The text of the song Yesenin is a letter to a woman. "Letter to a Woman": How did one of the most famous poems of Sergei Yesenin appear

Big is seen from a distance.
When the sea surface boils -
The ship is in a sorry state.
Earth is a ship!
But suddenly someone
For new life, new glory
In the midst of storms and blizzards
He directed it majestically.

Well, which of us is big on deck
Didn't fall, vomit, or swear?
They are few, with an experienced soul,
Who remained strong in pitching.

Then I too
Under the wild noise
But maturely knowing the work,
Went down into the ship's hold,
To avoid watching human vomit.

That hold was -
Russian kabak.
And I bent over the glass
So that, without suffering for anyone,
destroy yourself
In a frenzy drunk.

Darling!
I tortured you
you had longing
In the eyes of the weary
What am I showing to you
He wasted himself in scandals.
But you didn't know
What's in the smoke
In a life torn apart by a storm
That's why I suffer
What I don't understand
Where the rock of events takes us...

Now the years have passed.
I'm at a different age.
I feel and think differently.
And I say over the festive wine:
Praise and glory to the helmsman!
Today I
In the midst of tender feelings.
I remembered your sad tiredness.
And now
I'm rushing to let you know
What was I
And what happened to me!

Darling!
Nice to say to me:
I avoided falling off the cliff.
Now in the Soviet side
I am the most furious fellow traveler.
I became not the one
Who was then.
I wouldn't torment you
As it was before.
For the banner of liberty
And bright work
Ready to go even to the English Channel.
Forgive me...
I know you are not the one
Do you live
With a serious, intelligent husband;
That you do not need our maeta,
And I myself to you
Not a bit needed.
Live like this
How the star guides you
Under the tabernacle of the renewed canopy.
Greetings,
always remembering you
Your friend
Sergey Yesenin.

Analysis of the poem "Letter to a Woman" Yesenin

A large place in Yesenin's work is occupied by love lyrics. The poet repeatedly fell in love and gave himself to each new novel with all his heart. His whole life became a search for a female ideal, which he could not find. The poem "Letter to a Woman" is dedicated to the poet's first wife, Z. Reich.

The wedding of Yesenin and Reich took place in 1917, but their family life did not work out. The wide creative nature of the poet demanded new impressions. Yesenin was worried about the grandiose changes in the country. The turbulent city life attracted the young author. He was famous and already had ardent admirers of his talent. Yesenin increasingly spends time in the company of friends and gradually becomes addicted to alcohol. Of course, this led to frequent scandals with his wife. In a drunken stupor, Yesenin could raise his hand to her. In the morning he begged for forgiveness on his knees. But in the evening everything was repeated all over again. The break was inevitable.

"Letter to a Woman" was written in 1924, much later than the breakup of the family. It is the poet's justification in front of the woman he once loved. In it, Yesenin admits his mistakes, but at the same time reproaches Reich for not understanding the state of his soul. Yesenin's main accusation, "you did not love me," is based on the fact that a loving woman was obliged to understand and forgive the poet, who was entangled in life, and not to make scandals for him. Yesenin claims that in the conditions of the formation of a new government, he felt like a "horse driven in soap." He compares Russia with a ship caught in a severe storm. Seeing no hope for salvation, the poet descends into the hold, which symbolizes the Russian tavern, in an attempt to drown out despair with wine.

Yesenin admits that he caused suffering to his wife, but he himself suffered, not understanding what Russia would finally come to.

The poet connects his transformation with the firm establishment of Soviet power. It is unlikely that he is extremely sincere when he speaks of his unconditional support for the new regime. Yesenin was officially criticized for his commitment to the old Russia. The change in his views is connected, rather, with the acquired experience. The matured poet asks his ex-wife for forgiveness. He really feels sorry for the past. Everything could have turned out differently.

The poem ends with an optimistic ending. Yesenin is glad that Reich was able to arrange her personal life. He wishes her happiness and reminds her that he will never forget the happy moments together.

