Samuel Marshak is a famous Soviet poet, screenwriter, playwright, literary critic and translator of Jewish origin. The writer tried himself in various literary genres. Nevertheless, the most popular Marshak brought his books for children. Do you want to learn more about this writer and his work? Welcome to this article!
Samuel Marshak. Biography
The future poet was born on November 3, 1887 in the Russian city of Voronezh. His father was a master at a soap factory, his mother was an ordinary housewife. During 1899-1906, Samuel studied at the Yalta, 3rd St. Petersburg and Ostrogorsk gymnasiums. Marshak wrote his first works in childhood. The love of poetry was instilled in Samuel by his school teacher, who considered the boy to be almost a child prodigy and actively encouraged his literary experiments.
One of Marshak’s poetic notebooks accidentally came to Vladimir Stasov. The famous critic appreciated the work and helped the young talent to move to Petersburg and enter one of the best gymnasiums in the country. Samuel was glad of this opportunity. The boy gnawed science granite tirelessly. Marshak spent all day in the library where Stasov worked.
For many years, Marshak continues his literary work. In addition, he works in various publishing houses. Having gained some weight on the literary scene, Samuel in 1919 publishes his first collection entitled "Satires and Epigrams."
Books for children
Samuel was very fond of children and did not look for souls in them. For this reason, Marshak in 1920 organizes a cultural complex for children. Thus, the writer created one of the first children's theaters in Russia. Marshak even wrote a couple of plays for him. Having filled his hand, the author decided to move from a children's drama to an epic. Samuel begins to write children's tales, and already in 1923 his first poetic books for children were published ("Children in a Cage", "The House that Jack Built", etc.).
Books for children are a huge success. It is for this reason that Samuel continues to write works for the smallest audience. Marshak’s legacy has a huge number of children's poems, which are popular not only in Russia but also abroad.
"Fire" S. Marshak
For his creative activity, Samuel wrote a lot of children's works. But perhaps Marshak’s most famous poem is Fire. This work is a short story about the dangers of fire. The author through his work tries to show the children the whole danger of this element. In addition, the “Fire” Marshak puts on the podium brave fighters with fire, who are willing to sacrifice their own health and life for others.
Samuel Marshak, "Fire." Analysis of the work
The first thing that catches your eye when reading is a clear and consistent composition. "Fire" Marshak can be divided into several parts. In the first one, the reader gets acquainted with the sentinel fire department, which "around the clock" observed, "whether the smoke is visible." After this, the second part begins, in which the fire still managed to get out of the stove. And now the elements are rampage in the apartment of little Helen. The third part tells the reader about the instant reaction of firefighters to events and their selfless struggle with fire. Moreover, it is worth noting that the poem is written in such a way that each part is completely self-sufficient and complete.
Also, one cannot fail to note the dynamism of the narrative. Samuel Marshak believed that children love movement, events. It is for this reason that the events in the poem "Marshak's Fire" develop very quickly and even intensely: a small light just got out of the stove, and after a moment the flame was raging in the apartment. We were immediately transferred to the fire department, where brave fighters with fire, without losing a second, rush to the rescue. In order to achieve dynamism, Marshak uses verbs. It is on them that the whole semantic load falls.
In addition, it is worth paying attention to one of the main characters - the fireman Kuzma. The poet portrays him as a brave and strong young man, a real hero. Nevertheless, Kuzma does not boast of his exploits and in general is a pretty modest guy. For him, the main thing in life is the fact that "he did not work for nothing."
Marshak's “Fire” is a true diamond of children's literature. It is for this reason, if your child is still not familiar with the work of this writer, this must be corrected.