It would seem that Mayakovsky's poem "Nate" is only four stanzas, nineteen lines of text, but they can be used to make a full-fledged analysis of a work of art. Let's find out how to do it the right way.
Looking back
Today, when the works of Vladimir Vladimirovich are rightfully considered classics and are included in the school curriculum, we have the right to analyze his texts not only as literary critics, but also as psychologists.
In 1913, when the poem "Nate" was written, Mayakovsky celebrated only his twentieth birthday. His soul, like that of any talented young person, requires action, a reassessment of values by society, seeks to give everyone what they deserve, at least in verse. The poet calls himself violent, wild, which in reality should be considered not so much as physical aggression as verbal, directed against injustice. It is thanks to these qualities that the poet will be appreciated by the new government - not ideal, but new, and therefore sung by Mayakovsky.
Void of the aristocracy
PoetI am convinced that creativity is perceived by a layer of pseudo-aristocracy as a food product. They do not want to perceive the deep meaning and have one intention - to entertain themselves by listening to rhyming phrases. The author decides to speak directly, without hints, and does so throughout the years of work, this is also evident from the analysis of Mayakovsky's poem "Nate".
In the future, he will call himself a "proletarian poet", will sing of the development of technology and the movement of society towards a brighter future, while fighting at the same time with those whose consciousness remained in imperial Russia. Already in early work, this struggle takes on a pronounced character.
Words and syllables
Mayakovsky's poems are a cry, these are words spoken into a shout. He speaks as if hammering nails: it is not for nothing that the whole stanzas of his works are one-word lines, tab-shifted for the reader to perceive rhythm and time.
Mention in the analysis of Mayakovsky's poem "Nate" and the choice of words: "shells of things", "rude Hun", "flabby fat". Is such vocabulary typical of the poet? Why do you think he chose these words and not others?
Pay attention to the phonetic component, rhymes. Mayakovsky often resorts to alliteration - the repetition of the same sets of consonants in different words. Moreover, the poet's manner of rhyming can be formalized in a separate way invented by him. The whole stanza, in his opinion, should look like a single one, and the words in it should be all interconnected not only by meaning, but also by phonetics.
Literary devices
Epithets and metaphors, exaggerations and understatements, aggressive sarcasm that takes the form of an accusation are characteristic of the author's work as a whole. An analysis of Mayakovsky’s poem “Nate” provides examples of an uncompromising attitude towards the listener: “your flabby fat …”, “you … perch, dirty …”, “I will spit in your face …”.
The purpose of such an appeal is not to offend, but to give thought, to tear a person out of the cozy world of consumption of the aesthetics of creativity and show the true meaning of poetry: to raise problems in order to solve them later; to focus the attention of the public on sore spots, thus stepping on an old non-healing corn.
Protection of the poet
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the role of the poet became entertaining. If in the days of Pushkin, whose work Mayakovsky loved and appreciated, the poet occupied a somewhat privileged position in the public consciousness, then on the eve of the revolution he became an instrument of entertainment for the tavern public. The poet decides to get away from trying to revive the prestige of his profession "from a third person" and directly declares to the people listening to him about injustice. I should mention this in my work on the analysis of Mayakovsky's poem "Nate".
Consequences
It is also worth studying a fragment of the poet's biography. How was the studied poem perceived by society? How did the authorities react, and was there any reaction at all? Did the work contribute to the promotion of Mayakovsky's work to the masses and why?
Teachers love it when pupils and students go beyond the required and recommended literature, turning to additional sources. Therefore, it will not be superfluous to show interest when performing the analysis of “Nate” by Mayakovsky, and the teacher will note this by raising the grade or turning a blind eye to minor flaws. Intention is commendable in itself, especially if students are not usually enthusiastic in class.
Conclusion
No matter how radical the proletarian poet's approach to persuading the masses and promoting his point of view on high-profile issues, the fact remains that his work had a significant impact on the formation of both the image of the new government and the futuristic trend in literature. The poem "Nate" by Mayakovsky is one of the first calls to the formation of an important figure in Russian culture, and every student should read his works (at least the most famous ones).
