A short story about Lyudmila. A.S. Pushkin "Ruslan and Lyudmila": description, heroes, analysis of the poem. Return to Kyiv

Ruslan and Lyudmila - a poem by Alexander Pushkin, written in 1818 - 1820. This is his first completed poem, inspired by Russian fairy tales and epics.

In addition, the poet was inspired by other works that somehow left a mark on the work:

1. "Frantic Roland" Ariosto;

2. The works of Voltaire (“The Virgin of Orleans”, etc.);

3. Russians literary tales Kheraskov, Karamzin, Radishchev, popular print story about Yeruslan Lazarevich;

4. "History of the Russian State", from which, in particular, the names of all three heroes were taken - Farlaf, Rogdai and Ratmir (famous ancient Russian warriors);

5. Zhukovsky's poem "The Twelve Sleeping Maidens".

"Ruslan and Lyudmila", in fact, was a youthful comic reworking of Zhukovsky's poem. The parody was harmless and rather friendly, so Zhukovsky appreciated the creation. However, Pushkin himself in his mature years criticized his youthful experience, noting that he "spoiled" the great poem "for the sake of the mob."

The poem was written in iambic tetrameter, which until now has been used only in “grassroots” poetry. The language of the work is also deliberately reduced and coarsened. Nevertheless, iambic tetrameter, starting from this work, became the main one in Russian poetry.

Prince Vladimir decided to marry his daughter Lyudmila. The groom was also found - the glorious hero Ruslan. They played a wedding, at which there were many guests. All of them rejoiced, except for Ratmir, Farlaf and Rogdai - mighty knights who themselves wanted to get Lyudmila as their wife. After the feast, the young were taken to their chambers, but a terrible wind suddenly rose, thunder rumbled and a voice was heard. Then everything calmed down, but Lyudmila was not on the bed.

The saddened Vladimir ordered to find and return his daughter, and whoever does this will receive her as his wife, and even half the kingdom in addition. Farlaf, Rogdai and Ratmir saw that they had a good opportunity to fulfill their dream, and set off together. At the crossroads, everyone went their own way. Ruslan went separately. He drove up to the cave where the lonely old man lived. He tells Ruslan that he has been waiting for him for a long time.

The old man agrees to help him save Lyudmila. But before that, he tells the story of his life and failed love. He reports that Lyudmila was kidnapped by the insidious Chernomor - an evil sorcerer. Chernomor's friend was Naina, an old woman whom the old man loved in his youth. Naina also turned out to be a witch who was angry at the old man.

Ruslan sets off. But Rogdai begins chasing him, plotting to kill his rival. By mistake, he almost hacked Farlaf to death; then, with the help of the advice of a decrepit old woman, he finds Ruslan on the trail, catches up with him and enters into battle with him. Ruslan wins, kills Rogdai and rides on. He leaves for the field with the scattered remains of warriors, picks up equipment, goes on, then fights with the huge head of the hero. At the last moment, he spared his head, and she, in gratitude, told him about Chernomor, who was her brother.

At this time, Ratmir drove up to a certain castle inhabited beautiful girls. In their arms he spent the rest of his days. Lyudmila stayed in the castle of Chernomor and waited for her savior. The sorcerer turned out to be a dwarf with a huge beard, which was carried before him by many servants. The castle was located on top of a high mountain, and there were many magical items in it, with which the girl had fun. She even found Chernomor's invisibility cap, with which she teased the servants and hid from the sorcerer himself.

Ruslan finally drove up to the walls of the Chernomor castle. He fought with the sorcerer for two days and two nights, defeated him and cut off his beard, because of which Chernomor lost his witchcraft power. Sleeping Lyudmila Ruslan took with him and went to Kyiv. On the way back, he met Ratmir, who had already found his love. Now he and Ratmir are no longer enemies. Then he decided to rest and fell asleep, and at that time Farlaf found him and killed him. He took the girl with him and left.

An old man appeared from the cave and revived Ruslan with living and dead water. Ruslan goes to Kyiv and finds the city surrounded by the Pechenegs. Alone, he defeats all enemies and goes to the palace of Vladimir, but meets the prince and Farlaf. Farlaf did not expect such a turn and began to repent before the prince, saying that he had killed Ruslan and taken Lyudmila from him. Meanwhile, Ruslan goes to the girl's chambers and awakens him with the help of a magic ring given by the old man. So he confirmed that he was worthy of his beloved.

The high mansions of Svetozar, the Grand Duke of Kyiv, are full of guests. Here the wedding of the daughter of Prince Lyudmila with the hero Ruslan is celebrated. The Prophetic Bayan starts his song. He sings about bold campaigns and about the glory of the Russian land. His song is a prediction of the fate of Ruslan and Lyudmila: they are in mortal danger, separation and severe trials await them. Ruslan and Lyudmila vow eternal love to each other.

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Full of envy for Ruslan, Ratmir and Farlaf are secretly delighted with this prediction. But Bayan reassures everyone: the lovers will be protected by invisible forces and unite them again. The guests glorify the young. Bayan starts the song again. This time, his words are a prediction of the birth of a great singer who will sing a song about Ruslan and Lyudmila and save their story from oblivion.

In the midst of the wedding feast, a thunderclap is suddenly heard, after which darkness sets in. When the darkness clears, everyone discovers that Lyudmila has been kidnapped. Svetozar promises half his kingdom and his daughter's hand to anyone who finds the princess and saves her. Ruslan, Farlaf and Ratmir go in search of the girl.

Wanderings led Ruslan to a distant northern region, where the good wizard Finn lives, who says that the hero is destined to defeat Chernomor, who kidnapped Lyudmila. Ruslan asks Finn to tell his story. Finn tells the story of a poor shepherd who fell in love with the beautiful Naina, who rejected his love. The young man could not win the love of the proud beauty with anything: neither by exploits, nor by wealth obtained in bold raids. Only with the help of magic spells did Finn manage to inspire Naina with love for himself, but by that time she had already become a decrepit old woman. Now the wizard has rejected her and she is after him. Finn advises Ruslan to be careful not to fall for the machinations of the evil sorceress.

Ruslan goes further. Farlaf also gathered in search of Lyudmila. But all the obstacles encountered on the way frighten the cowardly prince. Suddenly, a terrible old woman appears on his way. Farlaf learns that this is Naina, who wants to help Farlaf and thus take revenge on Finn, who patronizes Ruslan. Farlaf is seized with triumph: the day is already approaching when he will find Lyudmila, save her and begin to rule in the Kiev principality.

While searching, Ruslan finds himself in an ominous deserted place. In front of him is a field littered with weapons and the bones of fallen warriors. The fog dissipates, and Ruslan sees the outlines of a huge Head, which begins to blow towards the knight. A real storm is playing out. Ruslan strikes the Head with a spear. The head rolls to the side, and the knight discovers a sword under it. Ruslan listens to Head's story about two brothers - the giant and the dwarf Chernomor. By cunning, the dwarf defeated his brother and, having cut off his head from his shoulders, forced her to stand guard over the magic sword. The head gives the sword to Ruslan and asks him to take revenge on the insidious Chernomor.

The action takes place in the magical castle of Naina. The maidens, subject to the sorceress, invite travelers to rest in the castle, where Gorislava, the beloved of Ratmir, is already yearning. But Ratmir does not even notice her. Ruslan also gets here, he is fascinated by the beauty of Gorislava. Old Finn saves the knights by breaking Naina's evil spell. Ratmir returns to Gorislava, and Ruslan again continues to search for Lyudmila.

Lyudmila is languishing in the gardens of Chernomor. Nothing pleases her. She is gnawed by longing for Kyiv, for her beloved Ruslan, she is in despair and close to committing suicide. To submit to the power of the sorcerer persuades the girl and the invisible choir of servants. However, the choir's speeches only anger the proud daughter of Glory City. The sounds of a march are heard, announcing the approach of Chernomor. Slaves of a dwarf with a huge beard are brought into the room on a stretcher.

