"Letters to a Roman friend (from Martial)" Joseph Brodsky

Today it is windy and overlapping waves.
Autumn is coming soon, everything will change in the area.
The change of these colors is more touching, Postumus,
than a friend's change of dress.

I am sending you, Postumus, these books.
What's in the capital? Lay softly? Isn't it hard to sleep?
How is Caesar? What is he doing? All intrigue?
All intrigue, probably, yes gluttony.

I am sitting in my garden, a lamp is on.
No girlfriend, no servants, no acquaintances.
Instead of the weak of the world this and the strong -
only the consonant hum of insects.

Here lies a merchant from Asia. Tolkovym
he was a merchant - businesslike, but invisible.
Died quickly - fever. By trade

Next to him is a legionnaire, under rough quartz.
He glorified the empire in battles.
How many times they could have killed! but he died an old man.
Even here, Postumus, there are no rules.

Let it really, Postumus, the chicken is not a bird,

If it fell out in the Empire to be born,
it is better to live in a remote province by the sea.

And far from Caesar, and from the blizzard.
There is no need to faw over, to be in a coward, or in a hurry.

Wait out this downpour with you, heterosexual,
I agree, but let's not trade:
to take sestertius from the covering body -
it's like demanding shingles from the roof.

Leaking, you say? But where is the puddle?
It never happened that I left a puddle.
Now you will find yourself some kind of husband,

So we lived for more than half.
As the old slave told me in front of the tavern:
"Looking around, we see only ruins."
The look, of course, is very barbaric, but true.

I was in the mountains. Now I am fiddling with a large bouquet.
I’ll find a large jug, pour them some water ...
How is it in Libya, my Postumus - or where is it?
Are we still at war?

Do you remember, Postumus, the governor's sister?
Thin, but with full legs.
You slept with her yet ... Recently she became a priestess.
The priestess, Postumus, communicates with the gods.

Come and have some wine and some bread.
Or plums. Tell me the news.
I'll make you bed in the garden under clear sky
and I will tell you what the constellations are called.

Soon, Postumus, your friend, who loves addition,
will pay off his old deduction.
Take savings from under the pillow
there is not much, but enough for the funeral.

Ride your black mare
to the house of getters under our city wall.
Give them the price you loved
to mourn the price for the same.

Laurel greens shivering.
Open door, dusty window
chair abandoned, left bed.
A fabric that has soaked in the midday sun.

The pont rustles behind the black hedge of pines.
Someone's ship is struggling with the wind off the cape.
On a crumbling bench - Elder Pliny.
The thrush chirps in the cypress hair.

Analysis of Brodsky's poem "Letters to a Roman Friend"

The poem "A Letter to a Roman Friend" was written by Joseph Alexandrovich Brodsky in 1972. The title says "From Martial", but this is not a free translation of any of the works of the famous epigrammist Mark Valerius Martial, but an independent work based on Roman history.

In the poem, the author plays the role of a Roman living during the reign of Julius Caesar. From the text of the poem, we understand that he once lived in the capital, knew personally the mighty of the world this, but decided to leave for a remote province. All that connects the hero with his former life is a friend named Postumus, to whom he sends letters, talks about his everyday life and asks about the news.

Despite the fact that the poem tells about historically significant things, it concerns serious philosophical themes, it is easy to read. This effect is achieved thanks to unpretentious vocabulary, devoid of pretentious statements, archaic expressions and sophisticated words. But there are enough sayings in it that make the plots of ancient life more understandable and close to the Russian reader. For example, here is how a poet is interested in the details of a friend's stay in Rome:
What's in the capital? Lay softly? Isn't it hard to sleep?
How is Caesar? What is he doing? All the intrigue?

Of course, all these questions are rhetorical. The author himself is well versed in the undercover struggle that eternally accompanies any throne. It is easy to see a parallel with modern world and the era in which Joseph Alexandrovich himself lived.

In the eighth stanza, the poet allows himself to criticize the authorities:
You say that all governors are thieves?
But a thief is dearer to me than a bloodsucker.

It was the intrigues of the court that pushed the lyrical hero away from the hustle and bustle big city... Using a proverb again, the poet explains why he tries to stay away from palace intrigues:
Let it really, Postumus, the chicken is not a bird,
but with chicken brains enough grief.

He confesses to Postumus that his life became calmer when he moved to the sea. With the help of bright expressive epithets the author draws pictures in front of his interlocutor provincial life... Nature plays with juicy, pleasing to the eye colors: "under a clear sky", "cypress hair", "black hedge of pines", "fabric that has absorbed the midday sun."

Without hesitation, the author shares the details of his simple life. He then converses with slaves who utter unexpectedly wise ideas. It shares a leaky roof with a corrupt woman. The poet, in ironic ambiguous expressions, narrates how he argues with the girl about the drips that seep, not worrying that the lines will be considered offensively obscene:
Leaking, you say? But where is the puddle?
It never happened that I left a puddle.
You will find yourself some kind of husband
it will flow onto the bedspread.

