Being an extremely romantic person, generous with spiritual personal feelings, with his poems he literally created a school of love experiences.
Dedicating poems to his muse, his beautiful lady, the poet literally dissolves in his own emotional impulses and difficult moods. This is the highest value of his life.
Blok considered spiritual intimacy to be the pinnacle of relationships.
The history of the conception and creation of the poem
Blok’s poem “About valor, about exploits, about glory...” was created based on real events that happened to the poet himself. It is known that when he saw his future wife for the first time, the author was captivated and delighted. That is why the lyrics of this period are so passionate and so impressionable. He hoped that his marriage with the woman he loved would be happy. But everything turned out not at all as the poet planned.
Lyubov Mendeleev, the poet’s wife, turned out to be not as romantic as Alexander Blok wished. Very quickly their marital relationship began to disintegrate and already in 1908 she left her husband, allegedly going on tour with the Meyerhold Theater. By the way, in the same year, on the thirtieth of December, the poet writes this amazing but sad poem about his sad love. It is known that Lyubov Mendeleeva, after several years of marriage, left for another - the famous poet A. Bely. But then she returned to Alexander Blok again, and even repented of having made such a grave mistake in her life. And the poet forgives her, since during this time he also had several romantic interests.
But Lyubov Mendeleeva was missing something in her marriage. She became interested in someone else again and went to him. She gives birth to a son from this man, but then decides to return to the poet again. All this time they did not interrupt contact, since Alexander Blok himself insisted on friendship, for whom spiritual intimacy was always more important than physical intimacy. It is known that they knew each other from early childhood, but then, having separated for a while, they met again. After they began to live together, the poet did not want any carnal relationships, since for him it was secondary and overshadowed spiritual intimacy. Lyubov Mendeleeva was an actress who, every time, both after her tours and after new hobbies, still returned to Alexander Blok.
All these love triangles eventually spilled out into a lyrical work in 1908.
About valor, about exploits, about glory
I forgot on the sorrowful land,
When your face is in a simple frame
It was shining on the table in front of me.
But the hour came, and you left home.
I threw the treasured ring into the night.
You gave your destiny to someone else
And I forgot the beautiful face.
The days flew by, spinning like a damned swarm...
Wine and passion tormented my life...
And I remembered you in front of the lectern,
And he called you like his youth...
I called you, but you didn't look back,
I shed tears, but you did not condescend.
You sadly wrapped yourself in a blue cloak,
On a damp night you left home.
I don’t know where my pride has a refuge
You, dear, you are tender, you found...
I sleep soundly, I dream of your blue cloak,
In which you left on a damp night...
Don't dream about tenderness, about fame,
Everything is over, youth is gone!
Your face in its simple frame
I removed it from the table with my own hand.
With great sadness, the poet describes the situation in which he found himself. The departure of the beloved is a tragedy that plays out before the reader’s eyes. Complete despair and disappointment engulfs the main character in “I threw the treasured ring into the night.”
Memories remain, a bright image, and as proof that everything happened, a photograph on the table “of your face in a simple frame.” Sadness and pain of loss do not cause negative feelings. The main character remembers the bright image “in front of the lectern.” Even the fact that the beloved has left for another man does not allow her image to be tarnished.
The poet does not blame anyone for his suffering; not a single bad word is said about the departed woman. The hero has no choice but to accept his fate. With a heavy heart, he mentally lets go of the object of his adoration.
To make it easier to cope with the loss, the abandoned lyricist removes the photograph of the woman with his own hand, hoping that this will make him feel better.
Composition “About valor, about exploits, about glory...”
Blok’s entire poem is divided into three large parts: the first is the author trying to forget the woman he loves, the second is his memory of her, the third is the decision to let go. he ends up removing her photograph from his desk. The composition in the work is circular and helps the author show the present time, the past and what awaits in the future.
The poet, trying to explain his main idea to the reader, uses a large number of verbs, but all of them are used in the past tense. The poet shows that everything has already passed, and there is now no suffering in his life at all. The author talks about those feelings that he has already experienced, it’s just that the memory remains of them. The soul of the main character has now calmed down and he can even sleep, calmly and without worries.
