One of the bright and priceless pearls in the work of the brilliant Russian poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin is the poem “Anchar”, which he created in 1828. In 1832 it was published in the literary almanac “Northern Flowers”. At the time of writing this work, the poet had been living in Moscow for several years after a long four-year exile in Chisinau and was under the secret surveillance of the tsarist censorship. Taught by bitter experience, Pushkin is wary of openly speaking out against the tsarist autocracy, and uses a thinly veiled allegory in this work, making the central character of his pseudo-medieval ballad with an oriental parable slant, the poisonous upas-anchar tree growing on the island of Java, located in the distant Indian Ocean.
The main theme of the poem
The subject of the poem was Pushkin's reading in Russian periodicals of that time from the notes of a doctor from Holland of a West Indian trading company about the amazing ominous upas-anchar tree, which secretes poisonous sap, extracted by local residents at great risk to their own lives and used by them as an impregnation for arrows and other throwing weapons. Also, some researchers of Pushkin’s work put forward the idea that this work was created by Pushkin as a contrast to the poem “Regret” by the famous poet of that time Pavel Katenin (it contained the image of a certain “tree of life”, symbolizing royal mercy).
Compositionally, the poem “Anchar” consists of two contrasting structural parts, based on the principles of antithesis. In the first five stanzas, which represent the beginning of the work and belong to the first part, the author gives us a description of the legendary Anchar tree, which grows in a barren desert and has poisonous resin. The brilliant poet creates the image of a tree, the embodiment of absolute evil, which is distinguished by its brightness and expressiveness: “even a bird does not fly to it, and a tiger does not go,” and everything that approaches it is saturated with the stench of death and decay. The next three stanzas, which are the main development of the plot and relate to the second part, show us the image of an inexorable and cruel ruler who sends a slave “with just one imperious glance” for poisonous resin, knowing full well that he is doomed to painful death. The last stanza tells why the ruler needs poison, to saturate his arrows with it and bring death and destruction to neighboring states.
The main theme of this work is the depiction of the image of world evil, viewed from both a philosophical and social position. The image of universal evil, which is embodied in the poisonous Anchar tree, according to Pushkin, is, along with the question of life and death, one of the main problems of humanity throughout its existence. Also, the poem “Anchar” touches on such important topics for the poet that concern him throughout his entire career as a poet and citizen of his homeland, such as freedom and tyranny. Only in in this case these themes are revealed in a general philosophical sense, characteristic of the late stage of his work.
Structural analysis of the poem
In terms of genre orientation, this work is a lyric-epic plot poem, written in the poet’s favorite meter, iambic tetrameter, using a special omission of stress on a particularly rhythmically strong place (the so-called pyrrhic, a special technique of versification) in order to enhance the drama of the events taking place.
To figuratively reveal the ideological content in the work, the author used vivid epithets (the desert is stunted and stingy, flammable sand, a black whirlwind), metaphors (nature has given water, a whirlwind will come), antithesis (slave - ruler). The author’s use of ancient Slavic archaisms (tree, cold brow, whirlwind, obedient) gives the work a special solemnity and majesty. A large number in the first part of such consonant letters as “p” and “ch” on sound level creates a gloomy and depressing impression, with which the author wanted to emphasize the dull and sad atmosphere that reigns in the “stunted and stingy desert.”
In the poem “Anchar”, Pushkin presents to the readers a system in which undivided power belongs to one person (the ruler or prince, as in more earlier versions) and he can do whatever he pleases with his subordinates, being, like God, the arbiter of their fate, the master of life or death. Such power is the real source of evil, destroying such poisonous tree Anchar is all around.
"Anchar" Alexander Pushkin
In the desert, stunted and stingy,
On the ground, hot in the heat,
Anchar, like a formidable sentry,
It stands alone in the entire universe.Nature of thirsty steppes
She gave birth to him on the day of wrath
And green dead branches
And she gave the roots poison.Poison drips through its bark,
By noon, melting from the heat,
And it freezes in the evening
Thick transparent resin.Not even a bird flies to him
And the tiger is gone - just a black whirlwind
He will run to the tree of death
And rushes away, already pernicious.And if the cloud waters,
Wandering, its dense leaf,
From its branches, already poisonous,
Rain flows into flammable sand.But man is man
He sent to the anchar with an imperious look:
And he obediently went on his way
And in the morning he returned with poison.He brought mortal resin
Yes, a branch with withered leaves,
And sweat on the pale brow
Flowed in cold streams;He brought it - and weakened and lay down
Under the arch of the hut on the bast,
And the poor slave died at his feet
The invincible ruler.And the prince fed that poison
Your obedient arrows
And with them he sent death
To neighbors in foreign lands.
