Summing up the life course, thinking about eternal questions, a dreary expectation of the end of being, conquered by faith in the eternal life of his work - such a tonality pervades the works to which our obhor analysis is devoted. The poem in Turgenev's prose (each of them) is the embodiment of the worldly wisdom of the writer, whose genius allowed us to convey literally in several lines what is embodied in dozens of philosophical treatises.
Borderline genre
This genre, which relates both to prose and poetry, arose in the romantic era as a reaction to the strict aesthetics of classicism. Each poem in Turgenev's prose - "The Pauper", "Russian Language", "Sparrow", etc. - is to some extent based on the works of predecessors: Jules Lefebvre-Demier, Charles Baudelaire and many others. The genre created by the romantics had much more in common with lyric poetry than with prose, due to:
At the same time, such verses did not have a rhyme or even rhythmic organization, which distinguished them from the closest "relatives" in literature - verliber and white verse.
How many Turgenev's “poems in prose” were there?
Turgenev turned to small, one might say, miniature prose already in his late years, after writing such masterpieces as “Notes of the Hunter” and “Fathers and Sons”. This explains the peculiar epithet that the writer endowed with his cycle - "Senile." During the life of the author, only 51 poems were published in the Bulletin of Europe in 1882. The remaining 30 writer failed to prepare, and they came out only in 1930.
The same themes of poems in Turgenev's prose permeate the entire cycle. Motives of old age, love, homeland, loneliness - before us is revealed the world of a person who foresees near death. It colors prose verses in tragic tones. Meanwhile, feelings of loneliness and disappointment are accompanied by a different emotional palette - love for the motherland, the Russian language, which contains the traditions of the people, their worldview.
"Sparrow": love is stronger than death
Let's start the analysis. The poem in Turgenev's prose "Sparrow" ends with lines that have become aphoristic: "Love is stronger than death." The reason for this was the everyday situation: sparrows fell out of the nest due to strong winds. The hunter's dog ran to the chick, as if sensing a game. However, after a moment another sparrow rushed to the ground to protect the fallen congener.
A bold act causes the narrator a sense of reverence. For a brave bird, the dog might seem like a real monster, but some force forces it to leave the safe shelter and face danger. The narrator calls this power the love on which all life rests. Awareness of this even comes to Trezor - and a miracle happens: a dog, which is several times larger than its victim, retreats before love ...
Such themes of poems in Turgenev's prose, like love, her victory over death, have been heard repeatedly. It is also emphasized here that all nature submits to this bright feeling, the whole Universe moves with it.
“Dog”: one and the same life is clinging to each other
The image of rock, death can be called cross-cutting for Turgenev's poems. So, in one of them, death is a disgusting insect that anyone can pierce with its sting. This topic will be further developed by Turgenev. “Dog” (a poem in prose), unlike “Sparrow”, does not have any clear plot. Rather, it comes down to the thoughts of the protagonist sitting in the room with the dog, fleeing from a frantic storm.
In this monologue of the stream of consciousness, tragic notes sound: that a person, that a wordless animal in the face of eternity are the same. Sooner or later, death will strike and extinguish forever the light ignited by someone. “One and the same life shrugs fearfully to another” - this is how Turgenev expresses fear of the inevitable death. "Dog", a poem in prose, is similar to the "Sparrow" statement of certain laws that are characteristic of the universe, and humanity cannot be avoided. However, in the first work such a law is love, and in the second - death.
Man, unlike a dog, is capable of self-awareness. “She doesn’t understand herself,” says the storyteller about a friend in misfortune. But man, as a highly intellectual being, is aware of impending death. This is both his curse and blessing. Punishment is such moments of frustration and fear in the face of impending doom. A blessing is an opportunity, in spite of an inevitable death, to find the meaning of life and change its course depending on the results of this constant search.
Anthem to the Russian language
As analysis has shown, the poem in Turgenev’s prose “Russian Language” opens up another topic of the cycle - patriotic. In a small work (just a few lines), the author put all his pride in the Russian language, absorbing the features of a great nation, which remained unshakable in the days of any trials. That is why it is so important to attend every literature lesson from school. Turgenev creates a poem in prose extremely emotional, and in the "Russian language" this pathos reaches its climax.
Pay attention to the epithets. The author calls the Russian language great, powerful, truthful and free. Each of these definitions has a deep meaning. The Russian language is great and powerful, because it has rich resources for expressing thoughts. True and free - because such is his carrier, the people.
Speech is a phenomenon that is not given from somewhere above, it is created by people who consider it native. The Russian language, multifaceted and beautiful, corresponds to our people, sincere, powerful and freedom-loving.
Instead of a conclusion
As analysis has shown, the poem in Turgenev's prose - each of us examined - belongs to the summit works of Russian literature. Despite their small volume, the author was able to reveal important topics that to this day do not cease to excite humanity.