Requiem (Russian: Реквием, Rekviem) is an elegy by Anna Akhmatova about the suffering of people under the Great Purge.
The set of poems is introduced by one prose paragraph that briefly states how she waited for months outside Leningrad Prison, along with many other women, for just a glimpse of fathers, brothers or sons who had been taken away by the NKVD in Soviet Russia.
[4] The next nine core poems make references to the grief and agony she faced when her son, Lev Gumilev was arrested by the NKVD in 1938.
Mute grief, growing disbelief, rationalization, raw mourning, and steely resolve are just a few that remain constant throughout the entire cycle.
Akhmatova believed publishing the work during that period would be too dangerous and felt it was better to keep it reserved in her head, only revealing it to some of her closest friends.
It details the background story of how Anna Akhmatova came to the decision of writing this poem and also explains the environment they were a part of during that period in history.
Below is the paragraph that introduces the cycle: "During the frightening period of the Yezhov terror, I spent seventeen months waiting in prison queues in Leningrad.
While the first paragraph is a dedication to people who were very important to her, the other nine of the second section directly relate to the arrest of her only son Lev Gumilev.
This set of poems is from the perspective of the other women who also stood outside Leningrad prison waiting for just a glimpse or notification from their fathers, sons, or husbands who had been arrested also.
[4] Through intricate details, she describes the grieving, pain, weakness, and fear she observed while waiting along with them during this time of terror.
Overwhelmed with sadness, the ending closes with: And let the prison dove coo in the distance While ships sail quietly along the river.
[9] It is said that she incorporates this theme into the complex cycle to reinforce the idea that although there has been a large amount of suffering amongst all of them, there is nothing left to fear.
[2] After finally being published, Akhmatova's critics described Requiem as a blend of graceful language and complex classical Russian forms of poetry.