Fyodor Tyutchev and Elena Denisyeva.
The Denisyevsky cycle is called the most lyrical and piercing in the work of Fyodor Tyutchev. The addressee of these poems is the muse and last love of the poet Elena Denisyeva. For the sake of love for Tyutchev, she sacrificed everything: her social status, the location of her family, the respect of others. Their relationship lasted for 14 long years. They were sweet and painful at the same time. 
Portrait of Elena Alexandrovna Deniseva.
Elena Aleksandrovna Denisyeva came from an old but impoverished noble family. Her mother died when Elena was still a child. After some time, the father married again, but the stepmother did not like the rebellious stepdaughter too much. Therefore, the girl was urgently sent to St. Petersburg to be raised by her father’s sister Anna Dmitrievna Denisyeva. She was in the position of inspector at the Smolny Institute. This position allowed the aunt to arrange for her niece to study at the Institute of Noble Maidens.
Anna Dmitrievna, usually strict with her students, doted on Elena and spoiled her. She bought her niece clothes and took her out into the world. Both older socialites and ardent young men paid attention to the young beauty with ideal manners. 
Elena Denisyeva is the last love of Fyodor Tyutchev.
Years of study at Smolny allowed Elena Alexandrovna to master the art of court etiquette, speak German and French without an accent, and acquire other skills necessary for students. A completely successful arrangement of her fate awaited the girl: after graduating from the Smolny Institute, she was supposed to become a maid of honor at the imperial court, if not for the big scandal that broke out right before Denisyeva’s graduation. 
Ernestina Tyutcheva, wife of Fyodor Tyutchev. F. Durk, 1840
The daughters of Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev studied in the same class with Elena Alexandrovna, so Denisyeva was a frequent guest in his house. The poet’s daughters came with a friend to tea parties at home. Gradually, Tyutchev began to pay more attention to the girl than etiquette required. The poet's wife saw how he was caring for the young beauty, but did not attach much importance to it. Ernestina Fedorovna, remembering her husband’s past intrigues with aristocratic women, considered that his attachment to the orphan girl did not pose any threat. 
Elena Denisyeva with her daughter.
In March 1851, just before his release from Smolny and subsequent assignment to future positions, an incredible scandal broke out. It turned out that Denisyev’s pupil was pregnant and would soon give birth. The director spied Elena Alexandrovna and found out that she had secretly met with Fyodor Tyutchev in a rented apartment not far from the Smolny Institute. Denisyeva gave birth in May of the same year.
The aunt was immediately expelled from her place of work, although she was awarded a generous pension, and almost everyone turned their backs on Elena. Her father cursed her and forbade her relatives to communicate with her daughter. Only the aunt supported her niece and took her to live with her. 
Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev is a Russian poet.
Then Denisyeva was 25 years old, and Tyutchev was 47. For him, the young and stately Elena Alexandrovna was a muse, an all-consuming passion. Their painful relationship lasted fourteen years.
Tyutchev did not intend to dissolve the official marriage, but he was also unable to part with his beloved. They had three children. Elena Alexandrovna forgave Tyutchev for her infrequent visits and for living in two families. When the children asked why dad was practically never at home, the woman lied that he had too much work.
Only a few weeks a year abroad, Elena Alexandrovna was truly happy. After all, no one there knew her story, and when she checked into the hotel, she resolutely called herself Madame Tyutcheva. 
Elena Denisyeva is the muse and lover of the poet Fyodor Tyutchev.
In Russia, Denisyeva again had to put up with the position of half-wife, half-mistress. She understood perfectly well that she was engaged in self-flagellation, but she could not help herself, because she loved the poet too much.
And yet, sometimes this submissive woman could not stand it and showed her temper. When she announced that she was pregnant for the third time, Fyodor Ivanovich tried to dissuade her from giving birth. Then Denisyeva flew into a rage, grabbed the figurine from the table and threw it at Tyutchev with all her might. She didn't hit him, but only knocked off the corner of the fireplace.
Their painful relationship would have continued, but in 1864 Elena Denisyeva died suddenly from tuberculosis. Tyutchev was inconsolable.
All day she lay in oblivion -
And shadows covered it all -
The warm summer rain was pouring - its streams
The leaves sounded cheerful.
And slowly she came to her senses -
And I started listening to the noise,
And I listened for a long time - captivated,
Immersed in conscious thought...
