Music historian Boris Schwarz adds that the poems, in the order Shostakovich places them, form a strongly dramatic opening movement, a scherzo, two slow movements and a finale.
O historiador musical ruso Boris Schwarz engade que os poemas, na orde na que Shostakovich os coloca, forman un forte movemento dramático inicial, un scherzo, dous movementos lentos e un finale.