Famous poem by Joseph Brodsky. Analysis of the poem by Joseph Brodsky “Letters to a Roman friend Even here there are no postum rules

Joseph Brodsky- Nobel laureate and one of the most significant and original Russian poets.
Poem "Letters to a Roman Friend" was written in 1972. The title says "From Martial", but this is not a free translation of any of the works of the famous ancient Roman poet Mark Valerius Martial, but an independent work based on Roman history.
In the poem, the author plays the role of a Roman living during the reign of Julius Caesar. From the text of the poem, we understand that he once lived in the capital, knew personally the powerful of this world, but decided to leave for a remote province. All that connects the hero with his former life is a friend named Postumus, to whom he sends letters, talks about his everyday life and asks about the news.
The posthumus is a fictitious addressee. The word "postum" (Latin postumus - "posthumous") in ancient Rome was attached to the names of people born after the death of their fathers.

LETTERS TO A ROMAN FRIEND
from Martial

It's windy and the waves are overflowing.
Autumn is coming, everything will change in the district.
The change of these colors is more touching, Postumus,
than a friend's dress change.

I am sending you, Postumus, these books
What's in the capital? Lay softly? Is it hard to sleep?
How is Caesar? What is he doing? All intrigue?
All intrigue, probably yes gluttony.

I am sitting in my garden, the lamp is on.
No girlfriend, no servants, no acquaintances.
Instead of the weak of this world and the strong -
only the consonant hum of insects.

Here lies a merchant from Asia, sensible
he was a merchant - businesslike, but invisible.

Died quickly: fever. By trading
he came here for business, not for this.

Next to him is a legionnaire, under rough quartz.
He glorified the Empire in battles.
So many times could kill! and died an old man.
Even here, Postumus, there are no rules.

Indeed, Postumus, a chicken is not a bird,
but with chicken brains enough grief.
If it happened to be born in the Empire,
it is better to live in a remote province by the sea.

And far from Caesar, and from the blizzard.
No need to fawn, cowardly, rush.
Are you saying that all governors are thieves?
But a thief is dearer to me than a bloodsucker.

Wait out this downpour with you, hetera,
I agree, but let's not trade:
take sestertius from the overlying body
It's like demanding shingles from the roof.

I'm running, you say? But where is the puddle?
To leave a puddle I did not happen.
Here you will find yourself some kind of husband,
He will leak on the bedspread

We've been here for more than half.
As the old slave told me in front of the tavern:
"When we look back, we see only ruins."
The view, of course, is very barbaric, but true.

Was in the mountains. Now I'm busy with a large bouquet.
I will find a large jug, I will pour water for them ...
How is it in Libya, my Postumus, or where is it?
Are we still fighting?

Do you remember, Postumus, the governor's sister?
Skinny, but with full legs.
You slept with her yet... Recently she became a priestess.
Priestess, Postumus, and communicates with the gods.

Come, let's drink wine, eat bread.
Or plums. Tell me news.
I will make a bed for you in the garden under a clear sky
and I will tell you what the constellations are called.

Soon, Postumus, your friend, who loves composition,
his long-standing subtraction debt will pay.
Take away from under the pillow of savings,
there is not much, but enough for the funeral.

Ride your black mare
into the house of the getters under our city wall.
Give them the price you loved
to pay for the same price.

Green laurel, reaching to shiver.
The door is open, the window is dusty.
An abandoned chair, an abandoned bed.
Fabric that soaked up the midday sun.

Pont rustles behind the black hedge of pines.
Someone's ship is struggling with the wind at the cape.
On a dry bench - the Elder Pliny.
A thrush chirps in cypress hair.

Joseph Brodsky

Joseph Brodsky reads "Letters to a Roman friend"

Several guys wrote comments not on the proposed structure, but using their own options:
1) Katya Rakitskaya (katergonnakate)
Letters to a Roman friend (from Martial (=imitation of the epigrams of Martial))
It's windy and the waves are overflowing.

