Written in 1812, by N.M. Shatroff
Sudden o'er Moscow rolls the dread thunder,Fierce o'er his proud borders Don's torrents flow,High swells each bosom, glowing with vengeance'Gainst the base foe.
Scarce in loud accents spoke our good Monarch,"Soldiers of Russia! Moscow burns bright,Foemen destroy her,"--hundreds of thousandsRush to the fight.
"Who dare oppose God? who oppose Russians?"Cried the brave Hetman,--steeds round him tramp,--"The Frenchman's ashes quickly we'll scatter,Show us his camp!
"TSAR true-believing we are all ready,Thy throne's defenders, each proud heart bentBy the assault th' invader's black projectsTo circumvent.
"Russians well know the rough road to glory,Rhine's banks by our troops soon shall be trod,We fight for vengeance, for love of country,And faith in God!
"BELIEVE and conquer, fear not for Russia,Awful the blow the cross-bearer strikes,Th'arkan is dreadful, the sword unsparing,Sharp are our pikes.
"Vain are Napoleon's skill, strength, and cunning,Nor do his hosts fill us with despair,For Michael leads us, and Mary's imageWith us we bear.
"To horse, brothers, haste, the foe approaches,Holy faith guides us, in God we trust,Quick, true believers, rush to the onset,God aids the just!
"Sternly rush on, friends, crush the vile Frenchman,Firm be as mountains when tempests blow,Oh! into Russia grant not the foul oneFurther to go."
Don, broad and mighty, poured forth her children,The world was amazed, pale with affright,Napoleon abandoned his fame, and soughtSafety in flight.
On all sides alike pikes gleam around us,Through air hiss arrows, cannons bright flash,Bullets, like bees, in swarms fly terrific,Mingling swords clash.
Not half a million of fierce invadersCan meet the rage of Russia's attacks;Not more than they the timid deer shrinks atSight of Cossacks.
O'er blood-drenched plains their red standards scattered,Their arms abandoned, spoils left behind:Death they now flee from, to loss of honourBasely resigned.
Vainly they shun it, fruitless their cunning,Jove's bird strikes down the blood-thirsty crow,The fame and bones of Frenchmen in RussiaAlike lie low.
Thus th' ambitious usurper is vanquished,Thus his legions destroyed as they flee,Thus white-stoned Moscow, the first throned city,Once more set free.
To God, all potent, let thanks be rendered,Honoured our TSAR'S and each chieftain's name,To th'Empire safety, to Don's brave offspringLaurels and fame!
Words in this poem 16
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- hetman n.
- A Cossack headman or general. The title of chief hetman is now held by the heir to the throne of Russia. [Pol. hetman. Cf. Ataman.]
- tsar n.
- The title of the emperor of Russia. See Czar.
- circumvent v. t.
- To gain advantage over by arts, stratagem, or deception; to decieve; to delude; to get around. [L. circumventis, p. p. of circumvenire, to come around, encompass, decieve; circum + venire to come, akin to E. come.]
- 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,]
- dreadful a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
- unsparing a.
- Not sparing; not parsimonious; liberal; profuse. Burke. [Pref. un- not + sparing, p. pr. of spare.]
- sternly adv.
- In a stern manner.
- frenchman n.
- A native or one of the people of France.
- napoleon n.
- A French gold coin of twenty francs, or about $3.86. [From the Emperor Napoleon 1.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- basely adv.
- In a base manner; with despicable meanness; dishonorably; shamefully.
- resigned a.
- Submissive; yielding; not disposed to resist or murmur.
- fruitless a.
- Lacking, or not bearing, fruit; barren; destitute of offspring; as, a fruitless tree or shrub; a fruitless marriage.
- usurper n.
- One who usurps; especially, one who seizes illegally on sovereign power; as, the usurper of a throne, of power, or of the rights of a patron.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Written in 1812, by N.M. Shatroff is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Bakchesarian Fountain and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #8192; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Alexander Pushkin, Written in 1812, by N.M. Shatroff, in The Bakchesarian Fountain and Other Poems (1849), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8192, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pushkin-bakchesarian/written-in-1812-by-n-m-shatroff.html, id L25562.
Form and metre
Written in 1812, by N.M. Shatroff is 64 lines in 16 stanzas of 4 lines each.
