The poem “The Twelve” is one of the most iconic works of Alexander Blok. The poet himself considered it the pinnacle of his creativity. It is quite small in volume, but may seem difficult to understand the plot. The many-wise Litrekon understands this, so he provides you with a retelling of this short work. It summarizes its main events. The action of the poem takes place in Petrograd and describes the period of the February Revolution. Everything is the same here, but in abbreviation
Dark, windy evening. It’s winter, the blizzard is howling, there’s ice outside. A poster “All power to the constituent assembly!” will be stretched between the buildings. An old woman, part of the “old world,” is being killed—how many children’s foot wraps would come out of this huge poster. At a crossroads, a bourgeois hides his nose from the frost. Some man, probably a writer, exclaims quietly: Traitors! Russia is dead!
There are also other representatives of the passing time: a sad priest disappeared behind a snowdrift, a lady in karakul slipped. The wind crumples the poster, and words from the meeting are heard from somewhere (“ten for a while, twenty-five for the night”). The street is empty, only the tramp remains. All around, “anger, sad anger” is seething in the hearts.
A line of twelve people with rifles—people of the “new” world—walks down the street. They walk with a feeling of complete freedom, “without a cross.” Along the way, the fighters discuss Vanya, who has gotten together with the riotous Katka. They accuse Vanka of indulging in entertainment with his kept woman Katya, joining the gendarmes while the fire of revolution flares up through the efforts of his comrades. There are menacing calls for battle, for changing people’s lives:
Let's fire a bullet into Holy Rus' -
To the condo,
In the hut,
In the fat ass!
The fighters' dialogue turns into a cheerful song. It sounds a self-confident call: soldiers in torn coats and with Austrian rifles on their shoulders will organize a world revolution!
The mottos are full of enthusiasm, the detachment patrols the streets as the master of life, and not a slave, but the author predicts evil: the violent fellows will lay down their heads.
The handsome Vanya and the goofy Katya are being driven by a reckless driver, the young people are hugging, Vanya is making fun of them. He became a gendarme - a tsarist policeman, and before he pulled the same burden with his hungry comrades.
But now he has the “stupid face” and portly body of a royal henchman and proudly twirls a black mustache.
Vanya reproaches his mistress for her occupation. Katka's wild life is dangerous: she has scars from a knife on her body. Once she was rich and had fun with officers, but now her destiny is soldiers.
Vanka rather rudely reminds her of the officer who did not escape the knife, accusing her of unconsciousness and numerous love affairs.
A reckless driver carrying lovers collides with fighters, they begin to shoot. Now the comrades reminded their friend of all the old scores. Petka, one of the twelve, used to love Katka, and now takes revenge on her and her beau for trampled feelings.
The reckless driver and Vanya dodge and hide, leaving Katka, shot in the head, lying in the snow. Twelve young men move on, calmly stepping through the blood.
The fighters continue to walk with the same, cheerful and confident step. Only Petka is sad about the girl’s death: he once loved her and spent nights with her. Her comrades accuse Petrukha of unnecessary compassion: now she doesn’t care about love dramas. Indeed, Petka is having fun.
Lock the floors
There will be robberies today!
Petrukha’s thoughts are confused, he prays for the murdered Katka, thinks about boredom and revenge on the old world for the ruined soul of the corrupt Katka.
He is already comforting himself with thoughts of new bloodshed.
At the crossroads there are representatives of the old world: a hungry bourgeois instead of a policeman and a mangy dog. The author says that these images contain the fate of the entire lordly way of life, which can no longer be returned.
The poor man is walking, but the bourgeoisie is hungry and sad: the world has turned upside down.
A terrible storm broke out. Petya turns to the Lord again, but his comrades stop him: God will no longer save him from murder, they are not on the same path with him.
The new era does not need a golden iconostasis; it is confident that it is right.
Twelve fighters go into the distance. A red flag flutters, a marching march is heard, loud calls to the people are heard.
A mangy dog trails behind the line, he bares his teeth, and the revolutionaries brutally drive him away. The fighters threaten the hidden bourgeoisie.
Ahead of the twelve fighters, somewhere in a snowstorm, “Jesus Christ” is walking with a bloody flag and in a white wreath.
Black evening
White snow.
Wind, wind!
The man is not standing on his feet.
Wind, wind -
All over God's world!
It's cold and slippery outside. On a rope stretched from building to building hangs a poster: “All power to the Constituent Assembly!” The old woman is crying, she doesn’t understand why they used up so much material - something useful can be sewn from it, she complains that the Bolsheviks will “drive you into a coffin.”
The wind is biting!
The frost isn't far behind!
And the bourgeois at the crossroads
He hid his nose in his collar.
Someone with long hair calls someone traitors, complains: “Russia is lost!”, probably this is a writer.
And there's the long-haired one -
To the side - behind the snowdrift...
Why is it sad now?
Comrade pop?
Do you remember how it used to be
He walked forward with his belly,
And the cross shone
Belly for the people?..
The lady in karakul tells how they “cryed and cried,” and, slipping, falls. You can hear the words of prostitutes that they had a meeting at which it was decided: “for a while - ten, for the night - twenty-five... And not to charge anyone less...”. A lone tramp walks slouched down an empty street.
Anger, sad anger
It boils in my chest...
Black anger, holy anger...
Comrade! Keep your eyes open!
2
The wind is blowing, the snow is fluttering.
Twelve people are walking.
Rifles black belts
All around - lights, lights, lights...
There is a cigarette in his teeth, he has taken a cap,
You should have an ace of diamonds on your back!
Freedom, freedom,
Eh, eh, without a cross!
The twelve talk about Vanka and Katka sitting in a tavern, scold Vanka, remember: “Vanka was ours, but he became a soldier.”
Keep your revolutionary pace!
The restless enemy never sleeps!
Comrade, hold the rifle, don’t be afraid!
Let's fire a bullet into Holy Rus' -
To the condo,
In the hut,
In the fat ass!
The “guys” went to serve in the Red Guard:
Oh, you, bitter grief,
Sweet life!
Torn coat
Austrian gun!
We are at the mercy of all bourgeoisie
Let's fan the world fire,
World fire in blood -
God bless!
Vanka and Katka are rushing along in the cab. Vanka in a soldier’s overcoat, “twirling his black mustache,” “hugging Katka the Fool, talking to him...”.
Katka’s knife scar under her chest has not healed; she used to “walk around in lace underwear”, “fornicate with officers”,
She wore gray leggings,
I ate Mignon chocolate,
I went for a walk with the cadets -
Now I'm off with the soldier!
Twelve attack Vanka and Katka and shoot. Vanka runs away, Katka is left lying in the snow with a bullet in his head.
Keep your revolutionary pace!
The restless enemy never sleeps!
Oh, comrades, relatives,
I loved this girl...
The others suggest that he keep “control over himself”: “Now is not the time to babysit you.” Petrukha “slows down his hasty steps”, “he throws up his head, he’s cheerful again.”
Eh, eh!
It's not a sin to have fun!
Lock the floors
There will be robberies today!
Unlock the cellars -
The bastard is on the loose these days!
Oh, you, bitter grief!
Boredom is boring
Mortal!
It's time for me
I’ll carry it out, I’ll carry it out...
I'm already crowned
I'll scratch it, I'll scratch it...
I'm already seeds
I'll get it, I'll get it...
I'm already using a knife
I'll strip, I'll strip!..
You fly, bourgeois, like a sparrow!
I'll drink some blood
For the sweetheart,
Black-browed...
Calm, O Lord, the soul of Your servant...
Boring!
There are no more policemen, “take a walk, kid, without wine”, the bourgeoisie at the crossroads “has his nose hidden in his collar”, nearby “a lousy dog is huddling with its coarse fur, its tail between its legs.”
Stands brown like a hungry dog,
It stands silent, like a question.
And the old world is like a rootless dog,
Stands behind him with his tail between his legs.
The blizzard is rising, nothing can be seen in four steps. Petrukha remembers God. They laugh at him:
What did I save you from?
Golden iconostasis?