The change of colors of these is more touching, Postum, (The addressee of Brodsky's "Letters" is Postum, a provincial friend of the lyrical hero. The name of the addressee refers us to Horace's ode "To Postum" ("Oh, Postum, Postum, the fleeting years pass ...")
than a dress change at a girlfriend. (antithesis: the outfit that nature puts on is like a woman's dress. The very process of changing seasons is like women's dressing)
Virgo amuses to a certain limit (I can’t understand what this “limit” is, if not excitement) -
you can't go further than the elbow or the knee. (an allusion to Martial, epigram LIII “Chloe”, I quote in the translation of A. Fet: “I could do without your face And without your neck and arms and legs, too, And without your chest, lower back and hips; And not work to count everything separately, I could, Chloe, without all of you I can do ... ")
How much more joyful is the beautiful outside the body (Platonic love?):
no hugs are possible, no betrayal!
Brodsky wrote this poem in March 1972, before he left the Soviet Union. (Source: Natalya Borisovna Ivanova, literary critic, literary critic, first deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine "Znamya"; radio broadcast "Echo of Moscow" from 12/27/2009, program OUR ALL: JOSEPH BRODSKY). Based on this, I dare to conclude that the change of the season, the change in the weather mean something more for Brodsky - emigration. Also, the maiden, amusing the lyrical hero, means the American dream, which is destined to come true.
___
I am sending you, Postumus, these books. (Are we talking about the epigrams of Mark Valery Martial in general? If not, then this line can be considered an allusion to the CIV epigram of Mark Valery “The Book” also translated by A. Fet: “Book, go to my companion Flavo Far beyond the sea, but on a benevolent wave, And easily on the move with a fair wind Aspire to the Spanish heights of Tarracon ..")
What's in the capital? Lay softly? Is it hard to sleep? (Rome - Moscow; an allusion to the work of V.I. Lenin "They lay softly, but sleep hard")
How is Caesar? What is he doing? All intrigue? (the title of rulers, but not Gaius Julius Caesar; an allusion to W. Shakespeare's tragedy "Julius Caesar"; Brezhnev?)
All intrigues, probably yes, gluttony. (Rough irony, evoking associations with the apparatus of power)
I am sitting in my garden, the lamp is on. (I really want to say that this is a reference either to Chekhov himself or to his work "The Cherry Orchard")
No girlfriend, no servants, no acquaintances.
Instead of the weak of this world and the strong -
only the consonant hum of insects. (personification; communist hard workers)
Developing further the idea of ​​​​the close connection of the poem with Brodsky's personal experiences, I believe that this epigram was already written in America, hence such an interest in news from the capital (projection of Rome to Moscow), expressed in interrogative sentences.
The loneliness of the poet is felt, but it does not kill him. The poem takes on a philosophical tone here, removing the lyrical hero from the hustle and bustle.
In the first line there is an associative series of political problems (“intrigues” and “gluttony” of officials = bureaucracy).
The first antithesis: the metropolitan "intrigues", from which the lyrical hero saved himself, are opposed to the "consonant buzz of insects" - a symbol of calm and silence far from the metropolis; the second antithesis “the weak of this world and the strong” speaks of the division of society into those who command (acquaintances, girlfriend) and those who obey (servants). Here lies a merchant from Asia.
He was a sensible merchant - businesslike, but inconspicuous.
Died quickly - fever.
He came here on business, not for this. (A reference to the “Epitaph of a Cretan Merchant” by Simonides of Ceos (556-468 BC): “A Cretan by birth, Brotach from Gortyna, I am lying in the ground, I arrived here not for that, but for trading business ...” (source: Per. L. Blumenau in the book: Antique Lyrics. M .: Khudozhestvennaya Literatura, 1968. P. 181) As well as a reference to his own poem “In front of the monument to A. S. Pushkin in Odessa / Yakov Gordin” (1969): “Not on trading business, scattering my miserable rubbish in strange corners, one morning with a heavy taste in my mouth, I went ashore in a foreign port ...”)
Next to him is a legionnaire, under rough quartz. (can be read as "here lies a legionnaire under rough quartz" - the inscription on the gravestone)
He glorified the empire in battles.
How many times could they kill! and died an old man.
Even here, Postumus, there are no rules. (Death is the natural course of life, fate is not explained by any rules)
The philosophical tone set in the previous epigram here flows into Brodsky's argument about the eternal question - about life and death.
___
Let it be true, Postumus, a chicken is not a bird, (a reference to the Russian proverb “A chicken is not a bird, a woman is not a man”, given in Dahl's explanatory dictionary)
but with chicken brains you will have enough grief. (metaphor; a stupid person will not live in a metropolis)
it is better to live in a remote province by the sea.
And far from Caesar, and from the blizzard. (I have the idea of ​​an allusion to Blok's poem "The Twelve", but there can also be an oxymoron here (what kind of blizzards are in northern Italy ?!), as well as the symbolic meaning of a blizzard, which determines the relation of the text not so much to the ancient world, but to the modern Russia)
There is no need to fawn (= to serve, to grovel), to be cowardly, to hurry.
Are you saying that all governors (in the first half of the 16th century, an official who exercised state power and administration on behalf of the head of state in a separate and defined territory (viceroyship) rushist.ru/) are thieves?
But a thief is dearer to me than a bloodsucker. (The bloodsucker is able to destroy another, hence this comparison, also a reference to the "insects" about which the lyrical hero wrote to a friend earlier)

In this epigram, the life of a Roman literary hero gives way to an assessment of modern life by Brodsky himself. Here his civic position is clearly visible, as well as his opinion about the political structure of the country.
___
Wait out this downpour with you, hetaira
I agree, but let's not trade (moral: it is ridiculous to take money from a male shoulder that gives protection and comfort)
take sestertius (ancient Roman silver coin, http://linemoney.ru/termin/chto-takoe-sestercij.html) from the covering body (singling out the main common task of a man and a roof in a house - “cover” = cover, protect) - all the same what shingles (material for the manufacture of wooden tiles) to require from the roof. (comparison of the body and the roof)
I'm leaking (transferring the properties of the roof to the image of a lyrical hero), you say? But where is the puddle?
To leave a puddle I - did not happen. Here you will find yourself some kind of husband (covers what leaks - leaky, like a roof, = unreliable body of a husband),
it will flow onto the veil. (exalting oneself in the form of a lover over any other, endowing oneself with an important quality - reliability)

In this epigram, the theme of philosophical reasoning changes - now the poet speaks of love. It is worth noting that he distinguishes himself from all male representatives.
We've been here for more than half.
As the old slave told me in front of the tavern:
"Looking back, we see only ruins." (an allusion to the letters of Pliny the Younger (on whose behalf the lyrical hero himself writes, talking about the state of the Roman Empire before its collapse, projection on the state of the USSR before the collapse)
The view, of course, is very barbaric (the barbarian's view of what he himself destroyed is ironic), but true.