An interesting female image is shown by Alexander Blok in just a few descriptive features. She is beautiful, gentle, independent, fearless and proud. The poet’s attitude towards her is tender, as if he is creating a deity out of her. And her photograph, like an icon, stood on his table. He dreams of her as if she were bliss; dreams of her bring joy to the poet, not suffering. Perhaps that is why the author chooses the form of a message for this poem - a declaration of love.
Expressive means
The declaration of love that sounds in Alexander Blok's poem refers to the time when they were together with the woman they loved, but now this time has passed and will never return. The author tries to use as many expressive means as possible to diversify the literary text:
★ Metaphors.
★ Anaphora.
★ Epithets.
★ Syntactic parallelism.
★ Comparisons.
★ Paraphrase.
★ Personifications.
★ Inversion.
★ Dots.
All this helps the perception of the poem. By the end of the work, the reader sincerely sympathizes with the author, sharing his tragedy.
Symbols in the poem
One of the symbols that the author successfully introduced into the text is a ring. Its main character throws himself into the night, as an indicator of a complete break. The rings that spouses gave each other are no longer a symbol of love and fidelity, so there is no need to stand on ceremony with this accessory.
The second symbol is a blue cloak, which is repeated several times in the text. The cloak is a symbol of the road, and the blue color itself is anxiety and loneliness. Blue is also the color of betrayal. For our lyrical hero, everything is mixed up from the betrayal of his beloved woman and disappointment, and Blok chooses a blue cloak to show even more clearly the tragedy of the situation.
Photography becomes a symbol of love and tenderness, and the author emphasizes “in a simple frame” several times. The author is so in love that he doesn’t care what quality the frame is. Photos are dear to my heart.
Analysis of the poem
The love story described in the poem is controversial and controversial. You can't return your former happiness. A problem that has arisen in family life is a fateful fate!
Alexander Blok treated his own wife more like a muse, like a creative inspirer. And Lyubov Mendeleeva, although she was a person of art and an actress, apparently wanted to remain an earthly woman. This was the contradiction between the spouses, so talented and so different.
For the poet, his wife is not only a source of purity. He associates it with freshness, with youth. He notes that after her departure there is a farewell to youth: “Everything is over, youth is gone!” It’s as if with the woman’s departure the main character lost all his bearings, but realized that this was the point of no return. The point of no return to youth, love, former happiness.
His hopes were dashed, which is why he removes the portrait of his beloved woman from the table at the very end of the poem. It’s difficult for him to do this, but he understands that he must. The poet showed the reader that reason still triumphed over feelings, and no matter how sad he was, he still committed the final act. This decision turned out to be the most correct and correct. Now this enormous feeling of love will no longer bring him so much pain and suffering. And maybe happiness will soon appear in his life, and sadness and tragedy will go away.
About valor, about exploits, about glory
I forgot on the sorrowful land,
When your face is in a simple frame
It was shining on the table in front of me.
But the hour came, and you left home.
I threw the treasured ring into the night.
You gave your destiny to someone else
And I forgot the beautiful face.
The days flew by, spinning like a damned swarm
Wine and passion tormented my life
And I remembered you in front of the lectern,
And he called you like his youth
I called you, but you didn't look back,
I shed tears, but you did not condescend.
You sadly wrapped yourself in a blue cloak,
On a damp night you left the house.
I don't know where your pride is sheltered
You, my dear, you, my gentle one, have found
I sleep soundly, I dream of your blue cloak,
In which you left on a damp night
Don't dream about tenderness, about fame,
Everything is over, youth is gone!
Your face in its simple frame
I removed it from the table with my own hand.
You have to reduce yourself to nothing in order to be accepted and recognized, you have to become indistinguishable from the herd. If you're in the herd, you're fine. You can dream, but only if you dream like everyone else.
Night. How I love this time of day. A time when no one touches you. Nobody needs you. Just you and your thoughts.
