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The theme of memory in Tvardovsky's lyrics. Military lyrics by Tvardovsky. Essay on the topic: The theme of memory in the lyrics of A. Tvardovsky The theme of war and memory in creativity

We are all indebted to the past and the future. Each of us is responsible for our own time, which this future prepares. But there is no responsibility without memory of the past, without involvement in current events. “I lived, I was, I answer for everything in the world with my head,” wrote A. Tvardovsky. His life credo is to be responsible for everything. His works are a living pain about time. They teach us mercy, high morality, citizenship, teach us to be “the kind of people who look people in the eyes without hiding their eyes.” The poet, through his works, convinces us that memory should protect us from terrible mistakes.

The war is long over. There are practically no people left who fought. No matter how one evaluates the war of 1941-1945, the war years will never be erased from our memory. A. Tvardovsky is right:

The war has passed, the suffering has passed,

But pain calls to people:

Come on people, never

Let's not forget about this.

The military theme is one of the main themes of A. Tvardovsky’s work. The poet went through the entire war. Drafted into the Red Army in 1939, he was a private and then a war correspondent. His numerous essays, the poem “Vasily Terkin,” and poems written at the front received nationwide recognition. In the post-war period, the theme of memory and responsibility to the fallen became the main one in the poet’s work.

I know it's not my fault

The fact is that others did not come back from the war.

The fact is that they, who are older, who are younger

We stayed there, and it’s not about the same thing,

That I could, but failed to save them,

That's not what this is about, but still, still, still...

Talking about a terrible war is A. Tvardovsky’s sacred duty, and he must certainly fulfill it. The poet, from his point of view, “better than anyone in the world” knows what and how to talk about. In one of the poems recent years A. Tvardovsky expressed the idea:

The whole point is in one single covenant:

What I will say before the time melts,

I know this better than anyone in the world

Living and dead, only I know.

A. Tvardovsky constantly returns to the theme of memory, repentance, responsibility to the dead. In the poem “I was killed near Rzhev,” written on behalf of a dead soldier, this theme reaches a tragic sound:

You should have, brothers,

Stand like a wall

For the dead are a curse -

This punishment is terrible.

In another poem, “On the Day the War Ended,” the poet talks about the unity of the dead and the living. The pain of the dead and the tragic past cannot be erased from memory. It is not only vain, but also dangerous to think, from the point of view of A. Tvardovsky, that time will “delay any pain,” “any reality.”

The poem “By Right of Memory” sums up the experiences of both the poet himself and his loved ones. At the center of the poem is “an unforgettable century of bad memory of the matter.” We cannot forget our past, because “whoever hides the past jealously is unlikely to be in harmony with the future.” The main topic the work becomes a theme of repentance. The problem of memory develops into a problem of responsibility. The lyrical hero of the poem speaks in it on behalf of the entire people, who were prevented by the cult of personality from following their chosen path. The poet performs on behalf of the people historical court and makes a verdict. He draws a historical lesson from the past for the sake of the future, calls the reader to choose a conscious life position: everything must be “measured” only by the truth, since this is the only guarantee against new mistakes.

One lie is to our loss,

And only the truth comes to court!

The poet reflects in the work “By the Right of Memory” about the cult of personality, about Stalin’s times, about ruined and broken human destinies. He calls to preserve the memory, not to forget those who came from the war and died in the camps.

A. Tvardovsky calls the memory of the war, of the tragic past, cruel. It turns out that not only people can be cruel! This “cruel memory” seems to warn us: the tragedy of the war must not be repeated.

War - there is no crueler word.

War - there is no sadder word.

War - there is no holier word.

We have a responsibility to the fallen people. We have a responsibility for our past, which we must not forget. They say that time heals. But it makes no sense to erase suffering and memory from history. If we pretend that we didn’t have steep cliffs or holes, we risk falling into new ones. We must learn from the mistakes of the past. Returning back to that cruel memory, the poet addresses the present and all future generations.

