Boris Pasternak (1890-1960) - a famous poet of the twentieth century. The first books of the Russian poet appeared in the 1910s (the end of the Silver Age of Russian poetry). The author is characterized by paradoxical perception of the world, philosophical. Pasternak often uses a pun in his works. Almost in every poem of his there is a feeling of shock from the world around him, his beauty, attention to even the smallest natural details and the conviction that everything makes up a single, spiritualized whole ...
It was not easy to select poems and works for this list - after all, there are about 500 poems, and I would like to recommend reading more than what is presented here. But we tried to select some of Pasternak's most famous works so that you would know about them.
10. February. Get ink and cry!
The poem "February. Get ink and cry!"B. Pasternak wrote in 1912, but he remade his brainchild several times, returning to his lines at different stages of his life.
In 2013, the poem was published along with the other five works of young Pasternak in a collection entitled “Lyrics”.
In his poem, the author shows the simultaneous awakening of nature and the human soul, which generates poetry. Spring is coming and nature is being renewed, and the human soul follows it. This is the main idea invested by the author in the poem.
During the writing of “February” B. Pasternak was fond of the aesthetics of symbolism, which was reflected in the desired work.
9. Being famous is ugly
The poem of the poet Pasternak "Being famous is ugly"Was written in 1956. Then the author made numerous attacks from the press, and he was not pleased with fame.
With his poem, he warns posterity: when you observe someone’s fame from the side, it seems beautiful, but in fact it is disgusting.
The general theme of the poem: the essence of creativity and the path of a person who is closely connected with him, his mission. In addition, B. Pasternak reflects on life and death (which are always inseparable), on fate, on the goals of creativity in the broadest sense. The main motive of the work is self-knowledge.
8. Date
In 1955, Pasternak completed writing the novel Doctor Zhivago, which includes several poems. Doctor - Yuri Andreevich (the author ascribes poems to his pen, the main character of his book, but putting his own feelings into his mouth.) Among the doctor’s creative heritage is a work that he called “Date". It is not dedicated to a simple relationship with her lover.
It seems that when you love, this is the most important thing, but in life, feelings do not always prevail over everything else ...
The personal life of Pasternak, like the hero of the novel, is not easy, therefore, the origins of the theme of the poem should be sought in the author’s biography.
7. Winter night
Poem by B. Pasternak "Winter night"Became prophetic. His friends ceased to communicate with Pasternak, and “February” ended in 1988 (at that time “Doctor Zhivago” was first published in the USSR).
The poem is an alloy of love and philosophical lyrics, included in the work "Doctor Zhivago."
When the poem was written is unknown. Researchers believe that the female image in the work is associated with Olga Ivinskaya, which was his last love.
The main idea that can be taken out of the poem is that a person, no matter how hostile the circumstances are, can always soar, find the strength in himself to overcome them. This thought shows the poet’s conviction of creative independence.
6. Hamlet
Boris Pasternak wrote this work at a fairly mature age. It was completely completed in 1946, when the war ended.
The world that surrounds a person is not always favorably disposed towards him. Sometimes dead ends appear on the path of life. Which side to take, if one day you encounter anger and meanness?
The main theme of the poem is "Hamlet"Yuri Zhivago (hero of the novel" Doctor Zhivago "Pasternak) - the choice of a moral position in a world full of evil, cruelty and violence.
A Man, a Person who has absorbed the legacy of all previous eras, as well as a Contemporary who is struggling with the “sleeping” strength of his spirit, inner freedom and creativity, is opening before the readers.
5. In everything I want to walk ...
B. Pasternak wrote the work "In everything I want to go ..."In 1956. It was published after the author died, in 1961 in the collection "When Walking Free." Parsnip spent a lot of time thinking about creativity, trying to find out its formula.
In the sought poem, Pasternak says that the purpose of poetry is to get to the core. Both the lyrical hero and the author would like to find that thread that would give an answer to many exciting questions and help. In the poem, the author considers the components of his work and says that he wants to achieve perfection.
4. Nine hundred and fifth year
The poemNine hundred and fifth year"Was written as a chronicle of the first Russian revolution: Bauman’s funeral," massacre of the crowd, "" Potemkin "uprising, etc.
B. Pasternak wrote in the journal "At a literary post": "The nine hundred and fifth year is not a poem, but simply a chronicle of 1905 in poetic form. " The poem was highly praised by M. Gorky.
It shows the meaning-forming role of infernal motives in a chronicling description of the revolutionary processes that took place in Russia. The author paid special attention to the problem of his Christian understanding of the realities of the spiritual and social life of his generation.
3. Security certificate
«Letter of protection"- B. Pasternak's autobiographical novel, which he finished writing in 1930. In it, the poet sets out his key views on creativity and art.
In “Letter of protection”, the year of the centenary of World War II - it is in this year that the events of the work begin that embody the impending collapse of Russian glory. In the book, Pasternak writes down his impressions of what he saw.
The poet wrote out this “Letter of Protection” for himself, trying to prevent encroachments on his own way of life. The book is very motley, the text moves irregularly, so you can start reading from any page. There is no sequentially developing plot.
2. My sister is life
«My sister is life"Is a collection of poems by Pasternak, written mostly in the spring and summer of 1917 in Moscow.
The book is pretty for the whole of Russian poetry. It was based on the story of the author’s love story for Elena Vinograd. Boris Pasternak himself admitted: "This book is about women».
The composition is subject to the plot of the love drama from the moment the feelings of love were born until they were lost. In "Sister" Pasternak portrays the world as a reflection of human experiences.
1. Dr. Zhivago
B. Pasternak began writing a novel in December 1945. "Doctor Zhivago"- this is the biography of the doctor and poet Yuri Andreevich Zhivago.
Zhivago's biography is deliberately correlated with the tragic history of Russia of the XX century of the first thirty years. The poet’s novel can be called a book that answers the questions: “Why are we like that? “How did we become so?". Which is very reminiscent of the work of Leo Tolstoy, "War and Peace."
According to the author’s own assessment, Doctor Zhivago is his highest achievement. Roman Pasternak was able to embody a sincere story that pierces the soul, a story about the moral experience of the generation to which he belonged, as well as deep thoughts about the historical fate of his homeland.