Sounded over the clear river,
It rang in a darkened meadow,
Rolled over the silent grove,
It lit up on the other side.Far away, in the twilight, with bows
The river runs to the west.
Having burned with golden borders,
The clouds scattered like smoke.On the hill it is either damp or hot,
The sighs of the day are in the breath of the night, -
But the lightning is already glowing brightly
Blue and green fire.
Analysis of Fet's poem "Evening"
The change of day and night is the object of close attention of Fetov’s hero-contemplator, awarded the gift of seeing beauty in everyday life. If morning is associated with the awakening of beautiful nature and the image of the dawn-bride, then interpretations of the end of the day lack such integrity. The image of the evening is associated with the knowledge of hidden essences, the cosmic principle, the changing characteristics of the relationship between man and nature.
The poetic text of 1855 begins with a description of sound and visual sensations, the source of which is not clear and mysterious. To convey unclear phenomena, the author chooses the form of an impersonal sentence, expressing the hero’s reaction using a series of homogeneous predicates. Sounds on the river, ringing in the meadow, rumble over the treetops are “diluted” by a visual image - a distant flash of light. Natural objects, associated primarily with acoustic dominants, are characterized by calm, the absolute meaning of which gives rise to connotations of fading and extinction. The latter bring Fetov’s picture closer to the mythological ideas about evening as the death of the day, which go back to the ancient Slavic ideas about sunset.
The gaze of the lyrical hero, attracted by a sudden flash, stops at the evening panorama. The perspective shows the bends of the river going west, followed by sparse clouds. Both parts are dynamic, endowed with the properties of rapid movement. In the description of the sky, the first coloristic dominant appears - golden, like a burnt border of light clouds.
In the final part, the location of the lyrical “I” becomes clear. He watches the approaching dusk from a hillock. The change in tactile sensations, dampness and heat, reveals a connection between two segments of the day, metaphorically indicated by the same root lexemes “sighs” and “breathing”. The artistic trope, complemented by personifications, enlivens the natural space surrounding the hero.
The leisurely and smooth tempo and musical sound of the verse are supported by a three-foot anapest with cross alternation of female and male rhymes.
The final couplet fixes attention on the play of light, which foreshadows the coming of night. The mysterious transformation is completed by a change in coloristic features: instead of gilded clouds, pure shades of blue and green appear.
An atmosphere of calm also fills the poetic world depicted in the work “...”, which appeared 8 years earlier than the analyzed text. “Twisting rivers,” dormant trees, a sunset sky, silence broken only by the neighing of horses and a light wind—the close figurative systems of the two poems convey feelings of peace, calm joy and involvement in the natural course of life that gripped the observer.
In the later lyrics, the “evening” theme is complicated by philosophical reflections on the insignificant essence of human existence. Emotions, even the strongest and most sincere, seem “timid and poor” in comparison with the splendor of the “imperishable sunset” reflected in the quiet waters of the bay.
The sincerity, musicality and mystery of Fetov’s lyricism are felt in Blok’s early works. In the poem " Summer evening“The reader encounters acoustic and visual images inspired by Fetov’s traditions: the setting rays of the sun, the “drowsiness” of nature, the distant sounds of a peasant song. The final call, quite Fetov-like, invites the lyrical addressee to abandon worries and enjoy the beauty of a warm night, rushing off on horseback into the foggy meadow distances.
Sounded over the clear river,
It rang in a darkened meadow,
Rolled over the silent grove,
It lit up on the other side.
Far away, in the twilight, with bows
The river runs to the west.
Having burned with golden borders,
The clouds scattered like smoke.
On the hill it is either damp or hot,
The sighs of the day are in the breath of the night, -
But the lightning is already glowing brightly
Blue and green fire.
Analysis of the poem “Evening” by Fet
The poem “Evening” (1855) reveals Fet’s enormous talent in depicting landscapes, which distinguishes him from other poets.
home distinctive feature works - the absence of any specific details. The author only gives big picture nature through vague sounds and images. In the first stanza, impersonal verbs generally predominate (“sounded”, “rolled”). The poet's influence is minimal. The reader is given an excellent opportunity to imagine himself in the role of an observer, to draw in his imagination the missing details. Nature also does not manifest itself in any way, this is emphasized by the epithets: “faded”, “dumb”. Distant sounds suddenly appeared and disappeared. We can only guess about the reasons for their occurrence. If you do not take into account the title of the poem, it is not easy to determine even the time of day.
In the second stanza, the feeling of anticipation of something unknown intensifies. Nature seems to fade into the background, making room after itself: “the river is running away,” “the clouds have scattered.” The whole atmosphere is saturated with some kind of expectation.
The third stanza explains the questions the reader has. It indirectly describes the lyrical hero himself. He appears in the poem through his sensations (“now damp, now hot”). The evening is specifically stated as transition state between the “sighs of the day” and the “breath of the night.” From the last lines it becomes clear that nature is preparing for a thunderstorm. The source of unclear sounds and reflections is a distant lightning, foreshadowing thunder and lightning.
Fet brilliantly used sound and visual effects in his poem. It practically does not mention the lyrical hero, there are no colorful descriptions of nature. Critics often reproached him for this “pointlessness.” But for a person with a rich imagination, the work is of great value. The author chose the time for observation very well. The change from day to night is an elusive moment. It cannot be determined with mathematical precision. It can only be characterized by a gradual change in sounds and light. The glow of a distant lightning well emphasizes this transitional state. The poem “Evening” is written at a calm and measured pace, ideal for evening contemplation of the landscape. It creates peace in the reader’s soul and cleanses it of anxiety and worry.
It is very easy to read the poem “Evening” by Fet Afanasy Afanasyevich expressively. Its sound features allow you to quickly determine the required intonation. But understanding the content of the poem the first time is extremely difficult. Only the presence of a title helps you navigate the visual images and guess what we are talking about. The fact is that the author used rather vague phrases to describe. Of course, they make poetry unique, but they make it difficult to comprehend.
After a closer look at this lyrical work, created in 1855, is perceived as a description of a sunset. It is this process that will mark the change of time of day. The poet did not use the word “sun,” but the fact that we are talking about it seems the most logical. The setting sun can “roll” over a river, meadow, grove, light up on the horizon, painting the edges of the clouds with a golden color, and be replaced by lightning. The author created a rather original picture of evening time, using not only visual images to describe it. In the first and last quatrains, Fet used interesting auditory associations. The poet was clearly attracted by the mysterious line between day and night. When the first has already lost its influence on the surrounding space, and the second has not yet come into its own, that very transition period begins - evening. The poem does not directly indicate the lyrical hero. Everything is presented as an outside view. But readers may well assume that the author is observing the changes taking place from the hill mentioned in the text.
In a literature lesson in grades 6-7, you can conduct interesting job by comparing the text of Fet’s poem “Evening” and poems of the same name by other authors. On our website, you can simply download poems or learn them online in full.