Analysis of Pushkin's poem "Anchar"
Alexander Pushkin is rightfully considered one of the outstanding Russian poets. Moreover, his talent was appreciated during the author’s lifetime, which was a rarity in literary circles of the 19th century. However Pushkin had quite a lot of enemies, and among them was the ruling elite Tsarist Russia , for which the poet also did not have the warmest feelings. However, taught by bitter experience and not wanting to find himself in exile again, Alexander Pushkin in his work of a later period refrained from openly denouncing the authorities, veiling it with subtle allegorical images.
The poem "Anchar", created in 1828, is one such work. His final version is quite decent and resembles a medieval ballad. However, drafts of this poem have survived to this day, where a parallel is clearly drawn between Russian Tsar and a formidable eastern ruler who sends an innocent slave to death.
Anchar is a deadly tree, the sap of which has been used since time immemorial to lubricate arrowheads with which eastern warriors hit the enemy. Nothing grows near the poisonous anchar, and animals try to avoid the place where this tree is located. However, this does not stop the powerful warrior who wants to get the anchar juice. With one glance he directs his servant to a lost place, knowing in advance that he is destined to die. But what does the life of a slave mean when the success of a military operation is at stake?
This behavior is typical not only for eastern rulers, but also for Russian autocrats. However, Alexander Pushkin still did not dare to openly denounce the Russian Tsar, for whom the life of a simple peasant or soldier is not worth a penny. As a result, the poem “Anchar”, if you do not try to draw a parallel with reality, can be classified as a beautiful and gloomy epic. However, the draft versions of this work clearly indicate what the author actually had in mind when he created this epic work filled with hopelessness, cruelty and inevitability of what is happening.
Researchers of the poet’s work draw another parallel between the poem “Anchar” and the political situation in Russia in the first half of the 19th century. In their opinion, the formidable eastern ruler identifies not so much the king as the whole country, which is ready to send “obedient arrows” poisoned with poison to various countries peace. In other words, Russia seeks to start wars in order to strengthen world dominance. And at the same time, she does not intend to take into account the lives of thousands of soldiers whom she sends to certain death in order to carry out her aggressive plans.
However, if in the draft version of “Anchar” the poet expresses the hope that the darkness will recede and the formidable eastern ruler will nevertheless be defeated, then in the final version Pushkin leaves it to the readers themselves to predict the course of events. And the point is not only that the author does not want to once again tease the censorship, which is already very picky about each of his works. Probably, Alexander Pushkin realizes that the current generation is not yet able to overthrow the autocracy, and such an idea is not viable, if only because Russia is not yet ready for such drastic changes. At the same time, any attempts to change the situation will be immediately stopped, and the most ardent patriots and reformers of the country will have to fall from arrows poisoned by anchar juice. But simply - to be exiled to Siberia, regardless of titles, ranks and noble origins.
Keywords: Anchar, linguistic analysis of the text, Pushkin, drafts.
A.S. Pushkin “Anchar”
In the desert, stunted and stingy,
On the ground, hot in the heat,
Anchar, like a formidable sentry,
It stands alone in the entire universe.
Nature of thirsty steppes
She gave birth to him on the day of wrath
And green dead branches
And she gave the roots poison.
Poison drips through its bark,
By noon, melting from the heat,
And it freezes in the evening
Thick transparent resin.
Not even a bird flies to him
And the tiger is gone - just a black whirlwind
He will run to the tree of death
And rushes away, already pernicious.
And if the cloud waters,
Wandering, its dense leaf,
From its branches, already poisonous,
Rain flows into flammable sand.
But man is man
He sent to the anchar with an imperious look:
And he obediently went on his way
And in the morning he returned with poison.
He brought mortal resin
Yes, a branch with withered leaves,
And sweat on the pale brow
Flowed in cold streams;
He brought it - and weakened and lay down
Under the arch of the hut on the bast,
And the poor slave died at his feet
The invincible ruler.
And the prince fed that poison
Your obedient arrows
And with them he sent death
To neighbors in foreign lands.
