Poetry Analysis Notes

Poem Analysis: Marina Tsvetaeva

  • The poem was written in 1925 by Marina Tsvetaeva, a significant 20th-century Russian poet.
  • The goal is to analyze the poetry focusing on the rhythm and the ideas instead of of the literal content in Russian.

Rhythm and Associations

  • The rhythm of the poem is not like a march; it's tripartite with three syllables, creating an irregular pace.
  • The rhythm has breaks, violating regularity, akin to a waltz with an extra step.

Focus on Poetry

  • The use of Russian is intentional to shift focus from content and naive translation preoccupation to the poetic elements.
  • Vocabulary isn't just content; it's a layer of expression requiring analysis.

The Prefix "Ras"

  • The prefix "ras" in Russian means "apart" or "in different directions."
  • This prefix emphasizes a sense of breaking and movement apart within the poem.
  • It evokes a feeling of loss or separation, like losing a partner in a waltz.

Translation and Interpretation

  • The English translation attempts to capture the essence of "ras" using words with the prefix "a-" (abreast, afield).
  • The poem explores themes of separation, moving apart, and being split.
  • The question shifts from "What is the poem about?" to "How is the poem about it?"
  • The rhythmic breaks and word choices (axed, split, asunder) reinforce the theme of separation.

Context and Meaning

  • Tsvetaeva's personal history (leaving Russia, separation from friends) adds context to the poem.
  • The poem's repetition evokes the idea of repetition compulsion.
  • Language's ability to describe itself is highlighted, connecting to conformity and the idea that the medium is the message.
  • The form of the poem mirrors and reinforces its content.

Performative Writing

  • Performative writing: The way something is written could also be the message.

September 11 Example

  • The terrorist attack and how the date aligns with the event formally resembles and embodies the event that makes certain people feel and experience a reaction which is either religious or artistic.

Religious vs. Poetic Response

  • Religious reaction: Seeks to minimize chance and randomness, finding meaning and explanation.
  • Poetic response: Commemorates chaotic events, creating meaning and overcoming chaos through art.
  • Art provides a way to cope with and immortalize experiences, turning chaos into something meaningful.

Tragedy and Consolation

  • Rhyme and poetic structure can offer consolation in tragedy by ennobling terrible events.
  • Tragedy elevates events to the level of fate, inevitability, and even beauty.
  • Coping with chaos involves finding patterns, meaning, and a sense of control through art.

Gumilev's Poem

  • Gumilev was executed by the Bolsheviks in 1921.
  • The word being halted to to cities being laid to waste relates that poetry describes the impossibility to describe something.
  • Poetry evokes the impossibility of expressing something.

Language and Poetry

  • Language is best when talking about itself, especially regarding the inability to express something.
  • Poetry, especially in earlier societies, was closely tied to religious and conformist traditions.
  • Verbal art's focus is crucial because language is often used to describe other systems, making the poetic function existential.
  • Poetry constructs reality, not just registers it.

Shakespeare's Sonnet 87

  • Sonnet 87 can be seen as an allegory of translation.
  • Harold Bloom's "The Anxiety of Influence" explores how artists avoid repeating predecessors.
  • The sonnet uses financial terminology (bonds, charter) which could be updated to modern terms.