Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin

A Poetic Exploration

Reading poetry had been a thing of the past for me. What little experience I’d had with it happened about five decades ago when I was a student. Then, poetry formed part of English Literature, a compulsory subject that students in secondary school had to take. We were taught how to read and analyse several poems, mostly classic ones. With the long passage of time, I've forgotten all of them except only one which contained this verse: Water, water, every where, / And all the boards did shrink; / Water, water, every where, / Nor any drop to drink. Somehow I couldn’t figure out how it has remained ingrained in my mind for so long. Readers of poetry would know which poem these lines came from.

Truth be told, I didn’t hate studying poetry but I didn’t particularly love it either. I treated it as just something I’d had to bear with in order to pass exams. Maybe it’s the way poetry was taught in school that failed to ignite my interest in poetry. I suspect this might have been the experience of many.

I haven't read poetry since although intermittently over the years I'd read nursery rhymes and limericks to my kids and then grandkids. But, if I’m being totally honest, this isn't serious poetic stuff.

Then, in mid 2020 one book upended all those years of neglect and, much to my pleasant surprise, sparked my interest in exploring and enjoying poetry.

What is this book and how has it led me to change my perspective about reading poetry?

My poetic exploration began with a challenge from fellow blogger Elisabeth of A Russian Affair, a blog that was discontinued recently and sadly missed, to read and explore Alexander Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin with her, one chapter at a time. At first I balked at the prospect of taking up the challenge given my long-held disinterest in reading poetry and the sheer length of the poem. Then, as I looked up what it's about and who wrote it, and even surreptitiously ventured into reading the first chapter, my interest in poetry began to awaken. I was captivated. It was as if the Muse of Pushkin has enticed me and drew me in to explore the world of Eugene Onegin. Once I was in, I didn’t want to turn back as there was so much more to explore and enjoy. So, I was game for the challenge.

Eugene Onegin isn't about poetry. It is serious poetry with stanzas, rhyme and meter. In fact it's a Russian novel of eight chapters entirely written in verse, made up of 366 14-line stanzas of iambic tetrameter with a rhyming pattern (AbAbCCddEffEgg) that is unique, where the uppercase letters represent feminine rhymes while the lowercase letters represent masculine rhymes. This form has come to be known as the 'Onegin stanza' or the 'Pushkin sonnet'. It is considered a work unique in Russian literature and Pushkin’s masterpiece.

A brief look at the life of Alexander Pushkin would not go amiss in any discussion of the novel.

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, born in Moscow in 1799 into an old aristocratic family, was a Russian poet, novelist, dramatist, and short-story writer. He is considered by many to be his country’s greatest poet and the founder of modern Russian literature.

During his formative years, he and his siblings were much left in the care of his maternal grandmother, who told them stories of his ancestors. He also heard Russian folktales from his nurse. He read widely in his father’s library and guests who came to the house gave him much literary stimulus. In school he was recognised for his precocious talent in poetry, even by prominent older writers.

After graduating in 1817, Pushkin accepted a post in the government service and immersed him into St. Petersburg society, pursuing pleasure and politics. He continued to write poetry. During this period he produced his first major narrative poem Ruslan and Lyudmila, which brought him considerable success and secured his place as the leading figure in Russian poetry.

Pushkin’s liberal political views expressed in verse didn’t sit well with the government. This led to his forced exile twice from the capital. During his first exile, he began writing Eugene Onegin, his novel in verse, in 1823. In 1826, pardoned by the new Czar Nicholas I and allowed to return to Moscow, he resumed his dissipated lifestyle. He continued writing Eugene Onegin and completed it in 1830. In the same year he also wrote a number of prose stories.

In 1831 he married Natalya Goncharova, got a new post and settled down in St. Petersburg. He continued writing but less so as the younger generation dismissed him as a literary force. In 1837, incensed by a persistent admirer of his wife, Pushkin challenged him to a duel and was mortally wounded. He died two days later.

Let’s now look at the plot of Eugene Onegin. Set in 1820’s Russia, it’s a tale of an aristocratic fop living in St. Petersburg named Eugene Onegin. Cultured, witty and charming, his life consists of balls, parties, and concerts. He soon grows bored with his lifestyle and longs for a change. When his uncle dies and leaves him an estate in the countryside, Onegin moves there. He strikes up a friendship with his neighbour, a romantic young poet named Vladimir Lensky. Their friendship grows and they are as close as brothers.

