The paper attempts to give an integrated interpretation of a well-known poem by Anna Akhmatova through examining the system of motifs and the imagery employed by the poet. The interpretation is focused on the Saint-Petersburg topos as an elaborate framework of opposing artistic notions and as a key concept, around which the semantic structure of the text is arranged in its entirety.
poetry, composition, motif, imagery, the idyllic, the dramatic, tragic element, contrast, implication, St. Petersburg topos, reminiscences