They add that it is inappropriate to remember God when your hands are covered in Katya’s blood.
...And they go without the name of the saint
All twelve are off into the distance.
Ready for anything
No regrets...
Twelve walk through the blizzard. When they notice someone behind a snowdrift or a house, they tell them to surrender and shoot. “And only the echo responds in the houses.”
So they go with a sovereign step -
Behind is a hungry dog,
Ahead - with a bloody flag
And invisible behind the blizzard,
And unharmed by a bullet,
With a gentle tread above the storm,
Snow scattering of pearls,
In a white corolla of roses -
Ahead is Jesus Christ.
Concept. Analysis of the poem "The Twelve"
many authors have been trying to
“decipher” the images of the poem, but to our
view, concept of A. Gracheva, outlined
in the article “Blok’s poem “The Twelve” is the most successful.
According to this concept, Blok’s perception of the revolution is given in the poem
not at the evaluative level. "A. Blok did not evaluate the revolution in any way.
Blok treated it with Tolstoy’s historical fatalism.”
All the threads of his poetry are drawn to this poem, this is the final
stage of his entire work, after this poem Blok could no longer do anything
write, although, of course, there were attempts. He turned to prose. Posted by
“unsuccessful” beginning of the story “Confession of a Pagan.”
In the poet's worldview, the elements occupied a large place; he was
a “spontaneous” man, his poetry testifies to this. And in the poem
“Twelve” the element broke through, and through “music” poured out into a complex
imagery.
Composition of the poem. The name itself is ambiguous, it varies
at different levels: 12 heads, 12 red guards on patrol, 12 students
in Jesus Christ, 12 o'clock (midnight), when evil spirits appear.
The composition resembles a cut of wood obtained from semicircles,
a semicircle is one chapter that meets another to form a circle.
analytical
The chapters are connected according to their semantic meaning. For example, in the first
Chapter asks the question: “What’s ahead?” - the answer is given in the last chapter:
"Jesus Christ". In the second chapter - the Red Guard heroes have no
goals, and in the eleventh the goal has already been determined (“The fierce one will wake up
enemy". “Forward, forward, working people!”)
In the third (“We will fan the world fire”) - an application for world revolution.
In the tenth - everyone has blood on their hands (“Ali’s hands are not in blood
because of Katka's love? - take a revolutionary step!”).
In the fourth - for people like Katka, a revolution was made, but for
nothing has changed for her. In the ninth - anarchy and desolation
(“And the old world, like a rootless dog, // stands behind it with its tail between its legs”).
In the fifth chapter about Katka, her life as a prostitute, demonic temptations -
in the eighth, “the plebs come out,” those for whom nothing is sacred.
The center of the composition of chapters 6 and 7 is the core - overcoming melancholy
according to Katka.
Such a composition, woven from 12 chapters, symbolizing
connection of both the personal principle (the life of a particular person) and the world
history, allowed the idea of revolution to be realized as the idea of destruction
and disasters.
Chapter I
Black evening
White snow.
Wind, wind!
The man is not standing on his feet.
Wind, wind -
All over God's world!
The beginning symbolizes Blok’s understanding of revolution as
elements. The colors are contrasting: black - white, then red (poster).
Location: all of God's light. The characters are not heroes, but only
those who could not stand on their feet in this whirlwind of terrible elements.
Then the space narrows down to specific events: “All power
To the Constituent Assembly" (a very popular slogan). Can be heard
different voices. The old lady complains that the poster could have been sewn
foot wraps for children is the point of view of the masses. Blok thought, and about this
he wrote in his article "Catalina" that most people do not
does not experience great events. For them, revolution is not
something grandiose. “The revolution, like all grandiose events,
always emphasizes blackness... in which some of the inhabitants are depraved,
half are asleep, few men of the council are awake, faithful to their
police duties, and most of the townsfolk, as always
and everywhere, has no idea that anything is happening in the world...” This
the thought is reflected in the old woman’s phrase (the point of view of the masses).
Further images of Chapter I:
Bourgeois: And the bourgeois at the crossroads
He stuck his nose into his collar.
