Exeter Yaroslavl Twinning Association

 

“The most interesting Russian book or poem I have ever read”

 

This is based upon Andrey Kneller’s translation of Pushkin’s “I still recall the wondrous world”.

 

Aleksandr Pushkin’s, “I still recall the wondrous moment” is a beautiful poem portraying the immense feelings of infatuation and love. In this poem, written about his beloved Anna Kern, Pushkin reflects the attitudes and experiences of society. For me, poems are a way to convey snippets of deeper emotions that are often hard to express audibly. This poem is no different: while directly addressing Anna in his second person narration, Pushkin strives to express his deep admiration for a woman whom he cannot love.

 

Pushkin describes two meetings of Anna in the poem, one in stanza 1- “you appeared before my sight”, and again in stanza 5- “you re-appeared before my sight”. The disparity in meetings could reflect Pushkin’s relationship with Kern at the time. Upon engaging with her in many letters, their relationship began without meeting. Developing a relationship over romantic letters, they finally met, and in 1825, when Pushkin was in exile in Mikhailovsky, he wrote this poem. This story somewhat reflects today’s current societies. While today, relationships can be found by conversing online through endless messages back and forth, it is fascinating to see a similar situation being described in this poem centuries earlier.

 

While I love reading many genres, mostly fantasy and science fiction, I love reading books and poems that are relatable to contemporary, and modern-day audiences. This poem clearly conveys a universal theme of love that is present in almost every society, which I like as you can connect with the characters more and share their emotions. Despite this being the main genre of the poem, it also expresses a subtle fantastical theme throughout. In Kneller’s translation, Kern is described as “enchanting”, with Pushkin falling under her “voice’s spell”. Here, there is a subtle theme of witchcraft: as if Kern is putting a spell on Pushkin, leaving him infatuated and “in a daze”. In this poem, I think Pushkin admires Anna rather than is in love with her, which is a typical trope of romantic writers. Furthermore, in this translation, Kern is described as a “phantom” which suggests that she is not really there and is perhaps just a vision or a mirage that Pushkin wants to see or is fantasising about. In another translation by Philip Ross Bullock, she is described as a “fleeing vision”. These portrayals imply that for the most part, she is merely a figment of Pushkin’s imagination and is all he can think about as she exists in his mind. Because of this, I, and other readers can empathise with his character as he represents the universal feelings of admiration and infatuation that many in society can relate to.

 

One of the reasons why I love this poem is because of its rhyme scheme. I prefer poems with a fixed rhyme scheme as I think it often helps the poem flow more, depending on the subject of the poem. With Pushkin’s fixed rhyme scheme, it makes him seem in control of his words despite being “in a daze”, which makes him seem content with the situation as he is not spilling words onto the page in an unorganised fashion- as maybe typical of someone overflowing with emotions. Another reason why I like this poem is because of its cyclical structure. Stanzas 1 and 5 are almost the same yet present contrasting emotions within them. In stanza 1, Pushkin appears reflective in his tone and disheartened by the disappearance of this “phantom”. This contrasts with stanza 5 in which Pushkin’s tone is elevated and “revived” when the figure re-appears. The repetition in the poem reflects the repetition in Pushkin’s fantasy and how he can’t get Anna out of his head. Through his repetition, a cyclical structure is created which beautifully ties together the emotions expressed in between this cycle.

 

In this poem, Pushkin also expresses many contrasting emotions which makes the poem feel more realistic and relatable. He goes from: fascinated; to “sorrow”; to losing hope; to the loss of faith and love; to rejoice; and then to admiration and love. This rollercoaster of emotions reflects the turbulent ups and downs of relationships which makes Pushkin’s character seem more humane and relatable so the reader can engage with his story more.

 

Pushkin’s poem “I still recall the wondrous moment” is a celebration of love and reflects the mundanity of admiration in contemporary and modern society. I love reading books and poetry as they provide escapes from the stresses of everyday life into an alternate universe, or they make our struggles and emotions normalised, so we feel connected to society and not isolated due to our feelings. This is something that I think this poem deals well with as it portrays an everyday occurrence that is familiar to all at some point in their lives and provides hope and an insight into the reality of love, while providing a beautifully written account of his own story.

 

By Felicity Charles

 

https://ruverses.com/alexander-pushkin/to/4069/

 

https://eng.mainstreetartisans.com/4331802-anna-petrovna-kern-pushkin-and-their-love-story