If you read the verse “Another May Night” by Fet Afanasy Afanasyevich again and again, then each time the image created by the author will be revealed from a new side. Only the sublime style of writing will really remain unchanged, which is perceived equally easily in lines that convey high spirits and slight sadness.
The named work, written in 1857, generally glorifies the beautiful May night. The author emphasizes his special attitude towards her using exclamatory sentences. The poet thanks his native land for the fact that he can enjoy the mentioned time of day in the spring. However, a quiet starry May night causes conflicting feelings. In the song of the nightingale and the trembling of birch leaves, Fet heard both joy and anxiety. It is impossible not to admire the gentle image of the night, but it also makes you think about the future. Therefore, the poet suggests that any of his creations may be the last.
This lyric in the author's work is not the only one dedicated to the night, including the spring one. It is therefore rather curious to compare such verses. For expressive reading and analysis in grades 5-6 in a literature lesson, the text of Fet's poem “Another May Night” can be freely downloaded or taught online in full on our website.
What a night! On everything what bliss!
Thank you, native midnight land!
From the realm of ice, from the realm of blizzards and snow
How fresh and clean your May flies!
What a night! All the stars to one
Warmly and meekly look into the soul again,
And in the air behind the song of the nightingale
Anxiety and love spread.
The birches are waiting. Their leaf is translucent
Shyly beckons and amuses the gaze.
They tremble. So maiden newlywed
And her dress is joyful and alien.
No, never more tender and incorporeal
Your face, O night, could not torment me!
Again I go to you with an involuntary song,
Involuntary - and the last, maybe.
“Still fragrant bliss of spring ...” Afanasy Fet
Another fragrant bliss of spring
We did not have time to descend,
Still ravines are full of snow,
Still dawn the cart rumbles
On a frozen pathAs soon as the sun warms at noon,
The linden blushes in height,
Through, the birch tree turns a little yellow,
And the nightingale does not yet dare
Sing in a currant bush.But the news of rebirth is alive
There are already in the flying cranes,
And, following their eyes,
There is a beauty of the steppe
With blush bluish cheeks.
Analysis of Fet's poem "Still fragrant bliss of spring ..."
From the time of his student days until his death, Fet had three unconditional values: love, nature and poetry. It was these themes that he considered possible to reveal in the lyrics. All other motives were subject to an unspoken taboo. Afanasy Afanasievich's descriptions of nature are an image of the moment through the prism of personal perception. For Fet, it was extremely important to capture a fleeting change. In his poems, the reader is offered not just autumn, summer, spring, winter landscapes. The poet sought to tell about shorter segments of the seasons, transitional states of nature. This can also be seen from the work "Still fragrant bliss of spring ...", first published in 1854 in the Sovremennik magazine. It captures the moment when spring has not yet fully come into its own, but everything around is already imbued with the feeling of its early arrival. Moreover, there are no significant changes in nature yet: frozen roads, unmelted snow, unleafed trees. Nevertheless, on an intuitive level, a person feels the upcoming onset of spring, rejoices in it, and a bright mood reigns in his soul.
In fact, Fet describes the late winter. At the same time, he adds bright spring colors to the landscape: the birch tree turns yellow, the linden blushes. A nightingale singing in a currant bush, the sun, while warming only at noon, are the first signs of the approach of warm days, the coming renewal of nature. The image of spring appears from the denial of its coming and is summarized in the final five-verse, beginning with the words: "But there is already a living message of rebirth ...". In the landscape lyrics of Fet, things that are not too poetic become the subject of art. For example, a bluish blush on the cheeks of a steppe beauty and the currant bush mentioned above. With the help of these precise details, Afanasy Afanasievich makes it clear to readers that before them is not some abstract spring, but spring in Russia.
For the landscape lyrics of Fet, the image of the dawn is important. It symbolizes the fire generated by the sun. At the start of the day, the colors of nature are distinguished by clarity and purity, the rays of the luminary endow the earth with tenderness. In the reflections of dawn - a mysterious world that helps to appear inspiration. Its connection with spring is inseparable. This season is for the earth, as the dawn is for the coming day. As for creative people, spring gives them the opportunity to touch beauty with their hearts, to experience the delight of widespread renewal and rebirth.