But in addition to these rustic descriptions of everyday incidents, the poet also raises serious topics. Often the motive of death and the meaning of life sounds in the work. Using the example of several characters, the author reveals the problem of the unpredictability of fate. It tells the story of a shrewd merchant who came to these lands to make lucrative deals. But suddenly he went to bed with a fever and died. The poet emphasizes that a person can plan his actions as much as he wants, but he cannot cope with predestination:
... By trade
he came here on business, not for this.

In contrast, the author cites the story of a legionnaire. This man risked himself all his life, but fate decreed that death passed him where many of his comrades-in-arms died. And this soldier, in turn, lived to old age and quietly rested.

The poet also talks about his own death. But in the stanzas that are dedicated to this event, there is no tragedy. The author simply draws familiar pictures, but without his figure on them. He uses the metonymy - "On a crumbling bench - the Elder Pliny", showing that after his death a trace will remain, similar to what remained of the ancient poet in the form of his book. The poet demonstrates that life will continue to take its course, which is why the last stanzas are so calm and full of warmth.

This poem is amazing. It raises deep questions about life and death, but the work does not cause burdens and does not plunge into thoughtfulness. Joseph Alexandrovich succeeded simple language talk with the reader, as with an old friend, on serious topics, but do not disturb or scare him. This is Brodsky's amazing talent as a poet.

Apparently, the six-foot troche of Brodsky's poem does not let go ... The Internet is full of imitations, parodies, or, as aptly put it, remakes. I chose the three best (in my opinion).



1 don't know the date
ALEXANDER TIMOFEEVSKY
Roman friend's answer

I wander the streets all day, staring.
It's autumn in Rome. Everything is dead. Everything went wild.
A black cloud hangs over the Colosseum,
Unknown what this would mean?
The rain is pouring down. Heaven pays arrears.
It's a pity, it pours not on arable land, but on a stone
In those humpbacked alleys where in an embrace
Your dead men stand with mansions.
Do you remember the house where we have been with you more than once?
On the bald lawn, the grass withers,
Not even the dust remained from the ruins,
And something pulls me there all the time.
You were once happy in this house
And I read an elegy about John Donna,
And the fruits of yellow-green olives
At the hostess, with a dark complexion, he ate from the palm of his hand.
Where is the merry hostess? Where are the olives?
We were left with only a vacant lot around the bend.
Surely there are ruins behind
But ruins are still better than voids.
Only a woman suits inconstancy,
We love what we loved in our youth.
Who came up with the idea that the fatherland is space?
We were your homeland.
You write to me than languish in the empire,
Better to live in a remote province with the Gauls,
But is it worth hurrying to leave,
After all, the empire has disappeared for a hundred years.
Rome collapsed, no one remembers the exact date.
So we argue and draw parallels ...
The same bloodsuckers and soldiers are everywhere,
Bloodsuckers and thieves, my Valery.
You better come back yourself, the path is short.
My wife and I are tired of waiting for you in the capital.
Is it really that important to drive into town
On a four in a triumphal chariot?
Past the stone wall, the sacred grove,
Where legionnaires are on guard ...
It seems to me that it's easier in our kitchen
Talk about Nazon and Catullus.
The wax is frozen on the page of an old book
Guests sleeping side by side anywhere.
Ash everywhere, fig stubs on the floor,
On the table is a cherry rim from a glass.
And when the echoing Chronos measures the time,
Old Postumus will be able to accompany you.
Let's go for the last walk together
And let's go to your favorite island.

2.2007.
VSEVOLOD EMELIN
Letters from a Crimean friend.
Also, apparently, from Martial.

Today it's windy and I drink toast by toast
Summer is coming, women will come here
I don't need to be strong and tall anymore
I can now be small and weak.

Alcohol takes over my body
Intoxication symptoms develop
How much more pleasant it is to watch this business
Than for a woman at the moment of copulation.

Here I sit, waiting for the bill
There is no need to fawn and fuss here
I drink vodka as much as I want
Vacationers are not taken to the police here.

Here I walk barefoot through the primrose
I tear off the legs of small insects
How is Putin? What is he doing? Is it all Rosneft?
Everything by Rosneft, probably yes by Gazprom.

There is a devout Muslim in the grave
He fought with infidels in the Caucasus
He never smoked or was drunk.
He died immediately, without any euthanasia.

There is a cheerful, one-armed old man
He does not dry out since the age of fourteen
Buried a long time ago his wife, children and grandchildren
Even here, Postumus, there are no rules.

Life plays a chess game with us
Everything is divided into two unequal fields
Live in an era of sovereign democracy
Better in the neighboring principality, near the sea.

Far from their power vertical
From struggle to impotence
You say that the Tatars got everyone here?
But Tatars are dearer to me than Chechens.

Spend this evening with you, confused
I agree, but let's go without coition
I'll pump you two glasses of port
And I can buy something else.

