The Twelve (Masterplots II: Poetry Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Aleksandr Blok
- First Published: 1918
- Type of Work: Ballad
- Genres: Poetry, Ballad
- Subjects: Blizzards, Prisoners, Authors or writers, Leadership, Revolutions, Prostitution or prostitutes, 1910’s, Jealousy, envy, or resentment, Patriotism, Jesus Christ, Russia or Russian people, Russian Revolution, Snow, Night
- Locales: Petrograd, Russia
The Poem
The Twelve is a poem about the Russian Revolution. It consists of twelve parts, or cantos, of various forms and lengths. Aleksandr Blok’s title refers to the twelve revolutionaries marching on the streets of Petrograd, or St. Petersburg, as it was known in English (later called Leningrad).
The poem opens with a long canto setting the stage for the entire poem: The blackness of the night is contrasted with the whiteness of the snow, while the blowing wind makes the footing difficult. A band of twelve revolutionaries marches down the middle of the street...
[The entire page is 2090 words long]
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