The Bronze Horseman (poem)

The Bronze Horseman (poem)

The Bronze Horseman ( _ru. Медный всадник, literally: "The Copper Horseman") is a poem written by Aleksandr Pushkin in 1833 about the equestrian statue of Peter the Great in Saint Petersburg. It is widely considered to be one of the most significant works of Russian literature. The statue became known as the Bronze Horseman due to the great influence of the poem.

Composition and publication

Pushkin wrote "The Bronze Horseman" between October 6 and October 31 1833 while he was staying on his family's estate at Boldino. Due to censorship, only the Prologue was allowed to be published during the poet's lifetime (it appeared under the title "Petersburg, an extract from a poem" in 1834). "The Bronze Horseman" was first published in full (although with certain alterations due to censorship) posthumously in Pushkin's periodical "Sovremennik" ("Современник") in 1837. [Little pp.xx-xxi]

Outline of the poem

Pushkin describes the fate of the poor young Yevgeny and his loved ones during a flood in which the Neva overflowed its banks. Tsar Peter the Great founded the new capital of Saint Petersburg to bring trade and prosperity to Russia, to open a window to the west, and to expand his military power westward. This strategic move, however, cost the lives of many thousands of common people who succumbed to diseases, floods, and hard conditions in draining the swamps and building the new city. Pushkin uses the flood of 1824 to show the conflict between the large interests of the state, represented by the Tsar's statue with its gaze fixed ahead and its arm reaching out towards the future, and the immediate needs of a simple person for life and safety. Although Yevgeny survives the flood, the home of his fiancée on one of the city's islands is completely washed away and all of its inhabitants drowned with it. The poor man is driven into despair and madness, and blaming Peter for his misery, eventually curses the Tsar's statue. At that, the bronze horseman appears to break free from its pedestal and begins to chase Yevgeny. Soon afterwards he dies, and his body is washed up on a bleak little island and deposited on the threshold of a ruined little house. He is buried out of charity.

Derivative works

Reinhold Glière made the story into a ballet. Nikolai Myaskovsky's 10th Symphony was inspired by the poem.

References

ources

*"The Bronze Horseman" ed. T.E.Little (Bradda Books, 1974)

External links

* The text of at Russian Wikisource
* [http://www.rvb.ru/pushkin/01text/02poems/01poems/0795.htm?start=0&length=all The Bronze Horseman]
* [http://www.ku.edu/~russcult/culture/handouts/bronze_horseman.html The Bronze Horseman]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bronze Horseman — This article is about the statue. For the poem by Aleksandr Pushkin, see The Bronze Horseman (poem). For the novel by Paullina Simons, see The Bronze Horseman (novel). The Bronze Horseman The Bronze Horseman (Russian: Медный всадник, literally… …   Wikipedia

  • The Twelve — For other uses, see The Twelve (disambiguation). Alexandr Blok, Winter Palace, 1917. The Twelve (Russian: Двенадцать, Dvenadtsat) is a controversial long poem by Aleksandr Blok. Written early in 1918, the poem was one of the first poetic… …   Wikipedia

  • The Shield of Heracles — (Ancient Greek: Ἀσπὶς Ἡρακλέους Aspis Hêrakleous ) is a fragment of Greek epic, of 481 lines of hexameters. The theme of the episode is the expedition of Heracles and Iolaus against Cycnus, the son of Ares, who challenged Heracles to combat as… …   Wikipedia

  • Catherine II of Russia — Infobox Russian Royalty|monarch name =Catherine II the Great title =Empress and Autocrat of All the Russias caption = reign =June 28, 1762 – November 17, 1796 25 December, 1761 – 28 June, 1762 reign type =Reign Consort coronation =September 12,… …   Wikipedia

  • Demidov Bridge — Демидов Мост Crosses Griboyedov Canal Locale Saint Petersburg Design …   Wikipedia

  • USSR State Prize — The USSR State Prize ( ru. Государственная премия СССР) was the Soviet Union s state honour. It was established on September 9 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation.The… …   Wikipedia

  • Symphony No. 10 (Myaskovsky) — The Symphony No. 10 in F minor, op. 30 by Nikolai Myaskovsky is among the more remarkable of the Russian composer s large output of 27 symphonies. Composed in Moscow in 1926 27, it was inspired by Alexander Pushkin s poem The Bronze Horseman ,… …   Wikipedia

  • Saint Petersburg Dam — The Saint Petersburg Flood Prevention Facility Complex [Before 2003 when construction resumed after a 15 year pause, the dam was officially called the Leningrad Flood Prevention Facility Complex ] ( ru. Комплекс защитных сооружений Санкт… …   Wikipedia

  • Pushkin, Aleksandr Sergeyevich — ▪ Russian author Introduction born May 26 [June 6, New Style], 1799, Moscow, Russia died Jan. 29 [Feb. 10], 1837, St. Petersburg  Russian poet, novelist, dramatist, and short story writer; he has often been considered his country s greatest poet… …   Universalium

  • Saint Petersburg — Leningrad redirects here. For other uses, see Leningrad (disambiguation). This article is about the city in Russia. For other uses, see Saint Petersburg (disambiguation). Saint Petersburg Санкт Петербург (Russian)   Federal …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”