Bunin's lyrics occupies a rather significant place in his work, despite the fact that Ivan Alekseevich gained fame primarily as a prose writer. However, Ivan Bunin himself claimed that he was primarily a poet. The path in the literature of this author began precisely with poetry.
It is worth noting that Bunin's lyrics go through all his work and are characteristic not only for the early stage of development of his artistic thought. Bunin's original poems, unique in their artistic style, are difficult to confuse with the works of other authors. This individual style reflects the poet's worldview.
The first poems by Bunin
When Ivan Alekseevich turned 17, his first poem was published in Rodina magazine. It's called "The Village Beggar". In this work, the poet talks about the sad state in which the Russian village was at that time.
From the very beginning of Ivan Alekseevich's literary activity, Bunin's lyrics are characterized by their special style,style and themes. Many of his early poems reflect the state of mind of Ivan Alekseevich, his subtle inner world, rich in shades of feelings. Bunin's quiet clever lyrics of this period resemble a conversation with a close friend. However, she impressed her contemporaries with artistry and high technology. Many critics admired Bunin's poetic gift, the author's skill in the field of language. It should be said that Ivan Alekseevich drew many accurate comparisons and epithets from the works of folk art. Paustovsky highly appreciated Bunin. He said that every line of his is clear, like a string.
In his early work, there are not only Bunin's landscape lyrics. His poems are also devoted to civil themes. He created works about the hard lot of the people, with all his soul he longed for changes for the better. For example, in a poem called "Desolation", the old house tells Ivan Alekseevich that he is waiting for "destruction", "brave voices" and "powerful hands" so that life blooms again "from the dust on the grave".
Leaf fall
The first poetry collection of this author is called "Falling Leaves". He appeared in 1901. This collection included a poem of the same name. Bunin says goodbye to childhood, to his inherent world of dreams. In the poems of the collection, the homeland appears in wonderful pictures of nature. It evokes a sea of emotions and feelings.
In Bunin's landscape lyrics, the image of autumn is most often found. It was with him that his creativity began.like a poet. This image until the end of his life will illuminate the poems of Ivan Alekseevich with his golden radiance. Autumn in the poem "Falling Leaves" "comes to life": the forest smells of pine and oak, which dried up during the summer from the sun, and autumn enters its "terem" "quiet widow".
Blok noted that few people know how to know and love their native nature like Bunin. He also added that Ivan Alekseevich claims to occupy one of the central places in Russian poetry. A distinctive feature of both the lyrics and prose of Ivan Bunin was the rich artistic perception of native nature, the world, as well as the person in it. Gorky compared this poet in terms of skill in creating a landscape with Levitan himself. Yes, and many other writers and critics liked Bunin's lyrics, its philosophy, conciseness and sophistication.
Adherence to poetic tradition
Ivan Alekseevich lived and worked at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. At this time, various modernist movements were actively developing in poetry. Word creation was in vogue, many authors were engaged in it. To express their feelings and thoughts, they were looking for very unusual forms, which sometimes shocked readers. However, Ivan Bunin adhered to the classical traditions of Russian poetry, which Tyutchev, Fet, Polonsky, Baratynsky and others developed in their work. Ivan Alekseevich created realistic lyrical poems and did not at all strive for modernist experiments with the word. The poet was quite satisfied with the events of reality and the riches of the Russian language. The main motifs of Bunin's lyrics remain generally traditional.
Ghosts
Bunin is a classic. This author absorbed into his work all the great we alth of Russian poetry of the 19th century. Bunin often emphasizes this continuity in form and content. So, in the poem "Ghosts" Ivan Alekseevich defiantly declares to the reader: "No, the dead have not died for us!" For the poet, vigilance for ghosts means devotion to the departed. However, the same work testifies that Bunin is sensitive to the latest phenomena in Russian poetry. In addition, he is interested in poetic interpretations of the myth, everything subconscious, irrational, sad and musical. It is from here that the images of harps, ghosts, dormant sounds, as well as a special melody akin to Balmont.
Transformation of landscape lyrics into philosophical one
Bunin in his poems tried to find the meaning of human life, the harmony of the world. He affirmed the wisdom and eternity of nature, which he considered an inexhaustible source of beauty. These are the main motifs of Bunin's lyrics, passing through all his work. Ivan Alekseevich always shows human life in the context of nature. The poet was sure that all living things are reasonable. He argued that one cannot speak of nature separate from us. After all, any, even the most insignificant movement of air is the movement of our life.
Gradually, Bunin's landscape lyrics, the features of which we have noted, are turning into philosophical ones. For the author in the poem now the main thing is thought. Many of Ivan Alekseevich's works are devoted to the theme of life and death. Bunin's philosophical lyrics are thematically very diverse. His poems, however, are often difficult to fit into the framework of any one topic. This should be said separately.
