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

Within the context of Путем зерна, however, the seriousness of the theme cannot
be overlooked. Khodasevich has taken an agricultural image—an idle, abandoned mill—
to describe the end of a cycle of productivity. The road is overgrown with grass, no fish
splashes in the river. The only sign of life left is the little old miller in his red cap. He
futilely raises a finger to the city, where he is no longer needed. Left to his silence, pipe
and spirits, the miller's world seems destined for oblivion. His idle millstones will create
no more bread.
The poem resonates strongly with Khodasevich's blank verse narrative "Дом."
Both poems revolve around an observer at an abandoned, deteriorating building—a place
that used to be full of bustling activity. But while there is an expectation of rebirth at the
site of the house, the mill appears lost. "Мельница's" final image of the moon in the
window (луна в окне), however, recalls the image of the rising green moon at the end of
"Дом." Its light provides hope for a new cycle of activity—a cycle guaranteed by
"Путем зерна," both poem and book.
Of the excised poems, "Мельница" most closely resembles "Рыбак," a song that
relates in a folk-like manner the gradual but inevitable decline of an old man and his
activity—fishing for the sun. "Рыбак," however, intimates the inevitable collapse of all
earthly life. Once the old fisherman runs out of stars, the cycle of night and day will be
forever broken, and the whole world will be swallowed up by darkness (охватит землю
мрак). "Мельница" predicts no such fate. While the miller's life may end, the life of the
village in the distance will continue. Bread will come from another source, if not from
him. This promise of continued life and the poem's contemplation of the toll time takes
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