Everyone is dancing. Suddenly, a horn sounds. It means that Ruslan challenges Chernomor to a duel. Chernomor plunges Lyudmila into a magical dream and leaves. Ruslan cuts off Chernomor's beard in battle, and the sinister dwarf loses his miraculous power. But Ruslan fails to awaken Lyudmila from her magical sleep.

Ruslan's camp is broken in the valley. The night is coming. Ratmir stands guard over the sleep of friends. Frightened slaves of Chernomor appear, freed by Ruslan from the power of the evil wizard. The slaves tell that an invisible force has kidnapped Lyudmila again, followed by Ruslan.

Lyudmila was kidnapped by Farlaf, with the help of Naina. He brought the princess to Kyiv, but he cannot awaken the girl. The attempts of all those who tried to do this were unsuccessful. Svetozar mourns his daughter. Ruslan suddenly appears. He has Finn's magic ring, with which he awakens the princess. The people of Kiev rejoice and glorify the brave Ruslan, sing of the fatherland.

Poetic fairy-tale work of the outstanding Russian classic of Russian literature Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila", was written in the period from 1818 to 1820. The author, impressed by the beauty, diversity and originality of Russian folklore (epics, legends, fairy tales and popular tales), creates a unique poetic work that has become a classic of world and Russian literature, distinguished by a grotesque, fantastic plot, the use of colloquial vocabulary and the presence of a certain amount of authorial irony.

According to some literary critics, the poem was created as a parody of chivalric novels and poetic ballads in the romantic style of Zhukovsky, who was fashionable at that time (the basis was his popular ballad "The Twelve Maidens"), who, after the publication of the poem, presented Pushkin with his portrait with words of gratitude from a defeated teacher for a winning student.

History of creation

(The first edition of "Ruslan and Lyudmila" by A.S. Pushkin, St. Petersburg. Printing house of N. Grech, 142 p., 1820)

According to some reports, Pushkin conceived the idea of ​​writing this fairy tale poetry with a "heroic spirit" during his lyceum education. But he began to work on it much later, already in 1818-1820. The poetic poem was created under the influence of not only exclusively Russian folklore, here the motives of the works of Voltaire and Ariosto are still clearly felt. The names for some of the characters (Ratmir, Farlaf, Ragdai) appeared after Pushkin read the History of the Russian State.

Analysis of the work

(Near Lukomorye there is a green oak Golden chain on an oak tom.., Chromo-lithography by A.A. Abramov. Moscow, 1890)

In this poetic work the author skillfully combined antiquity, moments of Russian history and the time in which the poet lived. For example, his image of Ruslan is akin to the image of the legendary Russian heroes, he is just as brave and courageous, but Lyudmila, thanks to her some carelessness, coquettishness and frivolity, on the contrary, is closer to the young ladies of the Pushkin era. The most important thing for the poet was to show in the work the triumph of good over evil, the victory of a bright beginning over dark, gloomy forces.

After the poem appeared in print in 1820, it almost immediately brought the poet well-deserved fame. Distinguished by lightness, irony, sublimity, grace and freshness, it was a deeply original work in which various genres, traditions and styles were talentedly mixed, immediately captivating the minds and hearts of readers of that time. Some critics condemned the use of deliberately folk phrases in the poem; not everyone understood the author's unusual technique and his unusual position as a narrator.

Story line

The poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" is divided into six parts (songs), it begins with lines where the author talks about who this work is dedicated to, and it is intended for beautiful girls, for the sake of which this fairy tale was written. Then comes the well-known description of the magical country Lukomorye, the green oak growing there and the mythical creatures living there.

First song begins with a tale of a feast in the palace Kyiv prince Vladimir the Red Sun, dedicated to the wedding of his daughter, the beautiful Lyudmila, and the brave young hero Ruslan. There is also the legendary epic singer and storyteller Bayan, as well as Ruslan's three rivals Ratmir, Ragdai and Farlaf, who are also in love with Lyudmila, they are evil of the newly-born groom, full of envy and hatred for him. Here misfortune happens: the evil sorcerer and dwarf Chernomor kidnaps the bride and takes her to his enchanted castle. Ruslan and three rivals move out of Kyiv in search of her, in the hope that whoever finds the prince's daughter will receive her hand and heart. On the way, Ruslan meets the elder Finn, who tells him the story of his unhappy love for the girl Naina and shows him the way to the terrible sorcerer Chernomor.

Second part (song) tells about the adventures of Ruslan's rivals, about his clash and victory over Ragday, who attacked him, and also describes the details of Lyudmila's stay in Chernomor's castle, her acquaintance with him (Chernomor comes to her room, Lyudmila gets scared, squeals, grabs him by the cap and he flees in terror).

In the third song a meeting of old friends is described: the wizard Chernomor and his friend the sorceress Naina, who comes to him and warns him that the heroes are coming to him for Lyudmila. Lyudmila finds a magic hat that makes her invisible and hides all over the palace from an old and nasty sorcerer. Ruslan meets the giant head of the hero, defeats it and takes possession of the sword that can kill Chernomor.

In the fourth song Radmir refuses to search for Lyudmila and stays in the castle with young charmers, and only one faithful warrior Ruslan stubbornly continues his journey, which becomes more and more dangerous, on the way he meets with a witch, a giant and other enemies, they try to stop him, but he firmly goes to its purpose. Chernomor fraudulently catches Lyudmila, dressed in an invisibility cap, in magic nets and she falls asleep in them.

Fifth song tells about the arrival of Ruslan in the halls of the wizard, and about the heavy battle between the hero and the villain-dwarf, who wears Ruslan on his beard for three days and three nights, and, in the end, surrenders. Ruslan captivates him, cuts off his magic beard, throws the sorcerer into a sack and goes to look for his bride, whom the vile dwarf hid well, putting on an invisibility cap. Finally, he finds her, but cannot wake her up, and in such a sleepy state he decides to take her to Kyiv. On the night road, Farlaf surreptitiously attacks him, seriously injures him and takes Lyudmila away.

In the sixth song Farlaf brings the girl to his father and tells everyone that he found her, but he still cannot wake her up. Elder Finn saves and revives Ruslan with living water, he hurries to Kyiv, which was just attacked by the Pechenegs, bravely fights with them, removes witchcraft from Lyudmila and she wakes up. The main characters are happy, a feast is arranged for the whole world, the dwarf Chernomor, who has lost his magical power, is left in the palace, in general, good will dine evil and justice will triumph.

The poem ends with a lengthy epilogue, in which Pushkin tells readers that with his work he glorified the traditions of ancient times, says that in the process of work he forgot about all insults and forgave his enemies, in which friendship helped him a lot, which is of great importance for the author .

Main characters

The hero Ruslan, the groom of the prince's daughter Lyudmila, is the central character of Pushkin's poem. The description of the trials that fell to his lot, withstood with honor and great courage in the name of saving his beloved, forms the basis of the entire storyline. The author, inspired by the exploits of Russian epic heroes, depicts Ruslan not only as the savior of his beloved, but also as a defender of his native land from nomadic raids.

Ruslan's appearance, described with special care, should fully, according to the author's intention, convey his conformity to the heroic image: he has blond hair, symbolizing the purity of his plans and the nobility of the soul, his armor is always clean and shiny, as befits a knight in brilliant armor, always ready for battle. At the feast, Ruslan is completely absorbed in thoughts about his future marriage and ardent love for his bride, which does not allow him to notice the envious and evil looks of his rivals. Against their background, he compares favorably with purity and directness of thoughts, sincerity and sensuality. Also, the main character traits emerge during his journey to the Chornomor castle, he manifests himself as an honest, decent and generous person, a brave and courageous warrior, purposefully and stubbornly moving towards his goal, a faithful and devoted lover, ready to even die for his love.

In the image of Lyudmila Pushkin, he showed a portrait of the ideal bride and lover, who faithfully and faithfully waits for her fiance and misses him immensely. The prince's daughter is depicted as a thin, vulnerable nature, possessing special tenderness, sensitivity, elegance and modesty. At the same time, this does not prevent her from having a firm and rebellious character, which helps her resist the evil sorcerer Chernomor, gives her strength and courage and does not obey the vile kidnapper and faithfully wait for her deliverer Ruslan.

