Literary critics rarely agree, but as for the most famous poem by Alexander Blok, they unanimously recognize the inconsistency that the work caused in society. The ending, in which the divine image of Jesus Christ suddenly appears, was especially widely and furiously discussed.
Here it is, which caused so much controversy and interpretation of the ending of the poem:
Alexander Blok belonged to the so-called "Symbolists", who held in high esteem the vague content of the texts, as if hidden from the reader's eyes. As the song says, “the deeper the meaning is hidden, the more difficult it is to understand,” the better. Moreover, if a work is written as if by revelation from above or from a voice somewhere deep inside, this is a sure sign that the poem is real, true creativity, because it is spontaneous, illogical, unpredictable, etc.
According to the recollections of Korney Chukovsky, Blok said: “I also don't like the end of Twelve. I would like this end to be different. When I finished, I myself was surprised: why Christ? (quoted from: Chukovsky K. I., op. cit., p. 409).
Thus, the graduated author had no explanation.
In the memoirs of Blok's contemporaries, one can find references to how the poet “listened inquisitively” to what was said about the “Twelve”, as if he himself was looking for an explanation of an incompletely clear meaning.
The author of one of the best books about the life and work of Alexander Blok, which was published in the ZhZL series, Vl. Novikov, believes that trying to "interpret the Twelve today is like explaining the Gioconda's smile once again." Nevertheless, they explain and interpret.
There are 4 main theories about Christ at the end of the poem:
- Christ expresses divine blessing, the justification of the revolution. As if the embodiment of the phrase "God is with us." The same is in Yesenin's poem "Comrade", in Bely's poem "Christ is Risen", in Kirillov's poem "The Iron Messiah", in some proletarian poets.
- Christ walks in front because he is the guide. The revolution is spontaneous, chaotic, and Christ shows the way to a new bright life (in accordance with the sacred texts).
- Christ as a symbol of the liberation of the oppressed, disadvantaged and offended (in accordance with the sacred texts).
- Christ as a symbol of the onset of a new era in the life of Russia. Blok wrote: "When Christ was born, the heart of the Roman Empire stopped beating." Thus, the introduction to the poem about the revolution of Christ is an attempt to point out that the heart of the Russian Empire also stopped beating (it is unnecessary to mention how the poet perceived life in Tsarist Russia).
Moreover, the poet believed in the doctrine of the world revolution, which means that the last point is supplemented with a new meaning: Christ as the vanguard of a new era not only in Russia (everything is just beginning with her!), But throughout the world. No wonder in the poem he is "with a bloody flag."
In general terms, something like this.
