THE BOOK OF POEMS IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY ... - TopReferat

ноября," but the historical context of "2-ого ноября" no longer penetrates "Путем
зерна." The title poem relies exclusively on its dating, 1917, for its connection to the
revolution.
This diminishing of the historical relevance of "Путем зерна" grants other
aspects of the poem more prominence. Bethea has noted the poem's metapoetic nature:
the introduction of Khodasevich as a sower-poet following in the tradition of his poetic
ancestors. The first words of the poem contain a pun on his name: Проходит сеятель. 36
He follows the paths taken by his father and grandfather (his poetic forebears) along even
furrows. As Khodasevich would have been well aware, the Latin word versus means
both "furrow" and "line of verse." 37
Thus, Khodasevich opens the final edition of his
book by announcing his arrival as a mature poet.
This poem opens not only the final edition of Путем зерна, but also
Khodasevich's entire Собрание стихов from which he deliberately leaves out his first
two books, Молодость and Счастливый домик. Thus he introduces "Путем зерна" as
the first poem of his "first" book of poetry—taking the place initially held by "В моей
стране," the first poem of Молодость. "Путем зерна" provides a clear contrast to, even
polemic with "В моей стране," a poem about the futility of sowing, the barrenness of his
country's dead land:
Мои поля сыпучий пепел кроет.
В моей стране печален страдный день.
Сухую пыль соха со скрипом роет,
И ноги жжет затянутый ремень.
36 Sergei Davydov first alerted Bethea to this pun. Bethea, Khodasevich, 139, n.66.
37 Bethea, Khodasevich, 138-139. In addition to the metapoetic qualities of the poem, Bethea also
acknowledges its function "as a frame for the events of the Revolution" (139), but, as I am trying to argue,
the final edition of the book, separated by a decade from the events of the revolution, seems less tied to
biography and history than its earlier incarnations.
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