The image above is a photo of the casino in Constanta, Romania which was originally built in 1880.
"Казино" (Casino) was written by Osip Mandelstam in 1912. Below you can find the original Russian text and an English Translation right under it.
Я не поклонник радости предвзятой,
Подчас природа серое пятно,—
Мне в опьяненьи легком суждено
Изведать краски жизни небогатой.
Играет ветер тучею косматой,
Ложится якорь на морское дно,
И бездыханная, как полотно,
Душа висит над бездною проклятой.
Но я люблю на дюнах казино, Широкий вид в туманное окно И тонкий луч на скатерти измятой;
И, окружен водой зеленоватой, Когда, как роза, в хрустале вино — Люблю следить за чайкою крылатой!
I take no joy in the pleasures of the strife And nature is a graying dot today And only in light drunkenness I may Experience the colors of my life.
The wind is playing with a cloud immersed An anchor falls to bottom of the sea And breathless like a canvas under me Soul overhangs abysses of the cursed.
But I adore casino on the sea The foggy window swinging avidly On rippling cloth a ray of sun shines through
Surrounded by water green and blue When like a rose a glass of wine is full I see the flapping wings of a seagull!
Osip Emilyevich Mandelstam was a Jewish poet born in Warsaw, Poland in 1891. Soon after his birth, his family moved to St. Petersburg, Russia. He later became one of the most prominent poets from the Silver Age of Russian Poetry due to his revolutionary self-described "organic" style. He was close friends with other Silver Age poets, such as Anna Akhmatova and Boris Pasternak. Osip Mandelstam wrote "Casino" (Казино) in 1912. At that time, tensions were building all around Europe. Europe was on the brink of World War I, and Russia was on the brink of a revolution. These tensions deeply affected these nations’ citizens and likely prompted Mandelstam to write this piece.
Many Silver Age writers wrote about the hardships of life in Russia. This poem is a phenomenal example of such a topic. "Casino" (Казино) showcases the theme of being depressed and unhappy with life which had dominated the Russian Silver Age of Poetry. In the poem, Mandelstam writes, "only in light drunkenness I may experience the colors of my life." Here Mandelstam is explaining that life has become so unpleasant that only once he is intoxicated, he is able to enjoy life. In the second stanza, Mandelstam is possibly displaying suicidal thoughts. He mentions a "soul" that "overhangs abysses of the cursed" which may be referring to himself. He also mentions two lines earlier "an anchor falls to the bottom of the sea" to express how he could take his own life and jump into the sea, so he could fall to the bottom like the anchor.
Mandelstam was an admirer of the French symbolism movement and it clearly shows in this piece. Although describing his odious world with symbols of despair and defeat, Mandelstam provides a glimpse of hope and attempts to escape his strife in the third stanza. Mandelstam takes the reader to his happy place, presumably with the alcohol kicking in. He explains how he loves the "casino on the sea," and proceeds to provide vivid details about the casino and the surrounding area. He concludes the poem with more vivid imagery of things he adores, such as "water green and blue" (similar to the water in the photo above) and a "glass of wine." He also concludes the poem by returning to the main idea of the first stanza, "only in light drunkenness I may experience the colors of my life." He explains that "When like a rose a glass of wine is full I see the flapping wings of a seagull!" In other words, he is stating that once intoxicated he feels as free as a bird, and can truly begin living.
Mandelstam wrote this poem at a particularly tough time: Russia was on the brink of a World War and a Revolution, and Russia was extremely anti-Semitic. Even with all of these issues, Mandelstam tried to find hope in the simplicity of his surroundings; he looked fondly at the waves of the ocean and the wings of a seagull. Although economic disparity, racism, and antisemitism are still prevalent today, it is still important to maintain an outlook of hope. People can reference Mandelstam’s method of recognizing simple pleasures to gain more from life. Thankfully, the world is more prosperous than ever, and people do not have the same struggles as previous generations.
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