Quotes

Find out, Ruslan: your offender

Wizard terrible Chernomor,

Beauties old thief,

Midnight owner of the mountains.

Things of bygone days

legends of antiquity deep ..

There, King Kashchei languishes over gold;

There is a Russian spirit ... there it smells of Russia! author A.S. Pushkin

Features of compositional construction

The genre of the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" refers to novels and poems of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, gravitating towards creativity in the "national" spirit. It also reflects the influence on the author of such trends in literature as classicism, sementalism, and chivalric romance.

Following the example of all magical knightly poems, this work has a plot built according to a certain pattern: hero knights are looking for their beloved, kidnapped by some mythical villain, overcome a series of trials for this, armed with certain talismans and magical weapons, and in the end they receive a hand and beauty heart. The poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" is built in the same vein, but it is distinguished by amazing grace, freshness, subtle wit, brightness of colors and a slight train of epicureanism, characteristic of many works written by Pushkin during his studies at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. It is the author's ironic attitude to the content of the poem that cannot give this work a real "national" color. The main advantages of the poem can be called its light and beautiful form, playfulness and witty style, perkyness and cheerfulness of the general mood, a bright thread running through all the content.

Pushkin's fairy tale poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila", cheerful, light and witty, became a new word in the established literary traditions of writing heroic ballads and poems, it was very popular among readers and caused a great resonance among literary critics. No wonder Zhukovsky himself admitted his complete failure, and gave the branch of championship to the young talent of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, who, thanks to this work, took a leading position in the ranks of Russian poets and became famous not only in Russia, but also far beyond its borders.

Quickly get acquainted with the content of any literary work helps summary. "Ruslan and Lyudmila" - a poem by A.S. Pushkin. The retelling will help the reader understand the meaning of the work, introduce the plot, the main characters, and, perhaps, arouse interest in a detailed study of the original.

History of creation

They say that Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was thinking about writing such a work while still studying at the Lyceum. But he began to work on it thoroughly later - in 1818-1820. Pushkin wanted to create fairy-tale poetry, in which there would be a "heroic spirit".

The poetic work was born simultaneously under the influence of Russian literary tales and the works of Voltaire, Ariosto. The names of some of the actors were assigned after the release of the History of the Russian State. It was there that Ratmir, Ragdai, Farlaf were. A short summary will introduce you to them very soon.

"Ruslan and Lyudmila" also has elements of parody, because Alexander Sergeevich sometimes liked to flash with well-aimed epigrams, to include humorous elements in his poetic creations. Critics have noticed that Pushkin kindly parodies some episodes of Zhukovsky's ballad "The Twelve Sleeping Maidens". But in the 30s, the poet even regretted that he did this for the “pleasure of the mob”, because he was good to Zhukovsky, who presented him with his portrait after the release of the poem and wrote that it was the defeated teacher who gave it to the winner-student.

dedication

Many fairy tales by A.S. are loved by the people. Pushkin, "Ruslan and Lyudmila" is no exception. Not everyone knows that the poem begins with lines in which the author says that he dedicates it to beautiful girls. Then there are lines known to many about the seaside, the green oak, the learned cat, and the mermaid. After that, the work itself begins.

First song

A summary introduces the reader to the first chapter. Ruslan and Lyudmila loved each other. The girl was the daughter of the Kyiv prince Vladimir. This is told in the first song, this is how A. S. Pushkin called 6 chapters. The latter, respectively, is called "Sixth Song".

The author, using the beauty of the word, talks about a merry celebration on the occasion of the wedding of two people in love. Only three guests were not happy at this feast - Ratmir, Farlaf and Rogday. They are Ruslan's rivals, as they were also in love with a beautiful girl.

And now it's time for the newlyweds to be alone. But suddenly thunder was heard, the lamp went out, everything around trembled, and Lyudmila disappeared.

Ruslan is sad. And Vladimir ordered to find his daughter and promised to give her as a wife to the one who would bring the girl. Of course, Ruslan's three enemies could not miss such an opportunity and rushed in search, like the newly-born groom himself.

One day he meets an old man in a cave. He told him the story of his love, that in his youth he was ready to move mountains for a certain Naina, but she kept rejecting the young man. Then he left and for 40 years studied spells aimed at making a girl fall in love with him. When the elder returned, instead of a virgin, he saw a disgusting old woman, into which Naina had turned over the years. And she finally kindled feelings for him. However, old Finn fled from her, and has since lived in seclusion in a cave. He said that Lyudmila was kidnapped by the terrible wizard Chernomor.

Canto two

The summary of Pushkin's poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" came to the second chapter. From it, the reader will learn that Rogdai was belligerent, he rode, sending curses to Ruslan. Suddenly the man saw the rider and chased after him. He, barely alive from fear, tried to gallop away, but his horse stumbled and the rider flew into the ditch. Rogdai saw that it was not Ruslan, but Farlaf, and rode away.

An old woman approached Farlaf (it was Naina), brought a horse and advised him to go back and live on his estate near Kiev, because while Lyudmila is still difficult to find, and then she will not go anywhere from Naina and Farlaf. He listened to the old woman and galloped back.

Further, a summary of the book "Ruslan and Lyudmila" will tell the reader where the girl was languishing at that time. Its location was the palace of the villain Chernomor. She woke up in bed. Silently, three servant girls came, dressed, combed the beauty.

Lyudmila went to the window with anguish, looked at it, then left the palace and saw a magical garden that was more beautiful than the "gardens of Armida." There were picturesque gazebos, waterfalls. After lunch in nature, the girl returned back and saw servants entering the room and carrying Chernomor's beard on pillows, followed by him himself - a hunchback and a dwarf.

The girl was not at a loss, grabbed the “carla by the cap”, raised her fist over him, and then squealed so much that everyone ran away in horror.

Meanwhile, Ruslan fought with Rogday, who attacked him, and defeated the bully, throwing him into the waves of the Dnieper. This continues the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila".

To the retreating Chernomor, the servants combed his beard. Suddenly, a winged serpent flew through the window and turned into Naina. The old woman said that the sorcerer was in danger - the heroes were looking for Lyudmila. She spoke flatteringly about Chernomor and confirmed that she was completely on his side.

To celebrate, the evil wizard again entered the girl's chambers, but did not see her there. The search for servants was also unsuccessful. It turns out that Lyudmila understood what properties a hat has. If you put it on backwards, the person will become invisible, which the beauty did. These are the magical accessories used by Pushkin in his poem Ruslan and Lyudmila. A very brief summary quickly transports the reader to the next scene.

At this time, the young husband was on the battlefield, saw many dead soldiers. He picked up a shield, a helmet, a horn, but could not find a good sword. Not far from the field, he saw a large hill, it turned out to be a real head. She told the traveler that she had once been on the shoulders of a hero - the brother of Chernomor. But the latter envied the tall and stately brother. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the dwarf cut off his head and ordered the head to guard the sword, which, according to legend, could cut off the magic beard of the sorcerer.

Canto Four

So quickly came to the fourth chapter brief retelling content "Ruslan and Lyudmila". Pushkin Alexander Sergeevich first reflects on how wonderful it is that in real life there are not so many wizards. Further, he says that Ratmir, in search of Lyudmila, came across the castle. There he was met by charmers who fed the knight, surrounded him with attention, tenderness, care, and the young hero abandoned his previous plans to find Vladimir's daughter. On this, for now, the author leaves the happy young man and says that only Ruslan continues the path he has chosen. On the way, he meets a giant, a hero, a witch, defeats them, does not go to the mermaids who beckon the young man.

Meanwhile, Lyudmila is wandering around in the halls of the sorcerer wearing an invisibility cap, but he cannot find her. Then the villain used a trick. He turned into a wounded Ruslan, the girl thought that it was her lover, rushed to him, the hat fell off. At that moment, nets were thrown over Lyudmila, and she fell asleep, unable to resist the witchcraft of Chernomor.

