Analysis of the poem “Dagger” by Bryusov. Analysis of Bryusov's poem "Dagger". A striking example of Russian classicism

The poem “Dagger” by Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov is one of the most discussed in the literary community. It is dated 1903 and was included in the collection “Wreath”. The first decade of the twentieth century is a difficult and even turning point period in the work of the Russian writer. At this time, Bryusov’s gradual departure from the principles of symbolism began to emerge and Valery Yakovlevich began to clearly define his civic position.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, in addition to the collection of poems "Wreath", some of the best books Bryusov: “The Third Watch” -1900, “The City and the World” - 1903, “All Tunes” - 1909. In these publications Bryusov often refers to historical facts, looking in heroic personalities past role models, he is interested in bright and extraordinary actions. The impetus for a new worldview was the events that preceded the first Russian revolution of 1905–1907, and then the battles for freedom themselves.

At this time, Bryusov was in Moscow, so he was an eyewitness to many revolutionary battles. However, they seemed to the poet to be a certain natural disaster, an explosion of elements that sweeps away everything in its path. Such a popular storm was very exciting for Bryusov, but he was little interested in the consequences. Without any sentimentality, Valery Yakovlevich stated this in the poems “The Coming Huns” and “Close Ones”. He is ready to break, but not to build.

This position is indicated somewhat differently in the poem “Dagger,” which is a vivid example civil lyrics Bryusova. In five very capacious and expressive quatrains, Valery Yakovlevich clearly outlined the features of his civic position, tried to answer the eternal question about the role of the poet in society.

It is impossible not to notice that Bryusov’s “Dagger” is associated with Pushkin’s “Dagger” and Lermontov’s programmatic poem “The Poet”. This is very important fact, since more than one generation of Russian society was brought up on the iconic works of two luminaries of Russian poetry.

But Bryusov’s “Dagger” is interesting to us because of the poet’s position, which differs from the civic principles of Pushkin and Lermontov. If the poets of the first half of the 19th century were deeply convinced that their duty was to lead the people, to be standard bearers in all periods of life and creativity, then Bryusov was much more rational in his civic impulses. He sees no point in constant heroism. Valery Yakovlevich at certain moments of his life preferred to go “to the land of silence and graves.” Most likely, he will continue to do so.

One can, of course, reproach the poet for following the crowd and being ready to get into formation only when the trumpets sound invitingly and the banners unfurl. But Bryusov speaks honestly to the reader, does not tear his shirt on his chest and does not try to pretend to be a hero, which he really is not. In this poem, Bryusov openly expresses his position, as he does in other works. He does not strive to appear better than he really is.

Since Valery Bryusov is ready to fight only at special moments, the image of the dagger in this poem is secondary. In three of the five stanzas there is no talk about the blade at all. In them, Bryusov talks about his understanding of the role of the poet in society.

The pathetic vocabulary of the poem is noteworthy. Almost all sentences here sound solemn, formal, as if at a military parade. Such speech is much closer to the classical traditions of Russian versification than to the sound and verbal delights of the Symbolists. It is logical to assume that in “The Dagger” Bryusov deliberately avoids the halftones and hints that were inherent in his early creativity in decadent style. In the poem “Dagger,” everything should be extremely clear to the reader. However, literary templates and cliches are also alien to the master, so Valery Bryusov successfully uses periphrases: “when I saw neither audacity nor strength” or “I went into the land of silence and graves.”

The rhythm of the poem “Dagger” fully corresponds to the poetic preferences of the mature Bryusov, who highly valued the strength and capacity of the lines. Hence its obvious inclination towards syllabic-tonic dimensions. In the first three lines of each stanza the poet used iambic hexameter, and in the final line - iambic tetrameter. This rhythmic structure gives the quatrains of “The Dagger” elasticity and aphorism, which are characteristic of the entire poetic heritage of Valery Yakovlevich. It is not for nothing that many researchers of Bryusov’s work, in particular D. Maksimov, admired the expressive rhythm of his works.