When analyzing any poem, it is necessary to use not only literary, but also linguistic analysis for a deeper understanding of the meaning of the work. The poem "Anchar" was written in 1828. After returning from exile A.S. Pushkin writes several works related to the problem of freedom and tyranny in the country. But the poet is closely watched, so he takes the legend of a deadly poisonous tree as the basis for his work. Not long before this, P. Katenin wrote the poem “Regret,” in which the image of the “tree of life” was drawn, symbolizing the “kingdom of mercy.” Researchers of Pushkin’s work put forward the version that the poet created his poem about the “tree of death” as an antithesis to the Katenin tree.
When analyzing this poem, the principle of a level approach to the text was applied, and the principle of historicism was taken into account.
The poem “Anchar” can be roughly divided into two parts. The first describes a poisonous tree, the second tells about an omnipotent ruler who sent his slave to death. This division suggests a disruption of the rhythm in the line “But man is a man,” as well as a change in the sound imagery. In the first part, the poet uses alliteration, emphasizing the gloomy monotonous color (voiceless consonants, hissing), in the second, the use of sonorous sounds is intensified, emphasizing the development of the action. Speaking about spelling norms, it is worth noting the use of Old Church Slavonic words with inconsistency (“cold, tree”). It was A.S. Pushkin developed a stylistic norm for the language and distinguished between the use of words with full and partial consonance. In this poem, the poet uses Slavicisms to create the flavor of the era and solemn elation, because Pushkin “tells a legend.”
The vocabulary was also chosen taking into account the style of the legend: stunted, thirsty, branches, caplet, in the evening, pernicious, ruler - it adds solemnity to the narrative. To understand the meaning of the work, it is necessary to comment on some words: Anchar is a tropical South Asian poisonous tree; Lyko-bark of young linden and others deciduous trees. Thus, the analysis of vocabulary helps to comprehend the author’s allegory of the eastern legend with the fate of Russia and understand the true meaning of the poem: disastrous for the country of unlimited power. linguistic poem Pushkin Anchar
The poem is rich in artistic and visual means: epithets (sick and stingy desert; black whirlwind; imperious gaze), metaphors (dead green branches, tree of death), which create in the reader’s mind vivid images destructiveness of the tree. The author uses the only comparison “like a formidable sentinel,” emphasizing the loneliness and important mission of the tree. Also A.S. Pushkin uses the technique of gradation “and the bird does not fly, and the tiger does not come,” but the man “obediently flowed on his way” to enhance the image of the ruler’s power. The entire work is based on the antithesis of life and death, as well as the “invincible ruler” and the “poor slave.” The poet creates a clear projection of which of them is destined to live and which to die. The legend as a genre implies vivid imagery, so Pushkin complements the picture with the personification of “nature gave birth to a tree on the day of wrath.”
There are no obvious repetitions at the morphological level, but it is worth paying attention to the meaning of the verb “to flow.” In the poem, “the rain flows into the flammable sand,” and the man “obediently flows on his way,” an obvious parallel is drawn. The use of the verb “flow” in relation to a person speaks of the deprivation of his will, an action of necessity from above. Alexander Sergeevich thereby speaks of the impossibility of resisting power, as well as nature.
The syntactic structures are simple. The basis is parallelism based on contrast: a whirlwind comes and rushes away, the poison, melted by the heat, freezes in the evening, a man sets off on his way and returns in the morning. This parallelism depicts the rejection of all living things to the tree.
In the poem “Anchar” by A.S. Pushkin shows his position mainly in the choice of the theme of the work; Through the outcome of the plot and images, the reader understands the author's attitude towards power.
It helps to better understand the author's intention by looking at draft manuscripts. Draft options“Anchara” has been preserved, so we can identify places in which the poet experienced difficulties. For example, the line about a slave: “And he obediently set off on his way” in the drafts had the variants “And he thoughtlessly set off on his way”, “And he followed the poison on his way”, “And bravely...”. Leaving the word “obediently” means the author’s desire to show the impossibility of refusal, resignation to one’s fate. And instead of the line “And in the morning he returned with poison” it was: “And he returned with poison,” “And he returned safely,” “and he returned obediently with it.” These line variations indicate the author's original intention to return safely. This changes the entire concept of the poem - there are no ideas left in it about freedom and humanity, or about autocracy, which is destructive for society. It is the left word “safe” that confirms the main symbolism of the work: Anchar is the embodiment of insatiable fate, the ruler is a man who commands fate and death itself, and the slave is only a tool to achieve the goals of the state.
