Everyone handles fame differently - some put on the armor of pride, others try to pass by the laurels unnoticed, without being distracted from serving the muse. Boris Pasternak considered himself to be of the second type, not accepting fame, considering creativity, not celebrity, as the goal.
This position is clearly visible in the poem “Being Famous is Ugly,” the analysis of which I propose. Already in the second quatrain, Pasternak clearly outlines the purpose of creativity:
The goal of creativity is dedication,
Not hype, not success.
Without dedication, a celebrity will melt like ice under the July sun - one-time laurels cannot be tried on for a long time, but it is better to pass them by altogether. The poems were written in 1956, two years before Nobel Prize, not so much for readers, but for colleagues in the shop. Many of them chase fame like a cat chases a mouse, losing ideals in this rush and smearing themselves in time. The imminent presentation of the prize confirms that the poet is right.
Pasternak lived a complex life, trying not to compromise on ideals and not to retreat into the shell of self-sufficiency. It was Pasternak who stood up for Akhmatova’s husband when he was arrested and no one cast a vote in his defense. Boris Leonidovich wrote several poems to Stalin, and then fell into disgrace, which affected the style of his work.
These points are important for a deep analysis of the lines, as they help to understand Pasternak’s life and the conditions under which the lines were written. In the poem “Being Famous,” the poet expresses his opinion about celebrity and shares it with his colleagues in the poetry workshop. He does not accuse them, does not show them the way, but simply expresses his opinion, which he has transferred to his life. The author encourages you to live honestly, work with maximum dedication and not rest on your laurels. According to Boris Leonidovich, life and creativity are inseparable - you cannot act meanly, but be a great poet!
The following lines are of interest:
Others on the trail
But defeat comes from victory
You don't have to differentiate yourself.
There will be many who will try to copy the path of a celebrity, take her thoughts and ideas, presenting them in their own form. This is plagiarism and you don’t need to pay attention to it, whether you win or lose in the battle of creativity will be decided by the future. You shouldn’t consider yourself one of the genius people - the judgment will take place tomorrow.
Pasternak left the most important, the most intimate for the last quatrain:
And should not a single slice
Don't give up on your face
Alive and only until the end.
The most important thing in creativity is to stay alive and not deviate from the path under the influence of external circumstances. While remaining a person first and foremost, one can be a good poet, becoming bad person, you can’t count on the public’s delight. Walk through life with your head up, don’t hide your gaze in shame, make mistakes, correct mistakes and move on with your visor open, without reducing your dedication to creativity in case of success - this is the main message of the poem.
Being famous is not nice.
This is not what lifts you up.
No need to create an archive,
Shake over manuscripts.
The goal of creativity is dedication,
Not hype, not success.
Shameful, meaningless
Be the talk of everyone.
But we must live without imposture,
Live like this so that in the end
Attract the love of space to you,
Hear the call of the future.
And you have to leave spaces
In fate, and not among papers,
Places and chapters of a whole life
Crossing out in the margins.
And plunge into the unknown
And hide your steps in it,
How the area hides in the fog,
When you can't see a thing in it.
Others on the trail
They will pass your path by an inch,
But defeat comes from victory
You don't have to differentiate yourself.
And should not a single slice
Don't give up on your face
But to be alive, alive and only,
Alive and only until the end.
Mikhail Kazakov perfectly expresses the meaning of the poem, and I suggest you listen to him finally.
Being famous is ugly, poem analysis Pasternak according to plan
1. History of creation. The work “It’s Ugly to Be Famous” (1956) belongs to the late period of B. Pasternak’s work. By this time, he had already experienced a lot in life, and had the opportunity to compare his fate with the rest of his fellow writers. The work can be considered the author’s programmatic statement about creativity in general.
2. Genre- lyric poem.
3. Main topic works - creative activity. Already in the first line, the phrase that defines the entire poem appears - “being famous is ugly.” Most likely, the author means an infinite number " creative figures" Soviet Union, which are really nothing special. They achieved all-Union success not through creativity, but through submission and countless praises to the country's political leadership. The ideological background of the work is not so important.
Pasternak reminds us that the main goal of any author is “dedication.” Unfortunately, things often happen differently. Having achieved a certain success, a poet or writer enjoys fame and honor. In the future, his creativity will be subordinated to maintaining this position (“to be a byword on everyone’s lips”), and not to higher creative goals.
Pasternak was sure that real recognition should come to the creator much later, from grateful descendants. In a burst of inspiration, a poet is able to break the boundaries of time and space. Only in this case will his work have real value. Calling on his colleagues to “plunge into the unknown,” the author denounces mediocre paper scribblers who are prone to publishing voluminous memoirs and autobiographies.
Task creative person is to create new worlds, and not to exalt one’s own wretchedness and not to anyone interesting fate. Pasternak considers the ability not to distinguish between “defeat and victory” to be especially important. Each author must completely renounce worldly goods through complete dedication, while remaining himself. Only by eliminating his dependence on surrounding temptations or dangers can the creator consider himself “alive.”
4. Composition poems are sequential.
5. Size of the product- iambic tetrameter with cross rhyme.
6. Expressive means . The entire poem is built on antithesis. The author contrasts “dedication” with “hype” and “success”, “imposture” with “love of space”. The imagery of the work is given by phraseological units (“a parable on the lips”, “an inch behind an inch”) and metaphors (“the call of the future”, “gaps in fate”). The finale is reinforced by the threefold repetition of the epithet “alive.”
7. Main idea works - true creativity cannot be dependent on transitory values.
