The Eye of Falcon’s Feather and the Hot Caskets

The article deals with the analysis of Osip Mandelstam’s poem “Like Chiaroscuro’s Martyr Rembrandt” (1937). It tries to interpret the central enigmatic images (“the eye of the falcon’s feather,” “hot caskets at midnight in the harem”), which have not been satisfactorily explained to date, and providing an example of a holistic interpretation of the text. The analysis also touches on the question of “light and shade” (or chiaroscuro) and the category of time and muteness. Critically reviewing the works of T. Langerak, O. Ronen, M.L. Gasparov and I.Z. Surat, the author offers his own understanding of the poem as a poetic statement about art in general and its effect on humans.