Bryusov's literary path was tortuous, complex and thorny, and his relations with his contemporaries were extremely contradictory. However, the final lines of the poem “Dagger” are permeated with optimism: “And again I am with people, because I am a poet.”

  • “To the Young Poet”, analysis of Bryusov’s poem

Analysis of the poem “Dagger” by Bryusov

Contemporaries noted Bryusov’s abrupt, “barking” manner of reciting his works. Rhythmic associations when reading Bryusov - measured, self-confident movement, precise, measured steps, a steady climb up the steps of poetry. Just reading the poem “Dagger” out loud can help you tune in to the perception of Bryusov’s style system.

the essence and tasks of poetry. In contrast to the vague versatility of the lyrical hero Balmont, Bryusov’s lyrical “I” is endowed with clarity and concreteness of position. This is a self-confident person who does not trust the calls of others, relying on his own mind. He proudly distances himself from the pettiness of the surrounding life, leaving his thoughts into the boundless distance of history. Only a real explosion of social elements, a storm of struggle, the power of passion can bring his muse back to modernity. Bryusov contrasts petty-bourgeois timidity with high heroism, struggle at the limit of possibilities.

The leading principle in Bryusov's poetry is thought. Logics Compositional construction Poems are the logic of substantiation of the original thesis. Even the epigraph turns out to be a kind of additional argument. By using lines from Lermontov’s poem “The Poet,” Bryusov thereby draws on the time-honored tradition of the relationship of art to life. Starting from Lermontov’s image and declaring the kinship of poetic and social creativity (“a song with a storm is forever sisters”), Bryusov’s lyrical hero in the second and third stanzas analyzes the reasons for his own social indifference, the gap between creativity and modern life. A retreat into “mysteriously bygone centuries” and a focus on the past are caused by the absence of modern life creativity- passion, energy, struggle.

But as soon as life begins to be filled with the heroic struggle, Bryusov continues his declaration in the fourth stanza, the singer returns to turbulent modernity. And again, poetry is akin to striking steel - the poet uses symbolism with maximum energy in the final stanza. The thesis about the kinship between poetry and weapons has been proven; it is now cast in an aphoristic ending. The ring of proof closes on the same thing with which the process of poetic reflection began - on the image of the “dagger of poetry.” The persuasiveness of the perfect work is emphasized by reminders “as before”, “again”. The double repetition of the conjunction “then” completes the matter - like the last blows of a hammer on the head of a nail being driven into a board.

“Dagger” - sonorous, solemnly upbeat, close to high oratorical speech. Bryusov stood out in symbolism by appealing not so much to the subconscious of the readers, but to his mind. In this respect, his work inherits the principles of traditional rhetorical poetics. During the period of creative maturity, Bryusov was alien to the art of halftones, shades, and understatements, unlike, for example, Annensky.

The stylistic devices he used were intended to ensure that the reader clearly understood the ideas being expressed. That is why his favorite means is not an associative metaphor, but a decorative Periphrase. Bryusov does not say, for example, “everyone has resigned themselves to violence,” but uses the decorative allegory “everyone bowed their necks silently under the yoke”; instead of “I turned to history,” he will say “I went into the land of silence and graves.” The poet’s attraction to Archaisms and abstract verbal formulas is characteristic: “old days”, “the order of life”, “a songbook of struggle”.

Bryusov's rhetorical style is fully consistent with the rhythm of His verse. He considered conciseness and strength to be the highest virtues of poetry, leaving tenderness and melodiousness, as he admitted, to Balmont. Bryusov’s predilection for classical syllabic-tonic meters is connected with this. In “The Dagger,” the iambic hexameter of the first three verses of each stanza gives the poem elasticity and clarity. In the final - fourth verse of the stanza - the phrase is condensed into an aphorism due to the reduction in the number of feet to four.

always answer the rhetorical problem being solved. Expressive examples of such instrumentation are in the two final stanzas of the poem. The line “But I just heard the cherished call of the trumpet” includes a spectacular alliteration on “z”, supported in adjacent verses by the words “banners” and “response”. In turn, the line “As before, I ran along this faithful steel” gives a precise combination of assonances (on “e” and “a”) with a dotted line of “rumbling” consonants.