A very accurate assessment of the noble class by the masses. He
waiting in the wings.
Writer: Who is this? - Long hair
And he says in a low voice:
- Traitors!
Russia is dead!
Must be a writer -
Vitia...
The writer was awarded such an ironic assessment. In reality
so it was. The intelligentsia throughout the 19th century.
“fought for the happiness of the people” and wanted a revolution, but when the revolution
showed her wolfish grin, immediately became confused and condemned the bloody
carnage. Are revolutions ever bloodless? Same idea Block
will express in the article “Intellectuals and Revolution”: “What were you thinking?
That the revolution is an idyll? That creativity does not destroy anything
on your way? That people are good boys? That hundreds of swindlers, provocateurs,
Black Hundreds, people who love to warm their hands, will not try
grab what is lying badly? And finally, what is so “bloodless”
and so the age-old dispute between the “black” will be resolved “painlessly”
and "white bone", between the educated and the "uneducated", between
intelligentsia and people? Everything happens according to the scheme: “first
fanatics, then functionaries, then bedbugs.”
Another figure appears:
Pop: And there’s the long-haired one -
On the side of the snowdrift...
Why is it sad now?
Comrade pop?
Do you remember how it used to be
He walked forward with his belly,
And the cross shone
Belly on the people?
Revolution is an action with a minus sign, and therefore negation
of any culture, including spiritual, occurs in a blasphemous
form. Blok very accurately notes this blasphemous attitude
to the church and priests. “Comrade Pop” - a parody of ministers
cult.
The main character of the first chapter is the wind: “The wind is cheerful /
/ Both angry and glad.” The wind of revolution puts everything in its place: “Who was
nothing, he will become everything.” The revolution will change places for everyone: who was
at the top - he will be at the bottom - the lady slipped and stretched out.
Who's in the middle? - again the wind, and again the poster: “All power to the Constituent
Meeting!...” And then a slightly comical situation:
Trade unions: ...And we had a meeting...
...In this building...
...Discussed -
Resolved:
For a while - ten, at night - twenty-five...
...And don’t take less from anyone...
...Let's go to bed.
The prostitutes' union sets the tariff for clients. Why
would not? But the main thing is that the environment where the heroine will come from has been announced.
poems, Katka. But for now, “the wind is whistling” again, and “the black, black sky.”
Anger, sad anger
It's boiling in my chest...
Black anger, holy anger...
The epithet "black" anger varies with the epithets "sad", "holy"
", it reflects the connection of the incompatible (malice cannot be
holy and sad). This is a metaphor for the state of people's consciousness. Here
the question is asked: “Who is ahead?” - the answer is in chapter twelve - Jesus
Christ, but with a bloody flag.
Chapter II
Heroes appear, they are ordinary people, even too ordinary.
No slogan speeches:
- And Vanka and Katka are in the tavern.
Vanka is not with them, which means he is against them. Heroes understand freedom
as a refusal of prohibitions:
Freedom, freedom,
Eh, eh, without a cross.
The purpose of their trip is also indicated:
How do ordinary Red Army soldiers understand the revolution?
Comrade, hold the rifle, don’t be afraid!
Let's fire a bullet into Holy Rus' -
To the condo,
In the hut,
In the fat ass!
Eh, eh, without a cross!
The block in these lines denotes the essence of the new time: without
cross. Dostoevsky believed that revolution is, first of all, a refusal
from God: “There is no God - and everything is permitted.” So the Red Army soldiers came out
on an "anti-crusade" campaign.
Chapter III
It has only 12 lines, three quatrains. 1st quatrain -
a soldier's song, 2nd - a ditty, 3rd - a prayer, but blasphemous:
“Lord bless!” - but to what: “World fire in blood” -
to the awakening of a new consciousness, when it will be possible to step over
through the main thing: “Thou shalt not kill.”
Chapters IV and V
About Katka. It was for people like Katka that the revolution was made. But what
changed in her life? - Yes, only clients: “Walk with the cadets
I went, I went with the soldier now.”
Chapter VI
In this chapter, Katka dies.
Where's Katka? - Dead, dead!
