In Russian literature, Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev is known primarily as a poet-philosopher. But he also created many heartfelt, sensitive lines about love, which are read and loved to this day. The author's love and philosophical poetry are interconnected by unity of views, similarity of motives and the tragedy of what is described.

A special place in such lyrics by Tyutchev is given to the cycle addressed to Elena Denisyeva. At the age of forty-seven, the poet, having become a government official, the head of the family and a popular author, falls in love with his daughter’s classmate, a student at the Smolny Institute, twenty-four-year-old Elena. The young lady reciprocated. And a passionate romance began between the lovers.

The relationship was carefully hidden until the girl became pregnant, and, being compromised, was expelled in disgrace a few days before the start of her final exams. A huge scandal erupted in the city: the most painful thing was experienced by his legal wife, Eleanor, who had absolutely no idea about the betrayal and even often invited Denisyeva to her home for tea, as her daughter’s friend.

Having learned the truth, the wife felt humiliated and insulted. In a fit of anger, she destroyed most of her husband's letters, which contained many poems dedicated to her. Subsequently, they were lost forever. The poet dedicated the poem “She was sitting on the floor...”, written in 1858, to this dramatic event.

If you do not study the background, you may get the impression of an idealistic picture with a hint of sadness: a stranger, sitting on the floor, sorts through a stack of letters, picks them up, picks them up and throws them away.

Tyutchev addressed the lyrical heroine in the third person and using the past tense. He says that she is looking at the yellowish paper on which the unity of two hearts has been preserved, just as the souls of the dead watch from heaven the body they left behind, that is, lost, as if from the outside.

The woman doesn’t seem to see the culprit of her torment, who is standing quietly in the distance. He wants to leave, but is afraid to break this created silence. The hero feels guilty. Tyutchev noted that looking at a woman, a man would be ready to fall to his knees and ask for forgiveness for the grief he has brought. But the whole tragedy was that all these tears and requests would not have brought any results: the very feeling for his wife disappeared, nothing could be done. And any reconciliation would be a lie, which would only increase the suffering of both. Understanding this caused the lyricist to feel extraordinary sadness, as if another page of his fate had been turned and it was impossible to return to it again, no matter what happened next.

Despite the rather small volume, the work is replete with visual and expressive means. The main place among them is occupied by epithets: “familiar sheets”, “irretrievably experienced life”, “sorrowful moments”, “murdered love” and others. They emphasize the drama and irrevocability of the feelings of people who once loved each other.

The alliteration used in the poem gives it expressiveness and a certain awareness of sad certainty and clarity. The inversion “I stood silently” shifts attention from the lady to the hero, subsequently placing the emphasis on emotions. The unique comparison of a pile of letters with ashes shows that true feeling can give indescribable happiness, but also destroy it.

In this case, love is shown as a kind of fateful feeling. According to Tyutchev, it becomes a force ready to tear a person off the ground and make him soar above problems, but at the same time, she can throw us to the ground, leaving terrible wounds. People know what love is capable of, they understand that it can destroy their lives and take away their peace, but they again rush into the flames of passion. And it will always be like this.

F. Tyutchev's love lyrics are among the brightest and most exciting pages of the work of this talented poet. The poems that the author dedicated to his chosen ones are simply overflowing with emotionality, sensuality, and often even tragedy.

History of writing

The history of the writing of a work can help the reader make a correct poetic analysis. “She was sitting on the floor...” Tyutchev wrote already in adulthood. When the poet was 47 years old, he was a respected man and a happy family man. But it so happened that at that moment Fedor fell in love with a 24-year-old girl, Elena Denisyeva. His feeling turned out to be mutual, and a stormy romance broke out between the two people, which proceeded serenely until it turned out that Elena was expecting a child. A huge scandal broke out in society; it could not help but affect Tyutchev’s legal wife, Eleanor. She experienced her husband’s betrayal very painfully. In a moment of despair, she destroyed a significant part of the correspondence with Fedor, which contained a large number of poems dedicated specifically to her. The works were irretrievably lost. This sad event is described by the poet in the poem “She was sitting on the floor...”. F. Tyutchev wrote it in 1858.

Love for Elena became both joy and sorrow in the poet’s life. He couldn’t divorce his wife, but he also couldn’t give up his happiness with Denisyeva. So, it existed for almost 14 years. Tyutchev lived longer than both women, but he retained his feelings and gratitude in his heart for both the one and the second.

Analysis of the poem “She was sitting on the floor...” by F. Tyutchev

Very often, the works of Fyodor Tyutchev describe the feelings that a person experiences at certain turning points in his life. The famous poem “She was sitting on the floor...” has four stanzas, and each is filled not only with feeling, but also with deep meaning. With the help of some words, the author managed to convey emotions so that every reader could feel the state of the heroine of the poem.

First stanza

The first stanza tells the story of a woman who sorts out old letters while sitting on the floor. Even line-to-line analysis is not needed here. “She was sitting on the floor” - Tyutchev was only able to convey part of the emotions that the woman felt with the help of these four words. Only in her pose can one already sense suffering and defenselessness. Further, it becomes clear to the reader that this entire pile of letters was once very dear to the heroine. That is why she first takes each piece of paper in her hands and then throws it aside. The author makes it clear that at the moment they no longer mean anything to her.