And so, as if talking to myself,
She said consciously:
(I was with her, killed but alive)
“Oh, how I loved all this!”
You loved, and the way you love -
t, no one has ever succeeded -
Oh Lord!.. and survive this...
And my heart didn't break into pieces... 
Still from the film “Tyutchev’s Last Love” (2003)
After the death of his beloved, Tyutchev wrote to his friend: “...The memory of her is that feeling of hunger in the hungry, insatiably hungry. I can’t live, my friend Alexander Ivanovich, I can’t live... The wound festers, it doesn’t heal. Be it cowardice , whether it was powerlessness, I don’t care. Only with her and for her was I a person, only in her love, her boundless love for me, did I recognize myself... Now I am something meaninglessly living, some kind of living, painful nonentity. It may also be that in some years nature in a person loses its healing power, that life loses the ability to be reborn, to renew itself; all this can happen; but believe me, my friend Alexander Ivanovich, only one can appreciate my situation. One thousand and one had a terrible fate - to live for fourteen years in a row, every hour, every minute, with such love as her love, and to survive it.
[…] I’m ready to accuse myself of ingratitude, of insensitivity, but I can’t lie: it wasn’t easier for a minute as soon as consciousness returned. All these opium treatments dull the pain for a minute, but that’s all. The effect of opium will wear off, and the pain will still be the same..."
The life of the famous Russian poet was not as simple as it seems at first glance. Not many readers know that Tyutchev spent almost twenty years of his life away from his homeland. He worked in Germany, where he emerged as a great poet of our time. Despite the fact that most of his poems are dedicated to his homeland, the author created them far from Russia. He skillfully conveyed the picturesque colors of Russian nature, especially focusing on the change of seasons, comparing each season with the cycle of human life.
The lyrics of Fyodor Tyutchev do not leave any reader indifferent. Many poetic works are devoted to the theme of love, about which the famous Russian poet knew a lot. He knew how to love without reserve, dissolving in feelings to the very depths.
Despite his romantic nature, the poet did not perceive the word “treason”; he simply did not consider it regrettable to love several women at the same time. An interesting fact about Tyutchev’s personal life - he lived in two families, and gave all his tender feelings and frankness to each lover.
The most unpredictable events took place in his life; each meeting left certain thoughts in the poet’s memory, which he skillfully conveyed in his brilliant work. The verse “I met you, and all the past...”, known to many readers, was written after a meeting with a woman who later became his lover.
Tyutchev's first love
In 1822, Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev entered the service of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs. By this time, the young poet had already graduated from Moscow University. As part of his work, he was sent to Munich as a Russian official-diplomat to carry out a state mission. It was here that young Tyutchev met his first love. His chosen one was the illegitimate daughter of the Prussian king, Amalia von Lerchenfeld. The young and quite beautiful girl was captivated by the worthy feelings of nineteen-year-old Fyodor, so she immediately gave herself up to mad love. The poet proposed to her, but Amalia’s relatives were categorically against this relationship, so Tyutchev faced a regrettable refusal. According to the beauty’s parents, Fedor was not rich enough.
Soon, the young diplomat had to leave the country for a while, and at that time Amalia’s wedding took place with Baron Krunder, who was a colleague of Fyodor Ivanovich. Returning to Munich, he learned about this event. This news greatly upset Tyutchev, but even his frank intention to assign a duel to his opponent could not change the current situation. Beloved Amalia remained Baroness Kründer, the wife of another man...
Throughout his life, the poet and his first lover maintained friendly relations. He dedicated several poems to this woman. The most touching lyrical work is “I remember the golden time.”
Tyutchev's first wife
The failed relationship with Amalia von Lerchenfeld made the young diplomat suffer, but not for long. Soon, Tyutchev met Countess Eleanor Peterson, who became the first wife of Fyodor Ivanovich. She fell in love with the young poet passionately and madly, conveying to her lover all her most frank and pure intentions. Eleanor surrounded her husband with incredible care and sincere warmth. The poet felt good with her, she became a reliable support and a wonderful life partner. The young wife solved all everyday and even financial problems on her own. The Tyutchevs' house was always warm and cozy, even when serious financial difficulties arose in the family budget. Eleanor was a devoted wife and hospitable hostess. The poet was happy, however, this marriage was soon destroyed by an unforeseen circumstance.