Song Five

Soon Ruslan arrives at the villain's abode. He blows his horn to challenge him to a duel. When the young man raised his head, he saw that Chernomor was flying above him, holding a mace in his hand. When the sorcerer swung, Ruslan quickly recoiled, and the hunchback fell into the snow. The nimble young man immediately jumped up to the offender and firmly grabbed him by the beard.

But Chernomor suddenly soared under the clouds. However, the young man did not let out his beard, so he also ended up in the sky. So they flew for a long time - over fields, mountains, forests. The sorcerer asked to be released, but Ruslan did not do this. On the third day, Chernomor resigned himself and carried her husband to his young wife. When they landed, the young man cut off the villain's beard with a magic sword, tied it on his helmet, and put the dwarf in a bag and attached it to the saddle.

The knight went to look for his beloved, but he could not find it in any way. Then he began to destroy everything in his path and accidentally took off his hat from the girl. This sorcerer specially put a headdress on her so that the husband would not find his wife.

This is how Ruslan and Lyudmila finally met. The shortened poem is coming to an end soon. No matter how hard he tried, the betrothed could not awaken the girl from a magical dream. He put it on his horse and galloped home.

Then Ruslan meets a fisherman and recognizes Ratmir in him, who chose one of all the charmers, and now lives happily with her in a house on the river bank.

When Ruslan stopped for the night, he was seriously wounded. Farlaf crept up to him, hit him 3 times with a sword, took Lyudmila and was like that.

Sixth song

Farlaf brought Lyudmila to the palace and deceived Vladimir, saying that he had saved the girl. However, no one could wake her up.

Old Finn sprinkled Ruslan with living water, he instantly recovered and hurried to Kyiv, which was attacked by the Pechenegs. The hero fought bravely, thanks to which the enemy was defeated. After that, he touched Lyudmila's hands with the ring that Finn gave him, and the girl woke up.

The summary is coming to an end. Ruslan and Lyudmila are happy, everything ends with a feast, Chernomor was left in the palace, since he lost his villainous power forever.

Epilogue

The story ends with an epilogue, in which the author says that in his work he glorified the legends of ancient times. He shares his impressions of the Caucasus, describes the natural scenery of this side and is sad that he is far from the Neva.

The poet says that when he worked on a work, he forgot insults, enemies. Friendship helped him in this, and, as you know, Pushkin cherished it very much.

dedication

For you, the soul of my queen,
Beauties, for you alone

Times of the past fables,
In golden hours of leisure,
Under the whisper of old talkative,
With a faithful hand I wrote;
Accept my playful work!
No need for praise,
I'm happy with sweet hope
What a maiden with a thrill of love

Look, maybe stealthily

To my sinful songs.

IN dedication extremely important postulates are stated that determine all the further content of the work: 1. Pushkin deliberately belittles the super-task of his work, declaring that he is not going to teach the world or talk about something significant - he directly calls his work one of the "fictions" of the past times, antiquity in his interpretation is “talkative”, and his work is “playful”, consisting of “sinful” songs. 2. The author declares that he does not require praise from others, and his only goal is to make the "virgin" look at his songs with "awe of love." Veiledly, Pushkin thus defines his poetic program - to make the reader (and women as the main consumers of romantic reading) look at the world “with a thrill of love”, true love, joyful and happy, without romantic anguish and pseudo-tragic.

Canto One

Near the seaside, the oak is green;
Golden chain on an oak tree:
And day and night the cat is a scientist

Everything goes round and round in a chain;
Goes to the right - the song starts,
Left - tells a fairy tale.

There are miracles: the goblin roams there,
The mermaid sits on the branches;
There on unknown paths

Traces of unseen beasts;
Hut there on chicken legs

Stands without windows, without doors...

The saturation of the work with fairy-tale paraphernalia goes according to the canons set in dedication. The fairy-tale atmosphere is created not to frighten the reader or create a gloomy atmosphere of romantic tragedy, but to cheer him up, to please him with a story, an act of ordinary human communication between the listener and the narrator. It is noteworthy that Pushkin paints a picture exclusively with the help of enumerations - giving a list of what exactly is “there”, by the “lukomorye”. The word "Lukomorye" means a bend, a bay of the sea, although this word stands here clearly in place of what in fairy tales is listed as "a faraway kingdom, a faraway state." An archaic word, used in a lexical meaning unusual for it, creates a kind of hoax, sets one up to treat the work as a “refined deception”. Pushkin does not talk about what the characters he lists are doing and what they are famous for, he hangs them around the stage on which events will unfold, like fake decorations, and this sham, static, convention, a kind of "toy", is deliberately exaggerated: for example, his cat "walks and wanders around the chain", the mermaid - sits on the branches, the goblin - wanders, the hut - "stands without windows, without doors", on "unknown paths" - "traces of unseen animals" (which ones, it is not specified ). All this is united by the common name "miracles". The whole passage, in its character, is very reminiscent of the author's remarks in plays before the beginning of the action, describing what is on the stage.

In addition, Pushkin skillfully uses the technique of the grotesque (the combination of the incompatible), thereby creating an additional comic effect.

There the forest and vale are full of visions,
There, at dawn, waves will come
On the sandy and empty shore,

And thirty beautiful knights

A series of clear waters emerge,
And with them their uncle is marine ...

The romantic pathos that arises in the first lines is destroyed by the word "uncle", which is given in a lexical meaning unusual for him (also a kind of hoax, as with "lukomorye"). The fact is that "uncle" in the dictionary of the people of Pushkin's time meant a man in whose care were young male children (before a tutor was hired for them), that is, a kind of male nanny. At similar meaning the meaning of the passage changes exactly the opposite, acquiring a pronounced parodic character. The fact that the use of the word "uncle" is not accidental is proved by the fact that Pushkin did not use the word "uncle", which does not violate the poetic meter and is used by Pushkin in other works (for example, "My uncle of the most honest rules ...").

There is a queen in passing
Captivates the formidable king, ..
There in the clouds before the people
Through the forests, through the seas
The sorcerer carries the hero;
In the dungeon there the princess is grieving,
And the brown wolf serves her faithfully ...

In these lines, the grotesque technique is used: the “terrible” king is captured “in passing”, in the clouds “the sorcerer carries the hero”, and not vice versa, as the hero would be expected by rank, the wolf is called “brown”, and not “gray”, although “brown There are bears, not wolves.

There is a stupa with Baba Yaga
It goes, wanders by itself;
There, Tsar Kashchei languishes over gold ...

The parody intensifies even more - the stupa with Baba Yaga “walks and wanders by itself”, although in reality (fabulous, of course) the stupa with its owner flew. Tsar Kashchei “wasted over gold”, which, firstly, explains why the fabulous Kashchei was so thin, and secondly, sheds light on the question of the author’s attitude to money and, in general, to any kind of hoarding (compare “The Miserly Knight” ).

There is a Russian spirit ... there it smells of Russia!

This phrase appears unexpectedly and at first glance does not follow at all from the previous context. However, if we keep in mind what was said about Pushkin's idea of ​​nationality, then it becomes clear that this phrase does not refer to the enumerated characters at all, but to the idea of ​​nationality that is characteristic of Pushkin. It is precisely such an ironic attitude towards the characters and towards oneself, a joyful, life-affirming worldview, that, according to Pushkin, is characteristic of the Russian people, and this is precisely the spirit that comes from Russian folk tales. Only this can explain the fact that Ruslan and Lyudmila, which is an epic by genre (i.e., a work of a heroic epic), has a fabulous beginning attached to it.

This kind of introduction ends with words that are quite traditional for the Russian folk tale. Ho, and here everything is turned upside down, since the phrase “And there I was, and I drank honey ...” traditionally does not refer to the beginning, but belongs to the endings, that is, it is not placed at the beginning of the work, but at the end.

I saw a green oak by the sea;
Sitting under it, and the cat is a scientist
He told me his stories.
I remember one: this fairy tale

Let me tell the world...

The last phrase is also a kind of hoax, a literary device: Pushkin, as it were, renounces authorship, attributing the work to someone else. In this case, it is announced that this is one of the tales told to him by a talking cat, and also that these are “cases of bygone days, legends of antiquity.”