The war is long over. There are practically no people left who fought. No matter how one evaluates the war of 1941-1945, the war years will never be erased from our memory. A. Tvardovsky is right:

The war has passed, the suffering has passed,

But pain calls to people:

Come on people, never

Let's not forget about this.

I know it's not my fault

The fact is that others did not come back from the war.

The fact is that they, who are older, who are younger

We stayed there, and it’s not about the same thing,

That I could, but failed to save them,

That's not what this is about, but still, still, still...

Talking about a terrible war is A. Tvardovsky’s sacred duty, and he must certainly fulfill it. The poet, from his point of view, “better than anyone in the world” knows what and how to talk about. In one of his poems in recent years, A. Tvardovsky expressed the idea:

The whole point is in one single covenant:

What I will say before the time melts,

I know this better than anyone in the world

Living and dead, only I know.

You should have, brothers,

Stand like a wall

For the dead are a curse -

This punishment is terrible.

The poem “By Right of Memory” sums up the experiences of both the poet himself and his loved ones. At the center of the poem is “an unforgettable century of bad memory of the matter.” We cannot forget our past, because “whoever hides the past jealously is unlikely to be in harmony with the future.” The main theme in the work is the theme of repentance. The problem of memory develops into a problem of responsibility. The lyrical hero of the poem speaks in it on behalf of the entire people, who were prevented by the cult of personality from following their chosen path. The poet, on behalf of the people, administers a historical court and pronounces a verdict. He draws a historical lesson from the past for the sake of the future, calls the reader to choose a conscious life position: everything must be “measured” only by the truth, since this is the only guarantee against new mistakes.

One lie is to our loss,

And only the truth comes to court!

War - there is no crueler word.

War - there is no sadder word.

War - there is no holier word.

Tvardovsky A.T. - poet of the twentieth century. He entered literature as a chronicler important events the time in which the writer lived. We met him at a lesson where we studied in detail the life of Tvardovsky and his lyrics. During the lesson, we made conclusions where we understand that the author’s whole life and all his work were closely intertwined with the life of the country and people. Each of his poems, each of his works deserves attention, because the author raises a wide variety of questions and touches on different topics in his lyrics.

If we talk about the main motives, about the features of Tvardovsky’s lyrics and its themes, then it is worth saying that his poems are diverse. Philosophical motives are also visible here, the author and the topic are touched upon. small homeland, the author is concerned with the theme of the poet and poetry, poems about love are also viewed. However, a significant place in Tvardovsky’s works is devoted to the theme of war and memory in the writer’s lyrics.

If we look at the lyrics, where the author raises the topic of memory, then here we will see two directions. Tvardovsky, with the help of poems, tells readers how important the memory of fallen soldiers is; in addition, the writer notes the importance of family memory, the importance of the family and the chain that goes from generation to generation, but which was so diligently destroyed by repression.

If we talk about the memory of those killed in the war, then here I would highlight the poem and verse I was killed near Rzhev. If we talk about the importance of memories of one’s kinship and roots, then this theme can be clearly seen in the work In Memory of the Mother, in the poem By the Right of Memory and in many of his other works.

The author first touched upon the topic of war when he became a participant in the Great Patriotic War, where he worked as a correspondent. His military lyrics are like a chronicle of life at the front, where the author wrote about the exploits and life of soldiers, where the writer creates the image of a man in war. The author tries to show real realities with his creativity. Reading Tvardovsky’s works, we see his love for the Motherland, his hatred of his enemies. In the writer’s work one can feel pain for his native land, for the people who had to suffer while enduring the disasters of the war years.

Features of Tvardovsky's lyrics

The peculiarity of the writer’s lyrics is that Tvardovsky’s poems are written through the eyes of an eyewitness, conveying to readers the whole truth, sincerely and with all severity. The author did this so that we, descendants, would know the truth of past times and better understand the moral greatness that the people were able to carry through difficult years full of difficult trials.

