Poem by A.S. Pushkin's "Burnt Letter" is written about one of the most important topics in the poet's life - about love. When reading, the thought arises that it talks about an impossible feeling. What kind of love story lies behind these lines? This will be discussed in the analysis of Pushkin's "Burnt Letter".
History of writing
In Pushkin's letters, it is important not only to consider the poem from the point of view of rhymes and literary tropes, but also to learn about the feeling that inspired the poet to write it. In the summer of 1823, Alexander Sergeevich comes to Odessa, where he enters the service of the mayor, Count Mikhail Vorontsov. At first they had a friendly relationship, until Pushkin met his wife.
Elizaveta Vorontsova was not only beautiful, but also an educated woman. She was quite erudite in the literary field as well. Pushkin could not help but fall in love with this beauty, and a romance broke out between them. The Countess adhered to progressive views and therefore did not consider it necessary to hide her adultery from her husband.
The count was also quite liberal, but when people around the city began to speak disparagingly about him, he had the poet expelled. Pushkin and Vorontsova exchanged letters, which she asked to be burned so that they would not compromise her. In 1825, the poet burned another letter and, overcome with emotion, wrote this poem.
Meter and rhyme
The next point on Pushkin’s “Burnt Letter” is determining the size in which the poem is written. This is what sets the accelerating rhythm when reading. Which only emphasizes the hero’s intentions - he needs to get rid of the letters compromising his beloved as soon as possible.
The rhymes in the poem are adjacent. But in the analysis of Pushkin's "Burnt Letter" one should pay attention to the last line: it does not rhyme with anything. Perhaps this was done specifically to show that the hero is in despair and understands that he cannot change anything. And, having lost himself in his feelings, he seems to forget about rhyme.
Means of expression
In analyzing the poem “The Burnt Letter” by Pushkin, you need to pay attention to the literary techniques with which the poet managed to make it expressive. Of course, there were metaphors and epithets with the help of which Alexander Sergeevich managed to convey his feelings.
Gradation was used to show the despair that the hero felt when burning the message. But when the poet got rid of the letter, he begins to regret it and wants to return it. All the figures of speech and tropes used enhance the feeling of the hero's powerlessness and help convey the feelings that he experiences.
Images in the poem
In Pushkin’s letters, one cannot help but say that the main character is not the poet himself, but with the help of a metaphor, it personifies his love for Vorontsova. Together with this letter, he destroys all those happy moments that he experienced while rereading his lines.
And the poet, burning this letter, wants it all to go faster. But at the same time, when it became only ashes, he feels pain and bitterness from the fact that there is no more evidence of love for Vorontsova.
In the analysis of the poem “The Burnt Letter” by Pushkin, it must be said that the other character is the poet himself. The first three lines describe his mental anguish as he decides to burn the message. But when the flames engulf the paper sheets, the hero calms down and watches how their feelings burn out. But he is overcome by melancholy and despair when he sees a handful of ashes and realizes that nothing can be returned back.
Thus, the poet, through the poem, conveyed what he felt every time he burned the countess’s incriminating messages. In the analysis of the verse “Burnt Letter” by Pushkin, one can add that at that time he was in Mikhailovsky, from where he was forbidden to leave. Therefore, correspondence with Vorontsova was a ray of light for him at that difficult time for the poet.
In "The Burnt Letter" you can see not only the theme of love, but also farewell. After all, for the poet this was not just correspondence, but a continuation of the relationship, and the messages were proof of this. But for the well-being of his beloved, although it was difficult for him, he burned these letters. Thanks to this love story and Vorontsova’s request, this lyric poem appeared in Pushkin’s poetry.
“The Burnt Letter” was created at a time when A.S. Pushkin was in exile. The author wrote it in 1825 in a fairly short period of time.
Among literary experts it is generally accepted that the poem is dedicated to M. S. Vorontsova, with whom the poet was forced to part. There is also a well-known fact that in the fall the poet received a letter from Vorontsova, which he subsequently burned. The poem was written a little time after this incident.
The work mostly relates to love lyrics and is dedicated to the author’s feelings. The theme of love is often covered in the texts of this author. However, it is in this poem that it is revealed in the most atypical way.
The main theme of the work
The burnt letter is a metaphorical image of love.
However, from the lines of the poem we cannot judge exactly what exactly the author is writing about: about love that has faded over time (“burned out”), or about feelings that the lyrical character is trying to drown out, trying to deliberately “burn” them in himself. If we take into account the circumstances under which the work was created, then the second option is more likely.
Not only in this work, but also in literature in general, the image of writing is a symbol of “storing memories.” It stores the memory of events, warm or sad moments of past years.
At first, the lyrical character cannot decide to destroy the letter that is so dear to him. And then he remembers his beloved with warmth.
Ideological and structural analysis of the work
The text is written in iambic pentameter. The adjacent rhyme and stress on the second syllable create a special atmosphere of strong emotions and experiences.
The text has a fairly fast pace, which sets the general emotional atmosphere: a storm of feelings, bitterness and regret.