Was in the mountains. Now I'm busy with a large bouquet.
I will find a large jug, I will pour water for them ...
How is it in Libya (alliteration with the process of pouring water into a jug of flowers), my Postum, - or where is it? (the lyrical hero has been away from his homeland for a long time and continues to be interested in what is happening in the country, only now the questions are not narrow (about the little things of everyday life), but broader, and the country already appears blurry in the memory of the hero)
Are we still fighting? (opposition of two different worlds - prosperity and war)

This epigram shows us a person who is happy to be away from the hustle and bustle, they seem to him hardly real.
Do you remember, Postumus, the governor's sister?
Skinny, but with full legs. (allusion to Catullus)

Priestess, Postumus, and communicates with the gods. (Iphigenia, the heroine of ancient Greek mythology)
Come, let's drink wine, eat bread.
Or plums. Tell me news.
I will make a bed for you in the garden under a clear sky (reference to the second epigram)
and I will tell you what the constellations are called. (for the lyrical hero, these two processes are equivalent, he delimits the interests of the city and the person who left the city)
___

he will pay his long-standing debt to subtraction. (approaching death, imminent departure from life)
Take away from under the pillow of savings,
there is not much, but enough for a funeral. (reference to Soviet life)
Ride your black mare
into the house of the getters under our city wall.
Give them the price you loved
so that they mourn for the same price. (reference to the argument about love presented in epigram 5)

In the penultimate epigram, there is again a conversation about death, only it is about its imminent approach.
Here the idea of ​​the lyrical hero about love, which can be bought for money, changes.
___
Greenery (=color of melancholy) of laurel, up to shivering.
The door is open, the dusty window,
an abandoned chair, an abandoned bed.
Fabric that soaked up the midday sun.

