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The Twelve

Though scholars agree that The Twelve was the last of Aleksandr Blok's great poems there is far less agreement over the meanings of the poem and the source of its greatness. One of the principal points of debate is whether this is a political poem or a personal poem about death and salvation. Reeve, for example, states bluntly that the poem "has no political theme" (208) while, according to Masing-Delic, "the energies released by historical dynamics are so powerful in The Twelve that a leap to the era of the Third Testament is imminent" (197). Strong arguments are made on both sides of the question. But the strength of the opposing positions should serve as an indication that there may be more to The Twelve than these somewhat limited points of view assume. As Stankiewicz notes, it is not surprising "that a poem built on such blatant contradictions" as are found in The Twelve should provoke heated discussion (345). But, as Stankiewicz attempts to show, the presence of apparent contradictions in a work of art might indicate that the work is designed to resolve the contradictions. The Twelve is, therefore, a poem in which the political events of the day were viewed by the poet in terms of what they meant for mankind (politically and on a broad historical scale) and what they meant for the individual, especially for Aleksandr Blok.

Though Blok wrote about the meanings of the poem on several occasions his remarks "were notoriously of little help" (Stankiewicz 345). Blok did say that anyone "who interprets The Twelve as a political poem is either blind to art or else up to his ears in political mud" (quoted in Reeve 209). But he could also reverse himself and claim that "the 'Red Guard' is the 'water' on the millwheel of the Christian church" (quoted in Reeve 209). The multiple readings that Blok was able to make (for whatever reason) indicate that the poem could be read in more than one way. But Reeve argues, based on P. Me...

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The Twelve. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 09:10, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1709062.html