According to literary critics and admirers of Sergei Yesenin's work, the poem "Letter to a Woman" is at the top of the list of lyrical works, since the work literally touches the soul. The lines are written in the form of a letter addressed to a woman. In it, the author describes the moment of parting and gives an explanation why the relationship between them did not work out. There is also a place for a vision of the world, where, according to the plot, the Earth is presented in the form of a ship sailing on a stormy sea.

To whom is dedicated

The debate about who this poem is dedicated to does not subside until now, the author did not openly say who the heroine of the lines is. Meanwhile, with a high degree of probability, we can say that Yesenin dedicated the poem, since she left the biggest mark in his heart in recent years.

And something sharp
They threw it in my face.

The poem begins with a scene where a quarrel occurs between lovers. The woman excitedly walks around the room and says something sharp, literally, throws it in the face of the hero. She repeats and repeats that she is tired of such a life, that it is time for her to get down to business, and the only way for the hero is to roll down. In this scene, the character of Isadora Duncan is clearly visible, few other women could speak to Sergey like that.

What Yesenin hides between the lines

The analysis of the verse will not be complete if we do not look between the lines, where the author often hides the most valuable. The phrase is repeated several times in the poem:

Where the rock of events takes us.

This is not accidental, since the work subtly intertwines the personal and the public, love and revolution, white and red. The author writes that the love for a woman came at a high cost to him, since he looks like a driven horse, which is spurred on by a “brave rider”. A revolution is visible in the rider, not for nothing that the Soviet government tried to make another mouthpiece out of a poem. To do this, the necessary phrases were pulled out of the verse, and the rest was sent to the dustbin of history.

When the sea surface boils -
Earth is a ship!
But suddenly someone
For new life, new glory
In the midst of storms and blizzards
He directed it majestically.

It is easy to see here that Yesenin sees that the Soviet government is taking control of the earth-ship, and only in this way can he emerge whole from the storm of world capitalism. A small reference to world issues does not allow us to appreciate how much Yesenin himself believes in him, but parts of the poem written in the notes of vulgarism make it possible to better understand him.

The author writes that on the ship-land during a storm it is bad on deck for those who have no experience. Those who are experienced in pitching remain strong, the rest vomit from the excitement of the sea. Under the rest, Yesenin sees himself. He descends from the deck into the hold so as not to see human vomit, and there is a tavern in the hold.

Went down into the ship's hold,

An excellent description of his weaknesses - the poet did not go to taverns, but simply leaves the deck down and ended up in the temple of the green serpent.

That hold was -
Russian kabak.
And I bent over the glass
So that, without suffering for anyone,
destroy yourself
In a frenzy drunk.

Where the rock of events takes us.

For the second time, she switches the arrows on the road of the poem from the personal to the public. Sergei writes that he does not understand where the fate of events is taking him and suffers because of this, looking for a way out in the three elements - love, poetry and a tavern.

The Soviet government often pulled out the line from the work:

Praise and glory to the helmsman.

It is clear who was meant by the helmsman, and the rest, for example, uncertainty about the future and justice today, was covered with a curtain of oblivion. Also, the lines often stuck out:

Now in the Soviet side
I am the most furious fellow traveler.

But what did Yesenin mean by the word "furious"? He didn't write "devotee." Literally right after this:

For the banner of liberty
And bright work
Ready to go even to the English Channel.

Let's emphasize for the banner of liberty, this is a bit different from the direction the Soviet government was leading. This is closer to Imagism.

The poem ends with another appeal to the lady. He writes that he asks for forgiveness and lets her go. Let her live with a smart, serious husband, and he, as he was, will remain Yesenin with all his weaknesses and romanticism.

The penultimate line puts an end to the relationship:

Your acquaintance.

This is the finale, everything has been said, forgiveness has been asked for and the woman has been set free from her heart.

The text of the poem

Well, which of us is big on deck
Didn't fall, vomit, or swear?
They are few, with an experienced soul,
Who remained strong in pitching.