Pont rustles behind the black hedge of pines.
Someone's ship is struggling with the wind at the cape.
On a dry bench - the Elder Pliny. (an allusion to the letters of Pliny the Younger; Pliny the Elder visited his son after his death)
A thrush chirps in cypress hair. (contrasting the end of human life and the endless life of nature)
In the last epigram, the lyrical hero is no longer heard, the picture is drawn by Brodsky himself, describing the simplicity and loneliness of human death.
It is amazing how Brodsky fit the main stages of human life into nine epigram letters.
2) Tanya Klenova(petitgarcon)
Before starting a detailed analysis of I. Brodsky's poem "Letters to a Roman Friend", it is necessary to highlight and explain the words that we, modern readers, for some reason (language update, "author's words") are incomprehensible (and can also be understood only partially or incorrect). However, I hope you will not judge me if I try not to divide the analysis into subtopics proposed in the task, but to consider any points that seemed unusual and simply interesting to me through several prisms at once (as if turning an interesting find from different angles).
The first thing that catches the eye as soon as we pass the title, a kind of subtitle - "from Martial". And this is a kind of first allusion that we have encountered: Brodsky writes as if (precisely “as if”, this is by no means a translation!) on behalf of the ancient Roman poet Martial, famous for his epigrams, constrained by the narrow framework of life in the provinces. Martial, represented by Brodsky, addresses his friend and patron Pliny the Elder. It is curious that in the English translation Brodsky removes the subtitle previously indicated in the drafts (since it is philologically invalid, incorrect).
Brodsky's relations with Russia, with his homeland, evolved and were not easy. Perhaps the work of the Roman poet Martial is close to Brodsky for this very reason, because Martial himself leaves Rome for his homeland, Spain, at the end of his life.
The "Letters to a Roman Friend" traces the images and themes found in the poets of antiquity: Ovid, Horace, and Martial as well. However, the closest to Joseph Brodsky is not Ovid, exiled to the Volumes, not voluntarily, and even, I dare say, Horace, who “retired” with official honors, namely, “Martial the emigrant”.
“If it fell out in the Empire to be born,
it is better to live in a remote province near the sea.” - in the 60s, Brodsky lived in St. Petersburg, which became a "province of Russia", just as Athens became a "province" of Rome, and Rome became a "province" of Constantinople.
Strictly speaking, I was wrong to jump over the word "letters". It would seem that a simple, ordinary word, the meaning of which we know very well, but in order to understand Brodsky and his poem, it is necessary to recall the genesis of the epistolary genre. Before us is the Bible (the Christian "source" of letters, since the New Testament includes messages, including those of the Apostle Paul, which are considered the most significant). Another source is antiquity, which gave us the works of such a poet as Horace Flaccus and his "Messages" in two books, incl. and “To the Pisons”, “To Augustus” (I would also like to mention “To the Servant”, which I analyzed earlier.) I also found it extremely funny and charming that in 1986 (I discovered this quite by accident) a collection of Brodsky’s poems was published titled "Brodsky's Poetics". In addition, the name “Postum” (translated as “what is after”, “posthumous”) is not accidental: having become acquainted with the work of Horace, I learned, among other things, a reference here to Horace’s ode “To Postum”. Returning to the topic “provinces”, I consider it necessary to note that the theme of the province and the Empire appears in Brodsky, probably largely due to the work of Ovid. In Ovid, we have previously studied and analyzed in detail some of the “Letters from Pontus”, which are also messages, appeals. I think we have every right to believe that it was they who "pushed" Brodsky.
Brodsky has a different kind of “letter”, although in some places they are extremely close to Martial and his epigrams, but at the same time they are different. And here lies the main, main allusion: readers who have become unaccustomed to the genre of messages meet them again in his poem, with a genre recreated from the past, resurrected, into which Brodsky breathed something new: he writes about the charm of complete loneliness. Dwelling in more detail on the lines of poems, where the so-called "finds" are found, I would like to paraphrase the words of M. Segal: in the lines
“Soon, Postumus, your friend, who loves the constitution
he will pay his long-standing debt to subtraction.
"subtraction" means death. In general, life and death are the key themes of Brodsky's poem, eternal themes.
"On a cracked bench - the Elder Pliny."
Here, some critics unfairly, in my opinion, notice a refutation of the name of the “sender of letters”: after all, it does not mean the fact that Pliny the Elder is sitting on the bench in person, but only his book!
3) Ira Ermolaeva (amely_am)
While reading this work by Brodsky, I came across a few words, the meaning of which was incomprehensible to me.
legionnaire - in ancient Rome, a warrior of the legion,
to fawn - to please (synonymous with flattering),
Caesar - this work does not mean Gaius Julius Caesar, but the title of the rulers of the Roman Republic, who, after the consulate of Gaius Julius, began to be called Caesars.
And also I would like to add to these words an explanation of the word "epigram" - in the era of classicism, a short satirical work. In ancient poetry, a poem of arbitrary content. In addition, it is worth noting that the epigram differed from the elegy by its brevity and narrowness of subject matter.
Brodsky's poem was written in imitation of Martial's epigrams. It is divided into separate epigrams (in the ancient sense of the word) of two stanzas, each of which is directed to one side of life.
The poem is written in six-foot trochaic.
The work uses colloquial intonation (addresses, questions, etc.).
It is worth saying a few words about the lyrical hero of the work. It is he who writes short letters - epigrams to his friend Postumus in Rome from the province where he left. Fully conveying the thematic features of the ancient epigram, Brodsky makes his lyrical hero touch on a variety of topics. For example, the theme of death is touched upon, through which the idea of ​​the materiality of the world and relationships is expressed: every feeling has a price ("Give them the price for which they loved, so that they mourn for the same price").
Each of the epigrams is built on an antithesis. For example, in the first stanza, the natural beauty of autumn is contrasted with the colorful outfits of a friend. In the second - Rome is opposed to the provinces, intrigue - "the consonant buzz of insects."
In addition, the poem uses an allusion - a projection from the past to the present. It seems to me that it is with the help of allusion that the poet reflects modernity through the prism of antiquity.
