Lessons 32–33 · 2 lessons · S. Yu. Islambekova, Yu. Yu. Musurmanova, Z. Kh. Abduraimova, L. N. Tagieva. Russian Language, Grade 11 (textbook for secondary, specialised secondary and vocational institutions with Uzbek and other languages of instruction), 1st edition. DAVR NASHRIYOTI, Tashkent, 2018
32
Sergey Yesenin, “Letter to Mother”
Textbook: pp. 122–124
GoalBe able to tell the circumstances, content and the hero's feelings of Yesenin's poem «Letter to Mother».
New words
обращение (address) · обращение (murojaat)родной дом (the native home) · родной дом (ona uy)утешать (to console) · утешать (taskin bermoq)тоска (longing) · тоска (sog‘inch)
Explanation
Sergei Yesenin (1895–1925) wrote «Письмо матери» in 1924. By then the poet was already famous, but because of constant work he had not been able to visit his native village Konstantinovo for eight years. On the eve of the trip he addressed this poem to his mother. It begins with a joyful greeting: «Ты жива ещё, моя старушка?» The poet tells his mother: 1) I am alive, greetings; 2) the terrible picture that keeps coming to the mother's mind — as if her son had been wounded in a brawl — is only a heavy delusion, and he will not die without seeing her; 3) I am as tender as before and dream of returning home; 4) do not stir what has not come true, I have met early loss and weariness; 5) you alone are my help and my «несказанный свет», so do not worry. The picture of the old woman standing on the road in an old coat hurts the poet, so the repetition of the same lines in the last stanza makes the poem circular. The tone is sincere and simple; colloquial words («шибко», «ветхий шушун») bring village life to life. The poet consoles, but he too feels longing.
Worked examples
The poet calms his mother but also opens his own heart: he speaks of «раннюю утрату и усталость». So the consolation goes both ways.
The beginning and the end answer one another: at the start the mother goes out onto the road, at the end the poet asks her not to. This ring composition strengthens the sincerity of the feeling.
Class activity
“A reply letter”. Pairs write, in the mother's name, a reply of 5–6 sentences to the poem: what makes her glad, what worries her, what she asks of the poet.
Practice
1
In which year and in what circumstances was the poem written?
In 1924, on the eve of a visit to Konstantinovo after eight years.
2
With what words does the poet calm his mother?
«Ничего, родная! Успокойся»: the mother's frightening vision — that her son has been wounded in a brawl — is only a heavy delusion; he will not die without seeing her.
3
What does the mother mean to the poet? Give an example from the text.
«Ты одна мне помощь и отрада» — the only support and joy, «несказанный свет».
4
Why does the poem end with a request not to worry? Justify your opinion.
Because this is the main aim of the poem: to ease the mother's sorrow; the repetition stresses the poet's tenderness.