It is important that sound writing in no way blurs the semantic definition of words. On the contrary, sound accompaniment makes the stated theses more prominent, even picturesque. In general, the phonetics of the poem provide it with sonority, forced volume - those “pop” qualities that are necessary to capture the attention of the audience.

Analysis of Bryusov’s poem “Dagger”

Bryusov's poem "Dagger" refers to two classical poems- Pushkin’s “Dagger” and Lermontov’s poem “The Poet”. From them, Bryusov’s poem inherits metrication, rhythm, and figurative series.

Pushkin’s poem is less significant for understanding Bryusov’s “Dagger”: Pushkin glorifies the dagger as an instrument of retribution, as a symbol of liberation from tyranny. The image of a dagger is in no way connected here with the idea of ​​a poet, poetry, as in Bryusov’s poem. However poetic tradition, to which Bryusov’s “Dagger” belongs, began precisely with Pushkin’s poem. This is evidenced by the metric of the poem: like Pushkin’s, Bryusov’s poem is written in iambic varimeters. True, in Pushkin the alternation of four-, five-, six- and seven-foot lines is free and is not repeated in different stanzas, while all Bryusov’s stanzas have a pattern of 6-7-6-5; but Pushkin’s poem, permeated with the spirit of freedom, apparently could not have a strict order in the alternation of different lines. Bryusov focuses not on freedom, but on the refinement and impeccability of his gift-weapon.

Lermontov's "Dagger" is used much more actively by Bryusov. The very likening of the poet to a dagger, the opposition of the poet to the crowd, the strict alternation of hexameter lines with male rhymes and pentameter lines with female rhymes (in Bryusov also all lines of 6 feet are odd and have male endings. and lines of 5 and 7 feet are female) - all this unites the poems of Lermontov and Bryusov. But against this general background, the differences are especially clearly visible.

Lermontov speaks of a poet who has forgotten his purpose and is therefore like a decorated but useless dagger with which an idle crowd amuses himself. In Bryusov, the poet himself refused to serve people until he felt the voice of the storm, heard the call of history; he believes that his song is in tune with the coming upheavals, and therefore he is ready to be “with people” again.

In general, Bryusov rather starts from tradition than follows it. Lermontov's "Poet" is structured as an allegory: a pictorial description of the dagger and its fate are interpreted in the second half of the poem. Bryusov’s poem begins not even with a story about a dagger, but with a short mention of “it” - if you don’t read the title, you won’t immediately guess what it’s about - a dagger, a sword, a knife? And then the figure of the poet appears - and an abstract figure; only in the second stanza does the author say that the poet is himself (another difference from Lermontov’s poem: there the author constantly addresses the poet “you”, and we can only guess whether Lermontov means himself).

In three stanzas out of five, we are not talking about the dagger at all, but about how the poet relates to others; and in the stanzas framing the poem, the dagger is an auxiliary image. Bryusov uses textbook poems to create his own drawing against their background.

At the same time, Bryusov seems to be realizing the prophecies contained in the poems of Pushkin and Lermontov. The weapon of vengeance is finally claimed; The “mocked prophet” not only woke up, but also stood at the head of the beginning movement.

Despite the fact that Valery Bryusov was directly related to symbolism, one of his brilliant creations refers to The poem “Dagger” was written in 1903, it is dedicated to Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov and Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin - two great writers who gave their lives to the fight against autocracy, raising in their works issues of freedom, as well as the role of the poet in society.

Bryusov’s “Dagger” allows us to draw a certain parallel with Lermontov’s work of the same name. Valery Yakovlevich used only one metaphor in his work, comparing the blade with a poetic gift. In his opinion, everyone should be fluent in wielding a sharp weapon of retribution. Bryusov believes that the word has a very great influence, the only question is whether the poet himself wants to hone his skills and convey to society hidden meaning verses so that they are understandable and clear.

