Artists of all eras have turned to biblical images and situations as a means of expressing enduring universal principles. In Russian literature, the texts of the Holy Scriptures were used by Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Chekhov and other writers. Mayakovsky also turned to evangelical subjects and images throughout his work. So, for example, his early poem " Man "is entirely based on the analogy of the main character - the lyrical" I " of the poet - with Jesus Christ. In this article, we will try to substantiate one parallel that sheds additional light on the image of Blok in Mayakovsky's poem " Good!".

A famous Gospel parable tells how the disciples, while sailing in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, saw Christ walking on the waters. The Savior told Peter to go to Him. He went on the water, but, being afraid of the storm and wind, began to sink. Then Jesus supported him and said, " You of little faith! Why did you doubt? " (Matthew 14: 22-31).

According to Eckermann, Goethe considered this gospel narrative deeply true and precious. "This is one of the most beautiful legends," Goethe told me, " and I love it the most. It expresses the lofty teaching that a person by faith and presence of mind wins even in the most difficult enterprises, but if he succumbs to an insignificant doubt, and he perishes " (Eckerman I. P. Conversations with Goethe in the last years of his life. M.-L., 1934, p. 547).

page 7

The image of the evangelical Peter appears in Mayakovsky's description of the events of the October Revolution in the poem "Good!". The fate of the Block is understood here through the eternal meaning of the gospel narrative. Noting Blok's inner turmoil, his two "feelings of revolution": "good" and "the library was burned", Mayakovsky seems to liken him to doubting, drowning Peter:

I was drowning all around
Blok's Russia ...
stared at Blok -
And Blok's shadow
Gawking, standing up on the wall...
as if
both are waiting
for the walking Christ on the water.
Doubting Peter was drowning, but Jesus held him back and saved him from death.

But the Ad Block
Christ
did not appear
(Mayakovsky V. V. Poln. sobr. soch.: In 13 vols. Moscow, 1955. Vol. 8. P. 266). Blok's "bifurcation", symbolizing his two "sensations of revolution", the personification of his shadow can be associated in the reader's mind with the image of doubting Peter, which in this case is like a double of Blok. As Mayakovsky wrote in the article "Alexander Blok died", "there was no further road. Then death. And she came" (Ibid., vol. 12, p. 22).

It should be borne in mind, however, that the psychological content of the image of Blok in the poem, of course, is not limited to this gospel parallel. Mayakovsky unwittingly creates a monument to Blok, capturing his face for posterity. Christ here sounds almost like a" quote " from Blok, his kind of identification mark. Just such a Block of Mayakovsky-waiting for Christ in confusion and abandoned by God-is etched into the memory of readers of the poem.

Permanent link to this publication: