Červený mak (transl.: The Red Poppy)

Based on the findings of literary criticism²³ and literary theory, we can as-sume that the lyrical gesture is deeper and more crystalized in the second collection of Haľamová´s poetry. Hypothetically, we can suggest that the spiritual dimension is portrayed differently. This will be shown in the analytical and interpretative re-search.

The collection of poetry, Červený mak (1932), consists of twenty-two po-ems out of which we have selected seventeen for our analysis.²⁴ Compared to the first collection, we can also find the theme of love (a couple´s love but also mother´s love), the theme of loneliness, nature, death and life, but also spirituality.

We will examine the poems in succession as they were published in 1932²⁵.

a) Thematic syncretism in the emblematic poem Červený mak²⁶ reflects the image of the Tatras’ nature, the climate and the depiction of love and spirituali-ty. The life-giving sun, its creative nature, reflected in the beauty of the flower, em-anates grace:

22 Based on the monograph by Z. Plašienková and J. Kulisz. Vide: Z. Plašienková and J. Kulisz, Na ceste s Teilhardom de Chardin, op. cit., ibidem.

23 The first part of our research focuses on the perception of M.Haľamová by early as well as contem-porary literary critics. For instance Milan Rúfus states: „She only confirmed what was clear in her debut. The same string but more balance and peace, yet at the same time urgent and sensitive.“

(M. Rúfus, Doslov, [in:] Maša Haľamová, Dar, vyd. druhé, v SVLK prvé, Slovenské vydavateľstvo krásnej literatúry, Bratislava 1964, p. 158).

24 With respect to researched problem, we leave out the following poems: Sen, V ulici v St. Jacques, Père Lachaise, Večer, Jeseň, as they are connected to her stay in Paris and also a poem Pohreb na horách, based on a real life event.

25 M. Haľamová, Červený mak, L. Mazáč, Praha 1932, pp. 49, [3].

26 Eadem, “Červený mak”, [in:] eadem, Červený mak, op, cit., p. 3-4.

“Keď slnce vykúzli / zo skalnej zeme kvet, / je to milosť.”²⁷

[in English translation: “When the sun grows / a flower from a rocky ground, / it is grace.”]²⁸.

The world of nature is perceived in the eyes of the lyrical subject as a re-flection of God´s love. The red poppy, traditionally regarded as a symbol of mor-tality, temporality and finality but also subtlety, embodies the unusual guest of blood and love (implying the phrase “Guest in the House, God in the House”).

The allusion to Christ´s sacrifice and God´s gift of love brings – pars pro toto – the sacred value into the perception of the world´s beauty. The continuing parallel is put into contrast with the symbol of a poppy to the love of a loved one – a doctor who represents the saviour of life and a symbol of hope. It serves as the opposite (intellectual type) to free woman´s emotions which offer a different view on life:

“Hľaď dnes mojimi očami, / pohraj sa s makom červeným, / a prijmi moju lásku.” ²⁹ [in English translation: “See the world with my eyes today, /play with the read poppy, / and take my love.”].

– the sensual perception of floral beauty and the acceptance of a woman´s love, evoke a synchronized parallel and initiate (an emotional) opening towards various gifts of love. The connection of beauty and love is the key to integrating unity and aesthetic and emotional spirituality, thus creating evolutionary-creative axis of spiritualeme. The spiritual dimension of life connects “small” and “big” tran-scendence into one multidimensional whole.

b) At the beginning of our analysis, we can state that the number of sylla-bles is not even and the foot is not unified. The poem is divided into six triplet stan-zas in which the sound structure consists of euphonic sequence of vowels and a simple rhyme effect at the end of each triplet. In the first and second stanza front vocals (e, i) prevail:

“Keď slnce vyčarí / zo skalnej zeme kvet, / je to milosť //”

[in English translation: “When the sun grows / a flower from a rocky ground, / it is grace”]

and in the third stanza back vocals (o, u) prevail:

„Pod mojím oblokom / rozkvitol rudý mak. / Symbol a hosť. //”

27 Ibidem, p. 3.

28 English translation: Mgr. Zuzana Buráková, PhD.

29 M. Haľamová, “Červený mak”, [in:] eadem, Červený mak, op. cit., p. 4.

[in English translation: “Under my window / grew a red poppy. / A symbol and a guest. //”].