One day, Lensky takes Onegin to dine with the family of his fiancée, the charming, sociable, and girlish Olga Larin. Onegin also met Olga’s older sister Tatyana, who on the other hand is a quiet dreamer who reads romance novels. Tatyana develops a strong attraction to Onegin and writes him a long, honest letter professing her love for him and begging for his in return. Onegin rejects Tatyana’s overtures, telling her condescendingly that he had no desire to be married. He can only offer her friendship and warns her to be more careful about revealing her emotions in the future, lest another man take advantage of her innocence. Tatyana is heartbroken over Onegin’s rejection.

Through an unfortunate series of events, Onegin’s relationship with Lensky sours. It reaches a breaking point when Onegin flirts with Olga by dancing with her at Tatyana’s name-day party in Lensky’s plain sight. Enraged, Lensky storms out of the party.

The next day, Lensky sends Onegin a message challenging him to a duel. Onegin reluctantly accepts but feels guilty about meddling in his friend’s relationship. Shortly after the duel begins, contrary to convention, Onegin shoots first and kills Lensky. Burdened by remorse and guilt, Onegin leaves his estate and goes abroad. Shortly after he’s gone, Tatyana goes to visit Onegin’s mansion and looks through his books and his notes in the margin to try to understand him. Her discovery makes her wonder whether Onegin is a real person or merely a collage of different literary characters in the books.

Several years later, Onegin returns from his journey and has come to attend a prominent ball in St. Petersburg. He meets a very beautiful woman, wife of an aged prince (general), who captures the attention of all at the ball, especially him. He realizes that it is the same Tatyana whose love he had once spurned, now matured considerably. This time their roles are reversed: Onegin cannot get Tatyana out of his mind and he sends her several desperate letters declaring his love. But how will Tatyana respond to his advances? Will she be forgiving and allow her once-desperate love for Onegin to be rekindled? Well, one can find out the answer by reading this truly beautiful poem.

Eugene Onegin has enjoyed high acclaim not only in Russia but elsewhere as well. This is evident from the translation of the novel into several languages. In English alone there are already a number of translations. The one that I read is by James E. Falen, Professor of Russian at the University of Tennessee. It’s considered by many to be the most faithful to Pushkin’s stanzaic form.

There are many aspects of the novel that I really like but I’ll discuss three main ones.

Firstly, the long poem is written in such a way - with free-flowing spontaneity and its verse that seems as natural as prose - that it conveys the rhythm and feel of a novel when read. Falen’s translation captures this very well despite having to adhere to the requirements of rhyme and meter. Its fluency and use of idiomatic English makes the poem easy to read and most parts not difficult to understand. I will say that Falen’s vision for “an ever more natural and unforced flow of language, for a more fluid and straightforward syntax, a lighter and more readily comprehensible style” in this translation has certainly been achieved.

Secondly, the plot is simple with no digressive subplots and involves only a small cast of main characters: Onegin, Lensky, Pushkin himself (Onegin’s friend), Tatyana, Olga and Pushkin’s Muse. The story seems to be very much that of Pushkin himself, portrayed by the characters. For example, Onegin’s partying lifestyle in the city and subsequent move to the countryside from the city and then back to the city some years later mirror Pushkin’s own life of dissipated living and of exile. Lensky, the young poet, is a close depiction of Pushkin in his glory days as a poetic prodigy in school. And Lensky’s death from a duel with Onegin is uncannily prescient of Pushkin’s own death by similar means.

Thirdly, the rich tapestry of backdrops and scenes cleverly woven into the storyline - glittering St Petersburg with its high-society life, the rustic and quiet countryside, the changing of seasons, the literary pursuits of its socially mixed cast of characters, social expectations around marriage and duty - gives readers a rich sensory experience of what life in early 19th century Russia was like. Yet the core themes of love, regret, and the paths not taken remain deeply resonant.

They say the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I would say how apt this is when applied to the reading of Eugene Onegin because no words could adequately describe the beauty and fluency of this poem until one delves in and immerse oneself in its glorious verse. What seems most remarkable to me is how modern it feels - the narrative is self-aware and playful in a way that seems ahead of its time. Even in translation, one can sense Pushkin's wit and the mercurial nature of his genius.

I’m glad I took up Elisabeth’s challenge. Oh, what a rewarding outcome that has been! Substack readers, have you read this book? If not I challenge you to do so. You will not be disappointed. For those who have read it, I’d love to hear from you how this book has affected you in any way.

Book Note:

Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin (Translated by James E. Falen; Oxford University Press; Reissue edition: March 25, 2009, 288 pages)

Note: This is the updated version of the post that first appeared in my book blog Passion for Books.