A special rhythm to the text is also set by the transitions of the hero’s mood: only after calming down, the character immediately plunges into suffering. Or, having seemingly finally made a decision, he again plunges into thoughts about its correctness.
Among the expressive means used, the following stand out most clearly:
- Personifications: “greedy flame”, “sweet ashes”, etc.;
- Metaphors: letter, flame;
- Epithets: “sorrowful”, “sad”;
- Gradation: “flashed” - “blazing” - “smoke”;
- Repeats: “how long.”
Also uses such a figure of speech as inversion. For example, “how long did I hesitate.”
It is impossible not to mention the abundance of exclamation marks and ellipses that alternate. And in addition to being a means of conveying emotions, they serve the function of setting an additional rhythm, where quiet periods of “silence” contrast with strong feelings.
In this poetic work by Pushkin, morphological forms are presented in various incarnations, which enriches the overall textual composition.
The lexical and semantic composition of “The Burnt Letter” is distinguished by its expressiveness and contrast. Through this, the author, in an unusual manner, enhances the impact of the lines on the reader and gives additional weight to what is said.
The main message of the work
This is a farewell poem: not only a message to your beloved, but also an appeal to yourself. An attempt to explain and survive my mental torment.
A.S. Pushkin not only burns the letter, he says goodbye to his beloved, experiencing strong feelings of bitterness and loss. And he shares his torment on paper in order to more easily and quickly endure all the pain that he cannot drown out.
The poem “The Burnt Letter” by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin belongs to love lyrics, and fully reveals the poet’s emotional experiences. We invite you to familiarize yourself with a brief analysis of “The Burnt Letter” according to a plan that will be useful to 9th grade students in preparing for a literature lesson.
Brief Analysis
History of creation– The verse was written in 1825. The woman to whom the work is dedicated turned out to be Countess Elizaveta Vorontsova.
Theme of the poem– The lyrical hero’s appeal to the burnt letter, in which he sees the collapse of his love.
Composition- The composition is simple, consists of three conventional parts: the first part is the monologue of the lyrical hero, the second is the burning of the letter, the third is the lyrical hero’s appeal to the ashes so that they remain forever in his soul.
Genre- Love lyrics.
Poetic size– Iambic hexameter, using adjacent masculine rhyme. There is no rhyme in the last lines of the poem.
Metaphors – « letter of love", "greedy flame».
Epithets- « greedy", "cherished", "easy».
Personifications – « set all joys on fire».
Inversion – « how long did I hesitate».
History of creation
During his southern exile, Alexander Sergeevich lived in Odessa, where he worked in the office under the leadership of Count Mikhail Vorontsov. Good friendly relations were established between them, which sharply deteriorated after the young poet met the count’s wife, Elizaveta Vorontsova.
The Countess was distinguished not only by her external attractiveness: she was well-educated, well-read, and I had the reputation of being an excellent conversationalist. From the first minutes of communication between the young people, mutual sympathy arose, which quickly grew into a strong feeling.
Elizaveta Vorontsova did not hide her relationship with Pushkin from her husband, and he showed amazing loyalty in this matter. But when unpleasant rumors spread throughout the city, he did everything possible to expel his rival from the city as soon as possible.
Before her lover’s departure, the countess gave him a massive gold ring with a precious stone as a keepsake. Pushkin accepted this gift, and subsequently treated it very carefully.
The poet understood perfectly well that he would never meet his beloved again. For some time there was correspondence between Pushkin and Vorontsova, but the Countess always insisted that all her letters be burned immediately after reading. It was difficult for Alexander Sergeevich to fulfill this request, but he could not go against the will of the woman he loved. Thus, under the influence of strong emotional experiences, in 1825 he wrote the poem “The Burnt Letter,” which became the personification of lost love.
Subject
In the work “The Burnt Letter,” the theme of love is explored in a very unusual manner. The lyrical hero turns to a letter from his beloved, but in fact we are talking about departed love. The letter is only a means of conveying the emotional experiences of the lyrical hero, which gives special meaning to the destruction of the love letter. So he says goodbye not only to the letter, but also to love, which is leaving him forever.
Throughout the poem, the mood of the lyrical hero changes: he either calms down, then again begins to rush around convulsively, suffering from his heart wounds. Even in the burnt ashes, he sees the image of his beloved, and wants to keep it forever in his heart.
The main idea of the work is that it is necessary to keep your word to your loved one, no matter how difficult it may be to do so. The lyrical hero passionately dreams of leaving at least letters to his beloved woman, with whom he was once so happy, as a keepsake. However, he is forced to submit to her request to burn all the messages, and is tormented by the fact that he is losing the last thread that connected them with his beloved.
Composition
The composition of the work is simple and consistent, and divides the poem into three conventional parts.
- First part is a monologue of a lyrical hero who dooms a letter from his beloved woman to death.
- In the second part the author describes the burning of a letter, which causes severe mental pain to the hero.
- In the third part the lyrical hero promises immortality to the ashes.
Genre
The work is written in the genre of love lyrics, but it contains the characteristic features of a message, romance, and elegy.