Do not breathe in my direction with fumes
Unscrew your painted snout
What are you muttering there? That I'm an old asshole?
Old - yes, but I do not agree that the asshole.

So it's time for us to glue the fins
As an old gay man told me, near the tent:
"Life has passed like an unfulfilled fairy tale"
The look, of course, is somewhat true, but disgusting.

My stomach is up in the south in summer
It's good that there are two steps to the restroom.
As in Ichkeria, my Postum - or wherever there?
Have you brought constitutional order?

Come in your tattered Zhigulenka
Through mountains and forests, fields and countries
Let's drink a burning cherry plum moonshine
Biting it with a rubber rapan.

And then, to the sounds of the local orchestra
I will order wines with the name "Massandra".
I'll show you a glorious place.
Where the sad film about Ichthyander was filmed.

I will take you to the hill where the ruins are
I'll tell you about the exploits, about the ancients.
Read the list of ships to the middle
And I will ask who the successor is expected.

To a friend, Postumus, yours, who was active
Soon a guest will come, named Kondraty
My savings, half a thousand hryvnia
Find it under the mattress, on the bed.

Come to the beer bar on the pier
And agree there with the men
For starters, give them a liter of vodka
They will carry me forward with their feet.

Gloomy boatman drunk to shiver
Pelengas in a bucket knocks its tail on the bottom
The shadow of the trees is getting sharper and sterner.
The setting sun behind the rock.

Empty bottle on the table
The constellations of the zodiac float in the sky
On a cracked bench Dmitry Bykov
An amazing novel about Pasternak.

3.1.04.14
VICTOR BAYRAK
Letters to a friend of the capital

Today it is windy and the waves beat rhythmically.
Soon May, everything will stir, ferment.
Changing flags is even erotic
All the same, some kind of movement in nature.
Of course, I don't care about politics -
you won't go further than Crimea or Maidan.
True, conscience sells better than the body:
The conscience is different, but the body is constant.
___
I am sending you links, there are not many of them.
What's in Kiev? Are they rebelling? Are you tired?
How is the Duma? All again, not thank God?
Thinking is not standing on a pedestal.
I am sitting in my garden, mending an attic.
Off-season: no salary, no tourists.
Free entertainment - a meeting at the bards
And from the paid ones - the tractor drivers have a preference.
___
Let Simferopol really not be the capital,
but why in the capital's row with a resort snout.
If it fell out in the Empire to be born,
So she and put me in the grave.
To get away from Russia, from China.
So that you do not fight for a place in the cemetery.
You say you do not have enough Ukrainians?
Well, here we are all almost foreigners.
___
So we lived our lives. Note, no hernia.
As Rav Ishaya from Odessa told me:
"Flying like plywood over Paris,
I still look at the flight attendant's legs. "
I was in the mountains. Gathered two kilograms of morels.
The mushroom is nondescript, but nutritious and tasty ...
"President" - as my mother used to say -
"Should be the same." Somehow it became sad.
___
Remember, little Maruska behind the fence
Selling cherry plum moonshine?
You slept with her yet ... That's it, she became a prosecutor.
The prosecutor, and communicates with the law.
Come, let's drink some wine, there is a shaft of it here.
And snacks. By the way, new dishes.
Then I will go to the Tatars for a barbecue.
Anyway, they will soon survive from here.

___
Soon your friend, late teenager,
She prefers her boots to white slippers.
I have a Voloshinsky sketch here.
This value will be enough for a commemoration.
Go if they let you through customs
Put your business aside, find yourself a replacement.
Here good land, it's not difficult to dig,
And do not believe it when the price is broken.
___
Laurel greens in late afternoon fever
Shelf of books, open bottle,
chair abandoned, computer on charge.
The cat lay belly up on the mat.
The pont is noisy and every day is unique.
The hang glider sways slightly in the wind.
A Crimean resident is on a cracked bench.
A lonely tricolor above the village council.

Several guys wrote comments not on the proposed structure, but using their own versions:
1) Katya Rakitskaya (katergonnakate)
Letters to a Roman friend (from Martial (= imitation of the epigrams of Martial))
Today it is windy and overlapping waves.