Second stanza

The second stanza brings to the reader a real human tragedy. Verbs such as “sat”, “looked”, “took”, “disassembled” help to do (“She was sitting on the floor...”). Tyutchev uses these words to depict the heroine’s behavior. All and are used only in This adds the character of a memory. At the same time, the burden of the moment of nostalgia is emphasized.

At the end of the second stanza there is an ellipsis, which means a pause, as if an unfinished thought. In this dot, you can see the suffering of the main character’s soul over a happy past life.

Third stanza

These lines show the woman's memories. The heroine goes over in her memory the happy moments she experienced, which no longer mean anything at the present time and which will never be returned. The phrase “how much life” in the first line forms a semantic ring with the word “killed” in the last line. This moment enhances the feeling of emotion and deep tragedy.

Fourth stanza

Using the last stanza, a final analysis of “She was sitting on the floor...” can be made. Tyutchev shows the reader a man who is probably the culprit of all the heroine’s suffering. This man felt all the pain that the woman was experiencing at that moment. He is even ready to fall on his knees in front of her, but at the same time he understands that it is already impossible to change anything, the feelings are doomed, they cannot be renewed, no matter how hard you try.

Tolstoy's opinion

Leo Tolstoy marked this poem with two letters “T.” Ch.", which means "Tyutchev. Feeling." The famous writer believed that in this poem the poet was able to convey those feelings that are almost impossible to express with words. There are moments in life when a person struggles with a large number of emotions, which is very difficult to explain, but Tyutchev managed to convey this in his poem.

For many, the work “She was sitting on the floor...” remains relevant even now. Analysis of the poem showed that such a moment can happen in the life of every person. Perhaps for some this masterpiece is the pinnacle of creativity, but for others it is simply poetry. We can only say one thing: such lines will not leave anyone indifferent.

* * *

She was sitting on the floor
And I sorted through a pile of letters -
And, like cooled ash,
She took them in her hands and threw them -

I took familiar sheets
And she looked at them so wonderfully -
How souls look from above
The body thrown on them...

Oh, how much life there was here,
Irreversibly experienced!
Oh, how many sad moments
Love and joy killed!..

I stood silently on the sidelines
And I was ready to fall on my knees, -
And I felt scared and sad,
As from the inherent sweet shadow

She was sitting on the floor
sorting letters which were old,
holding them before she threw them out
like ash gone cold.

Her look was strange
while she held those pages she knew so well,
as if she were a soul which peered down
at its abandoned shell.

So many irreversible events
such life fulfilled and filled
with minutes of love and joy across the years!
How many grief-packed minutes killed!

Silent, I stood to one side
and my knees were ready to bend
as a fearful sadness crept into my heart,
as if at the ghost of a dear, old friend!

She sat upon the floor
Looking through a pile of letters,
She took them up and tossed them
Like so many cold ashes.
She took the familiar pages
And gazed at them strangely,
The way souls look from above
At their discarded bodies. . .
O, how much life was in them,
Life irrevocably lived!
Oh, how many bitter moments
How much love and joy is now dead! . . .
I stood silently aside
Ready to fall on my knees,
And I grew terribly sad,
As if in the presence of a dear ghost

Ona siedziała na posadzce
I stosy listów przeglądała,
I jak popiołu zimne garście
Brała je do rąk i rzucała.

Brała po jednym z listów stosu
I dziwnie na nie tak patrzyła,
Jak dusza patrzy tam z niebiosów
Na dało, które porzuciła.

O, ileż życia, who is political -
Niepowracalnie przeżytego,
O, ileż było tu goryczy,
Miłości, szczęścia straconego!

A ja milcząco z boku stałem,
I strach i smutek mnie ogarnął,
I na kolana upaść chciałem,
Jakbym zobaczył drogą zmarłą.

Na podu tu je čepila
I stara pisma prebirala,
Te poput hladna pepela
Kroz prste bi joj samo pala.

List poznat uzme, uzdiše,
I promatra ga zatečeno
Ko duša, kad se uzdiže
I gleda napušteno tijelo...

O, koliko života tu
Bje nepovratno proživljeno!
O, koliko nad ljubavlju
Je mrtvom suza proliveno!..

Postrance ja sam stajao
I kleknuo bih istog trena,
Tugovao i zdvajao
Pred tim što sad je draga sjena.

A padlón ült, körötte nagy
halom level - azt válogatta,
hamuvá hült írásokat:
ezt olvasta, azt félredobta.

Felvett egy-egy képeslapot,
s megdermedt a csodálkozástól:
lelkek néznek így elhagyott
testükre az ég magasából.

Mily élet volt ez valaha,
Yes nem jön vissza soha többet!
Hány szomorú pillanata
megölt szerelemnek s örömnek!

Mellette álltam, csüggeteg,
némán, es majdnem térdre esve -
s elkomorodtam, mintha egy
kedves árny állt volna helyemre.