Composition

The poetry of A. T. Tvardovsky is the poetry of his time. All the work of A. T. Tvardovsky was inextricably linked with the life of his country, his people. The terrible years of wartime hard times, when A. T. Tvardovsky himself was a correspondent for the newspaper “Red Star”, could not help but find their reflection on the pages of his poetic works: “June 22, 1941”, “I was killed near Rzhev”, “On that day , when the war ended,” “May 9,” etc. The poet felt all the hardships of a soldier’s lot:
War - there is no crueler word.
War - there is no sadder word.
War - there is no holier word
In the melancholy and glory of these years.
And on our lips there is something else
It can't be yet and no.
“War - there is no crueler word...” (1944)

Realization of the military theme in the poetry of A. T. Tvardovsky. All poems on military themes are imbued with a feeling of deep love for the homeland, for the Russian land, the author considers dying for the freedom of which the best fate:
I accept my share like a soldier,
After all, if we had to choose death, friends,
That's better than dying for your native land,
And you can't choose.
“Let it until the last hour of reckoning...” (1941)

Many poems were poetic propaganda “leaflets” calling for the fight against fascism:
For Pochinki, Glinka
And wherever there is,
Secret paths
Vigilant revenge is on the move.
Walks, closes in chains,
Covered the entire edge
Where they are not expected, it is announced
And punishes...
Karai!
“To the Partisans of the Smolensk Region” (1942)

The imperative was justified and even necessary in the years when the future fate of the native land, the Russian people, was being decided. Cruelty became the product of no less cruelty on the part of the occupiers.

Features of works on military subjects. Many of A. T. Tvardovsky’s poems have a plot basis. The heroes of such works are ordinary soldiers, yesterday’s boys who quickly grow up in the war:
The salty sweat blinded my eyes
To the young soldier,
That he was a man in the war,
Listed as a boy at home.
"Ivan Gromak" (1943)

Such boys fought until their last bullet, until their last breath, not inferior in courage to their fathers and older brothers:
Here - the enemy is about to throw a grenade,
Shock him with a grenade.
There are two nearby. What about Gromak?
Gromak - let's shovel.

The whole country should have known about the exploits of the warriors; they should have inspired and given strength. The poems of A. T. Tvardovsky achieved their goal - they raised morale and led the defenders forward:
I haven’t seen Moscow, but he
Moscow saluted.
"Ivan Gromak" (1943)

Even children became heroes in the war without realizing it. One of these boys, “ten or twelve years old,” is described in the poem “The Tankman’s Tale” (1941). In the smoke and soot, in the terrible mess of war, such children fought on an equal basis with adults, making their invaluable contribution to the common cause of Victory:
It was a difficult fight. Everything is now as if from sleep,
And I just can’t forgive myself:
From thousands of faces I would recognize the boy,
But what’s his name, I forgot to ask him.

The theme of war in the post-war years. The poet created poems on military themes even during the years of peace. The theme of memory did not leave the author, just as healed wounds in which fragments remain do not stop hurting. “For me, this period seems to be one that I will stop thinking about for the rest of my life,” wrote A. T. Tvardovsky. Thus, the poem “I was killed near Rzhev” (1945-1946) became a terrible denunciation of the cruelty of war, uttered by a soldier who died “in a nameless swamp.” He does not and cannot have a name, because in his voice, in his words, all the soldiers who did not return from the war address their descendants:

I didn't hear the break
I didn't see that flash, -
Right off the cliff into the abyss
And neither the bottom nor the tire.

For lyrical hero life stopped in the midst of the battle, and he did not have time to find out how the battle ended. Love for the homeland, the desire to save the freedom of one’s land turns out to be stronger than the fear of death:
And among the dead, the voiceless,
There is one consolation:
We fell for our Motherland,
But she is saved.

Those who did not make it, who did not survive, receive the right to demand an answer from the living, what they did for Victory and how they continued the fight. The monologue of the dead becomes both a judgment on the war and a mandate to the living:
Let our voice not be heard -
You should know him.
You should have, brothers,
Stand like a wall
For the dead are a curse -
This punishment is terrible.