Thematic facets of poems
Speaking about the lyrics of Ivan Alekseevich, it is difficult to clearly define the themes of his poetry, since it is a combination of various thematic facets. The following faces can be distinguished:
- poems about life,
- about her joy,
- about childhood and youth,
- about longing,
- about loneliness.
That is, Ivan Alekseevich wrote in general about a person, about what touches him.
"Evening" and "The Sky Opened"
One of these facets are poems about the world of man and the world of nature. So, "Evening" is a work written in the form of a classic sonnet. Both Pushkin and Shakespeare have philosophical and love sonnets. Bunin, in this genre, sang the world of nature and the world of man. Ivan Alekseevich wrote that we always only remember happiness, but it is everywhere. Perhaps this is the "autumn garden behind the barn" and clean air pouring through the window.
People are not always able to look at familiar things with an unusual look. We often simply do not notice them, and happiness eludes us. However, neither bird nor cloud escapes the poet's keen eye. It is these simple things that bring happiness. Its formula is expressed in the last line of this work: "I seehear happy. All in me".
This poem is dominated by the image of the sky. This image is connected, in particular, with the assertion of the eternity of nature in Bunin's lyrics. He is the leitmotif in all the poetic work of Ivan Alekseevich. The sky represents life, because it is eternal and extraordinary. His image is depicted, for example, in the verse "The sky opened up." Here it is the center of reflection on life. However, the image of the sky is closely connected with other images - light, day, birch. All of them seem to illuminate the work, and the birch gives the verse a white satin light.
Reflection of modernity in Bunin's lyrics
It is noteworthy that when the revolution had already begun in Russia, its processes were not reflected in the poetic work of Ivan Alekseevich. He remained true to the philosophical theme. It was more important for the poet to know not what was happening, but why it was happening to a person.
Ivan Alekseevich correlated modern problems with eternal concepts - life and death, good and evil. Trying to find the truth, he turned in his work to the history of various peoples and countries. So there were poems about ancient deities, Buddha, Mohammed.
It was therefore important to understand the general laws by which an individual and society as a whole develop. He recognized that our life on earth is only a segment of the eternal existence of the Universe. From here appear the motives of fate and loneliness. Ivan Alekseevich foresaw the coming catastrophe of the revolution. He thought it was the greatest misfortune.
Ivan Bunin sought to look beyondreality. He was interested in the mystery of death, the breath of which can be felt in many of the poems of this author. The destruction of the nobility as a class, the impoverishment of the landowners' estates, made him feel doomed. However, despite the pessimism, Ivan Alekseevich saw a way out, which is the merging of man with nature, in its eternal beauty and peace.
Bunin's lyrics are very versatile. Briefly, within the framework of one article, only its main features can be noted, only a few examples can be given. Let's say a few words about the love lyrics of this author. She is also quite interesting.
Love lyrics
In Bunin's works, the theme of love is one of the most frequently encountered. Ivan Alekseevich often sang this feeling both in verse and in prose. The poetry of love by this author anticipates Bunin's famous cycle of stories "Dark Alleys".
Poems dedicated to this theme reflect various shades of love feelings. For example, the work "The sadness of shining and black eyelashes …" is filled with the sadness of saying goodbye to your beloved.
The sadness of eyelashes shining and black…
This poem consists of two stanzas. In the first of them, the author recalls his beloved, whose image still lives in his soul, in his eyes. However, the lyrical hero bitterly realizes that his youth has passed, and his former lover can no longer be returned. His tenderness in the description of the girl is emphasized by various means of expression, such as metaphors ("sadness of eyelashes", "fire of the eyes", "diamonds of tears") and epithets("heavenly eyes", "rebellious tears", "shining eyelashes").
In the second stanza of the poem, the lyrical hero thinks about why his beloved still comes to him in a dream, and also recalls the delight of meeting this girl. These reflections are expressed in the work by rhetorical questions, which, as you know, should not be answered.
What lies ahead?
Another love poem - "What lies ahead?" It is filled with an atmosphere of calm and happiness. To the question "What lies ahead?" the author replies: "Happy long journey." The lyrical hero understands that happiness awaits him with his beloved. However, he sadly thinks about the past, does not want to let him go.
Bunin's lyrics: features
In conclusion, we list the main features that are characteristic of Bunin's lyrical poetry. This is the brightness of details, the desire for descriptive detail, laconism, classical simplicity, poeticization of eternal values, especially native nature. In addition, the work of this author is characterized by a constant appeal to symbolism, a we alth of subtext, a close connection with Russian prose and poetry, and a gravitation towards the philosophical. He often echoes his own stories.
