfulness and high degree of orderliness of the celestial landscape.
The hero, who outwardly remains motionless, at the allegorical level experiences a series of changes. Real earthly space becomes unstable and practically disappears. The observer, deprived of his usual support, encounters the unknown “alone.” The state of loneliness and acute novelty of the experience is conveyed by comparison with the “first” and only inhabitant of paradise.
The third stanza continues playing with space. The lyrical subject feels a rapid approach to the “midnight abyss.” The observer records the result of the transformation, but cannot determine how it happened. Without understanding the vague trajectories, a person again focuses on his feelings: it is as if he is hanging over an abyss, held by a fantastic “powerful hand.”
In the final quatrain, rapid movement gives way to a slow descent into infinite depth. The finale does not bring a resolution, leaving the process of immersion of the confused and numb hero at the development stage.
The question of the meaning of the abstract category of the abyss should be considered in connection with the interpretation of the emotions of the lyrical “I”. Involuntary fear is secondary here, and the main reaction is delight: the greatness of the world, revealed as a revelation, delights the beholder. Positive feelings are more clearly expressed in the work “,” written in the same period. The luxurious landscape, decorated with “diamond dew,” inspires and inspires the soul of the hero-observer.
On a haystack at night in the south
I lay with my face to the firmament,
And the choir shone, lively and friendly,
Spread all around, trembling.
The earth is like a vague, silent dream,
She flew away unknown
And I, as the first inhabitant of paradise,
One saw the night in the face.
Was I rushing towards the midnight abyss,
Or were hosts of stars rushing towards me?
It seemed as if in a powerful hand
I hung over this abyss.
And with fading and confusion
I measured the depth with my gaze,
In which with every moment I
I'm sinking more and more irrevocably.
Analysis of the poem “On a Haystack at Southern Night” by Fet
For the first time, the work “On a Haystack at Southern Night” by Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet was published on the pages of the Russian Messenger magazine.
The poem was written in 1857. The poet himself turned 37 at this time, he is the author of several books, married, plans to retire from military service. In size - iambic with cross rhyme, 4 stanzas, in genre - landscape lyrics with a philosophical note. Open and closed rhymes alternate. The lyrical hero is completely autobiographical. Tyutchev's intonation. The vocabulary is sublime. “Face the firmament”: this does not mean the more familiar “earthly firmament,” but the “heavenly firmament.” Both concepts are biblical. “Chorus of luminaries”: this expression hides both stars and planets. Comparing them to a choir is also related to Holy Scripture. From it we know about the rejoicing of the stars, their singing of praise to God. The hero seems to be losing ground under his feet, the laws of nature no longer apply. The earth disappears into outer space. “Unknown”: it is unlikely that it will be possible to find her. “Like the first inhabitant of paradise”: paradise is the highest part of the Earth, now hidden from human eyes. “One saw the night in the face”: the poet recalls the primordial times when Adam was the first person to see all the wonders and beauties of the world. The hero is lost in space, it seems to him that he is moving towards the stars. “In the powerful hand”: insignificant, weak, on the edge of the abyss, madness, he suddenly feels protected and supported. Hand - hand. In this context, again, the hand of God is meant. “Hung over the abyss”: the human mind trembles and bows before the majestic mystery of existence. “Frozen and confused”: an amplification technique in which words with similar meanings appear in a row, enhancing the expression of the work. Metaphor: he measured the depth with his gaze. The hero seemed to have regained the abilities once inherent in Adam. Finally, the ending is an extended metaphor. A person plunges into the “midnight abyss”, drowns in it, and from that incomprehensible depth he is unlikely to return. It remains to add that this dizzying flight is only imaginary for the hero. However, its important consequence remains with the hero forever: the ability to break away from the bustle of the earth, one’s own “I,” and habitual ideas about the world. Comparison: like a dream. Epithets: vague, powerful, friendly. One rhetorical question. Parentesa: the introductory word is “seemed.”
The musicality of A. Fet's lyrics was highly appreciated by P. Tchaikovsky. He repeatedly set his poems to music; the composer’s drafts also included the unfinished romance “On a Haystack at a Southern Night.”
In Fet's poem the main theme is night. This theme is one of the main ones among romantics. However, for Tyutchev, for example, night is something terrible; in M. Lermontov’s poem “I Go Out Alone on the Road” at night the lyrical hero experiences comprehensive sadness. And what does the lyrical hero A. Fet experience at night?
Events take place on the “southern night”. The hero lies on a haystack, he is fascinated by the night sky, for the first time he sees it so mysterious, alive, extraordinary. This description is accompanied by alliteration - a repetition of the consonant sounds “s” and “l”, these are sounds that in Russian poetry always accompany the description of the night, the radiance of the moon.
In this poem, which is typical for Fet, the lyrical plot develops not on the basis of conflict - there is none - but on the basis of intensification, development of feelings. The lyrical plot is based on the motif of flight.
The haystack symbolizes everyday life, from which the hero moves away to the stars, to the sky: “Or rushed towards the midnight abyss, or hosts of stars rushed towards me.” It seems to him as if the earth was “carrying away unknown,” and he was getting closer and closer to the bottomless night sky. The hero feels that something is supporting him, taking care of him. Although the ground has gone from under his feet, he does not feel any danger. It’s as if he is “in a powerful hand” that protects him and takes care of him. This is the feeling of the presence of Divine power. The fourth stanza conveys a different mood. If before this the lyrical hero experienced a feeling of security, care, admiration, now there is a feeling of excitement, excitement with delight. The hero seems to lose his material shell, lightness appears, he drowns in the abyss of the unknown, the mysterious. He is embraced by the depth of the sky, the boundlessness of space.
In this poem, the poetic world comes to the fore. It is beautiful, harmonious (which is emphasized by the use of almost correct iambic, and only in the last stanza sharp increase the number of pyrrhichs reflects the new feeling of the lyrical hero, which we wrote about above), because there is a divine principle in him - the hero feels in the depths of the night the presence of something powerful, supernatural. Therefore, nature is alive, as evidenced by metaphors, personifications, epithets: “a choir of luminaries,” “the earth was carried away,” “hosts of stars rushed.” In this poetic world there is only a lyrical hero and the universe. The lyrical hero contemplates, he is passive in appearance, but his heart trembles at the sight of beauty. The poem is permeated with a feeling of admiration for the world - this is its idea.
The poem reveals the greatness of the divine, that which is unknown and unexplored by man, and makes one think about the universe and the infinity of space. This is the specificity of Fet’s disclosure of the theme of the night.