“Inflamed with higher love...”: about the Christian semantics of the poem by A. A. Fet “Sevastopol bed of honor”

The article provides an analysis of the poem by A. A. Fet “Sevastopol Bed of Honor” and considers the historical, literary and biographical context of this work. The creation of the poem is connected with Fet’s trip to the Crimea in September 1879 and his visit to the Sevastopol Bed of Honor. Crimean impressions were first conveyed in Fet’s prose (in the article “Famusov and Molchalin. Something About Our Nobility” (1885)). During the work on the book of memoirs “My Memories” (1887-1889), the poet's Crimean impressions were “revived” and found a poetic manifestation in the poem “Sevastopol Bed of Honor,” dated June 10, 1887. They were initially published as a part of the third issue of “Evening Lights”. This poem holds a special place in Fet’s lyrics due to its great civic pathos, patriotic ideas, the expression of the Gospel sermon about love and the all-conquering belief that there are no dead for God. An ideal image of the defender of the fatherland is created and the feat of Russian weapons is glorified in Fet’s lyric work. The death motif is the central one “Sevastopol Bed of Honor”. However, in this work death is nothing like non-being or insignificance (as in the poems “Insignificance”, “To death”, “Never”), but, rather, life in eternity. The features of the poem's rhythmic structure are analyzed. The most important verse in terms of meaning is emphasized by rhythmic and syntactic means. It is directly related to the Christian understanding of higher love, which is manifested in the willingness to give one's own life for friends.