Russia
"The Tsar was in moodTo dabble in blood:To wage a great war.Shall we have gold enough?Shall we have strength enough?Questioned the Tsar.
"(Thou art so pitiful,Poor, and so sorrowful,Yet thou art powerful,Thy wealth is plentiful,Russia, my Mother!)
"By misery chastened,By serfdom of old,The heart of thy people,O Tsar, is of gold.
"And strong were the nation,Unyielding its might,If standing for conscience,For justice and right.
"But summon the countryTo valueless strife,And no man will hastenTo offer his life.
"So Russia lies sleepingIn obstinate rest;--But should the spark kindleThat's hid in her breast--
"She'll rise without summons,Go forth without call,With sacrifice boundless,Each giving his all!
"A host she will gatherOf strength unsurpassed,With infinite courageWill fight to the last.
"(Thou art so pitiful,Poor, and so sorrowful,Yet of great treasure full,Mighty, all-powerful,Russia, my Mother!)"
Young Grisha was pleasedWith his song; and he murmured."Its message is true;I will sing it to-morrowAloud to the peasants.Their songs are so mournful,It's well they should hearSomething joyful,--God help them!For just as with runningThe cheeks begin burning,So acts a good songOn the spirit despairing,Brings comfort and strength."But first to his brotherHe sang the new song,And his brother said, "Splendid!"
Then Grisha tried vainlyTo sleep; but half dreamingNew songs he composed.They grew brighter and stronger....
Our peasants would soonHave been home from their travelsIf they could have knownWhat was happening to Grisha:With what exaltationHis bosom was burning;What beautiful strainsIn his ears began chiming;How blissfully sang heThe wonderful anthemWhich tells of the freedomAnd peace of the people.
Words in this poem
- tsar n.
- The title of the emperor of Russia. See Czar.
- wage v. i.
- To bind one's self; to engage.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- chastened a.
- Corrected; disciplined; refined; purified; toned down. Sir. W.
- serfdom n.
- The state or condition of a serf.
- conscience n.
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
- valueless a.
- Being of no value; having no worth.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- aloud adv.
- With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
- despairing a.
- Feeling or expressing despair; hopeless.
- anthem v. t.
- To celebrate with anthems.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Russia 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, Russia, 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/russia.html, id L25525.
Form and metre
Russia is 72 lines in 12 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%).
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.
- 1 ---AA- mood · blood · war · enoughA · enoughA · tsar
- 3 -A-A chastened · oldA · people · goldA
- 4 -A-A nation · mightA · conscience · rightA
- 5 -A-A country · strifeA · hasten · lifeA
- 6 -A-A sleeping · restA · kindle · breastA
- 7 -A-A summons · callA · boundless · allA
- 8 -A-A gather · unsurpassedA · courage · lastA
- 9 AAAA- pitifulA · sorrowfulA · fullA · powerfulA · mother
- 10 --------AAAA--A- pleased · murmured · true · morrow · peasants · mournful · hear · them · runningA · burningA · songA · despairingA · strength · brother · songA · splendid
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "The Tsar was in mood | 5 | ····· |
| To dabble in blood: | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| To wage a great war. | 5 | ····· |
| Shall we have gold enough? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Shall we have strength enough? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Questioned the Tsar. | 5 | /˘˘·· |
| "(Thou art so pitiful, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Poor, and so sorrowful, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Yet thou art powerful, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Thy wealth is plentiful, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Russia, my Mother!) | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| "By misery chastened, | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| By serfdom of old, | 5 | ····· |
| The heart of thy people, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| O Tsar, is of gold. | 5 | ····· |
| "And strong were the nation, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Unyielding its might, | 5 | ˘/˘·· |
| If standing for conscience, | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| For justice and right. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| "But summon the country | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| To valueless strife, | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| And no man will hasten | 6 | ····/˘ |
| To offer his life. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| "So Russia lies sleeping | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| In obstinate rest;-- | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| But should the spark kindle | 6 | ····/˘ |
| That's hid in her breast-- | 5 | ····· |
| "She'll rise without summons, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Go forth without call, | 5 | ····· |
| With sacrifice boundless, | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Each giving his all! | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| "A host she will gather | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Of strength unsurpassed, | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| With infinite courage | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| Will fight to the last. | 5 | ····· |
| "(Thou art so pitiful, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Poor, and so sorrowful, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Yet of great treasure full, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Mighty, all-powerful, | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| Russia, my Mother!)" | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Young Grisha was pleased | 6 | ·····˘ |
| With his song; and he murmured. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| "Its message is true; | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| I will sing it to-morrow | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Aloud to the peasants. | 6 | ˘/··/˘ |
| Their songs are so mournful, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| It's well they should hear | 5 | ····· |
| Something joyful,--God help them! | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| For just as with running | 6 | ····/˘ |
| The cheeks begin burning, | 6 | ··˘//˘ |
| So acts a good song | 5 | ····· |
| On the spirit despairing, | 7 | ··/˘˘/˘ |
| Brings comfort and strength." | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| But first to his brother | 6 | ····/˘ |
| He sang the new song, | 5 | ····· |
| And his brother said, "Splendid!" | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| Then Grisha tried vainly | 6 | ····/˘ |
| To sleep; but half dreaming | 6 | ····/˘ |
| New songs he composed. | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| They grew brighter and stronger.... | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| Our peasants would soon | 6 | /˘/˘·· |
| Have been home from their travels | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| If they could have known | 5 | ····· |
| What was happening to Grisha: | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| With what exaltation | 6 | ······ |
| His bosom was burning; | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| What beautiful strains | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| In his ears began chiming; | 7 | ···˘//˘ |
| How blissfully sang he | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| The wonderful anthem | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| Which tells of the freedom | 6 | ····/˘ |
| And peace of the people. | 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.