Such hoaxes are quite typical for Pushkin (for example, "Belkin's Tales", where the narration is conducted on behalf of, respectively, Belkin; in addition, the "separation" of the author from the narrator invented by Pushkin is indirectly related to this technique - for example, in "Eugene Onegin). Such hoaxes have a twofold goal: a) Pushkin demonstrates his admiration for the age-old wisdom of the people, accumulated in fairy tales, legends, parables, etc., i.e. folk art, assigning himself only the role of a narrator, and not the one who came up with all this, b) Pushkin introduces self-irony into the work, and at the same time “shrugs off” all kinds of criticism and critics (the attitude towards which Pushkin quite clearly outlined in his poetry).

Prince Vladimir feasts with guests on the occasion of the wedding of his daughter Lyudmila, who is marrying Prince Ruslan. The description of the feast is given. And immediately there is a lyrical digression about feasts "in general", which the narrator, "carried away", brings to the audience:

He soon ate our ancestors,
He soon moved around
Ladles, silver bowls
With boiling beer and wine.
They poured joy in the heart,
Foam hissed around the edges,
Their important teacups were worn
And they bowed low to the guests ...

The speeches merged into an indistinct noise;
A merry circle buzzes the guests;
Ho suddenly there was a pleasant voice

And the sonorous harp is a fluent sound;
Everyone was silent, listening to Bayan:
And praise the sweet singer

Lyudmila-charm and Ruslana
And Lelem crowned them.

However, the romantic entourage disappears as soon as the conversation turns to the main character:

Ho, weary of ardent passion,
He does not eat, does not drink Ruslan in love;
Looks at a dear friend

Sighs, gets angry, burns
And, pinching his mustache with impatience,
Counting every moment...

Thus, the whole feast takes on a comical tone, being presented as a kind of unnecessary duty, which only delays the sweet moments of the wedding night.

Ruslan has three rivals, who also claim the hand of Lyudmila and are now discouraged and hatching plans for revenge: this is Rogdai, “a brave warrior who pushed the limits of the rich Kiev fields with his sword”; the other - "Farlaf, an arrogant screamer, not defeated by anyone in feasts, but a modest warrior among swords" ("Farlaf" - in tune with Shakespeare's "Falstaff"); and the last - “full of passionate thoughts, the young Khazar Khan Ratmir” (“Ratmir” is a name that has occurred in Russian history - Alexander Nevsky had a squire with that name who died in one of the battles).

But the end of the feast is finally near:

Mixed in noisy crowds,
And everyone is looking at the young:
The bride lowered her eyes
As if my heart was sad,
And the joyful bridegroom is bright.
The groom is delighted, in ecstasy:
He caresses in the imagination

Bashful maiden beauty...

The parody of the story is growing. The hero of the work experiences quite earthly and not too lofty feelings, understandable to every mortal (which is completely unusual for a romantic hero).

And here's a young bride
Lead to the wedding bed;
The lights went out... and the night

Lel lights the lamp.
Dear hopes come true
Gifts are being prepared for love;
Jealous garments will fall
On Tsaregradsky carpets...

Can you hear the whisper of love
And kisses sweet sound
And a broken murmur

The last timidity?...Spouse

Enthusiasm feels in advance;
And here they come...

The suddenly appearing "dark force" mixes everything around, a tornado flies and rushes on. The "romantic" hero finds himself in an absurd and ridiculous position.

The frightened groom gets up,
Cold sweat rolls down from his face;
Trembling, cold hand
He asks the mute darkness...
About grief: there is no dear girlfriend!
He grabs air, he is empty;
Lyudmila is not in the thick darkness,
Kidnapped by an unknown force.

The narrator immediately inserts a lyrical digression, a kind of “commentary” on what happened.

Ah, if the martyr of love
Suffering from passion hopelessly;
Though it's sad to live, my friends,
However, life is still possible.
Ho after long, long years

Hug your beloved friend
Desires, tears, melancholy subject,
And suddenly a minute wife
Forever lost... oh friends,
Of course I'd rather die!

The prince asks the guests to rescue his daughter from the dark forces and announces that he will give her in marriage to the savior, attaching, as expected, half the kingdom. In addition to Ruslan, Rogdai, Ratmir and Farlaf are called to go. The “epic” prince thanks them, and “with gratitude, the mute in tears, the old man, exhausted by longing, stretches out his hands to them” (again the reception of the grotesque).

Knights set off along the banks of the Dnieper, then disperse in different directions.

After some time, Ruslan drives up to the cave and, noticing a light in it, enters. There he sees an old wizard, Finn, reading an ancient book. Finn says that he has been here for twenty years, comprehending the secret wisdom. He informs Ruslan that his "offender" is "the terrible wizard Chernomor, the old thief of beauties", and that he, Ruslan, is destined to defeat him. However, the “romantic” paraphernalia is again crumbling due to the efforts of the narrator: Ruslan shows concern that his bride will become the object of love harassment by the “gray-haired sorcerer”. Finn calms him down by painting a rather comical picture in response to the young man's anxiety (the grotesque technique is used again: an omnipotent sorcerer, powerless in the love area):

Calm down, know it's in vain
And the young maiden is not afraid.
He brings the stars down from the sky

He whistles - the moon trembles
Ho against the time of the law
His science is not strong.
Jealous, quivering keeper

Locks of ruthless doors,
He's just a feeble tormentor
Your lovely captive.
Around her he silently wanders,
He curses his cruel lot ...

However, Ruslan cannot sleep, and he asks the elder what brought him to the "desert". He tells a "romantic" story, which is a vivid example of a parody of the romantic genre. The comic effect here is created in the same way as in many other cases: Pushkin gives a purely romantic plot, developing the narration with the same romantic pictorial means, but the ending gives a completely different, completely incompatible with the entire previous logic of the “romantic” narration (again, the grotesque technique).

At first, Finn paints a pastoral picture: he is a shepherd, lives in the bosom of nature, happy and carefree. Ho one day he meets the beautiful Naina and falls in love with her.

Half a year has gone;
I opened up to her with trepidation,
He said: I love you, Naina.
Ho my timid sorrow
Naina proudly listened,
Only loving your charms,
And indifferently answered:
"Shepherd, I don't love you!"

Refrain, i.e. repetition at the end of each stanza or other semantic segment of the same phrase is also a technique actively used by romantics (although borrowed from the folk ballad genre). For comparison - "The Song of Harald the Bold" by K. Batyushkov.

Finn decides to “deserve Naina’s proud attention with his swearing glory,” and “for the first time, the quiet land of the fathers heard the swearing sound of damask steel and the noise of non-peaceful shuttles.” For ten years, the warriors “snow and waves were crimson with the blood of enemies,” but, returning and bringing the conquered treasures to the feet of his beloved, Finn hears the answer: “Hero, I don’t love you!” Then Finn decides to retire and comprehend the science of sorcery, so that "in the proud heart of a maiden, cold love can be ignited with magic." Time passes, the “long-desired moment” comes:

In the dreams of young hope
In the rapture of ardent desire
I quickly cast spells
I call the spirits - and in the darkness of the forest

The arrow rushed thunder
The magic whirlwind raised a howl,
The ground trembled underfoot...
And suddenly sits in front of me

The old woman is decrepit, gray-haired,
With sunken eyes sparkling,
With a hump, with a shaking head,
A sadly dilapidated picture.
Oh, knight, that was Naina! ..
I was horrified and silent
With the eyes of a terrible ghost measured,

I still didn't believe in doubt
And suddenly he began to cry, shouted:

Possibly! oh, Naina, are you!

Naina, where is your beauty?
Tell me, is heaven
Have you been so terribly changed?

Tell me how long ago, leaving the light,

Have I parted with my soul and my dear?
How long ago? .. “Exactly forty years, -

Was the virgin's fatal answer: -

Today I was seventy.
What to do, - she squeaks me, -

The years have flown by,
Mine passed, your spring -
We both got old.
Ho, friend, listen: it doesn't matter

Unfaithful youth loss.

