There are probably few of them. For one of the most memorable works of F. I. Tyutchev "Silentium". Meanwhile, the poem "The Last Cataclysm" has a very deep philosophical meaning. Want to know which one? The article explains in detail.

It consists of one quatrain. What did Tyutchev want to convey to the reader in such a short work? Why was it written? How does the poet's worldview reflect?

Let's look for answers to these questions. They lie on the surface. Read the article and see for yourself.

What is it?

"The Last Cataclysm" is a philosophical miniature. It is dedicated to the theme of the Flood. Why is the poet referring to this biblical topic? He anticipates another catastrophe. But which one? Will it be a repetition of the previous one? Maybe yes, maybe no.

Turning to the Book of Genesis

According to the Old Testament story, God was angry with people. To such an extent that he decided to destroy his own creation. But there was a pious man named Noah among the sea of \u200b\u200bmen. It was him who warned God about the coming flood, ordering to build a ship. In this ship it was possible to escape from the flood.

The construction work took many years. Finally the ark was ready. Noah and his family boarded it, taking the animals with them. Each creature has a pair. Rain poured down immediately after that.

It rained for forty days and nights. And it took Noah about a year to get on land. The ark moored to Mount Ararat. Pious Noah thanked God for his salvation. After which God promised that the Flood would never happen again.

Tyutchev about a new disaster

In the poem "The Last Cataclysm" Fyodor Ivanovich talks about the coming cataclysm. He has a presentiment of her, as mentioned above. But at the same time, Fyodor Ivanovich considers the new flood as a source of life. Sounds pretty weird. However, according to Tyutchev, after the flood, the world will return to its origins. To the beginning of time. Water will absorb all living things, but at the same time it will become a source of new life. Maximum destruction becomes maximum creation. The earth is plunged into chaos, this is its initial state.

Thus, The Last Cataclysm is not something scary. Not a gloomy prediction of the end of the world, but a reflection of the source of new life, eternal motion.

Politically

Fyodor Ivanovich was not shy about his political views. Sometimes he expressed them in poems. Literary critics believe that Tyutchev's poem "The Last Cataclysm" is the personification of the social upheavals that await the world. Fyodor Ivanovich was rather skeptical about revolutions and coups. From his point of view, there were two forces: the conservative Russia and the revolutionary Europe.

It is known that the poet was the senior censor. His activities made it possible to prohibit the distribution of the Communist Party manifesto on the territory of the Russian Empire.

Considering the poet's political views, it is quite logical that the verse "The Last Cataclysm" is a warning about world social upheavals. They are known to lead to disastrous consequences often.

Disappointment

What else could be hidden in Tyutchev's "The Last Cataclysm"? Dissatisfaction with the outside world, disappointment in it. At the time of writing the poem, the poet's state of mind could leave much to be desired. This is reflected in the work.

Fyodor Ivanovich is a famous poet-philosopher. There is nothing superfluous in his works. Every word is weighed and deliberate.

The inevitability of the cataclysm and the impossibility of humanity to stop it. This is one motive. The second lies in the same inevitability of the revival of life. The old life will perish, but the new one will be reborn. How these two seemingly absolutely incompatible things are harmoniously combined. At the time of writing the poem, the poet was mentally ill. That's quite possible. But he understands that this agony of the soul, its "last cataclysm" is not eternal. It will pass, and the "white streak" will come to replace it.

Returning to God

The last line of the poem: "And God's face will be depicted in them." It has a deep philosophical meaning. All existence, from the creation of the world to the Second Coming, is based on God. Everything happens according to His will. And nothing happens without His knowledge.

The divine face is incomprehensible to people due to sinfulness. But people and God are interconnected. The former cannot live without faith. Faith is in God. And only after the catastrophe the true face of God will be displayed in the water surface. He is embodied in this picture, being there.

God is the main poetic image of the poem. In this poem there is no personal human "I". His philosophy is emphasized by the generalized use of vocabulary.

God is shown on the water surface. The poem combines incompatible concepts. God is incorporeal, but here he takes on an image. Water is the image of a mirror. The poem contains a comparison of waters with a mirror.

The intonation of the poem "The Last Cataclysm" is unhurried. It makes you think about the lines of the work.

Writing style

The poem is written with iambic pentameter. Endings are both female and male. The rhymes are different: cross, open and closed. And this adds a sense of ambiguity to the poem. It seems that there are two completely different worlds here.

Let's summarize

"The Last Cataclysm" was written in 1829. This is a philosophical poem that contains what literary scholars have been able to explore for a long time. The invisible mind, thoughts and worldview of Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev.

Conclusion

The article analyzes the poem "The Last Cataclysm". Someone will see something close in the poem. Mentally agree with its author. And for some, this verse is alien. And this person will exclaim: "I do not agree!" - thus entering into a mental argument with the poet. For this, philosophical poems are needed, so that everyone can see this world in their own way. Verses of this kind provide an impetus for reflection. They help express your point of view, not be afraid to get into an argument and defend your own position. Helps develop a person's personality.

