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

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Muni (or, in the case of Путем зерна, his memory) carries in each book. The constancy<br />

of this opening feature is broken in the 1927 edition of Путем зерна in which<br />

Khodasevich eliminates the dedication. Not only is he distinguishing the third edition<br />

from earlier editions of Путем зерна, but also from his earlier books—the books of his<br />

decadent youth.<br />

"Ручей" and "Элегия"<br />

Khodasevich more specifically ties the first two editions of Путем зерна to<br />

Счастливый домик with his choice of opening poems: "Элегия" (СД) and "Ручей"<br />

(ПЗ). Both "Элегия" and the first stanza of "Ручей" were written in the summer of 1908<br />

at Khodasevich's family dacha in Gireevo. Both poems begin with the imperative<br />

"взгляни," and each describes a rushing stream (ручей). In "Элегия" the stream is part<br />

of a potential, idyllic scene:<br />

Взгляни, как наша ночь пуста и молчалива:<br />

Осенних звезд задумчивая сеть<br />

Зовет спокойно жить и мудро умереть,—<br />

Легко сойти с последнего обрыва<br />

В долину кроткую.<br />

Быть может, там ручей,<br />

Еще кипя, бежит от водопада,<br />

Поет свирель, вдали пестреет стадо,<br />

И внятно щелканье пастушеских бичей.<br />

…<br />

Страна безмолвия! Безмолвно отойду<br />

Туда, откуда дождь, прохладный и привольный,<br />

Бежит, шумя, к долине безглагольной...<br />

…<br />

See how our night is empty and silent:<br />

The pensive network of autumn stars<br />

Calls [us] to live quietly and die wisely,—<br />

To descend lightly from the last precipice<br />

Into the gentle valley.<br />

Perhaps, a stream there,<br />

27

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