The author embellishes the lyrical text by means of anaphora with a preference for long vocal á:

“Snáď vykvitol z krvi, / snáď z lásky. / Nikomu nedám ho skmásať.//.”

[in English translation: “Perhaps it grew from blood, / perhaps from love. / I won´t let anyone destroy it”].

By forwarding the proclitic – to the beginning of the last verses in three stanzaic-syntactic units– the poet interrupts the cadence (typical for the Slovak language) and uses a rhythmical (trochee or dactyl-trochee) tendency by means of which she underlines (in the emphasized parts) the poem´s semantics:

“... / ... / a ty si lekár. // ... / ... / a na tvár vsadiť masku. // Hľaď dnes mojimi očami, / pohraj sa s makom červeným / a prijmi moju lásku. //.”

[in English translation: ... /... / and you´re a doctor. //... / ... / and the face takes up the mask. //

See the world with my eyes today, / play with the red poppy/ and take my love. //”].

It seems that the sound expression of the poem, especially on the level of vowel instrumentation³⁰, enhances the image-emotive character of the main poem.

The poem Jar³¹ (Spring) depicts the image of a cyclical parallel of rebirth of man and nature. A bird´s song, tree branches and the sky, which does not move, are all a prediction of a new beginning. A mysterious tension of the blocked vertical element, the sun smiling at young meadows, shaking buds of willows near the pond: they all create an impression of sprouting. A man is also part of this cycle:

“Zem vonia a človek by s jarou / rozhodil po zemi ruky. // So srdcom obrodeným / rozdal sa celý / a začal znova / s láskou i s utrpením.”

[in English translation: “The earth smells and in spring, a man / would love to spread his hands, // with his renewed heart / he would give himself away / and start all over with love and suffering.”].

30 Vowel instrumentation of verses can be detected in several poems of the analysed collection.

For instance, the poem Jeseň offers an „impressionistic image“ of the fall compared to a spinning wheel which is „colored“ by words dominated by sonores and consonants with a high degree of sonori-ty: Kam sa zvrtne s kolovratom, / zlaté nite / porozvláča,

31 M. Haľamová, “Jar”, [in:] eadem, Červený mak, op. cit., p. 5.

However, his rebirth has a spiritual background – the ideal in Christ´s love and sacrifice, from which he gains the life energy. With a synergic fireplace inside his heart, he repeatedly accepts the destiny of an enthusiastic follower as he renews his spiritual energy along with the spring and shows the vigour of an apostle. Thus the image of a spring hides the secret of epiphany –– the spiritual rebirth of a man in the sacred intersection into the time and space, i.e. Christ-centric spirituality.

The change of an emotional tune is brought about in the poem Stesk³² (Sorrow) The lyrical image of a unfulfilled love trajectory culminating in the con-trast between the Earth and the stars, brings along a problem of (au-to)transcendence: disorientation and withdrawal from the world. The lyrical change does not have earthly or unearthly solution. The paradox without any solution is reflected in the following verses:

“Nedôjdem / so srdcom / a láskou / odovzdanou.”,

[in English translation: “I won´t go / with heart / and love / which has been given up.”].

after which one feels trapped. Similarly, in the poem Máj³³ (May), we come across the paradox of never-ending desire for love:

“... a srdce moje vták, / čo v kameň hniezdo vije.”

[in English translation: “...and my heart is like a bird, / who weaves its nest with stone.”].

a) A fairy-tale-like element is brought into the relationship in the poem V zakliatej hore (On a Cursed Mountain), which evokes a balladic tone. Never-theless, the magic love under a white pine is liberating and so is the anticipation of a ballad turned into its opposite – an idyllic song, a romance, in which the mean-ing is changed into a paradox. The archetypal image of a woman followmean-ing her man in the traces of his skis, is expressed by the principle of a synchronized unity of “me in you”.

b) The lyrical love “story” is formally divided into six triplet stanzas. Each of them represents an individual syntactic unit divided into verses with identical syllabic length (5, 5, 3):

“Šli sme raz s milým / cez veľkú horu / veselí. // Na vetvách stromov / snehoví škriatci / sedeli.”

32 Eadem, “Stesk”, [in:] eadem, Červený mak, op. cit., p. 6-7.

33 Eadem, “Máj”, [in:] eadem, Červený mak, op. cit., p. 8.

[in English translation: “We once went with my beloved one / through a big mountain / so merry, // The snow elves / were sitting / on tree branches”].

A song-like rhythmical structure of the poem is apart from the stanzaic-syntactic parallelism³⁴ emphasized also by the sound accordance at the end of each triplet:

veselí – sedeli, chlad – rád, zaklope – po stope.

[in English translation: merry – were sitting, cold – glad, knock – flowing one´s foot].

A simple, song-like lightness of a surface structure of verses (on the sound level) underlines playfulness and joy of the „image“ – of a romance, which func-tions as a surprise for the reader expecting a balladic cadence.

a) The atmosphere of a lyrical gloom can be found in the poem Elégia³⁵(Elegy) Gradual maturation of a self-repentance in the wake of realizing one´s sinfulness is expressed not only by the following questions (in the third line of each stanza):

Ľutuješ? – Sľubuješ? – Múdry buď!

[in English translation: Do you regret? – Do you promise? – Now be smart!].

but is also present in the nature-spirit parallelism. The emphasis on the cy-clical repetition of an alleviation („Tak ako vlani...“), or in other words of a spiritual interiority, it is broken down into subjective mode:

“Budeme sami / a zlomíš pýchu / v hrdý stud.”

[in English translation: “We will stay alone / and you will break your pride / into a proud shame.”].

Dialogical approach evokes a spiritual dialogue in which the sense of im-perfection and the acknowledgement of sinfulness is depicted as a power of wis-dom – “confidence”, which can be achieved only through humility to God. Only humility deepens an ontological dimension of spirituality which can be defined as “homo spiritualis”.

b) Four triplet stanzas with the same number of syllables (5, 5, 3), repeated in particular verses of the poem, have a dialogic character. This can be seen

34 Stanzaic-syntactic parallelism is defined as the even number of syllables within particular stanzas, when each of the stanza functions as a separate syntactic unit.

35 M. Haľamová, “Elégia”, [in:] eadem, Červený mak, op. cit., p. 13.

in a different melodic occurrence of the last verses in the first three stanzas, which is present rhythmically but also in terms of the meaning at the back of the whole text:

“Tak ako vlani / padajú listy... / Ľutuješ? // Spomienka raní. / Je večer hmlistý... / Sľubuješ? //

Hlavu do dlaní / polož mi tichú. / Múdry buď! /...”

[in English translation: “Just like last year / the leaves are falling.../ Do you regret? //

The memory hurts. / It´s a foggy evening. / Do you promise? // Put your quiet head / in-to my hands. / Now be smart! /...”].

Thanks to stanzaic parallelism³⁶, as well as the rhythmical repetition of a dialogical form, the poem is characterized by melodic song-like element.

a) A “self-betrayal” in the name of love is developed in the lyric-epic po-em Balada³⁷(Ballad). Here, we can see the transition of a ballad into a song.

The change of a genre increases the aesthetic effect of an allegory of “defying eyes”. The hidden love is changed into a resignation:

“A keď mi ich podal / silnou mužnou / dlaňou, // Nebola som ja viac / vlastných očí / paňou.”

[in English translation: “And when he passed them to me / by his strong / manly palm, //

I stopped being / the owner of my own eyes.”].

After all, it is not only the balladic or song-like nature of a poem, but also synechdoctic depiction of love (the motif of the eyes), which is similar to folk poet-ry. By means of these elements, the author expressed her affinity with traditions and underlined the function of cultural patterns (ideals) of behaviour – and gender stereotypes.

b) Rhythmically simple, eight-stanza poem has a character of a folk song.

