Analysis Of The Poem 300 By Osip Mandelstam

In Osip Mandelstam’s poem numbered “300”, and in Marina Tsvetaeva’s poem “you loved me” both speakers are struggling with a loss of love. For Tsvetaeva’s speaker, the loss stems directly from a love built in a relationship and partner and the sudden feeling of betrayal and loss. For Mandelstam’s speaker however, the loss of love is in that of his friends and family, and not in that of an intimate relationship. They have betrayed his trust, and left him in a life of solitude and loneliness. Both speakers are encountering a powerful loss of something they care about and in their poems they are showing their resiliency and rebuttal towards that loss. This rebuttal comes from a place of isolation and understanding. It is only through recognition
The suddenness of the breakup seen in the second stanza is juxtaposed nicely with past tense images of their love affair. This is seen primarily in the last two lines of the first stanza with, “Your love went far beyond any possible / boundary as no one else’s could.” (53). In this line the speaker is acknowledging that something substantial has been lost. Their relationship was considered to be something extraordinary, something unachievable by anyone else ever again. It is at this point that some light should be shed on Tsvetaeva’s structural
This comes from a difference in tone. In Tsvetaeva’s poem, for example, the tone of the speaker is that of reminiscent growth. This differs greatly from the tone of the speaker in Mandelstam’s poem. The speaker of “300” is fueled by his betrayal and has an air of near unstoppable rage. He shows no remorse in his actions, but instead a level of joy in the revelation of truth of the relationship. This revelation is not seen with “you loved me”. Instead, Tsvetaeva’s speaker brings a tone of reminiscent growth, as well as an air of distain for the past life. While as the above quoted passage about their love says, “as no one else’s could.” (53) the idea that the speaker is wanting to return to that moment is hinted at. However, this is not true. Due to the use of past tense, this moment can be interpreted as reminiscence. Coupled with the implications of the title, “you loved me”, the speaker is showing a level of disconnect with the past. While the relationship did in fact exist, it has instead changed from the most important part of the speaker’s life, to a simple memory and accusation of past character. Each of these poems are grappling with the idea of loss and isolation. The isolation, rather than being crippling, is instead uplifting and motivating. It allow the speaker’s a chance to grow from their loss, and in that growth, fight back and resist the perpetrated wrongs. By recognizing what has happened