Contrasts in the letters of Sergei Yesenin: from the prose of reality to spiritual life

Abstract

The article describes and analyses some of the important contrasts contained in the epistolary of Sergei Yesenin, conveying the features of his nature and perception of the world. The author addresses the problem of sincerity / pretence, widely presented in the poet's letters, which makes it possible to assess the process of his getting used to a difficult reality. It is noted that in Sergei Yesenin’s messages to various addressees, experiments were made with the word, a search was conducted for successful combinations of lexemes. Particular attention is paid to comprehending the poet's statements about the soul, his assessment of Western life. Sergei Yesenin’s mood changed often, and the letters included those facts that were directly or indirectly marked by his emotional-evaluative attitude towards himself and the people around him. Sergei Yesenin’s epistolary reveals the depth of his experience of various events in his personal and social life, the inescapable loneliness of the poet.