At night, when you look at the sky, you will see my star, the one on which I live, on which I laugh. And you will hear that all the stars are laughing. You will have stars who know how to laugh!
What do you think about... when you look at the moon?
I? - “About you... and a little about the eternal...”
That in this world we are not infinite,
But everyone wants to find their star.
When I saw you I fell in love. And you smiled because you knew.
You have no power over me until I love you.
I know everything that is so necessary
I know who, what, in what year,
where to lay it - when “bang, bam and by”
and how to hold a candle to the move.I know that only the one who cries first is right,
that they lie when you read their eyes,
I know how to go to hell
so as not to end up there yourself.I know that if you go, it won’t be fast,
and only those who are late are rushing around,
that there is no point in shooting at the pianist,
when you yourself play somehow.I know - they drink wine, and drown it with vodka,
I know all the endings of soap scenes,
what’s worse is when they let you into your soul
the width of your spread knees.I know what I don't need to know
I’m sleeping worse and worse because of my “happiness”,
I know everything, but here’s one annoyance -
that I don't know anything about myself...
Do you believe in God? I haven't seen him...
How can you believe in something you haven't seen?
I'm sorry that I offended you,
After all, you didn’t expect such an answer...
I believe in money, I’ve seen it for sure...
I believe in a plan, in a forecast, in career growth...
I believe in a house that was built strong...
Of course... Your answer is quite simple...
Do you believe in happiness? You haven't seen him...
But your soul saw him...
Sorry, I probably offended you...
Then we have one - one... Draw...
Do you believe in love, in friendship? How about your eyesight???
After all, this is all at the level of the soul...
Are there bright moments of sincerity?
Don’t rush to see everything with your own eyes...
Do you remember how you hurried to the meeting then,
But traffic jams... didn't make it on time for the plane?!
Your plane blew up that same evening
You drank and cried all day long...
And at that moment when the wife gave birth,
And the doctor said: “Sorry, there’s no chance...”
Do you remember, life flashed like slides,
And it was as if the light had gone out forever,
But someone shouted: “Oh, God, a miracle...”
And a loud baby scream was heard...
You whispered: “I will believe in God”
And my soul smiled sincerely...
There is something that the eyes cannot see,
But the heart sees more clearly and clearly...
When the soul fell in love without falsehood,
Then the mind objects more and more strongly...
Refers to pain, bitter experience,
Includes egoism, the big “I”...
You saw God every day and so much
How deep is your soul...
Each of us has our own path...
And faith and love are most important...
I didn’t ask you, “Have you seen God?”
I asked if I believed in him...
Students in the 11th grade are invited to read the poem “On Valor, About Deeds, About Glory” by Alexander Alexandrovich Blok in a literature lesson. At home they are assigned to learn it completely by heart. On our website you can download it to your gadget for free or read it online.
The text of Blok’s poem “On Valor, on Deeds, on Glory” was written in 1908. It is dedicated to the poet’s wife Lyubov Mendeleeva. Alexander Alexandrovich had a very difficult relationship with her. They met as children. Then they didn't see each other for some time. In their youth they met again. The poet fell deeply in love with her and, in the end, in 1903 they married. They came together and then diverged, but nevertheless, she was his muse all her life. This work was created after her next departure. In it, he writes that she left him on a damp night in a blue cloak. With the help of the color of clothes, he is trying to convey to the reader that she did not just abandon him. She went to another person. Blue color symbolizes betrayal. Blok was very worried about this event. He couldn't understand why she did it. He couldn't think about anything but her. In the poem, he writes that he began to drink a lot, change women, but this did not help him forget. She appeared before his eyes all the time. Even in his sleep, he constantly dreamed of her. He called Lyubov Mendeleeva back, but she did not return. For Alexander Alexandrovich, her departure was ultimately marked not just by the loss of his beloved, but also by the loss of his youth. All his dreams, thoughts, desires were connected with her, but she was no longer around. That young ardent boy who was hopelessly in love with her was also gone. In the last stanza we learn that after a while he was still able to cope with the pain of loss, he forgot his beloved. In it, Alexander Alexandrovich writes that he removed the portrait of his beloved from the table.