Shot in the head!
What, Katka, are you happy? - No goo-goo...
Lie, carrion, in the snow.
The Red Army heroes do not feel sorry for Katka - she is not an enemy, but only
random victim. How many of these random victims were there? - But the revolution
there is no such thing as sacrifices. They stepped over Katka and rushed
forward, where the “restless enemy” awaits them:
Revolutionary step up!
The restless enemy never sleeps!
Chapter VII
Memories of Petrukha, one of the twelve, about her love
to Katka, it is reverent in its expression:
-Oh, dear comrades,
I loved this girl...
And in this chapter, love for Katya is killed: “This is not such a time.”
One man's melancholy and grief are drowned in a revolutionary march. What
Is it one person versus many? In literature about the revolution
and the civil war in subsequent years, humanism will be established
general idea, where the fate of one person was sacrificed
the great idea of the masses.
And the masses at the end of Chapter VII indulge in the elements of robbery:
Lock the floors
There will be robberies today!
Unlock the cellars -
The bastard is on the loose these days!
VIII Chapter
At the beginning of the chapter there is mortal melancholy, “boring boredom.” It turns out
to the street the plebs (people) in its worst meaning.
I'm already on the top of my head
I'll scratch it, I'll scratch it...
I already have seeds
I'll get it, I'll get it...
Nothing is sacred to him:
I'm using a knife
I'll strip, strip!
You fly, bourgeois, like a sparrow!
I'll drink some blood
For the sweetheart,
Black-browed...
The prayer at the end of the chapter is said out of habit.
Chapter IX
Romance. There is nothing, only the bourgeois question stands again. And what
what happens next? The image of the bourgeoisie is given here as a comparison with the old
world:
The bourgeois stands there like a hungry dog,
Stands, silent, like a question,
And the old world is like a rootless dog,
Stands behind him with his tail between his legs. -
This is how the soldiers of the revolution see it - Blok is here as a conductor of everything
seen and heard.
Chapter X
Again the element of a storm, a revolutionary storm. Dostoevsky said
about the revolution as a demonic force that has swirled around Russia. P. Florensky
I believed that demonism was clearly visible in this chapter.
The snow curled like a funnel,
The snow rose in columns...
And in this whirlwind, everything is seen completely differently:
Ali's hands are not covered in blood
Because of Katka's love?
It turns out that they did this deliberately, and Katka is the victim. All
Red Army soldiers are tied by blood, they are like-minded people.
-Take a revolutionary step!
The restless enemy is close!
Forward, forward, forward,
Working people!
Chapter XI
The “anti-crusader knights” are moving forward:
...And they go without the name of the saint
All twelve - away.
Ready for anything
No regrets...
The goal is determined, it is aimed at the enemy, but who is this enemy - they
don't see:
And the blizzard throws dust in their eyes
Days and nights
All the way...
The blizzard (demons) obscures the eyes.
Chapter XII
The meeting took place.
This is the wind with a red flag
Played out ahead...
Again the old world appears in the form of a mangy dog:
-Get off, you scoundrel!
I'll tickle you with a bayonet!
The old world is like a mangy dog,
If you fail, I'll beat you up!
They are shooting at an invisible enemy, and that enemy is Christ. Possible
different interpretations of the appearance of Christ with a bloody flag, but
the fact that Blok still did not abandon this image strengthens it
mystical vision. Christ did not abandon Russia, from which
drove out God. In the figurative symbolism of the poem, the red flag is a symbol
Russia, for many years the country of the Soviets will walk under the red
banner. “In a white corolla of roses” - symbolism of the return of Christ
to Russia in the prophetic future:
And invisible behind the blizzard
And unharmed by a bullet,
With a gentle tread above the storm,
Snow scattering of pearls,
In a white corolla of roses -
Jesus Christ is ahead.
Blok in his poem took a very difficult position - not to express
their attitude to the revolution, but to show it in complex
mutually negating processes, maybe that’s why the poem is complex
for understanding.
TWELVE
The poem begins with a description of a dark winter evening. The wind is blowing so strong that it knocks you off your feet.