Of course, now I'm gray

A little, perhaps, a hunchback;

Not what was in the old days,
He is not so alive, not so sweet;
But (added chatterbox)

I will reveal the secret: I am a witch!

And it really was.
Silent, motionless before her,
I was a complete fool
With all my wisdom.

Ho that's terrible: witchcraft

Completely unfortunate.
My gray deity
A new passion burned for me.
Curving a terrible mouth with a smile,
Grave voice freak

Mutters love confession to me.

Imagine my suffering!
I trembled, lowering my eyes;
She continued through her cough

Heavy, passionate conversation:

“So, I now recognized the heart;
I see, true friend, it

Born for tender passion;
Feelings woke up, I'm burning
Longing for love...
Come into my arms...
Oh dear, dear! I'm dying..."

And meanwhile she, Ruslan,
Blinking with languid eyes;
And meanwhile for my caftan
She held on with skinny hands;
And meanwhile - I was dying,
From horror, closing his eyes;
And suddenly there was no more urine;
I ran away screaming.
She followed: “Oh, unworthy!
You disturbed my calm age,
The days of an innocent maiden are clear!
You won the love of Naina,
And you despise - here are the men!
They all breathe change!
Alas, blame yourself;
He seduced me, wretch!
I surrendered to passionate love...
A traitor, a fiend! oh shame!
Ho tremble, girlish thief!

The denouement for a story built according to romantic canons is completely unthinkable. The whole story turns 180 degrees - even the lofty vocabulary characteristic of the first part of Finn's story changes to colloquial. Accordingly, Finn's story, a kind of "work within a work", is a typical parody of the techniques and manner of romantic writers.

Thanking Finn for his parting words and warning about Naina's deceit, which, according to the elder, will definitely hate Ruslan, the knight goes on.

Canto two

The song begins with a lyrical digression about rivals in matters of love. Pushkin calls on rivals for peace, since “To whom the girl’s heart is destined by an indispensable fate, he will be sweet in spite of the universe; being angry is stupid and sinful."

Meanwhile, Rogdai, being on the road, decides to kill Ruslan in order to get rid of his rival. He stumbles upon Farlaf, who is resting in the shade by a stream, having lunch. Mistaking him for Ruslan, Rogdai rushes after him. Farlaf, frightened, runs away, the narrator immediately gives a detailed comparison (lyrical digression);

So it’s like a hurried hare,
Close your ears fearfully,
Over bumps, fields, through forests
Leaps away from the dog.

The horse jumps over a ditch that has come across on the road, but “the timid rider fell heavily upside down into a dirty ditch”, Rogdai runs up, raises his sword, but then he recognizes Farlaf:

Looks, and hands dropped;
Annoyance, amazement, anger
In his features were portrayed;
Gritting your teeth, numb,
Hero with a drooping head

Hurry away from the moat,
Raging ... but barely, barely
He didn't laugh at himself.

Again, an atypical denouement for a romantic work. Pushkin, as it were, sorts through romantic plots (in this case, a plot about rivalry in love, widely used by romantics), a kind of romantic cliches, and parodies them one by one.

After a skirmish with Farlaf, Rogdai meets Naina, who shows him the direction in which Ruslan went.

Naina also appears in front of Farlaf lying in a dirty moat. She advises him to go to his village near Kiev, live there in clover, promises that "Lyudmila will not leave us."

Ruslan, meanwhile, continues on his way. Suddenly, he is confronted by some formidable rider, who in a rude manner challenges him to a fight.

Ruslan flared up, shuddered with anger;
He recognizes this exuberant voice...
My friends! and our girl?
Let's leave the knights for an hour;
I will think of them again soon.
And it's high time for me
Think about the young princess
And about the terrible Chernomor.

Another parodic move is to interrupt the story at the climax. Again, the principle of combining the incompatible comes into play: the plot importance of the moment and the author's attitude to it as something insignificant, from which it is quite possible to be distracted by an extraneous subject. The narrator returns to the moment of the abduction of Lyudmila by Chernomor from the “inflamed Ruslan”, leading a lyrical digression corresponding to the theme:

From the threshold of my hut
So I saw, in the middle of summer days,
When the chicken is cowardly

Sultan of the chicken coop is arrogant,
My rooster ran around the yard

And voluptuous wings
Already hugged a girlfriend;
Above them in cunning circles

The chickens of the village are an old thief,
Taking destructive measures
Worn, swam gray kite
And fell like lightning into the yard.
Soared, flying. In terrible claws

Into the darkness of safe clefts

Takes away the poor villain.
In vain, with his grief
And stricken with cold fear,
A rooster is calling his mistress...
He sees only flying fluff,
Carried by the flying wind.

Comparison of heroes with the characters of this lyrical digression cannot have any other meaning than parodic. The decrease in pathos here is almost the maximum in the entire poem.

Lyudmila comes to her senses in the chambers of Chernomor, sees oriental decoration around. Starting to describe the luxury of the palace, the narrator gives up halfway through the idea, confining himself to the phrase:

Enough ... I don't need

Describe a magical house;
For a long time Scheherazade
I was warned about that.
Ho bright tower is not a consolation,
When we do not see a friend in it.

That is, the entire previous description (including the appeal to the authority of Scheherazade, the narrator of the famous "1001 nights") crumbles under the influence of the last two lines.

Lyudmila is dressed up in luxurious outfits, but she yearns, as she is separated from her beloved. Again there is a plot that is very characteristic of the romantic tradition, however, it also crumbles when the narrator mentions that Lyudmila does not look at herself in the mirror, and then adds a maxim from herself (in the form of a lyrical digression):

Te, koi, loving the truth,
At the dark heart of the day they read,
Of course they know about themselves
What if a woman is sad
Through tears, furtively, somehow,
In spite of habit and reason,
Forget to look in the mirror -
That makes her sad, no joke.

Lyudmila "in tears of despair" goes to the garden, follows a pretty detailed description garden in a strictly romantic tradition (local color) - that is, we are presented with a certain “ideal place” that is “more beautiful than the gardens of Armida and those owned by King Solomon or the prince of Taurida” (again, the comparison is grotesque: Solomon is a semi-mythical biblical character, and the “prince of Taurida” is none other than Potemkin, a favorite of Catherine II, who, as you know, was given the title “Tauride” after the Crimean campaign).

Everywhere roses live branches
Blossom and breathe along the paths.
Ho inconsolable Lyudmila
He walks and walks and does not look.
Magic is a luxury she is sick of,
She is sad with the bliss of a bright look;
Where, without knowing, wanders,
The magic garden goes around
Giving freedom to bitter tears,
And raises gloomy eyes
To the unforgiving skies.
Suddenly a beautiful sight lit up;
She pressed her finger to her lips;
It seemed like a terrible idea.

Was born... A terrible path was opened:

High bridge over the stream
In front of her hangs on two rocks;
In despondency heavy and deep
She approaches - and in tears
I looked at the noisy waters,
Hit, sobbing, in the chest,
I decided to drown in the waves -
However, she did not jump into the water.
And then she continued on her way.

Again, the same parodic device: forcing the tragic atmosphere in a romantic spirit and resolving the situation exactly the opposite.

Lyudmila, "running in the sun in the morning," got hungry. Before her appears a table with exquisite dishes. Ho Lyudmila, as befits a romantic heroine, refuses to eat:

I'm not afraid of the villain's power:
Lyudmila knows how to die!
I don't need your tents
No boring songs, no feasts -
I will not eat, I will not listen,
I will die among your gardens!”
Thought - and began to eat.

Evening comes, Lyudmila goes to sleep, “the sleepy princess is undressed by the gentle hand” of the slaves. She is "charmable with careless charm", but at the same time:

Trembling like a leaf, does not dare to die;
Percy grow cold, eyes darken;
Instantaneous sleep flees from the eyes;
Not sleeping, doubled attention
Staring into the darkness...