About valor, about exploits, about glory
I forgot on the sorrowful land,
When your face is in a simple frame
It was shining on the table in front of me.
But the hour came, and you left home.
I threw the treasured ring into the night.
You gave your destiny to someone else
And I forgot the beautiful face.
The days flew by, spinning like a damned swarm...
Wine and passion tormented my life...
And I remembered you in front of the lectern,
And he called you like his youth...
I called you, but you didn't look back,
I shed tears, but you did not condescend.
You sadly wrapped yourself in a blue cloak,
On a damp night you left the house.
I don't know where your pride is sheltered
You, dear, you, gentle one, have found...
I sleep soundly, I dream of your blue cloak,
In which you left on a damp night...
Don't dream about tenderness, about fame,
Everything is over, youth is gone!
Your face in its simple frame
I removed it from the table with my own hand.
“About valor, about exploits, about glory...” Alexander Blok
About valor, about exploits, about glory
I forgot on the sorrowful land,
When your face is in a simple frame
It was shining on the table in front of me.But the hour came, and you left home.
I threw the treasured ring into the night.
You gave your destiny to someone else
And I forgot the beautiful face.The days flew by, spinning like a damned swarm...
Wine and passion tormented my life...
And I remembered you in front of the lectern,
And he called you like his youth...I called you, but you didn't look back,
I shed tears, but you did not condescend.
You sadly wrapped yourself in a blue cloak,
On a damp night you left the house.I don't know where your pride is sheltered
You, dear, you, gentle one, have found...
I sleep soundly, I dream of your blue cloak,
In which you left on a damp night...Don't dream about tenderness, about fame,
Everything is over, youth is gone!
Your face in its simple frame
I removed it from the table with my own hand.
Analysis of Blok’s poem “About valor, about exploits, about glory...”
Alexander Blok's love lyrics are very controversial and contradictory. Until now, researchers of the poet’s work are trying to understand the complex relationship between the author and his wife Lyubov Mendeleeva, who was Blok’s muse. However, their marriage was not happy, and a few years after the marriage, Mendeleeva left for the poet Alexander Bely. Then she returned, repenting of the mistake she had made, and again started a new affair, from which she gave birth to a son. Blok himself also experienced several romantic interests during this period. The spouses could not see each other for months, since Lyubov Mendeleeva was an actress and often went on tour. But they still remained friends at the insistence of the poet, who believed that spiritual intimacy is much more important than physical intimacy.
However, Blok had a very hard time experiencing problems in his family life. And in 1908, when Lyubov Mendeleeva met Alexander Bely, he wrote his famous poem “About valor, about exploits, about glory...”, in which he spoke about his experiences. And he admitted that he managed to overcome his painful passion for a woman, who, by the will of fate, played a fatal role in the fate of the poet.
It is worth noting that the future spouses knew each other since childhood, as their families were friends. However, when they met years later, they hardly recognized each other. Blok fell madly in love with a 16-year-old beauty who dreamed of becoming an actress. She responded to his advances with complete indifference. By that time, Blok was fond of mysticism and looked for secret signs of fate in any set of circumstances. And then one day, as a student and aspiring poet, he met Mendeleeva on the street, believing that this was not a coincidence. Blok not only convinced himself that he loved this woman, but also infected Mendeleeva herself with an unshakable belief that they were destined to be together. In 1903, the couple got married, but they truly became husband and wife only a year later, since the poet refused to overshadow what he believed was an ideal spiritual union with carnal pleasures.
Indeed, many eyewitnesses recalled that in life Blok treated Mendeleeva not as a wife, but as a muse. And, remembering parting with her, he wrote in his poem that “tears shed, but you did not descend.” The symbol of love for Mendeleeva for the poet was “a face in a simple frame” - a portrait of his wife, which after the wedding always stood on the poet’s table. And this, too, was a kind of symbol to which Blok attached special significance. He was convinced that this particular portrait would help him in his work, without paying any attention to his wife, who could be standing behind him. As a result, the poet states the inevitable: “You sadly wrapped yourself in a blue cloak, you left the house on a damp night.”