It seems that there is nowhere to hide from him. A blizzard is blowing, dropping white snow on the ground. The snow covers the ice, which slides underfoot and makes movement difficult. A poster will be stretched between the two buildings: “All power to the Constituent Assembly!” The old woman looks at him with tears, counting how many foot wraps the undressed children would make from such a huge piece of cloth. She crosses a snowdrift, cursing the Bolsheviks.
The frost is getting stronger, which makes the bourgeoisie at the crossroads hide his nose in his collar. Immediately some long-haired man (must be a writer) argues that Russia has perished.
The sad priest is hiding behind the snowdrifts, remembering how he used to proudly carry his belly with a shining cross to the people.
A lady in karakul clothes stretched out on the ice. And the wind, angry and cheerful, continues to twist the hems of passers-by and flutter the large poster. A group of people from a meeting walks by. The street is empty, only one tramp remains on it.
A group of twelve military men appears: “There’s a cigarette in your teeth, they’ve taken a cap, // You need an ace of diamonds on your back!” The military men are talking about Vanka, who has become a soldier and with whom Katka is walking. All around is freedom without a cross:
Keep your revolutionary pace!
The restless enemy never sleeps!
The rushing military are the Red Guards, who in torn coats and with Austrian guns are still capable of fanning a world fire that will woe to all the bourgeoisie. A reckless driver is flying down the street. Vanka with a stupid face, in a soldier's overcoat, twirling his black mustache, rides with Katka on a sleigh. This woman, in her best times, walked with officers, ate chocolate, and now has descended to the soldiers. Katka leads a busy and rather dangerous life: she has a knife scar on her neck and a fresh scratch under her breast. However, men are crazy about her legs, so she often finds herself at the center of all sorts of scandalous stories.
The reckless driver swoops down on the Red Guards, a shootout begins, as one of the Red Guards recognizes his beloved in the girl. Katya is accidentally killed. The reckless driver rushes away. The Red Army soldiers continue on their way as if nothing had happened, leaving the woman in the snow. Only Katka Petrukha’s killer is sad. He tells his comrades how he loved a woman. The Red Guards calm Petrukha and convince her that now is not the time to be nagging. They urge him to control himself and “correct his posture.” Pretty soon the young man raises his head again and becomes noticeably cheerful. He thinks about how he will rob floors and cellars, walking with a naked girl like him:
You fly, bourgeois, like a sparrow!
I'll drink some blood for the sweetheart,
Black-browed...
The street is deserted, there are no policemen anymore. Only the bourgeois stands at the crossroads, hiding his nose in his collar. A mangy dog clings to him, tail between his legs. Like a dog, the old world stands behind the bourgeoisie. Again a blizzard broke out such that no one could be seen four steps away, but this did not stop the Red Guards:
...And they walk without the name of the saint. All twelve go into the distance,
Ready for anything
No regrets...
Both day and night, these twelve people are ready to defend Russia from an invisible enemy, even looking into deserted alleys where “a blizzard alone is gathering dust.” They carry out their service with a red flag, waiting for the fierce enemy to wake up. You can't get in their way. The Red Guards never let down their vigilance. It seemed that someone was ahead, but it was just the wind playing with the red flag. There's a cold snowdrift ahead, who's hiding behind it? No one again. Only the mangy dog hobbles behind. The Red Guards want to get rid of him, as the embodiment of everything unnecessary, the embodiment of the old world. However, the dog, baring his teeth, does not lag behind.
There is still someone ahead. This someone is walking at a quick pace, hiding behind houses and waving a red flag. However, no matter how hard the Red Guards try, they can neither catch up with him nor reach him with a bullet. Only the echo of the shots is reflected in the houses, and the blizzard laughs in the snow. So the twelve Red Guards continue to walk in a stately stride. A mangy dog is trailing behind. And in front, with a flag in his hands, invisible behind the blizzard and immune to the bullet, is another character:
With a gentle tread above the storm,
Snow scattering of pearls,
In a white corolla of roses -
Ahead is Jesus Christ.
Black evening.........................................................................
It's like walking with a stranger's girl!..