Soon the one whose appearance was feared appears - the formidable wizard Chernomor. He is accompanied by a retinue, a very magnificent procession (for romantic writers, in particular, for Byron, it was extremely characteristic of fascination with oriental themes). The romantic cliche is also allowed in a completely grotesque way:

The princess jumped out of bed
Gray-haired carl for the cap
Grabbed with a quick hand
Trembling raised her fist
And screamed in fear,
That all arapov stunned.
Trembling, the poor man crouched,
The frightened princess is paler;
Close your ears quickly
I wanted to run, but in a beard

Tangled, fell and beats;
Rise, fall; such a disaster
Arapov black swarm is tumultuous;
Noise, push, run,
They grab the sorcerer in an armful
And they carry out to unravel,
Leaving Lyudmila's hat.

The narrator returns to Ruslan, describes how he defeats his opponent by throwing him off a cliff into the river. Further, the narrator reveals the “secret” - who was the knight with whom Ruslan fought (again, a characteristic technique of the romantics; for comparison, Pushkin uses this romantic technique in Dubrovsky, when Vladimir appears in the Troekurovs’ house under the name of Deforge).

And it was heard that Rogdai
Those waters a young mermaid
Percy took it in the cold

And, greedily kissing the knight,
Dragged me to the bottom with laughter
And long after, on a dark night,
Wandering near the quiet shores,
The giant ghost is huge

Scarecrow of the desert fishermen.

Song Three

The song begins with an appeal to critics (see the commentary to the introduction - “At the seashore the oak is green” - that the hoax with the “refusal” of authorship is just another game, another move that destroys stereotypes - in this case, “serious »critics).

In vain you lurked in the shadows

For peaceful, happy friends,
My poems! You didn't hide

From angry envy eyes.
Already a pale critic, to her service,
The question made me fatal:
Why Ruslanov's girlfriend
As if to laugh at her husband,
I call both the maiden and the princess?
You see, my good reader,
There is a black seal of malice!
Say, Zoil, say, traitor,
Well, how and what should I answer?
Blush, unfortunate, God be with you!
Redden, I don't want to argue;
Satisfied with the fact that the right soul,
I am silent in humble meekness.
Ho you will understand me, Klymene,
Lower your languid eyes,
You, victim of boring Hymen...
I see: a secret tear
Will fall on my verse, intelligible to the heart;
You blushed, your eyes went out;
She sighed silently ... an understandable sigh!

Jealous: be afraid, the hour is near;
Cupid with Wayward Annoyance

Entered into a bold conspiracy
And for your inglorious head

The vengeance is ready.

Pushkin directly declares that his work is built not according to the laws of literature (artificially constructed and invented, for example, romantic canons), but according to the laws of life itself, which in itself is more beautiful than any fiction, any "literary art". It was this attitude to reality and to literature that was the basis, the ideological prerequisite, from which Russian realism would subsequently develop.

Chernomor, annoyed after yesterday's evening failure, combs his tangled beard, Naina appears to him and warns of danger. Chernomor declares that “the enemy is weak” is not afraid of him, especially since his beard is magical:

This fertile beard

No wonder Chernomor is decorated.
How long is her gray hair

A hostile sword will not cut,
None of the dashing knights,
No mortal will perish

My smallest thoughts...

Chernomor goes to Lyudmila, but does not find her in the wards. He is furious and orders to find her, "or else - you are joking with me - I will strangle you all with my beard!"

Reader, let me tell you
Where did the beauty go?
All night she's her destiny
She marveled in tears and laughed.
Her beard scared her
Ho Chernomor was already known
And he was funny, but never
Horror is incompatible with laughter.

The last phrase is remarkable, since in it Pushkin directly opens one of his creative tasks. Laughter is present in the work as an antithesis to a gloomy romantic, “literary” view of the world (cf. the nature of folk laughter in the chapter on ancient Russian literature). Laughter, on the other hand, destroys “horror”, being a reflection of life, since life is basically good, and therefore joy.

Lyudmila finds a hat dropped by Chernomor, which turns out to be invisible, puts it on and hides from the dwarf and his servants. In mid-sentence, the narrator interrupts himself and returns to the hero:

But let us return to the hero.
Isn't it a shame to deal with us

So long with a hat, beard,
Ruslan entrusting the fates?

Ruslan arrives in a dense forest, then goes to the "old battlefield", completely littered with the remains of soldiers. Ruslan is overwhelmed by elegiac reflections about the “transience of being”, about the fact that, perhaps, his fate will be the same (again a romantic cliché).

Ho soon remembered my knight,
That a hero needs a good sword
And even the shell; and the hero
Unarmed since the last battle.

Leaving melancholic thoughts, Ruslan is engaged in looting, that is, he simply takes ammunition and weapons from the dead (a parody resolution of a romantic situation).

Ruslan goes further and sees a huge hill, which, upon closer inspection, turns out to be a head. A description of the head in a romantic style follows. Ruslan approaches, tickles her nostrils with a spear, and she sneezes. The knight, together with his horse, is blown away by the wind (parodic resolution of a romantic situation). After that, Ruslan starts a skirmish with his head, intending to give her a fight, although she asks to leave her alone (a parody of chivalrous plots used by romantics, when the heroes go to "get fame" at all costs, to perform feats, even if " on the empty place"):

“Where are you, foolish knight?
Get back, I'm not kidding!
I’ll just swallow it insolently!”
Ruslan looked around with contempt,
The reins held the horse
And he smiled proudly.
"What do you want from me? -
Frowning, the head screamed. -

Fate has sent me a guest!
Listen, get out!
I want to sleep, now it's night
Goodbye!" Ho famous knight,
Hearing harsh words
He exclaimed with the importance of an angry:
"Shut up, empty head!
I heard the truth happened:
Although the forehead is wide, but the brain is small!
I'm going, I'm going, I'm not whistling
And when I get there, I won’t let go!”

Colloquial expressions (saying, colloquial style) serve to enhance the grotesque.

The head, unable to bear the rudeness, begins to blow. Vityaz is blown away several times, his head laughs and teases the “hero” with “terrible language”. Ruslan manages to hit his head with a spear in the tongue. All this is accompanied by a "not quite appropriate" lyrical digression:

From surprise, pain, anger,
Lost in a moment of insolence,
The head looked at the prince,
Iron gnawed and turned pale.
Warm in a calm spirit,
So sometimes among our stage

Bad pet Melpomene,
Deafened by a sudden whistle,
He sees nothing
Turns pale, forgets the role,
Trembling, bowing his head,
And stuttering silent
Before a mocking crowd.

Taking advantage of the moment, Ruslan hits his head on the cheek, it turns over, rolls. Ruslan, "carried away", "runs away with the cruel intention of cutting off her nose and ears", but the head groans and says with a sigh: "Your right hand proved that I am guilty before you." Further, the head tells that it previously belonged to a brave knight, whose younger brother was Chernomor. Chernomor, "born a dwarf, with a beard," envied the growth of his older brother. One day Chernomor told his brother that “I found in the black books what eastern mountains on the quiet sea shores, in a deaf basement, under locks, a sword is stored, "which is destined to destroy both brothers - he will cut off the elder's head, and Chernomor's beard (in which all his strength is concentrated). The elder brother takes Chernomor with him, finds the sword. A quarrel breaks out between the brothers - who should wield the sword. Then Chernomor offers a competition - put your ear to the ground and wait. Whoever hears the bell first is the winner.

He said and lay down on the ground.
I also foolishly stretched out;
I'm lying, I don't hear anything
Smiling: I will deceive him!
Ho himself was cruelly deceived.
Villain in deep silence
Get up, tiptoe to me

Crept up from behind, swung;
Like a whirlwind whistled a sharp sword,
And before I looked back
Already the head flew off the shoulders -
And supernatural power
The spirit stopped her life.
My frame is overgrown with thorns;
Far away, in a country forgotten by people,
My unburied ashes have decayed;
Ho evil carla endured
Me in this secluded land,
Where forever had to guard

The sword you have taken today.

The head gives Ruslan the sword and asks him to take revenge on Chernomor.

