Anna Akhmatova

The interpretation from a feminine point of view of the related theme of unrequited love was rare in Russian poetry before Akhmatova. Once more she finds the most economical way to sketch her emotional landscape. The simplicity of her vocabulary is complemented by the intonation of everyday speech, conveyed through frequent pauses that are signified by a dash, for instance, as in "Provodila druga do perednei" (translated as "I led my lover out to the hall," 1990), which appeared initially in her fourth volume of verse, Podorozhnik (Plantain, 1921): "A throwaway! invented word/ Am I really a note or a flower"" Akhmatova's poetry is also known for its pattern of ellipsis, another example of a break or pause in speech, as exemplified in "Ia ne liubvi tvoei proshu" (translated as "I'm not asking for your love," 1990), written in 1914 and first published in the journal Zvezda (The Star) in 1946: "I'm not asking for your love- / It's in a safe place now…" The meaning of unrequited love in Akhmatova's lyrics is twofold, because the heroine alternately suffers and makes others suffer. But whether falling victim to her beloved's indifference or becoming the cause of someone else's misfortune, the persona conveys a vision of the world that is regularly besieged with dire events- the ideal of happiness remains elusive. The outbreak of World War I marked the beginning of a new era in Russian history. Many perceived the year 1913 as the last peaceful time - the end of the sophisticated, light-hearted fin de si?cle period. Artists could no longer afford to ignore the cruel new reality that was setting in rapidly. For the bohemian elite of St. Petersburg, one of the first manifestations of the new order was the closing of the Stray Dog cabaret, which did not meet wartime censorship standards. Worth mentioning in your term paper the fact that Akhmatova's poetic voice was also changing; more and more frequently she abandoned private, feminine lamentations for civic or prophetic themes.

In the poem "Molitva" (translated as "Prayer," 1990), from the collection Voina v russkoi poezii (War in Russian Poetry, 1915), the lyric heroine pleads with God to restore peace to her country: "This I pray at your liturgy / After so many tormented days, / So that the stormcloud over darkened Russia / Might become a cloud of glorious rays." Akhmatova's third collection, Belaia staia (White Flock, 1917), includes not only love lyrics but also many poems of strong patriotic sentiment. Self-conscious in her new civic role, she announces in a poem- written on the day Germany declared war on Russia - that she must purge her memory of the amorous adventures she used to describe in order to record the terrible events to come. In "Pamiati 19 iiulia 1914" (translated as "In Memoriam, July 19, 1914," 1990), first published in the newspaper Vo imia svobody (In the Name of Freedom) on 25 May 1917, Akhmatova suggests that personal memory must from now on give way to historical memory: "Like a burden henceforth unnecessary, / The shadows of passion and songs vanished from my memory." In a poem addressed to her lover Boris Vasil'evich Anrep, "Net, tsarevich, ia ne ta" (translated as "No, tsarevich, I am not the one," 1990), which initially came out in Severnye zapiski (Northern Notes, 1915), she registers her change from a woman in love to a prophetess: "And no longer do my lips / Kiss- they prophesy." Born on St. John's Eve, a special day in the Slavic folk calendar, when witches and demons were believed to roam freely, Akhmatova believed herself to be clairvoyant. Our custom essay writers may also note that many of her contemporaries acknowledged her gift of prophecy, and she occasionally referred to herself as Cassandra in her verse.