An analysis of Bryusov’s poem “The Dagger” allows us to see the differences between the worldview of the author and his predecessors - Pushkin and Lermontov. Alexander Sergeevich and Mikhail Yuryevich believed that a poet should write poetry for people, not paying attention to obstacles and misunderstandings. But Valery Yakovlevich thinks that it is pointless to talk about lofty matters if the people are in captivity. The poet cannot change anything until people themselves try to get rid of the burden. The writer must submit to public opinion, and not vice versa.

Valery Yakovlevich understands that he cannot do anything alone. An analysis of Bryusov’s poem “The Dagger” shows that the author assigns the poet the role of an outside observer and reduces any significance of literature to zero. A writer must join the fight when popular unrest begins. Valery Bryusov wrote “Dagger” with faith in change political situation in the country. Many believe that he had the gift of foresight, since two years after composing the poem a revolution occurred.

Valery Yakovlevich predicted a change public information, he clearly decided for himself which side he would speak on. An analysis of Bryusov’s poem “The Dagger” makes it possible to understand that the author admires the work of Lermontov and Pushkin, realizing that their works were more significant for society than his work. Valery Yakovlevich chooses the side of the people, but he himself cannot explain why he does this. Mikhail Yurievich and Alexander Sergeevich were at one time link between different layers of society, but Bryusov himself is not like that.

The poet is not proud of his work, because he is unable to change anything. There is no call to action in the works; the tsarist regime does not pay any attention to them. Bryusov’s poem “Dagger” once again emphasizes that he is a “songwriter of struggle,” while the poet realizes that he lacks the freethinking of Lermontov and the audacity of Pushkin. Valery Yakovlevich is not able to lead the crowd, to become its ideological leader, his fate is to accept the will of the public and dissolve in the gray mass.


Valery Bryusov, a classic of Russian poetry, connected his life with literature very early and went through great creative path. All poetic genres submitted to him: historical-mythological poetry, love lyrics, the theme is natural and civil lyrics.
The author turns to the latter genre in the period of mature creativity, having already become famous poet, having extensive literary experience behind him.
The most famous of Bryusov’s civil lyrics is the poem “Dagger,” written by him in 1903 and which attracted much critical attention.
The main idea of ​​the work is the role of the lyricist, his service to society, his civic position.
Bryusov’s poem begins not with a story about the dagger, but with a short mention of it:
It is torn from its sheath and shines in your eyes,
Just like in the old days, polished and sharp...
And only then does the figure of the lyricist appear, who decided to renounce outside world:
When I saw neither audacity nor strength,
I went to the land of silence and graves,
In centuries of mysterious past...
Next comes the lyricist’s contrast with the crowd, the hero refuses to serve people:
But sometimes I only laughed at the call to fight,
Not believing in timid calls...
And when the voice of the storm approaches, he feels that he must be at the head of the beginning movement:
I shout out to you, I am the songwriter of struggle,
I echo the thunder from the sky...
The author's main literary weapon is addressed to people - the poetic gift.
The main problem that Bryusov raises in the poem is the historical timeliness of the struggle, the premonition of impending changes
Lyrical hero appears already in the first stanza of the poem. But if at first this is an abstract figure, then the author further says that the poet is himself:
The poet is always with people when there is a thunderstorm...
And again I am with people - because I am a poet...
The poem is permeated with the mood of impending historical changes, growing revolution, and patriotic ideas.
The images of the lyricist, the dagger, the people, and the approaching storm are harmoniously combined and reveal civil issue poems.
Bryusov’s “Dagger” was created using numerous epithet (“shamefully petty system”, “burnt banners”, “timid appeals”); vivid metaphors (“the dagger of poetry”, “bloody lightning ran through the light”).
The poet depicted by Bryusov in the poem believes that his song will be heard and is in tune with the coming changes. He is a poet, and he must be with people, he is the “songwriter of struggle” and the inspirer of revolutionary change

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