Also, in the poem there is a reminiscence to Pushkin, to his fate through the theme of exile and loneliness.
If we talk about the poem as a whole, then it seems to me that it is about the bliss of absolute loneliness, away from intrigue, in peace and quiet. The main idea of ​​the poem is expressed in the lines: "If it fell out in the empire to be born, it is better to live in a remote province by the sea."
4) Ira Dolinina (ira_shady)
Brodsky's poem "Letter to a Roman Friend" is addressed to Postumus, the Roman commander who organized the Gallic Empire. The same addressee was at the ode of Horace (II, 14). The subtitle "From Martial" is also an allusion to antiquity, and more specifically to Ovid. Martial is a Roman epigrammatic poet. The mention of Martial may be an allusion to the fact that this poem is also a satirical epigram. In the first two stanzas, the poet, addressing Postumus, tells him that the inside is much more beautiful than the outside. As you know, in antiquity there was a cult of a beautiful body, few people thought about inner beauty. It is this cultural reality of antiquity that Brodsky alludes to. "How is Caesar? What is he doing? All intrigue? The intrigues of the imperial court in ancient times can be easily compared with the game of the "powerful of this world" in Soviet times. But Brodsky, like Ovid, is in exile and only nature listens to him, which does not care about political intrigues. In principle, the whole poem is built on an allegorical comparison of the Roman Empire and the Soviet (as many historians call the Soviet Union). Caesar is the image of the ruler - a tyrant, a bloodsucker, before whom they "coward", "fawn", which connects the Roman reality and the modern Brodsky.
Then sweat turns to a certain hetaera (in antiquity - an educated unmarried woman leading a free lifestyle, or another meaning - a prostitute, which, it seems to me, is closer to Brodsky's poem), who demands a sestertia (silver coin) from the poet with whom she takes refuge from the rain. Perhaps this “conversation” with a hetero is an attempt by the poet to figuratively say that his roof has not yet “leaked out” - his life has not yet come to an end.
“When we look back, we see only ruins.” This phrase seems to me the key to understanding this poem. It also contains the nostalgia of a person who has gone through a difficult life path. It also contains an allusion to the Roman and Soviet empires, built on violence, which destroyed a lot and ruined many lives. Not in vain, in the poem, the poet quotes an old slave in front of a tavern (diner) - a not free person who has lived a long life under the yoke of power from above. It is his "barbaric" mouth that speaks the truth in such cruel totalitarian realities.
The poet contrasts a peaceful life in the mountains and a tough life in the country he left. He asks “How is it in Libya, my Postumus, - or where is it? Are we still fighting?" This dismissive “or where there” refers us both to the poet's alienated attitude to all wars and to the politics of a large state, an empire that is constantly at war, and sometimes it is not even clear with whom.
The poet tells Postum about the viceroy's sister, who became a priestess. And her porter is not very pleasant (“thin, but with full legs”) and her behavior, which the poet points out (“You slept with her yet ...”), but became a priestess. Perhaps this is how the poet tries to explain through the realities of antiquity what happened in the Soviet empire, when “Every cook must learn to manage the state” or at least communicate with the so-called “gods”.
The poet warns his friend Postumus, to whom he writes a letter, that death awaits him soon. He asks him to find his savings for the funeral. Getters reappear, who this time should mourn his departure - this enhances the poet's sense of loneliness.
“Green laurel”, “the door is wide open”, “abandoned chair” - a description of “abandoned bed”.
The mention of Pontus again refers us to Ovid, whose life the poet draws a parallel with in this poem. Another Roman writer, the Elder Pliny, sits on a "withered bench."
5) Anya Simonaeva(la_guignard)
Who is this Postumus?
“Postum is a fictitious addressee of Joseph Brodsky’s poem “Letters to a Roman Friend”,” Wikipedia will answer us. The word "postum" in ancient Rome was attached to the names of people born after the death of their fathers.
This poem is dated March 1979. Brodsky has long been in America. This letter was written by him not at all to Rome, but to the reality surrounding him.
How is Caesar? What is he doing? All intrigue?
All intrigue, probably yes gluttony.
What is this Caesar? Caesar is all the highest ranks of the USSR. Their intrigues, conspiracies, inhuman actions. Actions only for their own good, "gluttony", while the whole country is looking for crumbs of bread in the corners.
Instead of the weak of this world and the strong -
only the consonant hum of insects.
While in the United States, Brodsky taught at the university, doing what he loved - talking about poetry. After living in the USSR, with eternal interrogations, psychiatric examinations, calls to offices, life in the USA is calm and measured. contrast difference. If you remember a warm evening in the garden, imagine these insects, from which there is a quiet rumble around, you immediately recall the feeling of relaxation and calmness that is inherent in such evenings, and you understand what the poet felt.
Why is there a reference to a merchant from Asia? Simonides of Ceos, an ancient Greek poet, "introduced the fashion" to write epitaphs to living people. Here Brodsky quotes his epitaph to a Cretan merchant: “A Cretan by birth, Brotach from Gortyn, I am lying in the ground here, // I arrived here not because of this, but on trading business.” Such "comic" epitaphs have always been written for the edification of living people.
And if at first the poet speaks of an inconspicuous merchant who died early from a fever, then in the next stanza he contrasts him with a real hero who fought not for life, but for death, who glorified the empire, and, in spite of everything, who did not die in bloody battles, but in old age.
If it happened to be born in the Empire,
It is better to live in a remote province by the sea.
I immediately recall Horatius's satire, in which he praises rural life, contrasting it with the noisy and dirty city life. In addition, Brodsky, perhaps, called America a province, because he was much calmer in it than in the USSR:
And far from Caesar, and from the blizzard.
No need to fawn, cowardly, in a hurry.
Are you saying that all governors are thieves?
But a thief is dearer to me than a bloodsucker.
In the USSR, Brodsky would have had to “fawn” in order to live well, so as not to be a coward. Don't write poetry.
Having left the country, the poet remained resentful of those "bloodsuckers" who contributed to this. After all, he was offered two options: either he leaves, or he will have a “fun” time here - psychiatric hospitals, interrogations. And he left, despite the fact that he loved Russia very much.
6) Alina Tavlueva (alinatavlueva)
LETTERS TO A ROMAN FRIEND
(From Martial
Analysis.
*linguistic level of analysis
**literary level of analysis
***historical and cultural level of analysis