The change of these colors is more touching, Postumus, (The addressee of Brodsky's "Letters" is Postumus, a provincial friend of the lyric hero. The addressee's name refers us to Horace's ode "To Postumus" ("Oh, Postumus, Postumus, the fleeting years pass ...")
than a friend's change of dress. (antithesis: the outfit that nature puts on is like a woman's dress. The very process of changing seasons is like a woman's dressing up)
Virgo consoles to a certain limit (I can't understand what this "limit" is, if not excitement) -
you won't go further than the elbow or the knee. (an allusion to Martial, epigram LIII "Chloe", I quote in A. Fet's translation: "Without your face, I could do without your neck and arms and legs, too, And without your chest, lower back and hips; And do not work to calculate everything separately, I could, Chloe, without all I can get by with you ... ")
How much more joyful is the beauty outside the body (Platonic love?):
neither hugs are possible, nor treason!
Brodsky wrote this poem in March 1972, even before he left Soviet Union... (Source: Natalia Borisovna Ivanova, literary critic, literary critic, First Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Znamya magazine; broadcast of the radio "Echo of Moscow" from 12/27/2009, the program OUR ALL: JOSEPH BRODSKY). Based on this, I dare to conclude that a change in the season, a change in the weather means something more for Brodsky - emigration. Likewise, the maiden comforting the lyrical hero means the American dream, which is destined to come true.
___
I am sending you, Postumus, these books. (Are we talking about the epigrams of Mark Valery Martial as a whole? If not, then this line can be considered an allusion to the CIV epigram of Mark Valery “The Book” also translated by A. Fet: “Book, go to my companion Flavu Over the sea in the distance, but on a favorable wave, And easily on the move with a passing wind To the Tarraconian aspire to the Spanish heights .. ")
What's in the capital? Lay softly? Isn't it hard to sleep? (Rome - Moscow; allusion to V.I.Lenin's composition "They lay softly, but sleep hard")
How is Caesar? What is he doing? All intrigue? (title of rulers, but not Gaius Julius Caesar; an allusion to the tragedy by William Shakespeare "Julius Caesar"; Brezhnev?)
All intrigue, probably, yes gluttony. (Gross irony, evoking associations with the apparatus of power)
I am sitting in my garden, a lamp is on. (I really want to say that this is a reference either to Chekhov himself, or to his work "The Cherry Orchard")
No girlfriend, no servants, no acquaintances.
Instead of the weak of this world and the strong -
only the consonant hum of insects. (impersonation; communist hard workers)
Developing further the idea of ​​the close connection of the poem with Brodsky's personal experiences, I believe that this epigram was written already in America, hence such an interest in news from the capital (the projection of Rome onto Moscow), expressed in interrogative sentences.
The poet's loneliness is felt, but it does not kill him. The poem takes on a philosophical tone here, removing the lyrical hero from the hustle and bustle.
The first line contains an associative array political issues("Intrigues" and "gluttony" of officials = bureaucracy).
The first antithesis: the metropolitan "intrigues", from which the lyrical hero saved himself, are opposed to the "consonant buzz of insects" - a symbol of calm and silence far from the metropolis; the second antithesis "the weak of the world and the strong" speaks of the division of society into rulers (acquaintances, girlfriend) and obeying (servants). Here lies a merchant from Asia.
He was a smart merchant - businesslike, but invisible.
Died quickly - fever.
He came here on business, and not for this. (A reference to the "Epitaph of a Cretan merchant" by Simonides of Keossky (556-468 BC): "A Cretan by birth, Brotach from Gortyna, I am lying in the ground here, I came here not for that, but for commercial affairs ..." (source: Per.L. Blumenau in the book: Antique Lyrics. M .: Fiction, 1968.S. 181). And also a reference to his own poem "In front of the monument to Alexander Pushkin in Odessa / Yakov Gordin" (1969): went ashore in a strange port ... ")
Next to him is a legionnaire, under coarse quartz. (Can be read as "here lies a legionnaire under coarse quartz" - an inscription on the gravestone)
He glorified the empire in battles.
How many times they could have killed! but he died an old man.
Even here, Postumus, there are no rules. (Death is the natural course of life, fate is not explained by any rules)
The philosophical tone set in the previous epigram here flows into Brodsky's reasoning about eternal question- about life and death.
___
Let it really, Postumus, the chicken is not a bird, (a reference to the Russian proverb "A chicken is not a bird, a woman is not a man," explanatory dictionary Dahl)
but with chicken brains you have enough grief. (metaphor; a stupid person will not live in a metropolis)
it is better to live in a remote province by the sea. (completion of a series of oppositions: capital - province, public - private, people - loneliness, sublime - everyday, eagle - chicken)
And far from Caesar, and from the blizzard. (I have an idea of ​​an allusion to Blok's poem "The Twelve", but there can also be an oxymoron here (what kind of blizzards are there in northern Italy ?!), as well as the symbolic meaning of a blizzard, which determines the attitude of the text not so much to the ancient world as to the modern Russia)
Fawning (= serving, groveling) is not necessary, cowardly, in a hurry.
You say that all the governors (in the first half of the 16th century, an official who carried out state power and management on behalf of the head of state on a separate and a certain territory(governorship) rushist.ru/) - thieves?
But the thief is dearer to me than the bloodsucker. (A bloodsucker is capable of destroying another, hence this comparison, as well as a reference to the "insects" about which the lyrical hero wrote to a friend earlier)