"Another May Night" Afanasy Fet
What a night! On everything what bliss!
Thank you, native midnight land!
From the realm of ice, from the realm of blizzards and snow
How fresh and clean your May flies!What a night! All the stars to one
Warmly and meekly look into the soul again,
And in the air behind the song of the nightingale
Anxiety and love spread.The birches are waiting. Their leaf is translucent
Shyly beckons and amuses the gaze.
They tremble. So maiden newlywed
And her dress is joyful and alien.No, never more tender and incorporeal
Your face, O night, could not torment me!
Again I go to you with an involuntary song,
Involuntary - and the last, maybe.
Analysis of Fet's poem "Another May night ..."
It is no secret that the subtle and deep lyric poet Afanasy Fet wrote all his works, as they say, from life. His poems are transformed feelings and images that he passed through his own soul. Therefore, it is not surprising that practically every poem by the author is based on real events that the poet displays with his characteristic elegance, leaving “behind the scenes” what, according to the poet, at the moment does not personally matter to him.
The poem "Another May Night" also has its own background. It was written in 1857 almost immediately after Afanasy Fet married Maria Botkina. The poet felt sympathy and deep affection for his young wife, although he realized that these feelings can only be called love with a very big stretch. The poet's marriage was concluded out of a desire to secure a decent life for himself, to which he was accustomed from childhood. The thing is that Fet was adopted by a rather wealthy landowner Afanasy Shenshin, but after his death he was disinherited due to incorrectly executed papers and was forced to leave his family estate in order to earn his own living. It was then that the poet was forced to change his surname - from now on he became Afanasy Fet. Thus, having achieved the hand of Maria Botkina, the poet, although he did not regain his noble title, could count on a completely comfortable existence due to an impressive dowry.
The May night, which the author so admires in his poem, seems to be the first in his by no means happy family life. However, the poet is determined to forget his beloved Maria Lazich, whom he refused to marry precisely because of financial considerations. Now, having gained an impressive fortune, Fet is counting on a serene and prosperous life, so everything touches him - the May night, and the rustle of young birch leaves outside the window, and the delightful nightingale trills. The author, as if waking up from a long hibernation, begins to notice the beauty of the world around him, emphasizing that "all the stars, to a single one, look warmly and meekly into the soul again." The poet compares his young wife with a slender birch, which "shyly beckons and amuses the eye." Drawing a similar parallel, the author notes that “so the newlywed maiden is both joyful and her dress is alien.”
Afanasy Fet tries to carefully hide personal feelings and experiences that night, believing that not love, but financial well-being is the key to a prosperous family life. Subsequently, the poet realizes his mistake and will cruelly pay for it until the end of his days, living with a woman he does not love. However, on the day of the wedding, the author is full of the brightest hopes, although the first doubts are already creeping into his soul. It is much nicer and more pleasant for him to admire the night sky and admire its beauty than to spend time with his young wife. Therefore, the poet notes that “your face, O night, could not torment me!”. How Fet actually relates to his marriage is evidenced by the last lines of the poem “It’s still a May night ...”, in which the author admits: “I’m coming to you again with an involuntary song, involuntary - and the last, maybe.” The poet secretly regrets that he voluntarily deprived himself of his freedom for the sake of financial well-being, foreseeing that such a union will very soon become a burden for him. Fet does not openly mention his first and only lover, but between the lines of this romantic poem one can catch a slight regret that a completely different woman has become his chosen one. And with this fact, as it turned out later, the poet could not come to terms until his death.
What a night! On everything what bliss!
Thank you, native midnight land!
From the realm of ice, from the realm of blizzards and snow
How fresh and clean your May flies!
What a night! All the stars to one
Warmly and meekly look into the soul again,
And in the air behind the song of the nightingale
Anxiety and love spread.
The birches are waiting. Their leaf is translucent
Shyly beckons and amuses the gaze.
