Chapter III: Old and New
Iona has finished.He crosses himself,And the people are silent.And then of a sudden
The trader cries loudlyIn great irritation,"What's wrong with the ferry?A plague on the sluggards!Ho, ferry ahoy!"
"You won't get the ferryTill sunrise, for evenIn daytime they're frightenedTo cross: the boat's rotten!About Kudear, now--""Ho, ferry ahoy!"
He strides to his waggon.A cow is there tethered;He churlishly kicks her.His hens begin clucking;He shouts at them, "Silence!"The calf, which is shiftingAbout in the cart.Gets a crack on the forehead.He strikes the roan mareWith the whip, and departingHe makes for the Volga.The moon is now shining,It casts on the roadwayA comical shadow,Which trots by his side.
"Oho!" says the Elder,"He thought himself ableTo fight, but discussionIs not in his line....My brothers, how grievousThe sins of the nobles!"
"And yet not as greatAs the sin of the peasant,"The carter cannot hereRefrain from remarking.
"A plaguey old croaker!"Says Klim, spitting crossly;"Whatever arisesThe raven must flyTo his own little brood!What is it, then, tell us,The sin of the peasant?"
Words in this poem
- ahoy interj.
- A term used in hailing; as, [OE. a, interj. + hoy.]
- churlishly adv.
- In a churlish manner.
- clucking n.
- The noise or call of a brooding hen.
- roan a.
- Having a bay, chestnut, brown, or black color, with gray or white thickly interspersed; -- said of a horse. [F. rouan; cf. Sp. roano, ruano, It. rovano, roano.]
- roadway n.
- A road; especially, the part traveled by carriages.
- croaker n.
- One who croaks, murmurs, grumbles, or complains unreasonably; one who habitually forebodes evil.
- crossly adv.
- Athwart; adversely; unfortunately; peevishly; fretfully; with ill humor.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chapter III: Old and New is in the public domain. This text is taken from Who Can Be Happy and Free in Russia?, Project Gutenberg ebook #9619; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Nikolai Nekrasov, Chapter III: Old and New, in Who Can Be Happy and Free in Russia? (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/nekrasov-who-can-be-happy/chapter-iii-old-and-new.html, id L25519.
Form and metre
Chapter III: Old and New is 47 lines in 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%).
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 5 --AA-- elder · able · discussionA · lineA · grievous · nobles
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Iona has finished. | 6 | ˘/˘·/˘ |
| He crosses himself, | 5 | ·/˘˘/ |
| And the people are silent. | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| And then of a sudden | 6 | ····/˘ |
| The trader cries loudly | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| In great irritation, | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| "What's wrong with the ferry? | 6 | ····/˘ |
| A plague on the sluggards! | 6 | ······ |
| Ho, ferry ahoy!" | 5 | ·/˘˘/ |
| "You won't get the ferry | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Till sunrise, for even | 6 | ·/··/˘ |
| In daytime they're frightened | 6 | ·/··/˘ |
| To cross: the boat's rotten! | 6 | ····/˘ |
| About Kudear, now--" | 5 | ····· |
| "Ho, ferry ahoy!" | 5 | ·/˘˘/ |
| He strides to his waggon. | 6 | ······ |
| A cow is there tethered; | 6 | ····/˘ |
| He churlishly kicks her. | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| His hens begin clucking; | 6 | ··˘//˘ |
| He shouts at them, "Silence!" | 6 | ····/˘ |
| The calf, which is shifting | 6 | ····/˘ |
| About in the cart. | 5 | ····· |
| Gets a crack on the forehead. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| He strikes the roan mare | 5 | ····· |
| With the whip, and departing | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| He makes for the Volga. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| The moon is now shining, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| It casts on the roadway | 6 | ····/· |
| A comical shadow, | 6 | ·/˘˘/· |
| Which trots by his side. | 5 | ····· |
| "Oho!" says the Elder, | 6 | ˘/··/˘ |
| "He thought himself able | 6 | ··˘//˘ |
| To fight, but discussion | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Is not in his line.... | 5 | ····· |
| My brothers, how grievous | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| The sins of the nobles!" | 6 | ····/˘ |
| "And yet not as great | 5 | ····· |
| As the sin of the peasant," | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The carter cannot here | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Refrain from remarking. | 6 | ˘/·˘/˘ |
| "A plaguey old croaker!" | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Says Klim, spitting crossly; | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| "Whatever arises | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| The raven must fly | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| To his own little brood! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| What is it, then, tell us, | 6 | ······ |
| The sin of the peasant?" | 6 | ····/˘ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.