It is noteworthy that for the poet Mendeleev’s Love was not only a symbol of spiritual purity, but was also associated with youth. Therefore, the author notes that her departure marked the end of her carefree youth. “Can’t we dream about tenderness, about glory, everything is over, youth is gone?” asks Blok. And he answers to himself that this is really so. The woman whom the poet idolized took with her not only the feeling of lightness and carefreeness inherent in youth, but also inspiration. However, Blok still managed to cope with his feelings, so he wrote: “I removed your face in a simple frame from the table with my own hand.”
The poet could not even imagine that fate would forever connect him with this woman. She left and came back. Blok even agreed to recognize her son as his own child, but at the same time he started affairs on the side. However, until his death, he believed that Mendeleev’s Lyubov was a “holy place of the soul.”
About valor, about exploits, about glory
I forgot on the sorrowful land,
When your face is in a simple frame
It was shining on the table in front of me.
But the hour came, and you left home.
I threw the treasured ring into the night.
You gave your destiny to someone else
And I forgot the beautiful face.
The days flew by, spinning like a damned swarm...
Wine and passion tormented my life...
And I remembered you in front of the lectern,
And he called you like his youth...
I called you, but you didn’t look back,
I shed tears, but you did not condescend.
You sadly wrapped yourself in a blue cloak,
I don’t know where my pride has a refuge
You, my dear, you, my gentle one, have found...
I'm fast asleep, I dream, your cloak is blue,
In which you left on a damp night...
Don't dream about tenderness, about fame,
Is everything over, is youth gone?
Your face in its simple frame
I removed it from the table with my own hand.
I was not - and due to my age I could hardly have been - close to Blok. But I met with Blok, spoke with him, I remember a lot of what he said, and I want to talk about it.
The first time I saw Blok was in the first half of 1903 or at the very end of 1902, when Blok was 22 years old and I was only 12. He came to my brother Alexander Vasilyevich1 and sat at our family evening tea, in the gray, as they wore then, a student jacket. Of everything that happened that evening, I remember only one thing, but I remember it well: reading Blok’s poems and talking about them. It began with the fact that my father, in the midst of some seemingly indifferent conversation, suddenly said in a somewhat tense tone, turning to Blok: “Alexander Alexandrovich! Read the poems." To this Blok answered quite calmly and simply: “Yes, I’ll read it with pleasure.” He read "The Queen Watched the Screensavers." My father, an admirer and translator of Dante and Petrarch, smiled with slight irony. “Well, why do you write decadent poetry? Why blue riddles? Why are the riddles blue? Blok, after thinking a little, replied: “Because the night is blue,” but then, laughing, said: “No, of course, that’s not it.” And wanting, perhaps, to ward off the reproach of decadence, he read: “I am young, and fresh, and in love.” “This is a completely different matter. However, these are fragrant tears.” But Blok answered very convincingly: “No, maple’s tears are fragrant. Another question is whether a maple tree can have tears.” This seems to be the end of the dispute.
I will skip rare meetings in subsequent years (in 1906-1909, often at the Komissarzhevskaya Theater - at premieres) and move on to the time when I began meeting with Blok outside
Family and outside of his relationship with my brother, and independently - as a writer.
The first such meeting took place at the beginning of 1909. It took place, as it were, symbolically for me - almost literally on the threshold of the editorial office of the “New Journal for Everyone”2 and “New Life”, where I went to receive one of my first literary fees. “Are you in the “Magazine for Everyone”? - asked Blok. Were these your poems in the magazine? I liked it." This stingy praise would have been even more dear to me if I could then have foreseen his later and equally stingy: “I didn’t like it.” When I went up to the editorial office, I saw on the editorial table a piece of paper written in Blok’s clear handwriting. The lines that caught my eye:
You sadly wrapped yourself in a blue cloak.
On a damp night you left the house.
I didn't ask myself why the cloak was blue. By that time, Blok with his entire system of images had firmly entered into my consciousness, into my entire life.
V.V. Gippius "Meetings with Blok"