When nature's last hour strikes
The composition of the parts will collapse earthly:
Water will cover everything visible again,
And God's face will be depicted in them!

Analysis of Tyutchev's poem "The Last Cataclysm"

"The Last Cataclysm" is a philosophical miniature, first published in the anthology "Dennitsa" in 1831. In it, Tyutchev turns to the legend of the Flood, which is widespread in the mythology of various peoples. The most famous story among Christians is the story of Genesis. According to her, the flood was a punishment for humanity for moral decline. The Lord decided to leave only Noah, who was distinguished by his piety, and his family members. God warned them in advance about the coming flood and commanded to build an ark on which they could be saved during the catastrophe. The ship's construction took 120 years. When the work was completed, Noah boarded, taking the animals with him. Immediately after that, water poured onto the earth, and the flood lasted for forty days. It took almost a year for Noah to get off the ark onto dry land. As stated in the Book of Genesis, the ship moored to Mount Ararat. Thanks to God for his salvation, Noah made a sacrifice, after which the Lord blessed him and everything that is on earth.

Tyutchev's poem speaks of the repetition of the worldwide flood: "... All visible will again cover the waters ...". The poet foresees a catastrophe, but, in his opinion, it will bring not only destruction to the earth. After the flood, the world will return to the beginning of time, to its divine origins. “The last cataclysm” is not a horror-story of the end of the world. Water here acts as a source of life, as a result, of perpetual motion, which is generally characteristic of Tyutchev's work. In a significant part of his landscape-philosophical poems, her image is found in one form or another - "Wave and Duma", "Snowy Mountains", "Fountain". This list can be continued for a very long time. According to Tyutchev, water will completely absorb the earth, but new life will subsequently appear from it. It turns out that the poem shows a single and two-faced process at the same time. Maximum destruction becomes the beginning of maximum creation. The earth must plunge into chaos, which, according to ancient Greek mythology, is the primary state of the universe.

According to a number of literary scholars, "The Last Cataclysm" has a social connotation - Tyutchev compares social upheavals with natural disasters. This statement is not devoid of meaning. Fyodor Ivanovich was very skeptical about revolutions and coups, which was reflected in his publicistic articles. The poet sometimes expressed his political views in poems. According to Tyutchev, in the modern world there were only two forces - conservative Russia and revolutionary Europe. Fyodor Ivanovich believed that under the aegis of the former it was necessary to create a union of Slavic-Orthodox countries. In 1848, the poet took up the post of senior censor. As part of his activities, he banned the distribution of the Communist Party manifesto, translated into Russian, on the territory of the Russian Empire. If we take into account Tyutchev's political views, then "The Last Cataclysm" can really be perceived as a statement about social upheavals, which often lead to irreversible cataclysmic consequences.

The poem is written with iambic pentameter. The size was not chosen by the poet by chance. As Tomashevsky wrote, in the first decades of the 19th century, iambic pentameter became widely used in tragedies. Tyutchev emphasizes the sublime tragedy of his work with the help of vocabulary: “the last hour will strike”, “the waters will cover”, “the composition of the earthly parts will collapse”. The last line testifies to the fact that the catastrophe will lead to the birth of a new life. For her, Fyodor Ivanovich chooses a positively colored vocabulary: "... And God's face will be depicted in them!"

Analysis of the poem by F.I. Tyutchev's "The Last Cataclysm"

1. When the last hour of nature strikes,

2. The composition of the parts will collapse earthly

3. All visible waters will again cover,

4. And God's face will be depicted in them.

Starting from the 30s of the XIX century F.I. Tyutchev begins to be interested in the philosophical theme in poetry. This is expressed in many poems ("What are you howling about, the night wind", "How the ocean embraces the earth's sphere", "Fires" and "The last cataclysm"). In these poems, the author tries to answer the question of what will happen on Earth after the Apocalypse. A giant tornado? Fires? Flood? So far, no precise and unambiguous answer can be given to this question. But, apparently, Tyutchev comes to the conclusion that everything that exists on our planet developed from air and wind ("About ancient chaos, about my dear"). Then came the ongoing kingdom of the Earth and life on it. Further, a quiet life on Earth will put an end to the fire ("Fires"). Apparently, Tyutchev speaks of the coming era of the Antichrist (Devil, Satan) by the advent of fires.

Smoke after smoke abyss of smoke

Gravitates above the ground.

But another element will cover the earth, and people, and the devilish fires - water. Tyutchev writes the poem "The Last Cataclysm" about the covering of "everything visible" with water.

Here, in contrast to "Fires", there is no longer a huge amount of solid sounds, since water is a softer element than fire. But it cannot be said that in The Last Cataclysm these solid sounds are absent at all. But this is the "last hour of nature", that is, apparently - the end of the world. Collapsing "the composition of the earthly parts" and even what survived after the fires.

But the word “visible” from the third line attracts attention. In the Apocalypse, only everything visible perishes. Hence, from the point of view of the poet, the "last cataclysm" will not kill the immortal human soul.

