Andrei M. Ranchin, DSc in Philology, Leading Researcher, Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nakhimovsky Avenue, 51/21, 117418, Moscow, Russia. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0414-5106
The article examines the interpretation of Joseph Brodsky’s poem “On the Death of Zhukov” by a number of literary scholars as expressing the author’s ambiguous attitude towards the hero and allegedly containing sarcastic and ironic elements. It is proved that this poem is precisely a tribute of gratitude to Zhukov as a commander who made a decisive contribution to the victory in the Great Patriotic War. The poetic features of the poem are generally explained by the imitation of G.R. Derzhavin’s poem “Bullfinch”, written on the death of Suvorov. In addition to the desire to express gratitude, the writing of a poetic epitaph for the marshal can be explained by a number of other reasons. The poem is a reflection of the author's understanding of his social significance and social role as a poet who claims to be a kind of interlocutor for those in power. In addition, Brodsky was apparently solving a purely literary problem: to create a new version of a solemn poem in the tradition of a funeral elegy and ode using contemporary material and absorbing contemporary, including Soviet official vocabulary. That is, to accomplish a truly difficult task, overcoming the resistance of this material.
J. Brodsky; “On the Death of Zhukov”; G.R. Derzhavin; “Bullfinch”; problem of interpretation; author’s position; imitation; odic tradition.
28.12.2024
26.01.2025
Ranchin, A.M. “Joseph Brodsky’s Poem ‘On the Death of Zhukov’. The Problem of Interpretation”. Literaturovedcheskii zhurnal, no. 2(68), 2025, pp. 9–33. (In Russ.)
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