Eleanor and her children were returning from a trip to her husband. During this journey by water, a shipwreck occurred. She managed to escape, but due to severe hypothermia, the health of Tyutchev’s wife deteriorated significantly, which soon led to the woman’s death. Eleanor Peterson was barely 37 years old at that time...
The loss of his beloved wife seriously affected the poet’s condition. Tyutchev experienced this terrible event very painfully. Later, he will write several touching poems dedicated to this beautiful woman.
Mistress and new wife of Tyutchev
Despite his sincere love for his wife Eleanor, even during her lifetime, Tyutchev became interested in another woman who became the poet’s secret lover. She was Ernestina Dernberg, a young woman in whom Fyodor Ivanovich saw a kindred spirit. He dedicated a beautiful poem to her, “I love your eyes, my friend...”. No matter how much the great Russian poet tried to hide his affair, Eleanor found out about her husband’s betrayal and even tried to commit suicide. Fortunately, this terrible event did not happen, although it did not save the life of the legal wife, who was experiencing the unpleasant betrayal of her loved one.
His wife’s attempt to commit suicide changed Tyutchev’s plans for the future. He decisively broke off relations with Ernestina in order to save his marriage with Eleanor. But two years after the death of his beloved wife, Fyodor Tyutchev nevertheless proposed to his former mistress, who, without hesitation, agreed to marry the poet.
Their life was ordinary - children, home, work. During this period, Tyutchev became somewhat absent-minded; he began to devote little time to work and family. And in 1850, Tyutchev’s new wife noticed characteristic changes in her husband’s condition. A few more months passed, Fyodor Ivanovich rented a separate apartment and moved away from Ernestina...
And only after a while, Tyutchev’s second wife learned the real reason for these changes and the sudden departure of her husband. She became the poet's new lover - Elena Denisyeva, a student of the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens.
The first meeting of Fyodor Ivanovich and Elena Deniseva took place in July 1850. At this time, the talented poet was already 47 years old, and the young darling was only 24 years old. They met by chance; the girl was friends with Tyutchev’s older daughters. The acquaintance of future lovers took place in the poet’s house, when a graduate of the Institute of Noble Maidens came to visit her friends. The already mature author liked Elena from the first minute; this meeting radically changed the lives of both Tyutchev and Deniseva.
For the sake of mutual love with an already famous poet, the girl had to give up her position in society. She sacrificed everything she had, but did not reject Fyodor Ivanovich’s love, even when all of Elena’s relatives and friends spoke out categorically against this “unreasonable” but truly passionate love relationship.
Their romance developed during the period of Tyutchev’s still legal relationship with his wife Ernestina. Society condemned the poet's mistress and did not want to see her in the circles of noble people. The girl suffered greatly, Fyodor Ivanovich himself was sad, but it was already impossible to change fate...
Their relationship lasted 14 years, during this period Elena Denisyeva gave birth to Tyutchev three illegitimate children. The love triangle existed until the death of the great poet’s chosen one. Ernestina was aware of this relationship; she even allowed her rival to register the children in her husband’s last name.
There were a lot of tears and suffering in the novel between Tyutchev and Denisyeva. The couple often argued and tried to break off the relationship, but the feelings between the lovers were much stronger: he could not give up Elena, and she, despite all the difficulties arising in her life because of someone else’s man, was never able to break off relations with Tyutchev.
The poet wonderfully expressed passionate and mutual love in his work. He dedicated many poems to this woman. The most striking lyrical works written in honor of the young chosen one were published in the famous poetry collection “Denisevsky Cycle”.
Analysis of the poem “Last Love”
The poem "Last Love" was written in early 1850. During this period, the poet’s fateful acquaintance with the young Elena Deniseva happened. At that moment, the already mature Tyutchev could not even imagine what strong feelings he would experience in the arms of his new lover.Fyodor Ivanovich was immensely happy, this relationship inspired his soul and gave him hope for a bright future with the woman he loved. Of course, in the future, the fate of this couple will be completely bleak... But all the saddest things will happen later, but for now, the poet in love devotes his excellent lyrical works to the new relationship. You can feel what Tyutchev felt during this period of his life by reading the poem “The Last Love.”
Oh, how in our declining years
We love more tenderly and more superstitiously...
Shine, shine, farewell light
Last love, dawn of evening!
Half the sky was covered in shadow,
Only there, in the west, does the radiance wander, -
Slow down, slow down, evening day,
Last, last, charm.