Canto Four

The song begins with a lyrical digression about "wizards" - open enemies-bride kidnappers, and about "friends" who do the same, but only secretly:

Every day I wake up from sleep
I heartily thank God

Because in our time
There aren't many wizards.
Besides - honor and glory to them! -

Our marriages are safe...
Their plans are not so terrible

Husbands, young girls.
Ho there are other wizards,
Which I hate
Smile, blue eyes
And a sweet voice - oh friends!
Do not believe them: they are crafty!
Be afraid imitating me
Their intoxicating poison,
And rest in silence.

Ratmir, while searching for Lyudmila, leaves for the valley and sees a castle on the rocks. A girl walks along the wall of the castle and sings. She calls Ratmir to the castle, where "at night there is bliss and peace, and during the day there is noise and feasting." Charming women live in the castle. Ratmir goes to the castle, the maidens take care of him, feed him, leave him at home, take him to the bedroom. But here the narrator "pulls" himself:

Ho, friends, virgin lyre

Silent under my hand;
My timid voice is weakening -
Let's leave young Ratmir;
I dare not continue with the song:
Ruslan should occupy us,
Ruslan, this unparalleled hero,
At heart, a hero, a true lover.

Ruslan “bravely continues the path”, “every day he meets new obstacles: he fights with a hero, then with a witch, then with a giant”, and always, despite the invocative singing of mermaids, which he periodically hears at night, he remembers Lyudmila ( unlike Ratmir, whom the narrator clearly envies more than Ruslan).

Lyudmila, meanwhile, amuses herself by playing hide-and-seek with the servants of Chernomor: taking off her invisibility cap, she calls them, and then puts it on again. She wanders through the possessions of Chernomor, eats, drinks, bathes in the fountain, misses. Finally, Chernomor decides to catch her at all costs and spreads a transparent net in the garden. Using the ghost of the wounded Ruslan as a "bait", Chernomor lures Lyudmila into the net. Ta faints.

What will happen to the poor princess!
O terrible sight: the wizard is frail

Caresses with a daring hand

Ludmila's young charms!
Will he be happy?
Chu ... suddenly there was a ringing of horns,
And someone calls Carla.
Confused, pale sorcerer
He puts on a hat for a girl;
Trumpet again; louder, louder!
And he flies to an unknown meeting,
Throwing his beard over his shoulders.

Song Five

The song begins with a "lyrical digression" about the heroine of the poem - Lyudmila (in many ways reminiscent of the lines later dedicated to Tatiana in "Eugene Onegin"):

Oh, how sweet is my princess!
I like her more than anything:
She is sensitive, modest,
Faithful conjugal love,
A little windy ... so what?
She is even cuter.
All the time the charm of the new
She knows how to captivate us;

Tell me if you can compare

Her with Delfiroyu severe?
One - fate sent a gift

Enchant hearts and eyes;
Her smile, conversations

In me, love gives birth to heat,
And that one - under the skirt of the hussars,
Just give her a mustache and spurs!
Blessed, whom in the evening
To a secluded corner
My Lyudmila is waiting
And he will call a friend of the heart;
Ho, believe me, blessed is he
Who runs away from Delphira
And I don't even know her.
Yes, but that's not the point!
Ho who trumpeted? Who is the sorcerer

Did he call for a threat?
Who scared the witch?

The battle between Ruslan and Chernomor begins. Chernomor flies around and unleashes mace blows on Ruslan. Having improved the moment, Ruslan grabs the dwarf by the beard, and he lifts him up.

Already a sorcerer under the clouds;
A hero hangs on his beard;

Again, a parodic context (the hero "hangs" on his beard, cf. Introduction).

From the tension of the bones,
Ruslan for the villain's beard

Stubborn is held by the hand.

Chernomor is trying to enter into negotiations with Ruslan, but he does not listen.

In vain long beard

Tired carla shakes:
Ruslan does not let her out
And pinches her hair sometimes.
For two days the sorcerer of the hero wears,
On the third he asks for mercy ...

Ruslan orders to carry him to Lyudmila. Chernomor brings him to his chambers, Ruslan cuts off his beard, ties it to his helmet, and puts the dwarf in a bag and attaches it to the saddle. He then searches for Ludmila, but to no avail. Mad with grief, Ruslan cuts the air with his sword and accidentally knocks off Lyudmila's invisibility cap. However, Lyudmila is immersed in a dream. Ruslan hears Finn's voice, that Lyudmila will rise from her sleep in front of her father, and sets off. Regarding Lyudmila's dream, the narrator also gives a lyrical digression:

And the girl is sleeping. Ho young prince,
languishing in a barren flame,
Really, a constant sufferer,
Spouse only guarded
And in a chaste dream,
Subdued immodest desire,
Did you find your happiness?
The Monk Who Saved

True tradition to offspring
About my glorious knight,
We are boldly assured that:
And I believe! No separation
Dull, rude pleasures:
We are really happy together.
Shepherds, the dream of the lovely princess
He was like your dreams
Sometimes a languid spring
On an ant, in the shade of a tree.
I remember a small meadow
Among the birch oak forest,
I remember a dark evening
I remember Lida's evil dream...
Ah, the first kiss of love
Trembling, light, hurried,
He dispersed, my friends,
Her slumbers are patient...
Ho full, I'm talking nonsense!
Why remember love?
Her joy and suffering
Forgotten by me for a long time;

Now get my attention

Princess, Ruslan and Chernomor.

On the way back, Ruslan meets the head again, already dead. Ruslan says that he took revenge on Chernomor, and these words revive his head. She sees the defeated dwarf and calmly departs to another world.

After some time on the way, Ruslan sees a boat with a beautiful maiden and a happy fisherman on the river bank, in which he recognizes Ratmir. They joyfully meet, and Khan Ratmir tells Ruslan that for the sake of his shepherdess he left the twelve maidens who loved him, that his “soul was bored with the swearing glory of an empty and disastrous ghost.” Ruslan goes on, and Ratmir wishes him happiness, love and glory.

The narrator precedes the transition to the story about Farlaf's treachery with a lyrical digression, in which the author's artistic and aesthetic views are again manifested.

Why is fate not destined

To my fickle lyre

Heroism to sing one
And with him (unknown in the world)
Love and friendship of the old years?
The poet of sad truth
Why should I for posterity

Vice and malice to expose
And the secrets of the machinations of treachery
In truthful songs to denounce?

Naina appears to Farlaf, who is in idleness, and orders him to follow her. They come to the field where Ruslan is staying for the night. Ruslan has a prophetic dream about his death and the kidnapping of Lyudmila, but he cannot wake up. Farlaf kills him and hides with Lyudmila.

Song Six

Chernomor wakes up in the morning. Looking out of the bag, he sees the murdered Ruslan and rejoices, considering himself free.

Farlaf, meanwhile, appears in Kyiv and appears before the prince, telling how he rescued Lyudmila from the hands of the "evil goblin", fighting with him for three days. However, no one can interrupt Lyudmila's sleep. Everyone is wondering what to do.

The next day, it turns out that the Pechenegs, who have invaded the Russian borders, are standing at the walls of the city.

Meanwhile, Finn learns about what happened to Ruslan and revives him with dead and living water. Ruslan gets up, Finn tells him to go to defend the city and gives him a ring that can dispel Lyudmila's dream.

The Pechenegs are besieging Kyiv, the city is preparing for a bloody battle. Soon a battle will begin (the description of the battle is compared with "Poltava").

Suddenly, Ruslan appears in the camp of the enemy, smashing the enemies to the right and left. Inspired Russian warriors also rush into battle. The Pechenegs are on the run.

Farlaf, seeing Ruslan, in horror, blames everyone for his deed. Ruslan wakes up Lyudmila with the help of a ring. Farlaf is forgiven for joy, Chernomor, deprived of the magical power of a beard, is also left in the palace.

Full of languid thought -
But the fire of poetry has gone out.
Looking in vain for impressions:
She passed, it's time for poetry,
It's time for love, happy dreams,
It's time for inspiration!
A short day of delight has passed -
And hid from me forever
Goddess of Silent Chants...