Then I too
Under the wild noise
But maturely knowing the work,
Went down into the ship's hold,
To avoid watching human vomit.

That hold was -
Russian kabak.
And I bent over the glass
So that, without suffering for anyone,
destroy yourself
In a frenzy drunk.

"Letter to a woman" Sergei Yesenin wrote in 1924. This is one of the author's most famous lyric poems. In the poem, Yesenin refers to his ex-wife, Zinaida Reich, whom the poet abandoned when she was carrying his second child. He quit, for the sake of an affair on the side, spun in a drunken frenzy.

It would seem that a scoundrel, a scoundrel - such a betrayal is unthinkable to survive! Yesenin, of course, was not going to leave the family, but it was Reich who insisted on breaking up, who could not forgive the betrayal. But, at the same time, she reacted so painfully to the betrayal of her adored husband that she had to undergo treatment in a psychiatric clinic after. Her love was too strong. Reich's love was not at all like Yesenin's love. The woman's love was huge, and heavy, like an ancient stone vase filled with water. It was impossible to lift her and quench her thirst. one could only kneel down to drink this moisture and stay next to it for the rest of one's life, because you can't take it on your journey, on your life's journey. Irresistible love! Love is shackles. Such, over time, burns out everything that is alive in the soul, and after that nothing else grows in this desert. Is big love good? If you can’t take her with you, but you can only stay with her forever and depend on her? And Yesenin's love was light and heady, like a glass of affordable wine. It did not quench thirst, but briefly plunged into a feeling of euphoria.

So why did Yesenin decide to talk in a poem with Reich? They caused each other a lot of pain, not because they were bad people. And just because they were human. Yesenin in this poem finally releases her, her former beloved, and says that the suffering has ended. He will no longer torment her with reproaches. He will no longer disturb her heart with memories and will not blame her for breaking up the relationship. It is very important to say that you are guilty. After all, if you do not ask for forgiveness, the pain will drag on all your life, even if your paths with the person have diverged forever. Yesenin with this poem asks for forgiveness, forgives himself and lets go of the pain of love killed by their own hands. What could be more inevitable than loneliness? Only choice. And the outcome...

The text of the poem can be read in full on our website online.

Do you remember,
Of course, you all remember
How I stood
Approaching the wall
You excitedly walked around the room
And something sharp
They threw it in my face.

You said:
It's time for us to part
What tormented you
My crazy life
That it's time for you to get down to business,
And my lot -
Roll on, down.

Darling!
You didn't love me.
You did not know that in the host of people
I was like a horse driven in soap
Spurred by a brave rider.

You didn't know
That I'm in solid smoke
In a life torn apart by a storm
That's why I'm tormented that I don't understand -
Where the rock of events takes us.

Face to face
Can't see faces.
Big is seen from a distance.
When the sea surface boils,
The ship is in a sorry state.

Earth is a ship!
But suddenly someone
For new life, new glory
In the midst of storms and blizzards
He directed it majestically.

Well, which of us is big on deck
Didn't fall, vomit, or swear?
They are few, with an experienced soul,
Who remained strong in pitching.

Then I too
Under the wild noise
But maturely knowing the work,
Went down into the ship's hold,
To avoid watching human vomit.
That hold was -
Russian kabak.
And I bent over the glass
So that, without suffering for anyone,
destroy yourself
In a frenzy drunk.

Darling!
I tortured you
you had longing
In the eyes of the weary
What am I showing to you
He wasted himself in scandals.

But you didn't know
What's in the smoke
In a life torn apart by a storm
That's why I suffer
What I don't understand
Where the rock of events takes us...
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Now the years have passed
I'm at a different age.
I feel and think differently.
And I say over the festive wine:
Praise and glory to the helmsman!

Today I
In the midst of tender feelings.
I remembered your sad tiredness.
And now
I'm rushing to let you know
What was I
And what happened to me!