Let the blood in your veins run low,
But there is no shortage of tenderness in the heart...
O you, last love!
You are both bliss and hopelessness.
Fyodor Ivanovich quickly tried to understand his own feelings and sensations, and he purposefully conveyed these emotions in this lyrical work. Only in adulthood did he understand a very important truth - in his declining years, love acquires more frank and tender feelings that bestow strength and the desire to live, create, love...
Tyutchev even managed to discover new qualities of character in himself, which, despite so much life experience, had been invisible all this time. The author compares his last, and greatest love for dear Elena, with the evening dawn. It illuminates the path of life with its faded radiance, giving a new meaning to life’s existence.
Tyutchev's last love radically changed the worldview and meaning of the great poet's life. He began to see only beauty in the world around him. All these changes surprised the author himself. The poet was happy, but at the same time he often thought about the transience of time. Tyutchev understood the hopelessness of the situation and tried to solve all the difficulties that arose in their way, but time was inexorable.
Their love affair lasted until the death of Elena Deniseva. Her tragic departure left an unhealed wound in the soul of the oppressed poet. Until his last days, he remembered this beautiful woman who gave him boundless happiness and crazy love. Despite all the vicissitudes of fate, Tyutchev thanked fate for such a priceless gift, because he was truly lucky to become the main character of a magnificent and passionate romance with a young beauty, Elena Deniseva.
Oh, how in our declining years
We love more tenderly and more superstitiously...
Shine, shine, farewell light
Last love, dawn of evening!
Half the sky was covered in shadow,
Only there, in the west, does the radiance wander, -
Slow down, slow down, evening day,
Last, last, charm.
Let the blood in your veins run low,
But there is no shortage of tenderness in the heart...
O you, last love!
You are both bliss and hopelessness.
Analysis of the poem “Last Love” by Tyutchev
Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev dedicated a poem about the strongest feeling in his life to a girl who was much younger. Having fallen hopelessly in love with a young beauty, the poet did not count on reciprocity; fate decreed otherwise. The elegy “Last Love” is one of the author’s famous works, written for Elena Denisyeva, a student at the Institute of Noble Maidens.
History of the creation of the work
Despite the fact that the age difference between the lovers was 23 years, their feelings were sincere and passionate. The novel quickly became known in society. It was impossible to hide from discussions and constant gossip, because the famous poet was always an exemplary family man. Everyone considered a relationship with a young lover immoral, but the couple decided to sacrifice their reputation in the name of love.
The romance lasted more than 14 years, until Elena Denisyeva died of illness. During this period, she gave birth to three children to the poet, despite the insulting position and condemning views from the outside.
The author spoke about all his experiences in the poem “Last Love.” In every line one feels immense tenderness and reverence towards the young lady. The sympathy that flared up was not just passion and fleeting desire, but a feeling that penetrated to the depths of the soul.
The relationship was not devoid of romance or the desire to take care of each other. Being in adulthood, the poet understood what it meant to love truly, deeply, piercingly, mutually. For a man with wisdom from life experience, who had married twice, it was incredibly scary to lose what was so dear to his heart.
The author himself regards this stage in his life as a real gift of fate. Realizing that this love was doomed, Fyodor Ivanovich conveyed a slight sadness with notes of hopelessness in the lines of the poem: ““Oh, how in our declining years we love more tenderly and more superstitiously...”. In letters to his best friend, the poet admitted that he could not even imagine such a strong feeling in his life.
Literary features
Fyodor Tyutchev expressed all his feelings in the genre of elegy. This is the name in literature for works with content permeated with sadness and melancholy. The poem is easy to read and remember, despite the iambic tetrameter with cross rhyme used by the author. This technique is used to emphasize the confessional nature of the written lines and to emphasize the confidential intonation.
In each line, words are read with sublime pronunciation thanks to the “Oh!” particle. The elegy is not without numerous epithets that give the text imagery, brightness, and expressiveness. For amazing musicality and lightness, the author uses lexical repetitions. This style of writing, according to Tyutchev, transforms a literary work into a sincere love letter.
“Last Love” is included in the school curriculum of literature lessons. The poem is considered a unique, striking example of love poetry, since it is not dedicated to either youthful suffering, ardent passion, or separation, but is the revelation of an adult and wise man in love.