In this epigram, the life of the Roman literary hero gives way to evaluation modern life by Brodsky himself. His civic position is clearly visible here, as well as his opinion about political structure country.
___
Wait out this downpour with you, getter (who are getters, I learned from here http://marinni.livejournal.com/612832.html; an allusion to my own work Post aetatem nostram, 1970)
I agree, but let's not trade (morality: it's ridiculous to take money from a man's shoulder that gives protection and comfort)
take sestertius (an ancient Roman silver coin, http://linemoney.ru/termin/chto-takoe-sestercij.html) from the covering body (highlighting the main common task of a man and a roof in a house - “cover” = cover, protect) - all the same that shingles (material for the manufacture of wooden shingles) to require from the roof. (comparison of the body and the roof)
I'm leaking (transferring the properties of the roof to the image of a lyrical hero), you say? But where is the puddle?
It never happened that I left a puddle. Now you will find yourself some kind of husband (covers what is leaking - a leaky, like a roof, = unreliable body of a husband),
it will flow on the veil. (exaltation of oneself in the image of a lover over any other, endowing oneself important quality- reliability)

In this epigram, the theme of philosophical reasoning changes - now the poet is talking about love. It is worth noting that he distinguishes himself from all the males.
So we lived for more than half.
As the old slave told me in front of the tavern:
"Looking around, we see only ruins."
The look, of course, is very barbaric (the barbarian's view of what he himself destroyed is ironic), but correct.

I was in the mountains. Now I am fiddling with a large bouquet.
I will find a large jug, pour water for them ...
How is it in Libya (alliteration with the process of pouring water into a jug of flowers), my Postum, - or wherever? (the lyric hero has been away from his homeland for a long time and continues to be interested in what is happening in the country, only now the questions are not narrow (about the little things of everyday life), but broader ones, and the country already appears blurred in the hero's memory)
Are we still at war? (juxtaposition of two different worlds- prosperity and war)

This epigram shows us a person who is happy to be away from vanity and cruelty, they hardly seem real to him.
Do you remember, Postumus, the governor's sister?
Thin, but with full legs. (allusion to Catullus)

The priestess, Postumus, communicates with the gods. (Iphigenia, heroine of ancient Greek mythology)
Come and have some wine and some bread.
Or plums. Tell me the news.
I will make your bed in the garden under a clear sky (reference to the second epigram)
and I will tell you what the constellations are called. (for a lyric hero, these two processes are equivalent, he distinguishes between the interests of a city person and a person who has left the city)
___

his old debt will pay off the deduction. (approaching death, imminent departure from life)
Take savings from under the pillow
there is not much, but enough for a funeral. (a reference to Soviet life)
Ride your black mare
to the house of getters under our city wall.
Give them the price you loved
so that they mourn the price for the same. (reference to the reasoning about love, presented in the 5th epigram)

In the penultimate epigram again there is a conversation about death, only it is about its imminent approach.
Here the lyrical hero's idea of ​​love, which can be bought for money, changes.
___
Greens (= color of longing) laurel, reaching shivering.
Open door, dusty window
chair abandoned, left bed.
A fabric that has soaked in the midday sun.

