A. I. Kuprin’s story “Shulamith” is interesting only because its plot is based on one of the biblical legends, surprisingly humane in character, poignant and eternal. This legend is rooted in the "Book of Songs of Solomon", the creation of which is attributed to a real historical figure - the Hebrew king Solomon.
“Song of Songs” is the most poetic and inspirational, the most “earthly” and “pagan” of biblical books, created on the basis of folk love lyrics. The plot of the story "Shulamith" is remarkable

Also the fact that it is simple only externally. But after reading the question arises: what is this story about? The following answer can be assumed without tension: “King Solomon fell in love with the poor peasant girl Shulamith, but because of the jealousy of the abandoned wife of Queen Astis, the poor girl dies with a sword in her chest.” But let's not rush: after all, we have before us a parable, a legend with a certain share of a romantic plot, and, therefore, what lies on the surface cannot exhaust the entire depth of the generalization contained in the work. Therefore, the next question can be formulated as follows: "What else is this story about, is it only about tragic love because of someone's jealousy?" This book is, first of all, about a wise, beautiful, courageous man named Solomon and about a gentle, affectionate, beautiful girl named Shulamith; this book is a hymn to the uniqueness, originality, greatness of the beauty of the female body and the theme of love. Shulamith's love is "strong as death." That's just ... Why are these two concepts constantly mated with each other? Maybe for a red word? But no, death really does not take long - only seven days were allowed for Shulamith and Solomon to enjoy the greatest and strongest feeling in the world - Love.
So is it really jealousy - albeit “cruel as hell”, but still a low feeling - is the cause of the death of Shulamith? Somehow these things don't match. And I don't want to think that this is the case. Then what? Why did Shulamith die? But how could it be otherwise? The girl was doomed to death from the very moment when she met the king, from the very moment when they fell in love with each other - well, what else could Shulamith expect in Solomon's palace ?! This is only the external side of the problem: royal power, palaces, the social status of people - this is just a background, a decoration for the great drama called Life. Nothing, absolutely nothing, would have changed if it had been about a peasant woman and a peasant, a princess and a beggar, in a word, about people who were loved and loved. Love, having been born, is doomed to death, just as a person, having been born once, must die sooner or later: the world has not heard (and will never hear) that someone died without being born!
So in the case of the heroes of Kuprin, the situation was “programmed” from the very beginning. But in order not to fall into one-sidedness of judgments, it is necessary to keep in mind the following: it is imperative to interpret the concept of “death” more broadly, by death is meant not only the cessation of physical existence, but a transition, more precisely, the moment of transition from one state to another. Shulamith, her love is like that fragrant flower that, after fertilization, “dies”, turning into a fruit. And like that flower, Shulamith and her love "die", turning into the "Song of Songs" - this ever-living monument of Femininity, Beauty and Love.
But even if Shulamith had not perished, even then Love would have “died”. As, however, is Solomon's beloved herself. Moreover, we would never have known about her, because Shulamith would soon become different, and the love between her and Solomon would acquire a new quality, the quality of a banal family idyll. This does not mean that the love of a wife and husband is bad or worse, but it does mean that the Song of Songs simply would never have happened. What does the story "Shulamith" give us? Comprehension of the truth - difficult, maybe bitter, but from this it does not cease to be true. In addition, realizing such things, a person gets rid of illusions, learns to realistically evaluate life, prepares himself for the future, so as not to be disappointed, not to fall into despondency from the inevitable metamorphoses that existence has prepared for him.

