Akhmatova Reflection
Laing 1
IB #0004400112
Elizabeth Laing
Janice Ketche
IB 20th Century Lit
IB Written Assignment
Dec 17, 2014
Word Count: 389
Reflective Statement on the Poetry of Anna Akhmatova
When first reading the poetry of Anna Akhmatova I appreciated her passionate yet blunt style of writing. I was given the impression in her earlier poetry of romantic images and a lovely sound, however I noticed a shift in her later poetry from heartrendering passionate style of writing to one of heartbroken resilience. The IOC’s brought clarity to this transition categorizing her poems into the three different eras of her life: The Silver Age, The Lenin Era, and The Stalin
Era. We see the shift from pleasant and light images in her Silver Age poetry to heavy and harsh images in her Lenin and Stalin Era poetry as the Russian people were faced with much oppression during these periods. Also, the IOC’s helped me understand what the acmeism movement was and therefore how Akhmatova does not use symbolism she simply is evoking emotion. Before the three IOC’s I was searching for symbolism where there was not any. When the first group explained that Akhmatova wrote from a place of clarity and ideas of experience I was able to grasp the poetry with more ease. For example, before the presentation I spent quite a bit of time trying to analyze her poem, “I Wrung My Hands,” focusing on possible symbolic allusions to Akhmatova’s own life. I was finally able to let go of my preconceived ideas of how
Laing 2
IB #0004400112
the poem related to her life and instead allowed myself to feel the emotion the words were evoking. Specifically, I allowed myself to be disturbed by the final stanza, “And shouted, choking: ‘I meant it all in fun. Don’t leave me, or I’ll die of pain.’ He smiled at me oh so calmly, terribly and said: ‘Why don’t you get out of the rain?’” (912). I felt her pleading in the first two lines, the hopelessness of losing someone you love, and how
IB #0004400112
Elizabeth Laing
Janice Ketche
IB 20th Century Lit
IB Written Assignment
Dec 17, 2014
Word Count: 389
Reflective Statement on the Poetry of Anna Akhmatova
When first reading the poetry of Anna Akhmatova I appreciated her passionate yet blunt style of writing. I was given the impression in her earlier poetry of romantic images and a lovely sound, however I noticed a shift in her later poetry from heartrendering passionate style of writing to one of heartbroken resilience. The IOC’s brought clarity to this transition categorizing her poems into the three different eras of her life: The Silver Age, The Lenin Era, and The Stalin
Era. We see the shift from pleasant and light images in her Silver Age poetry to heavy and harsh images in her Lenin and Stalin Era poetry as the Russian people were faced with much oppression during these periods. Also, the IOC’s helped me understand what the acmeism movement was and therefore how Akhmatova does not use symbolism she simply is evoking emotion. Before the three IOC’s I was searching for symbolism where there was not any. When the first group explained that Akhmatova wrote from a place of clarity and ideas of experience I was able to grasp the poetry with more ease. For example, before the presentation I spent quite a bit of time trying to analyze her poem, “I Wrung My Hands,” focusing on possible symbolic allusions to Akhmatova’s own life. I was finally able to let go of my preconceived ideas of how
Laing 2
IB #0004400112
the poem related to her life and instead allowed myself to feel the emotion the words were evoking. Specifically, I allowed myself to be disturbed by the final stanza, “And shouted, choking: ‘I meant it all in fun. Don’t leave me, or I’ll die of pain.’ He smiled at me oh so calmly, terribly and said: ‘Why don’t you get out of the rain?’” (912). I felt her pleading in the first two lines, the hopelessness of losing someone you love, and how