Thus, we can conclude that linguistic analysis of the text allows us to better understand both individual details and general meaning works. Analysis of the poem “Anchar” showed that all the images reinforce the awareness of the death of unlimited power for society, but, at the same time, the impossibility at this stage of resisting it.
Bibliography
1. Pushkin A.S. Anchar - http://roslit.com/book/Anchar_Pushkin
The genre is traditionally defined as a lyric poem, but the eventful plot allows it to be called a ballad.
Pushkin based the plot of this work on semi-legendary information about the existence of the poisonous anchar tree on the island of Java. Travelers said that this tree poisons the surrounding air, and its sap is lethal. The leaders of the local tribes sent those sentenced to death penalty collect poisonous anchar resin, which was used to poison arrows.
In his poem, Pushkin creates a very vivid and expressive image of a deadly poisonous tree, symbolizing absolute evil:
Not even a bird flies to him,
And the tiger does not come: only a black whirlwind
He will run to the tree of death -
And rushes away, already pernicious.
The king, who needed poison for his arrows, sent his servant to this tree. He fulfilled the order, paying for it with his life.
“Anchar” raises the theme of the disastrous nature of unlimited power. Pushkin compares the evil of nature and the evil of the ruler who sends a man to a tree, the bringer of death. All living things avoid touching the anchar; he is “one in the whole universe.” The king violates the law of nature.
Composition. The poem is divided into two parts. The first describes a poisonous tree. The second tells about an all-powerful ruler who sent his slave to death. When depicting the anchar, Pushkin uses epithets aimed at revealing its main quality - destructiveness for all living things. The images of the king and the servant are contrasting: in the first, the poet emphasizes his omnipotence and ruthlessness, in the second - humility. At the same time, the images of the anchar and the king, on the contrary, are compared: both of them bring death.
The ideological meaning of this poem is the destructiveness of unlimited power for society.
Before moving directly to the analysis of the poem "Anchar", which was written in 1828, let's say that its author is an incredibly gifted and skillful master of literature - Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. Of course, everyone knows this, but it would not be amiss to remember that his work is replete with masterpieces that have become the most valuable heritage of culture, and “Anchar” is further confirmation of this. First of all, let's look at what events preceded the writing of "Anchar".
Analysis of the poem "Anchar"
In those years when Alexander Pushkin sat down to write his next work (we are talking about the poem “Anchar”), he lived in Moscow. Before this, the poet served a long four-year exile in Chisinau, which was actually a substitute for hard labor in Siberia, and now, at the request of Emperor Nicholas I, Pushkin lived here. The fact that the punishment was commuted became possible thanks to Karamzin’s requests, and the poet was sent into exile for epigrams that were careless from the point of view of Emperor Alexander the First.
It is not in vain that we are considering these events; this will help make the analysis of the poem “Anchar” more accurate. Returning from exile, Pushkin was full of impressions and new ideas. Now the poet chose freedom of choice, the theme of the top of power as his main motives and described the struggle with fate.
Basic images and composition
Let's talk a little about the plot - Pushkin took its motives from old legends, which tell about an amazing and terrible tree that is full of poison, and its location is the island of Java. What meaning did the author put into this image? This poisonous and deadly plant is a symbol of evil fate, which, together with a pernicious spirit, turns the autocracy of Tsarist Russia into a destructive weapon. This idea is very important when analyzing the poem "Anchar".
The composition "Anchara" is built using antithesis, which in this case implies a clear opposition of structural parts. The first part contains details of the description of the complete poison of the tree: it was born from the nature of the barren “thirsty steppes”, and in the middle of the desert it looks like a “formidable sentinel”. Here Pushkin purposefully enhances the reader’s impression, thickening the colors, and we see that each new stanza repeats the description of a poisonous tree, or rather its deadly power.
Paying attention to the sound analysis of this part of the work "Anchar", you can find a large number of the sounds of the letters "p" and "ch". Thus, the phonemic level conveys the gloomy colors and notes of the poet’s depressing mood, and we also vividly imagine “the stunted and stingy desert.”
Let's move on to the second part, analyzing the poem "Anchar". Readers are presented with a merciless and inexorable image - this is exactly what a ruler looks like, who sends one of his devoted slaves to death, expressing his will with an imperious gaze. Here you can see the contrast of this image with another - a poisonous tree, and here you can feel the identification. It is interesting that when the ruler sends a slave to his death, the poet considers this more terrible than the poison tree itself, which embodies the concept of death.
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