Love is an unpredictable feeling. It can come to a person suddenly. It is not without reason that one of the leading traditions of Russian literature is to compare love with a blow, a flash, as, for example, in the stories of Ivan Alekseevich Bunin. In poetry the situation is somewhat different. Since the lyrics concern the area of feelings, the poet expects an emotional response from the reader, hopes that everyone who reads the poem will be able to exclaim: “Yes, and I felt it! And I experienced it!”
Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev's poem "The Last Love", part of the famous "Denisyev cycle", is indeed dedicated to his last love - 24-year-old Elena Denisyeva. Of course, it is autobiographical, because the tragic story of their relationship is quite well known: the 47-year-old poet fell in love with a young student of the Smolny Institute, but could not leave his family. Exhausted by such a “double” existence, the young woman died of transient consumption, and Tyutchev lived with a sense of guilt until his death.
The poem is rightfully considered the pearl of love poetry. This is not a passionate youthful confession, this is not a bitter regret about past love - this is truly an explanation, an explanation of a wise man who has learned to appreciate the most intimate moments in love between a man and a woman. It’s moments like these that you’re afraid of jinxing, which is why the author writes: “Oh, how in our declining years we love more tenderly and more superstitiously...” Perhaps the hero actually becomes superstitious because he is afraid that he will lose something precious in his life and will never find it again.
In general, it should be noted that the person in Tyutchev’s poetry - be it “cosmic” or love - is weak and majestic at the same time. Fragile as a reed in the face of nature, he is great with some kind of inner, inexplicable strength. A similar duality is felt in this poem, only here this duality is expressed through parallelism (comparing natural phenomena with human life), more characteristic of folk poetry. In this work, the hero’s last love is associated with the evening dawn:
Shine, shine, farewell light
Last love, dawn of evening!
Literally, this should be understood this way: just as the evening dawn illuminates everything around with its last radiance, so the farewell light of last love illuminates a person’s life, which is nearing the end, because “half the sky is covered in shadow,” which means that half of the life has already been lived. How can one not recall Dante’s: “...having completed half my earthly life, I found myself in a dark forest”? But Tyutchev’s hero feels neither fear nor regret, he only asks with a humble prayer:
Slow down, slow down, evening day,
Last, last, charm.
Yes, the hero is no longer young, so "The blood in my veins is running low", but now his love expresses more kindness, care, i.e. tenderness, which "the heart never fails". Although in the last lines there is a hidden sadness, because the hero calls his last love “hopelessness.” And again an oxymoron characteristic of Tyutchev’s style arises: it turns out that “hopelessness” causes “bliss” in the hero! Marvelous.
Speaking about the rhythmic organization of the poem, one cannot help but mention the special sound of this work. At first it seems that the poem was written by an amphibrachium. But the last word seems to get out of the general rhythm and disrupt the harmonious sound. In poetry, this is usually called interruption of rhythm. Obviously, the author uses this technique to create a more confidential intonation in order to emphasize the confessional nature of his love confession. Repetition also causes the rhythm to slow down: "Shine, shine, farewell light...", "Slow down, slow down, evening day...", "Last, last, charm..."
Be sure to check out these other essays:
- Analysis of the poem by F.I. Tyutchev “Silentium!”
- “Autumn Evening”, analysis of Tyutchev’s poem
- “Spring Storm”, analysis of Tyutchev’s poem
"Last Love" by Fyodor Tyutchev
Oh, how in our declining years we love more tenderly and more superstitiously... Shine, shine, farewell light of last Love, the dawn of the evening! Half of the sky is covered in shadow, Only there, in the west, is a radiance wandering, - Hey, hey, evening day, Hey, hey, charm. Let the blood in the veins become scarce, But the tenderness in the heart does not become scarce... Oh, you, last love! You are both bliss and hopelessness. (Between 1852–1854)
last love
“Of the long list of names desired by the poet’s heart, we know only four names, and only one Russian! But this only Russian name became fatal for Tyutchev. They determined everything that was most significant in his love lyrics” (from the biography of Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev).
The three names are Amalia Krüdner (Adlerberg), Eleanor Peterson (the poet's first wife) and Ernestina von Dernberg (second wife).
The only Russian name belongs to Elena Aleksandrovna Denisyeva (1826–1864), Tyutchev’s unmarried wife and mother of his three children, the inspirer of the “Denisyevsky” cycle of his poems, known to all lovers of Russian poetry.