(No ratings yet)

Other writings:

1. The beginning of the 20th century gave Russian literature many talented names. Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin is one of them. There is a very ambiguous attitude to the work of this author, since he touched on and revealed such topics that others did not dare to talk about. Kuprin had Read More ......
2. During the existence of mankind, thousands of writers and poets have spoken about love. After all, this is the leading feeling in the life of every person. Almost every second work in the world is devoted to this immortal theme. I believe that in the literature of the twentieth century there is one of the most beautiful Read More ......
3. Each artist can always notice a favorite theme, and Kuprin also has such a theme, he emphasized it, perhaps too sharply, in the story “Garnet Bracelet”. This is Hamsun's theme of “unrequited, unrewarded, tormenting love”, the theme of that great love, Read More ......
4. A. I. Kuprin’s story “Shulamith” is interesting only because its plot is based on one of the biblical legends, surprisingly humane in character, poignant and eternal. This legend is rooted in the “Book of Songs of Solomon”, the creation of which is attributed to a real historical figure - Read More ......
5. (Based on A. I. Kuprin’s story “Shulamith”) A. I. Kuprin’s story “Shulamith” is interesting only because its plot is based on one of the biblical legends, surprisingly humane in character, poignant and eternal. This legend is rooted in the “Book of Songs of Solomon”, the creation of Read More ......
6. “Passion, in a fit of which one can go crazy, makes a person an insane mirage compared to sincere and pure love” Read More ......
7. Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin is one of those who opened Russian literature of the 20th century to the reader. His work was versatile and varied, but I would like to dwell on the story of Shulamith in more detail. The main characters of the story are Solomon, the king of Persia, and his beloved Read More ......
8. W. Shakespeare's favorite theme. (A hymn to the constancy of feelings; the traditional love “triangle” - a loving young man and a girl and an unloved groom; the significance of the feat of Juliet, who prefers the son of a family enemy to the handsome Paris.) The central conflict of the tragedy. (Clash of a young sincere feeling with prejudices, divided by the age-old enmity of the ancient Read More ......

A. I. Kuprin's story "Shulamith" is interesting only because its plot is based on one of the biblical legends, surprisingly humane in character, poignant and eternal. This legend is rooted in the "Book of Songs of Solomon", the creation of which is attributed to a real historical figure - the Hebrew king Solomon.

"Song of Songs" is the most poetic and inspirational, the most "earthly" and "pagan" of biblical books, created on the basis of folk love lyrics. The plot of the story "Shulamith" is also notable for the fact that it is simple only outwardly. But after reading the question arises: what is this story about? The following answer can be assumed without tension: “King Solomon fell in love with the poor peasant girl Shulamith, but because of the jealousy of the abandoned wife of Queen Astis, the poor girl dies with a sword in her chest.” But let's not rush: after all, we have before us a parable, a legend with a certain share of a romantic plot, and, therefore, what lies on the surface cannot exhaust the entire depth of the generalization contained in the work. Therefore, the next question can be formulated as follows: "What else is this story about, is it only about tragic love because of someone's jealousy?" This book is, first of all, about a wise, beautiful, courageous man named Solomon and about a gentle, affectionate, beautiful girl named Shulamith; this book is a hymn to the uniqueness, originality, greatness of the beauty of the female body and the theme of love. Shulamith's love is "strong as death." That's just ... Why are these two concepts constantly mated with each other? Maybe for a red word? But no, death really does not take long - only seven days were allowed for Shulamith and Solomon to enjoy the greatest and strongest feeling in the world - Love.

So is jealousy - albeit “cruel as hell”, but still a low feeling - the reason for the death of Shulamith? Somehow these things don't match. And I don't want to think that this is the case. Then what? Why did Shulamith die? But how could it be otherwise? The girl was doomed to death from the very moment when she met the king, from the very moment when they fell in love with each other - well, what else could Shulamith expect in Solomon's palace ?! This is only the external side of the problem: royal power, palaces, the social status of people - this is just a background, a decoration for the great drama called Life. Nothing, absolutely nothing, would have changed if it had been about a peasant woman and a peasant, a princess and a beggar, in a word, about people who were loved and loved. Love, having been born, is doomed to death, just as a person, having been born once, must die sooner or later: the world has not heard (and will never hear) that someone died without being born!

So in the case of Kuprin's heroes, the situation was “programmed” from the very beginning. But in order not to fall into one-sidedness of judgments, it is necessary to keep in mind the following: it is imperative to interpret the concept of “death” more broadly, by death is meant not only the cessation of physical existence, but a transition, more precisely, the moment of transition from one state to another. Shulamith, her love is like that fragrant flower that, after fertilization, "dies", turning into a fruit. And like that flower, Shulamith and her love “die”, turning into the “Song of Songs” - this ever-living monument to Femininity, Beauty and Love.