It is very important that in the last line Tyutchev speaks of the “face of God”. That is, after the devilish era, the kingdom of God will come. God will be stronger than the Devil, and He will cover with water all the terrors of the Earth and fire. And, perhaps, the end of the world is not perceived by Tyutchev as a tragedy, because it is the creator of the world (God) who destroys it. Perhaps God will build something more perfect than today's world.

On this page, read the text "Cataclysm" by Fyodor Tyutchev, written in 1849.

When nature's last hour strikes
The composition of the parts will collapse earthly:
Water will cover everything visible again,
And God's face will be depicted in them!


Note:

Autograph - RGALI. F. 505. Op. 1. Unit xp. 11. Sheet 2 v.

The first publication is Dennitsa. 1831. S. 89, the poem has the title - "The Last Cataclysm". It was not included in other lifetime editions, then - RA. 1879, p. 128; NNS. P. 24; Ed. SPb., 1886.S. 67; Ed. 1900.S. 67.

Autograph on one sheet of verse. "Snowy Mountains"; no title. The handwriting is clear, the graphics feature - capital letters in the words "Hour", "Parts", "Earthly", "Visible", "Water", "God"; the same tendency towards mythologizing the picture is expressed as in the verse. "Snowy mountains" (see commentary, p. 325): the essential in being is graphically highlighted. There is a list (RGALI. F. 505. Op. 1. Unit. Xr. 52. L. 30v.) Among other works with the general title “From the poems of Tyutchev kept by Prince I.S. Gagarin "; the list is called "The Last Cataclysm", as in Dennitsa. There is reason to believe that the name belongs to the poet himself.

The peculiarities of Tyutchev's writing of some words that are especially significant for the picture are not preserved either in the first or in subsequent editions. Text in NNS, Ed. 1886 and Ed. 1900 coincides, but in the last two in the second line there is a variant of the second line: "The composition of the earthly parts will be destroyed." The poem was printed everywhere without a title.

Dated according to the context in the autograph: the same as the Snow Mountains, no later than 1829.

In Tyutchev's poems about the nature of the late 1820s, "The Last Cataclysm" is essentially next to "Vision". If in such lyrical masterpieces as "Spring Thunderstorm", "Spring Waters", "Morning in the Mountains" and (mainly) - "Snowy Mountains", "Noon", a graceful, tender, light, daytime space is shown (in the ancient Greek sense words), then "The Last Cataclysm" and "Vision" draw "a certain hour" of being ("chariots of the universe"), disturbing the soul. In "The Last Cataclysm" there is a premonition, even clairvoyance, of the disaster of the planet; further development of this theme - in "Madness" with the image of the calamities of the earth and mad attempts at their optimistic interpretation. However, "The Last Cataclysm" sharply differs from all other poems with the image of chaos asserting the victory of the Divine Origin over chaotic decay.

When nature's last hour strikes
The composition of the parts will collapse earthly:
Water will cover everything visible again,
And God's face will be depicted in them!

Analysis of the poem "The Last Cataclysm" by Tyutchev

Philosophical lyrics are the hallmark of Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev. The work "The Last Cataclysm" can also be referred to it.

The poem was written in 1829. Its author turned 26 at this time, he has been serving in Germany in diplomatic work for several years, he has even been promoted to titular adviser, takes an active position in the affairs of Greece gaining independence, defends the need for Russian patronage of the Greek people, is happily married, brings up children. At home, he visits. In this atmosphere of visible contentment, the flowering of vitality and family well-being, he writes the work "The Last Cataclysm". By genre - religious lyrics, by size - iambic with cross rhyming, consists of only one quatrain. The intonation is almost prophetic. The vocabulary is sublime, solemn, in places outdated. The very size of the poem emphasizes the high tragedy of what is happening. Meanwhile, the poet describes the first catastrophe (flood) rather than the last. If you rely on Holy Scripture, then at the end of the world there will be streams of fire, not water. It should be noted that the poet shudders at the spectacle of changes in nature, the man as an active hero is absent in the work. "The last hour": a metaphor. "Composition of parts": destruction of the earth, atmosphere, hydrosphere. The renewed nature of the world will emerge from the water, and the visible imprint of God's glory will be on everything. Never again will anyone question his power. The final exclamation in the finale seems to emphasize the inevitability of the impending transformation. By the way, the title of the poem may not have a negative, frightening connotation. Perhaps this means transformation, purification, change, and not destruction, death, chaos. These poems are also interesting because the young F. Tyutchev thought about the end of this world in a philosophical rather than a Christian spirit. Let's say there is no hint of the doctrine of the Last Judgment. However, in such a short sketch it is almost impossible to express the entire Christian eschatology. These lines are almost like an impromptu, a record of the thought that struck him, instant insight. He considered it so important that he soon proposed it for publication. In the quatrain, the inversion is used several times: the waters will cover.

The poem "The Last Cataclysm" was first published in the magazine "Dennitsa" 2 years after its creation.


Close