I will not talk here about the stormy and at the same time tragic life of F. I. Tyutchev (12/5/1803–07/15/1873), about his marriages and love stories - enough has been written about this. Just a few lines as background for our "poem of the day."
So, Fyodor Ivanovich first saw Elena Denisyeva on July 15, 1850, at almost 47 years old. She was 24 years old.
She was born in Kursk in 1826, into an old impoverished noble family, and lost her mother early. Elena Denisyeva, the niece of the inspector of the Smolny Institute and its graduate, was friendly with Tyutchev’s eldest daughters and in their house she met her love, for the sake of which she sacrificed her position in society, the opportunity to become a maid of honor, sacrificed friends and relatives (they say her father cursed her). But only during infrequent trips abroad could she be considered Tyutcheva - after all, the poet’s marriage to Ernestina was not dissolved. And Elena had a daughter and two sons in 14 years.
“He, for example, had two wives, from whom there were six children, two long relationships, from which there were five more children, and four big novels. But not one of these women “acquired” him completely, I think, could not confidently say: he is mine, only mine...
He called his momentary hobbies “cornflower blue tomfoolery”...
- Darling! Throw on a blanket. I will help you!
“Beloved”—that’s what Ernestine’s wife began to call him towards the end of his life. She also called Tyutchev “charmer.” “The charmer is a happy man,” she wrote to her daughters, “for everyone is delighted with him...”(Vyacheslav Nedoshivin, Novaya Gazeta, December 1, 2003).
In 1837, Tyutchev wrote to his parents about his wife Eleanor: “... Never a single person loved another as she loved me... there was not a single day in her life when, for the sake of my well-being, she would not agree, without a moment’s hesitation, to die for me.”.
“Mom is just the kind of woman Dad needs—one who loves inconsistently, blindly and patiently. To love dad, knowing him and understanding him... you need to be a saint, completely detached from everything earthly.”, wrote about Tyutchev’s wife, Ernestine, his eldest daughter from his first marriage.
And the poet himself about Elena Deniseva:
You loved, and the way you loved - No, no one has ever succeeded!
“I don’t know anyone who was less worthy of love than me,” Tyutchev once said about the women who idolized him. “So when I became the object of someone’s love, it always amazed me.”
About tenderness
“Oh, how in our declining years we love more tenderly and more superstitiously...” - it was this phrase that made me do a little research about tenderness. This new motif in the lyrics of 50-year-old Tyutchev was noted in his poem “Last Love” by 74-year-old Ilya Erenburg: “And tenderness turned out to be new...”.
“I highly value temperament in an actor. But tenderness has no temperament. And tenderness is more important than love"(Elena Kamburova, singer).
“Love disappears sooner or later, while tenderness is inevitable”(Jacques Brel, singer).
“That’s all... I won’t add anything more, because I’m afraid of becoming sad, and therefore angry, and because I don’t dare admit to you those crazy dreams that are inevitable when you love and when love is enormous and tenderness is limitless.”(Henri Barbusse, “Tenderness”).
David Samoilov:
Tender pity is more piercing than love. Compassion prevails in her. In harmony with another soul, the soul suffers. Selfishness goes astray. The passions that recently raged and sought to demolish everything around them subside, suddenly rising to selfless sadness.
“Whoever knows tenderness is doomed. The Archangel's spear pierced his soul. And this soul will never have peace or measure again! Tenderness is the meekest, most timid, divine face of love.”(Faina Georgievna Ranevskaya).
Bella Akhmadulina, 1974:
Love for a loved one is tenderness for everyone near and far.
And yet, I got the feeling that men up to a certain age are dominated by, as Anna Akhmatova put it, “unsatiated views,” and only in their declining years do they come to the inevitability of tenderness.
Anna Akhmatova, December 1913:
True tenderness cannot be confused with anything, and it is quiet...
In December 1913, Anna Akhmatova was 24 years old.
In Marina Tsvetaeva, for example, already in her early poems, or rather precisely in her early poems, this word appears very often. Bella Akhmadulina wrote her lines about love and tenderness at the age of 37, but this is not the first time - they are just very aphoristic.
And it also seems to me that not only tenderness is “the meekest, most timid, divine face of love.” After all, they have long said in Russia: if he regrets, it means he loves.
“I feel sorry for everyone” - and this phrase, uttered in a certain context, testifies to the same thing - about the “divine faces of love” - purified, non-vain, elevated to selfless sadness.
Paloma, April 2007