The pont rustles behind the black hedge of pines.
Someone's ship is struggling with the wind off the cape.
On a crumbling bench - Pliny the Elder. (An allusion to the letters of Pliny the Younger; Pliny the Elder visited his son after his death)
The thrush chirps in the cypress hair. (opposing the end human life and the endless life of nature)
In the last epigram, the lyrical hero is no longer heard, the picture is drawn by Brodsky himself, describing the simplicity and loneliness of human death.
Surprisingly, in nine letters-epigrams, Brodsky fit the main stages of human life.
2) Tanya Klenova (petitgarcon)
Before starting a detailed analysis of I. Brodsky's poem "Letters to a Roman Friend", it is necessary to highlight and explain the words that we, modern readers, for any reason (updating the language, "author's words") are incomprehensible (and can also be understood only partially or wrong). However, I hope you will not blame me if I try not to divide the analysis into sub-topics suggested in the assignment, but to consider any that seemed unusual and simply interesting to me through several prisms at once (as if turning a curious find at different angles).
The first thing that catches the eye, as soon as we miss the title, a kind of subtitle - "from Martial". And this is a kind of the first allusion we come across: Brodsky writes as if (exactly as if, this is by no means a translation!) On behalf of the ancient Roman poet Martial, famous for his epigrams, constrained by the narrow framework of life in the provinces. Martial, represented by Brodsky, addresses his friend and patron Pliny the Elder. It is curious that in English translation Brodsky removes the subtitle previously indicated in the drafts (since it is philologically invalid, incorrect).
Brodsky's relations with Russia, with his Motherland, were developing and were not easy. Perhaps the work of the Roman poet Martial is close to Brodsky for this very reason, because at the end of his life Martial himself leaves Rome for his homeland, in Spain.
In "Letters to a Roman Friend", one can trace the images and themes found among the poets of antiquity: Ovid, Horace, and Martial as well. However, Joseph Brodsky is the closest of all to Ovid, not exiled to Toms, not voluntarily and even, I dare say, with official honors Horace, who retired "to retirement", namely "emigrant-Martial".
“If it falls to be born in the Empire,
it is better to live in a remote province by the sea. " - in the 60s Brodsky lived in St. Petersburg, which became a "province of Russia", just as Athens became a "province" of Rome, and Rome became a province of Constantinople.
Strictly speaking, I was wrong to jump over the word "letters". It would seem a simple, ordinary word, the meaning of which we know perfectly well, but in order to understand Brodsky and his poem, it is necessary to recall the genesis of the epistolary genre. Before us is the Bible (the Christian "source" of letters, since in New Testament included the Epistles, including the Apostle Paul, which are considered the most significant). Another source is antiquity, which gave us the works of such a poet as Horace Flaccus and his "Epistles" in two books, incl. and “To the Pisons”, “To Augustus” (I would also like to mention the “To the Servant” which I have analyzed earlier.) It also seemed extremely funny and charming to me that in 1986 (I discovered this quite by accident) a collection of Brodsky's poems was published under the title "Poetics of Brodsky". In addition, the name "Postum" (translated as "what is after", "posthumous") is no coincidence: after getting acquainted with the work of Horace, I learned, among other things, the reference here to Horace's ode "To Postumus." “Provinces”, I consider it necessary to note that the theme of the province and the Empire appears in Brodsky, probably largely due to the work of Ovid. In Ovid, we have previously studied and analyzed in detail some of the "Letters from Pontus", which are also messages, appeals. I think we have every right to believe that it was they who "pushed" Brodsky.
Brodsky has a different kind of "letters", at least in some places extremely close to Martial and his epigrams, but at the same time different. And here lies the main, basic allusion: readers who have grown unaccustomed to the genre of messages meet them in his poem again, with a genre recreated from the past, resurrected, into which Brodsky breathed something new: he writes about the charm of complete loneliness. Dwelling in more detail on the lines of poems, where the so-called "finds" are found, I would like to paraphrase the words of M. Segal: in lines
“Soon, Postumus, your friend, who loves the addition
his old debt will pay off deduction. "
Subtraction means death. In general, life and death are the key themes of Brodsky's poem, the themes are eternal.
"On a crumbling bench - Elder Pliny."
Here, some critics unfairly, in my opinion, notice the refutation of the name of the "sender of letters": after all, this does not mean the fact that Pliny the Elder is sitting on the bench in person, but only his book!
3) Ira Ermolaeva (amely_am)
While reading this creation by Brodsky, I came across several words, the meaning of which was incomprehensible to me.
legionary - in Ancient rome warrior of the legion,
to flatter - to please (a synonym to flatter),
Caesar - this work does not mean Gaius Julius Caesar, but the title of the rulers of the Roman Republic, who, after the consulate of Gaius Julius, began to be called Caesars.
And also I would like to add to these words an explanation of the word "epigram" - in the era of classicism, a short satirical work. In ancient poetry - a poem of arbitrary content. In addition, it is worth noting that the epigram differed from the elegy in its brevity and narrowness of subject matter.
Brodsky's poem was written in imitation of the epigrams of Martial. It is divided into separate epigrams (in the ancient sense of the word) of two stanzas, each of which is directed to one side of life.
The poem was written with a six-foot chorea.
The work uses colloquial intonation (addresses, questions, etc.).
It is worth saying a few words about the lyrical hero of the work. It was he who wrote short letters - epigrams to his friend Postumus in Rome from the province, where he left. Fully conveying the thematic features of the ancient epigram, Brodsky makes his lyrical hero touch on a variety of topics. For example, the theme of death is touched upon, through which the idea of ​​the materiality of the world and relationships is expressed: each feeling has a price ("Give them a price for which they loved, so that they would mourn for the same price").
Each of the epigrams is built on an antithesis. For example, in the first stanza natural beauty autumn is contrasted with the colorful outfits of the girlfriend. In the second, Rome is contrasted with the provinces, intrigue with the "consonant buzz of insects."
In addition, the poem uses an allusion - a projection from the past to the present. It seems to me that it is with the help of allusion that the poet reflects modernity through the prism of antiquity.