There are six-, four- and two-syllabic verses with the identical number of rhythmi-cal peaks in each of them. As it seems, the change in the number of rhythmirhythmi-cal peaks, signals the balladic, sad and tragic subtext. While the first six-syllabic verses of the second and last stanza have two rhythmical peaks (Prezradili včera [in Eng-lish translation: They revealed it to us yesterday]), on the other hand, the first initial verse has only one sound prominent syllable (Pohnevali sme sa [in English transla-tion: We were angry at each other]). Similarly, the second four-syllabic verse con-tains a different number of accented syllables. Two rhythmical peaks are present in verses which do not indicate any tension (spolu s milým [in English translation:

36 Stanzaic-syntactic parallelism is defined as the even number of syllables within particular stanzas, when each of stanzas functions as a separate syntactic unit.

37 M. Haľamová, “Balada”, [in:] eadem, Červený mak, op. cit., p. 14-15.

Together with a beloved one]), while one accented syllable is present only where it needs to suggest an element of tension (ku skalnému [in English translation:

to a rocky]).

This poem also contains stanzaic parallelism which creates a rhythmical structure of a ballad.

a) The poem entitled Májová³⁸ (In May) suggests the time of blooming and love. The central theme is the depiction of a sacral space of churches built from visible matter. Its spiritual pendant is a cathedral built from the sacredness of love as a phenomenon. The opposite space is depicted by double nature of sa-credness: the church itself implies religious form and the love of people its spiritual content. Therefore, the end of the poem suggests the act of love in the unity or eros and ethos:

“Chceme si / z bozkov / postaviť / kostol // a z lásky / oltár / mramorový.”

[in English translation: “We want to build a church from the kisses and a marble altar from our love.”].

b) The formal outline of the poem is simple not only in the structure of stanzas but also with the sound. The first two stanzas are dominated by three-syllabic rhythmical units with the first prominent syllable:

“Kostoly stavajú / zo skaly / mramoru / prepychu. // Okolo kostola / chodíme / s milým / po-tichu. //.”

[in English translation: “They built churches from / rock / marble / luxury. // We always walk by the church / with my beloved one / quietly.”].

Their semantic and rhythmical connection is emphasized by means of a naive rhyme at the end of each stanza: “...prepychu // ...potichu.” [in English translation: “...luxury // ...quietly. ]. In the last but one stanza in which the meaning gradates, there are three-syllabic phonic-rhythmical units interchanging with two-syllabic ones:

“Chceme si / z bozkov / postaviť / kostol //.”

[in English translation: “We want to build a church from our kisses”].

Dactylic cadence from the first part of the poem is replaced by dactylic-trochaic tendency on behalf of intensifying the meaning and the lyrical expression.

38 Eadem, “Májová”, [in:] eadem, Červený mak, op. cit., p. 16.

The final triplet begins with a cluster of rhythmical disruption when the stress is put on the second syllable and ends the poem with a four-syllabic word:

“a z lásky / oltár / mramorový. //”

[in English translation: “and a marble altar from love”.].

These phonic elements close the poem by means of a iambic “lift”

which emphasizes the final idea of the poem: spiritually experienced love.

Apart from the poems about love, there is a poem entitled Cintorín pod Ta-trami³⁹ (Cemetery under the Tatras) which has a distinct character. The idea of eternity – transcendence is depicted in the image of mountains which have no mercy on life:

„a vrchov reťaz tvrdá / sem večný pohľad vrhá / zo skaly.“

[in English translation: “and the heavy chain of peaks / throws an eternal sight / from the rock” ]

The lyrical subject is attempting to put up with an insoluble conflict – the meaning of a tragic death of young people – by means of a psalm:

“Žalujem hory / pre srdce kamenné a vzdor.”

[in English translation: “I accuse the mountains / for their heart made of stone and their pride.”].