Darling!
Nice to say to me:
I avoided falling off the cliff.
Now in the Soviet side
I am the most furious fellow traveler.

I became not the one
Who was then.
I wouldn't torment you
As it was before.
For the banner of liberty
And bright work
Ready to go even to the English Channel.

Forgive me...
I know you are not the one
Do you live
With a serious, intelligent husband;
That you do not need our maeta,
And I myself to you
Not a bit needed.

Live like this
How the star guides you
Under the tabernacle of the renewed canopy.
Greetings,
always remembering you
Your friend
Sergey Yesenin.

Literary critics attribute this message to a completely new round in the work of Sergei Yesenin, when he rethinks his views on life and the future of the country. Turning to a woman, the poet reflects on the future of both his own and the country. And these lines are addressed to the only real wife of Yesenin, from whom he asks for forgiveness ...

A touching poem by Sergei Yesenin "Letter to a Woman" is dedicated to his wife Zinaida Reich. The poet left her, succumbing to a fleeting passion when she was expecting her second child. The divorce knocked the woman down, and she was treated in a mental hospital for a long time. And only in 1922, Zinaida Reich married director Vsevolod Meyerhold. It was he who took responsibility for Yesenin's children.

However, Yesenin himself accused his wife of divorce, arguing that it was she who insisted on breaking off relations. According to the poet's friends, he never forgave Zinaida, because she lied to him, said that before the wedding she had no ties with men. Because of this lie, he could not trust her.

But one way or another, in 1924, Yesenin is visited by repentance, and he asks for forgiveness from his ex-wife in poetic lines ...

And in 1924 he writes a famous poem in which he asks for forgiveness from his ex-wife.

Do you remember,
Of course, you remember everything
How I stood
Approaching the wall
You excitedly walked around the room
And something sharp
They threw it in my face.
You said:
It's time for us to part
What tormented you
My crazy life
That it's time for you to get down to business,
And my destiny -
Roll on, down.
Darling!
You didn't love me.
You did not know that in the host of people
I was like a horse driven in soap
Spurred by a brave rider.
You didn't know
That I'm in solid smoke
In a life torn apart by a storm
That's why I suffer that I do not understand -
Where the rock of events takes us.
Face to face
Can't see faces.
Big is seen from a distance.
When the sea surface boils -
The ship is in a sorry state.
Earth is a ship!
But suddenly someone
For new life, new glory
In the midst of storms and blizzards
He directed it majestically.
Well, which of us is big on deck
Didn't fall, vomit, or swear?
They are few, with an experienced soul,
Who remained strong in pitching.
Then I too
Under the wild noise
But maturely knowing the work,
Went down into the ship's hold,
To avoid watching human vomit.
That hold was -
Russian kabak.
And I bent over the glass
So that, without suffering for anyone,
destroy yourself
In a frenzy drunk.
Darling!
I tortured you
you had longing
In the eyes of the weary
What am I showing to you
He wasted himself in scandals.
But you didn't know
What's in the smoke
In a life torn apart by a storm
That's why I suffer
What I don't understand
Where the rock of events takes us...
Now the years have passed.
I'm at a different age.
I feel and think differently.
And I say over the festive wine:
Praise and glory to the helmsman!
Today I
In the midst of tender feelings.
I remembered your sad tiredness.
And now
I'm rushing to let you know
What was I
And what happened to me!
Darling!
Nice to say to me:
I avoided falling off the cliff.
Now in the Soviet side
I am the most furious fellow traveler.
I became not the one
Who was then.
I wouldn't torment you
As it was before.
For the banner of liberty
And bright work
Ready to go even to the English Channel.
Forgive me...
I know you are not the one
Do you live
With a serious, intelligent husband;
That you do not need our maeta,
And I myself to you
Not a bit needed.
Live like this
How the star guides you
Under the tabernacle of the renewed canopy.
Greetings,
always remembering you
Your friend
Sergey Yesenin.

And today, remain a mystery to literary critics and historians.