In the poem, repeated appeals to the living seem to demand an answer, an account of conscience, first of all, to themselves, how they will use the wealth they have received - life. The fallen do not blame anyone (And no one is indebted to us // Of the living), but the brotherly bond of those who were in the same trench will never allow the living to “sleep peacefully.” They bear responsibility for the future of the country and for preserving the memory of the missing, who paid with their lives for the freedom of subsequent generations.

The climax of the poem is the words of the deceased soldier:
I bequeath my life to you, -
What more can I do?
I bequeath in that life
You should be happy
And to my native fatherland
Continue to serve with honor.

The style of the poem, the conversational intonation, the use of popular words - everything is subordinated to one goal: to create a monologue of a nameless soldier, who embodied in his image all the dead.

Those who survived the terrible inferno, who were lucky enough to return home, felt a sense of guilt towards the dead for all the remaining years. Tvardovsky's lyrics become deeper and filled with thoughts. The motive of repentance of the living before the fallen arises:
I know it's not my fault
The fact that others did not come from the war,
The fact that they are - some older, some younger
We stayed there, and it’s not about the same thing,
That I could, but failed to save them, -
This is not about that, but still, still, still...
“I know, it’s not my fault...” (1966)

A. T. Tvardovsky considered it his duty as a citizen and poet to preserve the memory of ordinary soldiers, dead privates, whose bodies have not yet been buried. The memory of the bloody war must be preserved so that no one ever has the desire, in pursuit of ambitious or mercantile goals, to deprive a person of a priceless treasure - life.

The theme of memory of the defenders of the homeland who died in the Great Patriotic War occupies one of the central places in Tvardovsky’s lyrics. It arises long before the end of the war. So, for example, in 1943, the poet remembers a boy fighter who was killed in Finland in 1940. Shocked by the childish sight of a small dead body on the ice, Tvardovsky perceives the tragedy he experienced so closely that it seems to him that he himself could very well become that murdered boy:

Among the great cruel war,

Why, I can’t imagine,

I feel sorry for that distant fate

Like dead, alone,

As if it were me lying -

He exclaims.

Most of all, the poet would not like a feat young hero was forgotten. He calls the Finnish War unfamous, and the murdered boy forgotten.”

In the poem “I know, it’s not my fault...” the poet writes about how painfully the survivors remember the dead. And although war does not choose a victim and every fighter may not return from it, those who were destined by fate to return will always feel an incomprehensible guilt before those who were left lying on the battlefield.

To you, those who fell in that world battle

For our happiness on the harsh land,

I point out in every new word, -

The poet writes in the poem “On the day the war ended.” The poet is not a god: he is not given the power to resurrect departed heroes, but he is endowed with a different power. He is able to perpetuate the memory of the fallen. Tvardovsky calls the battle a global battle, thereby emphasizing its bloody nature. Those killed were not allowed to see the joy of the victorious day. However, those who met him at this time felt a special involvement with the destinies of those who had passed on.

The theme of memory in Tvardovsky’s lyrics reaches its apogee in the poem “I was killed near Rzhev,” written on behalf of the deceased hero. His body was not buried according to the customs of his ancestors. It remained lying in the very swamp where the hero met his death in battle. The soldier passed away without even realizing it.

I didn't hear the break

I didn't see that flash

Right off the cliff into the abyss -

And neither the bottom nor the tire, -

He narrates.

The mind of the deceased hero seems to dissolve in the world, in the earth, in the river in a cloud of dust. It was not even possible for him to find out whether the city, for which a bloody battle was taking place, was taken. However, his last thoughts are directed to those people in whose name his life was sacrificed:

I bequeath in that life

You should be happy

Tvardovsky emphasizes that every person must remember at what cost peace and tranquility was achieved in native land, cherish it sacredly and be proud of your history. The Great Era Patriotic War is firmly a thing of the past. Fewer and fewer living witnesses remain with us. However, thanks to the poetry of A. Tvardovsky, this war will be remembered hundreds of years later, and remembered with gratitude about those who did not return home from the front, remaining lying in the very place where they died, about those buried in mass graves with meager stars instead of crosses . Poetry, like human memory, is capable of living forever in time, glorifying the immortal feat of heroes.