But even if Shulamith had not died, even then Love would have "died". As, however, is Solomon's beloved herself. Moreover, we would never have known about her, because Shulamith would soon become different, and the love between her and Solomon would acquire a new quality, the quality of a banal family idyll. This does not mean that the love of a wife and husband is bad or worse, but it does mean that the Song of Songs simply would never have happened. What does the story "Shulamith" give us? Comprehension of the truth - difficult, maybe bitter, but from this it does not cease to be true. In addition, realizing such things, a person gets rid of illusions, learns to realistically evaluate life, prepares himself for the future, so as not to be disappointed, not to fall into despondency from the inevitable metamorphoses that existence has prepared for him.

Russian lit.

The theme of love has been a subject of concern for mankind at all times. At the beginning of the 20th century, in the era of global historical changes, attention in literature to the personality of a particular individual with his difficult fate and insoluble mental problems is increasing. One of the writers who embodied the theme of love, all-powerful and all-consuming passion on the pages of their works was A.I. Kuprin.

In the stories "Garnet Bracelet", "Olesya", "Shulamith", the writer explores in detail the history of the emergence, development and tragic denouement of love relationships, because love, according to the concept of the writer, is not only the greatest miracle in the world, but also invariably painful suffering.

D.S. Merezhkovsky wrote that love is stronger than death. This idea is embodied in the plot of the story "Garnet Bracelet": a young poor official Zheltkov falls in love with the girl Vera, who soon marries Prince Shein. The unfortunate young man is unable to hide his feelings. Zheltkov sends Vera an expensive gift (a family heirloom) - a beautiful garnet bracelet, the red stones in which resemble drops of blood. Already in this episode of the story, next to the theme of love, a tragic note sounds, foreshadowing a bloody denouement. As an honest, decent woman, Vera informs her husband about the gift. And he goes with her brother to Zheltkov to ask to leave Vera alone. The telegraph operator explains that he cannot live without his beloved. And the next day, Vera finds in the newspaper a note about the death of her devoted admirer. The princess feels some kind of guilt for what happened: after all, Zheltkov committed suicide because of her. Vera goes to say goodbye to the apartment where the official lived, and only then does she finally understand how much this man loved her. He was able to sacrifice his life to keep her peace and good name. Vera understands that a whole, deep feeling has passed her by, which, perhaps, occurs only once in her life. The husband also loves her, but it is a calm, settled feeling that has nothing to do with the ardent passion of a romantic admirer. For her birthday, Prince Shein gives his wife pear-shaped pearl earrings that look like tears.

Vera's entourage laughed at Zheltkov's feelings. Prince Vasily Lvovich even maintains a homemade humorous album, in which there is a story "Princess Vera and the Telegrapher in Love", in satirical tones ridiculing an opponent, whom he actually does not consider to be such at all. In Shein's story, the telegrapher dies, bequeathing to Vera "two telegraph buttons and a perfume bottle filled with his tears." In the main plot of the work, Zheltkov leaves only a farewell letter to his beloved with a wonderful sentimental story about love, where the words from the prayer “Hallowed be thy name” sound. The official understands that Vera will experience his death. He tries to foresee this and alleviate her suffering by offering to listen to Beethoven's sonata D-dur No. 2, op.2.

At the end of the story, this amazing music, performed by the pianist Jenny, calms Vera and helps her to console herself. No less tragic, but at the same time, beautiful is the love story of King Solomon for the simple girl Shulamith, told by Kuprin in the story "Shulamith". Beloved was treacherously killed by order of a wounded rival, and Solomon's grief knew no bounds. However, the reader gets the impression that the feeling for Shulamith did not die in his heart precisely because death separated the heroes in the midst of their love experience.

Recall that before Shulamith, Solomon had 300 wives and 700 concubines. It is possible that Shulamith, having remained alive, soon became bored with the refined Solomon, and another girl would take her place. Kuprin, on the other hand, wants to believe in the dream of eternal, imperishable love, which is stronger than death.