Also, in the poem there is a reminiscence to Pushkin, to his fate through the theme of exile and loneliness.
If we talk about the poem as a whole, then it seems to me in it in question about the bliss of absolute loneliness, away from intrigue, in peace and quiet. the main idea the poem is expressed in the lines: "If it falls to be born in the empire, it is better to live in a remote province by the sea."
4) Ira Dolinina (ira_shady)
Brodsky's poem "Letters to a Roman Friend" is addressed to Postumus, the Roman general who organized the Gallic Empire. The same addressee was in the ode of Horace (II, 14). The subtitle "From Martial" is also an allusion to antiquity, and more specifically to Ovid. Martial is a Roman poet and epigrammatist. The mention of Martial may be an allusion to the fact that this poem is also a satirical epigram. In the first two stanzas, the poet, referring to Postumus, tells him that the inside is much more beautiful than the outside. As you know, in antiquity there was a cult beautiful body, few people thought about inner beauty. It is this cultural reality of the times of antiquity that Brodsky hints at. “How is Caesar? What is he doing? All intrigues? " The intrigues of the imperial court in ancient times can be easily compared with the game of the "powers that be" in Soviet time... But Brodsky, like Ovid, is in exile and he only listens to nature, which does not care about political intrigues. In principle, the entire poem is built on an allegorical comparison of the Roman Empire and the Soviet (as many historians call the Soviet Union). Caesar is the image of the lord - a tyrant, bloodsuckers, before whom they “coward”, “fawn”, who unites Roman reality and modern Brodsky.
Further, the sweat turns to a certain hetaira (in antiquity - educated single woman, leading a free lifestyle, or another meaning - a prostitute, which, it seems to me, is closer to Brodsky's poem), who demands a sestertius (silver coin) from the poet, with whom she is hiding from the downpour. Perhaps this "conversation" with the heterosexual is the poet's attempt to figuratively say that his roof has not yet "leaked" - his life has not come to an end yet.
"Looking around, we see only ruins." This phrase seems to me the key to understanding this poem. It also contains the nostalgia of a person who has gone through a difficult life path... It also contains an allusion to the Roman and Soviet empires, built on violence, which destroyed a lot and ruined many lives. No wonder, in the poem, the poet quotes an old slave in front of a tavern (eatery) - an unfree person who has lived long life under the yoke of power from above. It is through his "barbaric" lips that the truth speaks in such cruel totalitarian realities.
The poet contrasts a peaceful life in the mountains and a tough life in the country he left. Asks “How is it in Libya, my Postumus - or where is it? Are we still at war? " This dismissive "or wherever" refers us to the poet's alienated attitude to all wars and to the politics of a large state, an empire that is constantly at war, and sometimes it is even unclear with whom.
The poet tells Postumus about the governor's sister, who became a priestess. And her porter is not very pleasant ("thin, but with full legs") and her behavior, which the poet points out ("You slept with her yet ..."), but she became a priestess. Perhaps this is how the poet tries to explain through the realities of antiquity what happened in Soviet empire, when “Every cook must learn to run the state” or at least communicate with the so-called “gods”.
The poet warns his friend Postumus, to whom he writes a letter, that death awaits him soon. He asks him to find his funeral savings. Getters reappear, who this time must mourn his departure - this increases the poet's feeling of loneliness.
"Laurel green", "open door", "abandoned chair" - a description of "left bed".
The mention of Pontus again brings us to Ovid, a parallel with whose life the poet draws in this poem. Another Roman writer, Elder Pliny, sits on a "crumbling bench".
5) Anya Simonaeva (la_guignard)
Who is this Postumus?
"Postumus is a fictional addressee of Joseph Brodsky's poem" Letters to a Roman friend "- Wikipedia will answer us. The word "postum" in ancient Rome was applied to the names of people born after the death of their fathers.
This poem is dated March 1979. Brodsky has been in America for a long time. This letter was written by him not at all to Rome, but to the reality surrounding him.
How is Caesar? What is he doing? All the intrigue?
All intrigue, probably, yes gluttony.
Who is this Caesar? Caesar is all the highest ranks of the USSR. Their intrigues, conspiracies, inhuman actions. Actions are only for their own good, "gluttony", while the whole country is looking for crumbs of bread in the corners.
Instead of the weak of this world and the strong -
only the consonant hum of insects.
While in the United States, Brodsky taught at the university, doing what he loved - talking about poetry. After life in the USSR, with eternal interrogations, psychiatric examinations, calls to offices, life in the United States is calm and measured. Contrast difference. If you remember a warm evening in the garden, imagine these insects, from which there is a quiet hum around, you immediately remember that feeling of relaxation and that calmness that is inherent in such evenings, and you understand what the poet felt.
Why is there a reference to a merchant from Asia? Simonides of Keossky, an ancient Greek poet, "introduced fashion" to write epitaphs for living people. Here Brodsky quotes his epitaph to a Cretan merchant: "A Cretan by birth, Brotach is from Gortyna, I lie in the ground here, // I arrived here not later, but on commercial matters." Such "comic" epitaphs have always been written for the edification of living people.
And if at first the poet speaks of an inconspicuous merchant who died early from a fever, then in the next stanza he contrasts him with a real hero who fought for life and death, glorified the empire, and, in spite of everything, did not die in bloody battles. but in old age.
If it fell out in the Empire to be born,
Better to live in a remote province by the sea.
Horati's satire, in which he praises rural life, contrasting it with the noisy and dirty city. In addition, Brodsky, perhaps, called America a province, because in it he was much calmer than in the USSR:
And far from Caesar, and from the blizzard.
There is no need to faw over, to be cowardly, in a hurry.
You say that all governors are thieves?
But the thief is dearer to me than the bloodsucker.
In the USSR, Brodsky would have had to "fawn" in order to live well, so as not to be cowardly. Don't write poetry.
Having left the country, the poet was left with a grudge against those "bloodsuckers" who contributed to this. After all, he was offered two options: either he was leaving, or a "fun" time awaited him here - psychiatric hospitals, interrogations. And he left, despite the fact that he loved Russia very much.
6) Alina Tavluyeva (alinatavlueva)
LETTERS TO A ROMAN FRIEND
(From Martial
Analysis.
* linguistic level of analysis
** literary level of analysis
*** historical and cultural level of analysis

