Alexander Blok, The Scythians. Analysis of the poem and a summary

This article will present an analysis of the poem "The Scythians", as well as its brief content. It is noteworthy that this is the last work of the poet. More until 1921 (the year of death), he wrote nothing.

History of creation

In a record time, wrote his poem Block. "Scythians" (the analysis is better to start with the history of creation) appeared only two days - on 29 and 30 January. 1918 was marked for the poet by a significant creative upsurge. At the beginning of the year he created The Twelve, then the article "Intelligentsia and Revolution", and in the end - the poem we are considering.

The reason that prompted Blok to write the work was purely political. According to the diary entries of the poet, he closely followed the peace negotiations held in Brest-Litovsk by Soviet power with the Germans. Unexpected disruption caused the writer a storm of emotion and resentment: "... a sordid bourgeois, a German dud ... We looked at you with Aryan eyes while you had a face. And on your face we look at our sly, quick glance; We will throw ourselves off asians, and the East will shed on you ... Are we barbarians? It's good. " This small passage contains the key to understanding the meaning of the poem.

It is also necessary to mention that in 1917 there was a revolution, and the Bolsheviks came to power.

Summary: Beginning

A special place belongs to Russia in its work Block ("Scythians"). Analysis of the poem says that he represented his homeland as a kind of frontier that separated the West and the East, simultaneously defended the first from the attacks of the second and served as the ambassador, establishing relations. That is why Russia deserves to be treated with respect and reverence, but enmity with it can lead to disaster.

In his work, Blok refers to a huge number of interlocutors: "Millions are you." That is, to the entire European world, he urged him to think about the role and value of Russia.

Main part and decoupling

Analysis of the poem "Scythians" by Alexander Blok provides an opportunity to evaluate the work as a warning to the enemies of our country. The poet asks to listen to himself and think about it, he threatens - Russia will find how to respond to the aggressor. However, the conflict can end badly: "... ages will be cursed by the sick later offspring."

Blok is confident that Russia is able to live in peace with all European countries: "We will become brothers." And if there is a world conflict, the updated motherland will simply not take part in it, as it has other interests.

The poem ends with a patriotic appeal: "... Come to your senses, old world." The poet calls on Europe to reconcile and unite, otherwise disaster can not be avoided. In the verse, anti-war intonations sound most clearly.

Block, "Scythians": analysis

The work can be called a revolutionary-patriotic ode. It consists of 12 quatrains, that is 76 lines, written with a multicolored iambic. Literary critics put this poem on a par with such great creations as "Slanderers of Russia" (Pushkin) and "The Last Housewarming" (Lermontov).

The work is a direct reflection of the historical situation in Russia in those years. It was a very terrible and tense time - only the beginning of the formation of a new state, born in the fire of the October Revolution. Undoubtedly, all this was reflected in Blok's poem.

Theme and idea

The Peaceful Bloc remains true to itself. The "Scythians" (the analysis confirms this) call for agreement and peace. Almost every stanza, the poet says that after all the horrors that have been carried out, it's time to sit down at the negotiating table, to join forces.

Russia has already suffered for several previous years, and now it has no desire to get involved in a new war with the Old World. Moreover, the young country has its own plans for the future, and there is no need for it to interfere in other people's squabbling, that's why it will watch out for everything with "slanting eyes".

An analysis of the poem of the Block "Scythians" indicates that the anti-war theme comes to the forefront. Russia identifies the poet with the Scythians and, despite appeals for peace, makes it clear that she has the strength to repel any enemy who dares to set foot on her land: "... we have nothing to lose, and perfidy is available to us." The writer has his own opinion on identity in Russia, he assigns to her one of the fateful roles for the world.

Over the centuries, our homeland, according to the poet, served as a "shield" separating Asia and Europe and preventing their direct clashes. On the one hand, Europe craved the riches of Asian countries, their secrets and mysteries. On the other hand, the Mongolian horde could break into the lands of the Old World and seize them. Only thanks to Russia, which takes the attack, not one side was hurt. Our homeland appears as a peacemaker in this situation. The block highlights the high sacral meaning of the existence of Russia.

The poem is imbued with patriotism. Despite the fact that the poet calls for peace, he does not detract from the strength of his country. On the contrary, he emphasizes that, if necessary, Russia will be able to respond. That's just why to resurrect the horrors of war, which are so fresh in your memory. A thin peace, from Blok's point of view, is better than a good battle.

The middle of the poem is noteworthy. Here the author paints a new motherland in a new way - she appears before the reader with the "wise Sphinx", who, despite the fact that he himself expires with "black blood", is ready to come to the rescue or give advice if necessary. The work ends with a direct humanistic appeal, filled with peace and patriotism.

"Scythians" (Block): analysis of stanzas

Let's analyze a few quatrains:

• In the first poet appeals to European countries. He calls the Russian people Scythians, hinting at the relationship to Russia as a barbaric country.
• In the second, we are talking about how for centuries our country served as a shield.
• In the third, the poet looks back at the prosperous and carefree past of Europe.
• In the fifth there is the theme of conquest - describes the greedy look that the Old World looked at the East.
• The seventh quatrain describes the present: "trouble" is coming, with every day "a lot of insults". But it will not lead to anything good.
• In the eighth, the image of the Russian Sphinx appears for the first time, which looks around "with hatred and with love."

From the poem it becomes clear how much Alexander Blok was worried about the fate of his country and the world. The "Scythians" (the analysis presented in this article) are a kind of soul cry. It's painful for a poet to look at the horror that surrounds him. But he understands that if nothing is changed, it will be much worse.

Evaluation of contemporaries

Analysis of the poem of the Bloc "Scythians" showed how topical this was for its time. However, the reaction of his contemporaries was ambiguous. Many did not like the challenge sounded in the poem, an acute patriotic and civil pathos.

The writer himself spoke about the "Scythians" very coldly, he did not like what they came out. Blok even called them "boring."