Some Observations on Osip Mandel′shtam’s Poem “Ia moliu, kak zhalosti i milosti…” [“I beg as for pity and mercy...”]

The article offers some observations on Osip Mandel′shtam’s poem “Ia moliu, kak zhalosti i milosti…,” written in March 1937 and addressed to France. The author argues that the poem refers to the sixth Paris International Exposition, which was supposed to open on May 1, 1937 and was discussed by the Soviet press in February of that year. At least three of the poem’s themes—the floral, the cinematographic, and the topographic—can be considered as direct allusions to the Paris Exhibition. The article explores intertextual connections and realia for each of these themes.