Autumn is coming, everything will change in the district.
The change of these colors is more touching, Postumus
...
* The name of the addressee appears in the poem - Postum. Postum -
(lat. postumus - “posthumous”), the nickname applied in the ancient Roman system of name formation to the names of people born after the death of their father, in the exact same translation means “what is after.” In Brodsky’s poem, Postumus is a fictitious addressee.
***
And yet, in the USA in 1894, Charles Post - "the king of grain mixtures" created a recipe for a "coffee" drink from cereals, which he called "Postum". Today, the marvelous Postum would be called a healthy energy drink, which, in fact, is pure oxymoron. It was produced until 2007. As you know, just in 1972, Brodsky moved to the USA ... you never know.)
*
What's in the capital? Lay softly? Is it hard to sleep?
How is Caesar? What is he doing? All intrigue?
**Caesar is the image of those in power. In the case of Brodsky, the government of the USSR.
*
Here lies a merchant from Asia. explanatory
he was a merchant - businesslike, but invisible.
Died quickly: fever. By trading
he came here for business, not for this.
**
Perhaps this quatrain is the only place in "Letters to a Roman Friend" that can be considered a direct quote. Its original is a Greek text (not Roman, although the poem was originally marked -From Martial, and Martial was a Roman poet), namely " Epitaph to a Cretan Merchant" by Simonides of Ceos (556-468 BC):
Born a Cretan, Brotach of Gortyn, I lie in the ground here, I arrived here not for the sake of it, but for trading purposes.
Next to him is a legionnaire, under rough quartz.
He glorified the Empire in battles.
*+**
"... Granite is a durable and ceremonial stone used for the manufacture of monuments. This stone has practically no weaknesses, and over time, tombstones made from it do not lose their characteristics. Granite is a rock consisting of several minerals, such as quartz, mica, spar .... "
This refers to a granite tombstone.
If it happened to be born in the Empire,
it is better to live in a remote province by the sea.
** In June 1972, Brodsky was forced to leave the country, in fact, the poet was expelled, and later settled in the United States in the status of a "guest poet", where he began to teach at universities, give lectures and, having achieved financial independence, was able to intensively engage in poetic and, in general, literary creativity.
The lines "If it fell out in the Empire to be born,
it is better to live in a remote province by the sea" have acquired the status of a catch phrase.
"To the village, to my aunt, to the wilderness, to Saratov..." A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit"
Distance from the center, from power, is the best destiny for a poet, whether it be a non-party poet, a sage poet or a Decembrist poet.
In Brodsky's words, the picture of the surrounding world evokes only, albeit not devoid of some bitterness, irony. Exile, seclusion, escape to a quiet refuge. Those who liked to "hide from the crowd of people" immediately come to mind - Horace, and after him, " sheltered from the storms at last" and Alexander Sergeevich.
A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin":
(Zaretsky)
...
Finally sheltered from the storms
Live like a true sage
He plants cabbage like Horace,
Breeds ducks and geese
....
Wait out this downpour with you, hetera,
I agree, but let's not trade:
take sestertius from the overlying body
It's like demanding shingles from the roof.
* Hetera. In Dr. In Greece, there were women "in function" similar to the geishas of Japan. Their task was not only to relieve the sexual tension of a man, but also to entertain him intellectually. Hetera is a woman with a brilliant education. These women were worthy friends of the greatest minds and artists. You should not equate Hetera with prostitutes. the status of the getters was quite high.
Sestertius (lat. sestertius) is an ancient Roman silver coin.
SHINGLES
shingles, f.1 .. Thin, narrow planks, used. for covering roofs and for lathing walls for plastering.
You slept with her yet... Recently she became a priestess.
Priestess, Postumus, and communicates with the gods.
*priestess-a woman-servant of the cult of a deity.
The game of meaning.priestess vs priestess of love.priestess of love is a prostitute.
Soon, Postumus, your friend, who loves composition,
he will pay his old subtraction debt ....
** Yesenin's poem immediately came to my mind "Goodbye, my friend, goodbye !:
** There is no farewell in Brodsky's poem, rather, these words can be considered a kind of testament, the last wish of a dying person, and if it is completely rude, an "instruction".
On a dry bench - the Elder Pliny.
*Pont-Black Sea
** There are two versions of the interpretation of the words "On a cracked bench - Elder Pliny.
1) The poet imagines that the outstanding encyclopedic writer Pliny the Elder, in person, is actually sitting on the bench next to him.
.2) Lev Losev, in a recently published biography of the poet, suggests that on the bench is not Pliny himself, but his work "Naturalis Historia", also known as "Natural History".