They tremble. So maiden newlywed
And her dress is joyful and alien.
No, never more tender and incorporeal
Your face, O night, could not torment me!
Again I go to you with an involuntary song,
Involuntary - and the last, maybe.
Analysis of the poem "Another May Night" by Fet
The poem "Another May Night" was written by Fet almost immediately after his marriage to M. Botkina (1857). At first glance, it describes the feelings of a person who has found happiness in family life. In reality, everything was much more complicated. Fet was madly in love with M. Lazich, but could not marry her for financial reasons. By marrying Botkin, who has a large inheritance, he provided for his life, but destroyed the hope of happiness in love. The early tragic death of Lazich shocked Fet and gave rise to a feeling of great guilt in front of his beloved. The work “Another May Night” is an attempt by the poet to fence himself off from sad memories and pretend to be a happy young husband.
The author expresses his admiration for the fresh May night. He emphasizes that such a feeling can only be experienced in the Russian "realm of ice, ... blizzards and snow." At home, the triumph of spring over the harsh Russian winter is very acutely felt. This transition symbolizes for Fet possible happiness in family life (in fact, financial well-being).
Fet remains true to himself, singing the beauty of the surrounding nature: “the stars ... look meekly into the soul”, in the silence the “nightingale song” is loudly heard, which, together with love, for some reason spreads anxiety. In the third stanza, the poet introduces the traditional image of a birch. Impressed by the recent wedding, the poet compares the tree with the "virgin bride". Not feeling love for Botkina, he nevertheless treated her with great respect and recognized her unconditional right to family happiness.
Fet still hoped for the Russian proverb "be patient, fall in love." Botkina truly loved the poet and was ready to become his only faithful and caring wife. And financial independence allowed him to completely surrender to poetry and try to forget about the past love that did not work out.
In the finale, Fet's real feelings break through. It becomes clear that the gentle May night helps him cope with the loss of M. Lazic and briefly believe in happiness with his unloved wife. The “involuntary song” caused by the charm of the night may well be the last. It is widely known that Fet until the end of his life bitterly regretted his fatal decision when choosing between love and money. Over the years, his poems increasingly appeared the desire for an early death. The poet believed that in another world he would meet his beloved again and be able to atone for his guilt.
Fet's poems struck contemporaries and amaze us with the brightness and consistency of colors, great emotional intensity.
The poet believed that one should create on a whim and inspiration. The subject of art can be nature, love, beauty - and he followed this in his poetic practice. He entered the history of Russian poetry as an original lyric poet, a master of lyrical miniatures.
Nature occupies a significant place in his lyrics; it seems to respond to the feelings of the poet. Man is a particle of living nature, a creature equal to it. The poet liked to depict the transitional states of nature, different seasons: autumn, spring, summer and winter - everything is equally beautiful.
His love lyrics are very significant, glorifying the joys and troubles of a great human feeling. A whole cycle of poems about love for a woman is dedicated to Maria Lazich, most of them are dramatic.
The prevailing mood in his works is intoxication with nature, beauty, art, memories, delight. These are the features of Fet's lyrics. Often the poet has the motive of flying away from the earth following the moonlight or enchanting music.
Poetry for Fet is pure essence, something like rarefied air on mountain peaks: not a human house, but a sanctuary.
Like any poet, Afanasy Afanasyevich writes about the eternal theme of life and death. He is not equally afraid of death or life. By physical death, the poet experiences only cold indifference, and earthly existence is justified only by creative fire, commensurate in his view with "the whole universe." Both ancient and Christian motifs sound in verse.
In this section you will also find all the best Fet verses that students of grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 pass through the school curriculum. Patriotic poems about Motherland and Russia, about war and freedom. Sad poems about the cemetery and religion, about loneliness, about freedom. Dedications to mother and women. Philosophical reflections about good and evil, about friendship, about the abyss.
Adult readers will like short poems about sleep, satirical poems with obscenities. As well as lyrical, romantic and historical works. And also read dedications, epigrams, romances - and enjoy the pearls of world lyrics.