The poetic meter used by the author when writing “The Burnt Letter” is iambic hexameter with adjacent masculine rhyme. It is noteworthy that in the last lines of the work there is no rhyme. This technique allows you to very accurately express the state of the lyrical hero, who gives up from disappointment and sadness.
Means of expression
To reveal his feelings and mental torments, Pushkin masterfully uses a rich palette of means of artistic expression. In the work there are metaphors(“letter of love”, “greedy flame”), epithets("greedy", "cherished", "easy"), personifications(“consign all joys to fire”), inversion(“how long have I delayed”).
1. A.S. Pushkin’s poem “The Burnt Letter,” written in 1825 in Mikhailovskoye, belongs to the love section of the lyrics. It is ideologically adjacent to the poems: “I remember a wonderful moment...”, “I loved you...”, “Madonna”.
The poem talks about the poet’s feelings for E.K. Vorontsova. After the countess’s next message was set on fire, Pushkin wrote the poem “The Burnt Letter,” in which he noted with bitterness that he was unable to violate the will of his beloved. “How long have I hesitated! How long did the hand not want to set all my joys on fire!” the author noted. However, the duty of honor turned out to be higher than feelings, so a few minutes of hesitation pass, and “the greedy flame is already accepting your sheets.” The letter, which the poet considers priceless, gradually turns into a pile of ashes and “the faithful ring has lost its impression, the melted sealing wax is boiling.”
2.The theme of the poem is a conversation with a letter from a loved one that needs to be burned.
3.Main problems:
True to your word. No matter how much the lyrical hero would like to keep the letter, he fulfills his promise:
Burn, letter of love.
I'm ready; My soul doesn’t listen to anything...
Love lives in the heart of a hero and far from his beloved
Dear ashes,
Poor joy in my sad fate,
Stay forever with me on my sorrowful chest...
4. In terms of genre, in my opinion, this is a message addressed to a letter. But behind the lines of the poem one can hear an appeal to his beloved.
5. Features of the composition: the poem consists of one part. At the beginning it describes how the lyrical hero does not dare to burn a letter dear to his heart, and at the end - the feelings of a lover towards everything that his beloved’s hands have touched.
6. The poem “Burnt Letter” fully reflects the author’s position on love. A loving person must be faithful, reverent, and ready to make sacrifices. I think that the views of the lyrical hero and the poet are identical.
7. The lyrical hero’s perception of the world is full of sadness and sadness. There is not even a hint of any hope, but only the realization that for him joy and consolation are letters from his beloved.
8. Artistic means that help reveal the mood of the lyrical hero:
Epithets (“greedy”, “easy”, “poor”, “cherished”, “sorrowful”);
Personification (“melted sealing wax is boiling”, “dark curled sheets”
Metaphors (“my soul does not listen”, “the greedy flame accepts your leaves” and others.)
9.Figures of speech:
Inversion (“How long did I hesitate,” “how long did my hand refuse…”).
10.The system of versification is syllabic-tonic. The poem is written in iambic pentameter (two-syllable verse with the stress on the second syllable).
The poem “The Burnt Letter” was written by Pushkin in 1825, while he was in Mikhailovsky exile. It is dedicated to Elizaveta Vorontsova, whom he met in 1823 in Odessa. Traces of their forbidden love were still fresh. Elizaveta Ksaveryevna was a married woman, and therefore always ordered Pushkin to burn her letters. This tradition served as the title for the poem and provided the basis for this poem.
The letter itself is a metaphor. Beneath it lies the poet’s love for Vorontsova, which he is forced to “burn.” In the first quatrain we see the torment of the lyrical hero. For a long time he did not want to part with his love, he hesitated for a long time, but now he is firm in his intention to “burn the letter” - to part with love.
The second quatrain describes the moment of burning the letter - that is, parting with love. The lyrical hero is ready, but he suffers: “my soul does not listen to anything.” Using gradation, the rapid process of burning love is shown.
“Just a minute!.. flared up... blazing.. light smoke,...”
In the last four lines we see that the lyrical hero still regrets his lost love: “my chest is embarrassed,” “stay with me forever.” He expresses his attitude towards her: “dear ashes,” “poor joy.”
The poem is distinguished by an abundance of epithets that describe both the internal state of the lyrical hero and love. It is also filled with various figures of speech and tropes, such as inversion, gradation, metaphor. For example, “dear ashes” are memories of a departed love.
The poem is written in iambic hexameter, which sets a fast pace for what is happening. The lyrical hero quickly breaks up with his old feelings, because he understands that this forbidden love can no longer exist.
All rhymes in the poem are adjacent: both in the first two quatrains and in the last tercet. But the last line doesn't rhyme with anything. This is explained by the hero’s powerlessness and despair at the end of the poem. His soul “doesn’t listen to anything” and he forgets about rhyme.
“The Burnt Letter” became a vivid poem relating to one of the most important themes in Pushkin’s lyrics - the theme of love. Just as Elizaveta Vorontsova played a significant role in Pushkin’s life, this verse is of great importance in the study of Pushkin’s lyrics, knowledge of his feelings and him as a person.