Autumn is coming soon, everything will change in the area.
These color changes are more touching, Postum
...
* The name of the addressee-Postum appears in the poem.
(Latin postumus - "posthumous"), a nickname that was attached in the ancient Roman system of naming to the names of people who were born after the death of their father, in the exact same translation means "what after." In Brodsky's poem, Postumus is a fictional addressee.
***
And also, in the USA in 1894 Charles Post - the "king of grain mixtures" created a recipe for a "coffee" drink made from cereals, which he called "Postum". Today, the marvelous "Postum" would be called a healthy energy drink, which is, in fact, pure oxymoron. It was produced until 2007. As you know, just in 1972 Brodsky moved to the USA ... you never know.)
*
What's in the capital? Lay softly? Isn't it hard to sleep?
How is Caesar? What is he doing? All intrigue?
** Caesar is the image of those in power. In the case of Brodsky, the government of the USSR.
*
Here lies a merchant from Asia. Tolkovym
he was a merchant - businesslike, but invisible.
Died quickly: fever. By trade
he came here on business, not for this.
**
Perhaps this quatrain is the only place in "Letters to a Roman friend" that can be considered a direct quote. Its original is a Greek text (not Roman, although initially the poem was marked from Martial, and Martial was a Roman poet), namely " Epitaph to the Cretan merchant "Simonides of Keossky (556-468 BC):
A Cretan by birth, Brotach from Gortyna, I lie in the ground here, I came here not later, but on business. "
Next to him is a legionnaire, under rough quartz.
He glorified the Empire in battles.
*+**
"... Granite is a solid and ceremonial stone used for making monuments. This stone has practically no weaknesses, and over time, the tombstones made from it do not lose their characteristics. Granite is rock composed of several minerals such as quartz, mica, spar .... "
This refers to a granite tombstone.
If it fell out in the Empire to be born,
it is better to live in a remote province by the sea.
** In June 1972, Brodsky was forced to leave the country, in fact, the poet was expelled, and later settled in the United States in the status of a "guest poet", where he began to teach at universities, give lectures and, having achieved material independence, was able to intensively study poetic and, in in general, literary creativity.
The lines "If it fell out in the Empire to be born,
better to live in a remote province by the sea "acquired the status of a winged expression.
"To the village, to my aunt, to the wilderness, to Saratov ..." A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit"
Distance from the center, from power, is the best destiny for a poet, be it a non-party poet, a sage poet or a Decembrist poet.
In Brodsky's words, the picture of the surrounding world evokes only, albeit not devoid of some bitterness, irony. Exile, seclusion, escape to a quiet refuge. Those who liked to "hide from the crowd of people" - Horace, and behind him, immediately come to mind. finally hiding from the storms "and Alexander Sergeevich.
A.S. Pushkin "Evgeny Onegin":
(Zaretsky)
...
Finally hiding from the storms,
Lives like a true sage
He plants cabbage like Horace,
Breeds ducks and geese
....
Wait out this downpour with you, heterosexual,
I agree, but let's not trade:
take sestertius from the covering body
it is all the same that demanding shingles from the roof.
* Hetera. There were women in Greece who were "in function" similar to the geisha of Japan. Their task was not only to relieve a man's sexual tension, but also to entertain him intellectually. A heterosexual woman with a brilliant education. These women were worthy friends of the greatest minds and artists. You should not equate Heter with prostitutes. Soc. the status of the getters was quite high.
Sestertius (Latin sestertius) is an ancient Roman silver coin.
SHINGLES
shingles, 1 .. Thin, narrow planks, upotr. for covering roofs and for lathing walls for plastering.
You slept with her yet ... Recently she became a priestess.
The priestess, Postumus, communicates with the gods.
* a priestess-woman-minister of the cult of a deity.
The game meaning. Priestess vs priestess of love. Priestess of love-prostitute.
Soon, Postumus, your friend, who loves addition,
will pay off his long-standing deduction ...
** Yesenin's poem "Goodbye, my friend, goodbye !:
** In Brodsky's poem there is no goodbye; rather, these words can be considered a kind of testament, the last wish of a dying person, or, if quite rudely, “instruction”.
On a crumbling bench - Elder Pliny.
* Pont-Black Sea
** There are two versions of the interpretation of the words "On a crumbling bench - Elder Pliny.
1) The poet imagines that the outstanding writer-encyclopedist Pliny the Elder, in person, is actually sitting on the bench next to him.
.2) Lev Losev, in his recently published biography of the poet, suggests that not Pliny himself is on the bench, but his work "Naturalis Historia", aka "Natural History".