It's windy and the waves are overflowing.
Autumn is coming, everything will change in the district.
The change of these colors is more touching, Postumus,
than a dress change at a girlfriend.

I am sending you, Postumus, these books.
What's in the capital? Lay softly? Is it hard to sleep?
How is Caesar? What is he doing? All intrigue?
All intrigue, probably yes gluttony.

I am sitting in my garden, the lamp is on.
No girlfriend, no servants, no acquaintances.
Instead of the weak of this world and the strong -
only the consonant hum of insects.

Here lies a merchant from Asia. explanatory
he was a merchant - businesslike, but invisible.
Died quickly - fever. By trading
he came here for business, not for this.

Next to him is a legionnaire, under rough quartz.
He glorified the empire in battles.
How many times could they kill! and died an old man.
Even here, Postumus, there are no rules.

Indeed, Postumus, a chicken is not a bird,
but with chicken brains enough grief.
If it happened to be born in the Empire,
it is better to live in a remote province by the sea.

And far from Caesar, and from the blizzard.
No need to fawn, cowardly, rush.
Are you saying that all governors are thieves?
But a thief is dearer to me than a bloodsucker.

Wait out this downpour with you, hetera,
I agree, but let's not trade:
take sestertius from the covering body -
It's like demanding shingles from the roof.

I'm running, you say? But where is the puddle?
To leave a puddle I did not happen.
Here you will find yourself some kind of husband,
it will flow onto the cover.

We've been here for more than half.
As the old slave told me in front of the tavern:
“When we look back, we see only ruins.”
The view, of course, is very barbaric, but true.

Was in the mountains. Now I'm busy with a large bouquet.
I will find a large jug, I will pour water for them ...
How is it in Libya, my Postumus, or where is it?
Are we still fighting?

Do you remember, Postumus, the governor's sister?
Skinny, but with full legs.
You slept with her yet... Recently she became a priestess.
Priestess, Postumus, and communicates with the gods.

Come, let's drink wine, eat bread.
Or plums. Tell me news.
I will make a bed for you in the garden under a clear sky
and I will tell you what the constellations are called.

Soon, Postumus, your friend, who loves composition,
his long-standing subtraction debt will pay.
Take away from under the pillow of savings,
there is not much, but enough for the funeral.

Ride your black mare
into the house of the getters under our city wall.
Give them the price you loved
to pay for the same price.

Green laurel, reaching to shiver.
The door is open, the dusty window,
an abandoned chair, an abandoned bed.
Fabric that soaked up the midday sun.

Pont rustles behind the black hedge of pines.
Someone's ship is struggling with the wind at the cape.
On the withered bench is the Elder Pliny.
A thrush chirps in cypress hair.

Analysis of the poem "Letters to a Roman Friend" by Brodsky

The work of I. Brodsky is still perceived extremely ambiguously. Some exalt him as the greatest poet of our time, others subject him to derogatory criticism. The main reason for negative statements is the vague and rude style of the poet, the use of obscene language. Critics believe that such a language can in no way be considered an integral part of the classical cultural heritage. In this regard, Brodsky's poem "Letter to a Roman Friend" (1972) is very interesting. In it, the poet practically does not use complex images and symbols. The work is a calm reflection of the author, written in a simple and accessible language.

In the title, Brodsky points to a possible translation of the poem ("from Martial"). However, it is not. It is an independent work. The poet simply uses the common ancient Roman genre of a friendly message-reflection to a loved one.

Brodsky was close to the ancient Roman poets who sang the individual freedom of a creative person. At the same time, they most often had a negative attitude towards the omnipotent emperors. The comparison of the Soviet Union with the Roman Empire is clearly noticeable. The author likens himself to a Roman citizen who, for some reason, is in a distant province. A possible reason may be the persecution of the authorities.

The author addresses a friend who has remained in the capital. In ironic questions about the state of Caesar, hints at the Soviet leader are visible. Brodsky considers the communist leadership to be an exact copy of the ancient Roman elite. The power of the two greatest empires is united by intrigue and insane luxury.

The protagonist emphasizes that being away from the capital, he feels great calmness, which allows him to indulge in philosophical reflections. Brodsky never hid the fact that he was unfamiliar with the feeling of patriotism. He was not at all attracted by the title of a citizen of the empire. In a powerful state, he seeks to get to the very outskirts, so as not to experience ideological pressure. The author puts forward a serious accusation directed primarily against Stalin - a "bloodsucker". Compared to him, all petty leaders are just “thieves” with whom one can somehow coexist.

Brodsky does not care at all about national issues. This is clearly shown in the remark: “in Libya ... or where there? … are we still fighting?”. For him, collecting water for a bouquet of flowers is much more important than an international conflict.

In the mention of the "viceroy of the sister" one can see Brodsky's allusion to those people who seek to achieve the location of power. "Communication with the gods" he equates to public respect, which is deeply alien to him.

The finale of the poem describes the simple environment surrounding the voluntary exile ("dusty window", "abandoned bed"). Brodsky portrays his idea of ​​the ideal lifestyle that he was able to achieve after leaving the Soviet Union.

by Joseph Brodsky

From Martial

In this windy day the combs of waves rise steeply.
Everything "s to change as autumn adds some hue.
Color shift moves you, dear Postum, much more deeply
than your girlfriend does whenever dressed anew.

You take joy in her to some extent precisely-
nothing goes so far as is her wrist or ankle.
How much fun enfolds the bodiless clad nicely:
Being neither hugged nor cheated nor entangled.

Postum, I send off these books for your perusal.
How's the city? Iron hand or velvet glove?
How's the Caesar? What's he up to? Still to Russes?
Still to ruses, I suppose, to cap food love.

With a lantern lit, I sit in my own orchard.
With no girlfriend, no attendant, no companion.
In the place of all those prima donnas or chars,
All I can hear is how insects buzz in union.

