Mandelstam’s collection of poems “Stone” has long become a classic of Russian poetry of the Silver Age era. Incredibly lyrical works of the poet conquered more than one generation of readers, being an example of the beauty of the syllable and the reference rhythmic sound. Osip Mandelstam, being a man of fine spiritual organization, left his descendants a sensual and romantic heritage, the echoes of which can be heard in the works of many modern poets.
Mandelstam
Osip Emilievich Mandelstam is a unique figure in Russian literature. Over his short life and a very short period of creative activity Osip managed to create many poetic works, he was actively engaged in translations from several languages, journalism. Contemporaries considered Osip Mandelstam a rather serious literary critic and a great connoisseur of art.
Osip Emilievich is considered one of the most famous poets of the early XX century. He was on friendly terms with Marina Tsvetaeva, Nikolai Gumilev, Anna Akhmatova.
Biography
Osip Mandelstam was born on January 15, 1891 in Warsaw, Poland. The family of the future writer belonged to the influential Jewish family of Mandelstam. The poet's father, Emiliy Veniaminovich Mandelstam, had the title of merchant of the first guild, and his mother, Flora Ovseevna Verblovskaya, served as a musician in the conservatory.
In 1897, when Osip was only 6 years old, the family moved to St. Petersburg, where he went through the further period of the future poet’s life until his exile.
early years
In 1907, young Mandelstam became a student of lectures at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of St. Petersburg University, however, after studying for some time, he did not feel a craving for natural and exact sciences, so he decided to pick up the documents.
In 1908, the future star of Russian literature entered the University of Sorbonne, simultaneously listening to courses at the University of Heidelberg. Over the years of training, Osip proved to be a talented writer and a very erudite person, which allowed him to enter the elite circle of communication of future Russian writers.
Among the friends and acquaintances of the poet of that time were Nikolai Gumilev, Vyacheslav Ivanov, with whom he often met, and friends discussed the classics of French and English poetry.
In 1911, the poet's family began to experience great financial difficulties, and Osip had to return to his homeland and continue his studies at the University of St. Petersburg.
Collection of poems
Mandelstam began writing his first poems at a young age, before entering university. The university years, which gave the poet a huge amount of knowledge about the history of art and the theory of literature, made Osip a mature poet. By the time he was forced to complete his studies in Europe, Mandelstam had almost finished work on his first poetry collection, called the Stone. The name turned out to be prophetic - the “Stone” of Mandelstam really became a granite slab in the history of Russian literature, for many years remaining a monument of free poetic creativity, which became an example for subsequent generations of poets.
Writing history
The “stone” of Osip Mandelstam as if reflects the very essence of the poet. Material for the collection was created during the formation of Osip as a person, as a creative individual. The poet’s fragile mental balance was constantly violated by harsh life circumstances, and Mandelstam tried to investigate these circumstances through creative work.
The aesthetics of symbolism in the early works of Mandelstam only emphasizes his abstract perception of the surrounding reality, thanks to which the poet had a unique creative vision.
Content
Mandelstam’s book “Stone” is, in essence, a unique collection representing the reader all facets of the author’s personality and various aspects of his poetic worldview. The collection includes the lyric works of the poet, prosaic miniatures and travel drafts in poetic form, made by Mandelstam during his travels in Europe.
Also, the poet was one of the first in Russian literature to actively use the monologic form of presentation of thought, using the form of presentation in the first person. This gives his work a hint of sincerity, making Mandelstam's works incredibly attractive to the reader.
Landscape lyrics occupies a rather large place in the collection, since it is through the description of the greatness of nature that the poet usually shows human nature, trying to understand the purpose of man, the meaning of his existence.
An analysis of the Mandelstam collection “Stone” shows that there were no forbidden topics for the poet; he found his inspiration in absolutely any topic. The collection contains poems about love, war, music, literature and even sports.
Part one
An analysis of Mandelstam’s “Stone” shows that the collection contains poems in the order they were written. In the first part of his book, the poet included early, lyceum and university works. At that time, Mandelstam shared the literary views of the Symbolist community, so his earlier work almost entirely consisted of symbolic images. The poet’s creative universe is represented by a unique vision of ordinary things, which are given unusual definitions. The poet divides the "earthly world" and "the heavenly world", giving preference to the second.
Mandelstam very seriously reflects on his poetic nature and possible uniqueness, skeptical of the literary gift.
Part two
The second part of Mandelstam’s poems in Kamen turned out to be more serious and philosophically oriented than the first. It is here that the poet firmly shows his maturity as a creative person, his vision of the world.
Contemporaries of the poet believed that the second part of The Stone, despite the more classical structure of versification, is more dramatic and severe. It is here that the poet first comes to comprehend the changes in his life, trying to adapt to the new circumstances of his existence.
Analysis of Mandelstam’s collection “Stone” shows that the second part is characterized by intellectual moods and creative cynicism. The poet is no longer an enthusiastic teenager, but a serious man who has experienced a lot in his short but difficult life.
Publication
The collection “Stone” by Osip Mandelstam was the first officially published book by the author, which included only 23 works written between 1908 and 1913.
A few years later, the poet revised the collection and prepared a revised and supplemented version for publication, which included several poems written in 1914-1915.
At the end of the twenties, the poet made an attempt to publish the third edition of the collection, but for good reasons decided to abandon this idea, preferring to devote his free time to translator activity.
"Stone" withstood several reprints during the life of the poet, providing Mandelstam with immortality in literary circles.
Reviews in the community
Mandelstam's “stone” made a splash in the literary society of Russia at that time. Belonging to the poetic group of Acmeists, the poet was immediately put forward as its leader, becoming a prominent literary figure of the all-Russian scale. Even the representatives of literary movements of a different style, who were in hostile relations with representatives of acmeism, enthusiastically spoke about Mandelstam's poetry.
Writers of that time noted the unique construction of the poem, the presence of a large number of vivid artistic images, as well as unique metaphors. Enthusiastic readers were amazed at what epithets the poet describes his feelings and emotional disturbances.
The collection was instantly sold out by the literary audience of the capital.
Analysis
Even with a superficial analysis of Mandelstam’s collection “Stone”, his uniqueness and literary originality are striking. The poet, being a representative of the Akmeism movement, skillfully combines in his works both the traditional provisions of Acmeism and the elements of symbolism, futurism and even realism.
The main ideology of the “Stone” by Osip Mandelstam is the keywords on the basis of which the writer creates text material. The poet himself called these keywords “signals” and noted that they are precisely the impulse of inspiration that visits the creative person and encourages her to write a work.
In this regard, in "Stone" Mandelstam explores the themes of space and inspiration in conjunction with the theory of realism and rational thinking.
The religious aspect of creativity remains important for the poet: several poems of the collection are devoted to the Christian attitude to death and eternal life.
The philosophical concept of Mandelstam is recognized as unique because of the incredibly organic combination of various literary styles and directions in it, as well as due to the combination of materialistic and theological views of the author, coexisting in harmony.
Criticism
Mandelstam's poetry was critically analyzed during the reign of Soviet power. Then some of the poet's works were recognized as "anti-Soviet", and the author himself was on the list of writers prohibited for publication and any kind of publication. In the works of Osip Mandelstam, Soviet critics saw excessive sensuality and completely unnecessary Soviet man reverie, distracting the proletariat from everyday work and a brighter future.
In Soviet times, the Mandelstam “Stone” was practically never published, and the poet’s work was especially popular among the general readership only in the late eighties, when, along with the well-known works of other banned authors, Osip Mandelstam’s works were reprinted.