While the aesthetic effect of the poem increases the anaesthetic content, it is intensified in the last stanza:

“Bezmocný vietor / ku plotu zlostne sa derie / a biely závej snehu / zhladí poslednú nehu / v holotu.”

[in English translation: “Helpless wind / jostles to the fence angrily / and the white snow drift / hides the last tenderness / into rawness.”].

The polarity of beauty (natural scenery) and emotions (the grief over the death of loved ones) gradually increase the tension between emotional-aesthetic and anaesthetic form of life. Finally, the anthropomorphic motifs of wind, snow and subtlety at the edge of life and death, represent the mutual conflict of natural

39 Eadem, “Cintorín pod Tatrami”, [in:] eadem, Červený mak, op. cit., p. 19-20.

elements in a natural-man´s world. Lyrical disproportion has a spiritual edge ex-pressed in psalmist depictions.

The main idea of the poem Pohli sa ľady⁴⁰ (The ice is breaking) is inspired by the Czech poet Karel Toman´s motto. The month of May is connected with the religious symbolism of God´s mother, the Virgin Mary, which enhances the natural-spiritual dimension. The nature of the Tatras is put into contrast with the Czech nature together with a contrast of the north versus south: blooming apple trees, the sun and the soil are put into contrast with a fertile rocky soil, and the pine trees with a gentle miracle of blooming crocus, are the opposite of abundance and modesty. At the background of this unique beauty stands a para-dox of life revealing a deeper meaning:

“Hej, v horách chudobných / ľudia sú láskou bohatí.”.

[in English translation: “Hey in poor mountains / people are rich with love.”]

The last couplet reveals human´s love: God´s gift of love – spiritualeme – multiplied in natural and spiritual wealth of people, hiding the evolutionary-creative potential.

The return to psalmic nature but also to the personal loss of a mother can be seen in the poems Žalujem!⁴¹ (Accusation), and Za matkou⁴² (Mourning the Mother). Conflicts in the soul of a young girl, the lack f woman´s ideal as a source of life wisdom are the causes of self-pity and desperation. The lyrical subject attempts to put up with them through a psalm:

“Keby som mala matičku, / dobrú, statočnú matičku – / i slnce by bolo moje.”

[in English translation: “If I had a mother, /a good, brave mother – / even the sun would be mine.”].

The poem Za matkou is a tribute to mother´s love, generosity and humility with which she accepted the gift of a child as God´s miracle and a blessing.

The image of a mother as a bearer of life is gradually replaced by the image of a saint. Despite the fact that the emotionality is author´s explicit goal, the poem confirms author´s existing value orientation. The sequence of poems closes with a poem Svadobná⁴³ (Wedding), in which the lyrical subject realizes decisive moments of her personal life, especially the transition from a girl to a woman

40 Eadem, “Pohli sa ľady”, [in:] eadem, Červený mak, op. cit., p. 23-24.

41 Eadem, “Žalujem!”, [in:] eadem, Červený mak, op. cit., p. 27-28.

42 Eadem, “Za matkou” [in:] eadem, Červený mak, op. cit., p. 29-30.

43 Eadem, “Svadobná”, [in:] eadem, Červený mak, op. cit., p. 31.

ing which is the presence of a mother irreplaceable. The wedding does not seem complete without the ritual of a mother´s blessing – the consecration of a daughter into the mysterious love (eros) and into the archetypal role of a woman-wife and a future mother.

The focus on the spirituality of a natural world of Štrbské pleso is present also in the poem Z obloka⁴⁴ (From the Window)⁴⁵. The image of home is depicted in the scenery of the Tatras’ lake and wild geese. The visual exterior is in the final stanza replaced by sudden emotional interiority:

“Srdcia dokorán otvoríme, / okná do noci roztvoríme, / len oči zavrieme, / aby sme lepšie uvideli.”

[in English translation: “We will open our hearts, / the windows into the night, / only to close

[in English translation: “We will open our hearts, / the windows into the night, / only to close

W dokumencie Religious and Sacred Poetry: (Stron 88-111)