Over here there lies an Asian merchant; sly though
he had been, the merchant used to keep a low
profile. He died fast: a fever. It's to ply, though,
his own trade he "d sailed here, not the overthrow.

Laid beside him was the one of legionnaires
who in battle had brought glory to the Empire.
Oft as he might have been killed, he "d reach gray hairs.
Even here one cannot rule on plays as umpire.

Let no hen have anything going wild
but once chicken-brained you"ll have to share the "grief" side.
If an Empire came to pass when you "re a child,
you"d best live in some wild province at the seaside.

Far away both from a Caesar and a blizzard.
No need paying court or hasting to a campfire.
You "ve said, haven" t you, all the governors embezzled?
But there's none among embezzlers worth the vampire.

If I stay this downpour in with you, hetaera,
I don't mind, hang on: to make a corpse that flattens
itself "gainst you pay a sesterce would be nearly
like to render roofs disjoint from their lath battens.

Do you mean I "m dripping wet? Now, where" s the puddle?
Having puddles left behind is not my habit.
Go and get yourself the kind of man to cuddle
and behold him drip upon your quilt and crab it.

Here "s the hill that we are over from the embryo.
An old slave "s said to me next to the barber"s,
“All we can see looking back is only debris.”
Yes, his point is true albeit very barbarous.

Back from foothills, I "ve a large bouquet to handle.
I shall get a large jug, put some water for them...
What's in Libya, my Postum, is our sandal
there or somewhere else? Could we be waging war there?

Can you, Postum, think of Procurator's sister?
Slender as she is, her hips are rather portly.
She "d make love with you... She has now made a priestess.
Gracious, Postum, Heavens will give her audience shortly.

Do call by, taste wine with bread. Or plumes, a true scent
you may like. Bring word just for my information.
I "ll make you a bed beneath the skies translucent
telling you the name of every constellation.

In a while, your friend, who's fond of evolution,
will have paid off his arrears to retrogression.
Draw a nest egg from beneath my bedroom cushion,
that "s not big yet meets the funeral procession.

Ride your black mare uptown to the house, above
all belonging to hetaerae, in the lee
of the wall. Give them the price which they made love
at, the same price for their wailing over me.

Laurel verdure that "s cy pres approaching throes.
There's a door flung open, dusty little window.
Chair unoccupied, bed bare of him who rose.
Cloth which midday sun has permeated into.

Pontos boils behind the black hedge of the elder.
Someone's ship resists the wind in the euripus.
On the cracked bench there is Plinius the Elder.
Hark, a thrush sings in the thick head of a cypress.

Joseph Brodsky is a representative of the creative circle of poets unrecognized in the Soviet Union, readers could hear and see his first poems on the pages of books only by the end of the 80s of the last century.

One of these poems was "Letters to a Roman Friend" written by the poet in March 1972. In just a few quatrains, the great poet of our time reminds people that life is ordinary and boring, if you spend it contemplating the fleeting beauty of people, obtaining earthly values, a precarious position in society, but it can become

Beautiful and meaningful, as soon as a person remembers his ability to see the beauty of nature and the world around him.

A line has been added to the title of the poem, indicating a translation in a regular collection, but in fact, “Letters” are not a translation of an ancient poet’s poem, most likely Brodsky is trying to liken his work to Martial, who, like him, ridiculed the rich, bliss, laziness and the desire to curry favor .

Already from the first lines of the poem, one breathes sadness about the past, such sadness is evoked by the autumn mood, the empty bench, the falling leaves in the garden, it was at this time that the main character living

In a deep and quiet province, he begins a letter to his friend who lives in a distant capital.

In the letter, he tries to convince his friend, apparently rich and close to power, of the vanity and transience of the world, that the autumn nature he observes, the change of seasons and flying leaves are much more important than women's looks and dresses tried on by metropolitan fashionistas. . All of them are deceivers and more than one look from them will not succeed, while nature is honest and beautiful.

The hero talks about the powers that be and asks his friend about the position of Caesar, under which the name of his contemporary power clearly shines through, and also emphasizes that the intrigues weaving at the court are known to everyone, including him, who is so little interested in them, therefore, in response there is no need to write a letter about them.

The central theme of the poet's philosophical reasoning are two epitaphs, one of which is dedicated to a rich merchant, and the second to a legionnaire. The first one spent his whole life in peace and died unexpectedly, hoping to live for many more years, the second was on the verge of death all his life, but died of old age. The protagonist with these epitaphs shows his friend and all readers of the poem that everything on earth is done by the will of fate and a person, no matter how carefully he treats his health, life and well-being, is mortal.

Everyone has their own fate, to avoid which no one can succeed, including the hero himself, who brings his letters almost to the moment of death. In the penultimate letter, the hero asks his friend to come, drink wine, chat for the last time, advises him to hurry, because death is already close. As a caring and diligent person, the hero also writes to a friend about where he hid the money for the funeral, which he advises not to celebrate magnificently, but to spend on hetaerae, they will grieve most of all for their constant guest.

The poem ends as it began, that is, with a description of nature, but this time without the presence of the protagonist, he died, leaving behind an empty bench and a volume of the Elder Pliny.