A. I. Kuprin's story "Shulamith" is interesting only because its plot is based on one of the biblical legends, surprisingly humane in character, poignant and eternal. This legend is rooted in the "Book of Songs of Solomon", the creation of which is attributed to a real historical figure - the Hebrew king Solomon.

"Song of Songs" is the most poetic and inspirational, the most "earthly" and "pagan" of biblical books, created on the basis of folk love lyrics. The plot of the story "Shulamith" is also notable for the fact that it is simple only outwardly. But after reading the question arises: what is this story about? The following answer can be assumed without tension: “King Solomon fell in love with the poor peasant girl Shulamith, but because of the jealousy of the abandoned wife of Queen Astis, the poor girl dies with a sword in her chest.” But let's not rush: after all, we have before us a parable, a legend with a certain share of a romantic plot, and, therefore, what lies on the surface cannot exhaust the entire depth of the generalization contained in the work. Therefore, the next question can be formulated as follows: "What else is this story about, is it only about tragic love because of someone's jealousy?" This book is, first of all, about a wise, beautiful, courageous man named Solomon and about a gentle, affectionate, beautiful girl named Shulamith; this book is a hymn to the uniqueness, originality, greatness of the beauty of the female body and the theme of love. Shulamith's love is "strong as death." That's just ... Why are these two concepts constantly mated with each other? Maybe for a red word? But no, death really does not take long - only seven days were allowed for Shulamith and Solomon to enjoy the greatest and strongest feeling in the world - Love.

So is jealousy - albeit “cruel as hell”, but still a low feeling - the reason for the death of Shulamith? Somehow these things don't match. And I don't want to think that this is the case. Then what? Why did Shulamith die? But how could it be otherwise? The girl was doomed to death from the very moment when she met the king, from the very moment when they fell in love with each other - well, what else could Shulamith expect in Solomon's palace ?! This is only the external side of the problem: royal power, palaces, the social status of people - this is just a background, a decoration for the great drama called Life. Nothing, absolutely nothing, would have changed if it had been about a peasant woman and a peasant, a princess and a beggar, in a word, about people who were loved and loved. Love, having been born, is doomed to death, just as a person, having been born once, must die sooner or later: the world has not heard (and will never hear) that someone died without being born!

So in the case of Kuprin's heroes, the situation was “programmed” from the very beginning. But in order not to fall into one-sidedness of judgments, it is necessary to keep in mind the following: it is imperative to interpret the concept of “death” more broadly, by death is meant not only the cessation of physical existence, but a transition, more precisely, the moment of transition from one state to another. Shulamith, her love is like that fragrant flower that, after fertilization, "dies", turning into a fruit. And like that flower, Shulamith and her love “die”, turning into the “Song of Songs” - this ever-living monument to Femininity, Beauty and Love.

But even if Shulamith had not died, even then Love would have "died". As, however, is Solomon's beloved herself. Moreover, we would never have known about her, because Shulamith would soon become different, and the love between her and Solomon would acquire a new quality, the quality of a banal family idyll. This does not mean that the love of a wife and husband is bad or worse, but it does mean that the Song of Songs simply would never have happened. What does the story "Shulamith" give us? Comprehension of the truth - difficult, maybe bitter, but from this it does not cease to be true. In addition, realizing such things, a person gets rid of illusions, learns to realistically evaluate life, prepares himself for the future, so as not to be disappointed, not to fall into despondency from the inevitable metamorphoses that existence has prepared for him.

Elizabeth
Mankovskaya

Elizaveta MANKOVSKAYA - a graduate of Moscow school number 57. Literature teacher - Nadezhda Aronovna SHAPIRO.

“Blessed be the love that is stronger than death!”

D.S. Merezhkovsky

Based on the novel "The Master and Margarita" by M.A. Bulgakov

Statement by D.S. Merezhkovsky, an emigrant writer of the 20th century, is interesting to apply to the work of another writer of the 20th century, who was just not allowed to go abroad.

In Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita, the theme of love, stronger than death, is one of the main ones. No wonder the name of the work changes in the course of work. From the title of early editions (for example, "The Hoof of the Engineer"), which emphasized that the main place in the novel is occupied by the phenomenon of Satan, Bulgakov comes to putting the names of the main characters in the title, clearly indicating that the line of the Master and Margarita takes the leading role in the novel. With this “and” Margarita tightly connects with the Master (like Pilate with Yeshua: “If they remember me, they will immediately remember you”), and the Master himself appears in the novel with a story about his life, the main plot of which is the story of his love.

The appearance of the Master's girlfriend opens the second part of the novel, which begins with these words: “Follow me, reader! Who told you that there is no true, true, eternal love in the world? Let the liar cut out his vile tongue!

Follow me, my reader, and only me, and I will show you such love!”

One of the features of Bulgakov is that the problems addressed in the novel are essentially simple. He explores not shifts of consciousness, not a plurality of points of view on the problem. There is only one point of view: betrayal is certainly disgusting, creativity and love are certainly beautiful. The spiritual values ​​of a person, as well as his vices, in Bulgakov are some kind of absolute, they are eternal. It is this feeling that gives an appeal to the Gospel story. Margarita's love for the Master is a given (“She, of course, has not forgotten him”). It is characteristic that Margarita herself claims that she and the Master “loved, of course, each other a long time ago, without knowing each other, never seeing ...”

It is curious that this absolute love, “which is stronger than death,” is presented in the novel precisely through the image of death: “Love jumped out in front of us, like a murderer jumping out of the ground in an alley, and hit us both at once!

This is how lightning strikes, this is how a Finnish knife strikes!” - says Master Ivanushka.

These two concepts, which unexpectedly turn out to be synonyms, are generally closely connected in the novel. Margarita, in response to Azazello's invitation, says: “I am dying because of love,” meaning that she is “pulled into some kind of dark story”, for which she will “pay a lot”.

At the same time, if we consider Margarita's stay at Satan's ball and her transformation into a witch from the point of view of Christian tradition and regard it as the death of the soul, then these words of hers turn out to be prophetic. And when Margarita in the Alexander Garden begs the Master to “let go” of her, “to leave her memory”, she realizes that he could be exiled and died, and this is how she understands her dream the day before: “He is dead and beckoned me.”

However, even more interesting plexuses are found in the Yershalaim chapters. There is no clear love affair here, only a hint of it is the words of Judas Nize: “I wanted to come to you. You said you'd be home." Nevertheless, it is interesting what role Niza plays in the murder of Judah. Here, as if, the metaphor of the Moscow chapters is realized (or vice versa - is it a reflection there?): love, like a killer, overtakes the victim. Niza lures Judas to oilseed pulp, and he, waiting for her, calls: “Niza!” “But instead of Nisa, having peeled off from the thick trunk of an olive tree, a stocky male figure jumped onto the road” ...

And if love strikes the Master and Margarita in the heart, like a Finnish knife, then Judas, instead of a love date, gets stabbed under the shoulder blade.

In the chapters of Yershalaim, the theme of love for people, almost untouched in Moscow, also appears, also connected with death. It is, of course, connected with the image of Yeshua Ha-Nozri. Honoring everyone as “good people”, “doing no harm to anyone”, he dies on the cross. And this love is stronger than death; the question of the resurrection is taken out by Bulgakov outside the framework of the book, but it is obvious that the image of Christ he creates is not the image of an ordinary person.

It is the criterion of this highest love that determines the fate of the heroes. The fact that the Master and Margarita did not deserve the light, but deserved peace, may also be explained by the fact that this they don't have love. And the mercy shown by Margarita (forgiveness of Frida) is explained, perhaps, not so much by love for people - Margarita is not “exceptional kindness”, not a “highly moral person” - but by the fact that she “had the imprudence to give<…>firm hope” Frida.

The denouement of the novel gives everyone “according to his faith”: he who deserved the light received it; and the Master and Margarita, who do not yearn for it, striving not for love for the whole world, but for unity with each other, receive peace, which is nothing but life. Calm and happy. Beyond death.