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 -A-A thunder · flowA · vengeance · foeA
- 2 -A-A monarch · brightA · thousands · fightA
- 3 -A-A russians · trampA · scatter · campA
- 4 -A-A ready · bentA · projects · circumventA
- 5 -A-A glory · trodA · country · godA
- 6 -A-A russia · strikesA · unsparing · pikesA
- 7 -A-A cunning · despairA · image · bearA
- 8 -A-A approaches · trustA · onset · justA
- 9 ABAB frenchmanA · blowB · oneA · goB
- 10 -A-A children · affrightA · sought · flightA
- 11 -A-A us · flashA · terrific · clashA
- 12 -A-A invaders · attacksA · at · cossacksA
- 13 -A-A scattered · behindA · honour · resignedA
- 14 -A-A cunning · crowA · russia · lowA
- 15 -A-A vanquished · fleeA · city · freeA
- 16 -A-A rendered · nameA · offspring · fameA
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Sudden o'er Moscow rolls the dread thunder, | 10 | /˘·/····/˘ |
| Fierce o'er his proud borders Don's torrents flow, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| High swells each bosom, glowing with vengeance | 10 | ···/˘/˘·/˘ |
| 'Gainst the base foe. | 4 | ···· |
| Scarce in loud accents spoke our good Monarch, | 10 | ···/˘·/·/· |
| "Soldiers of Russia! Moscow burns bright, | 9 | /˘·/˘/˘·· |
| Foemen destroy her,"--hundreds of thousands | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·/˘ |
| Rush to the fight. | 4 | ···· |
| "Who dare oppose God? who oppose Russians?" | 10 | ··˘/··˘//˘ |
| Cried the brave Hetman,--steeds round him tramp,-- | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| "The Frenchman's ashes quickly we'll scatter, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘·/˘ |
| Show us his camp! | 4 | ···· |
| "TSAR true-believing we are all ready, | 10 | ··˘/˘···/˘ |
| Thy throne's defenders, each proud heart bent | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| By the assault th' invader's black projects | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| To circumvent. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| "Russians well know the rough road to glory, | 10 | /˘······/˘ |
| Rhine's banks by our troops soon shall be trod, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| We fight for vengeance, for love of country, | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| And faith in God! | 4 | ···· |
| "BELIEVE and conquer, fear not for Russia, | 10 | ˘/·/˘···/˘ |
| Awful the blow the cross-bearer strikes, | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| Th'arkan is dreadful, the sword unsparing, | 10 | ···/˘··˘/˘ |
| Sharp are our pikes. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| "Vain are Napoleon's skill, strength, and cunning, | 11 | ··˘/˘˘···/˘ |
| Nor do his hosts fill us with despair, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| For Michael leads us, and Mary's image | 10 | ·/˘···/˘/˘ |
| With us we bear. | 4 | ···· |
| "To horse, brothers, haste, the foe approaches, | 10 | ··/˘···˘/˘ |
| Holy faith guides us, in God we trust, | 9 | /˘······· |
| Quick, true believers, rush to the onset, | 10 | ··˘/˘···/· |
| God aids the just! | 4 | ···· |
| "Sternly rush on, friends, crush the vile Frenchman, | 10 | /˘······/˘ |
| Firm be as mountains when tempests blow, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Oh! into Russia grant not the foul one | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Further to go." | 4 | /˘·· |
| Don, broad and mighty, poured forth her children, | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| The world was amazed, pale with affright, | 10 | ···˘/˘··˘/ |
| Napoleon abandoned his fame, and sought | 10 | ˘/˘˘/˘···· |
| Safety in flight. | 4 | /˘·· |
| On all sides alike pikes gleam around us, | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| Through air hiss arrows, cannons bright flash, | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| Bullets, like bees, in swarms fly terrific, | 10 | /˘·····˘/˘ |
| Mingling swords clash. | 5 | /˘˘·· |
| Not half a million of fierce invaders | 10 | ···/˘··˘/˘ |
| Can meet the rage of Russia's attacks; | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| Not more than they the timid deer shrinks at | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Sight of Cossacks. | 4 | ··/˘ |
| O'er blood-drenched plains their red standards scattered, | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| Their arms abandoned, spoils left behind: | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| Death they now flee from, to loss of honour | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Basely resigned. | 4 | /˘˘/ |
| Vainly they shun it, fruitless their cunning, | 10 | /˘···/˘·/˘ |
| Jove's bird strikes down the blood-thirsty crow, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| The fame and bones of Frenchmen in Russia | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| Alike lie low. | 4 | ˘/·· |
| Thus th' ambitious usurper is vanquished, | 10 | ·˘/˘˘/˘·/˘ |
| Thus his legions destroyed as they flee, | 10 | ··/˘˘/˘··· |
| Thus white-stoned Moscow, the first throned city, | 10 | ···/····/˘ |
| Once more set free. | 4 | ···· |
| To God, all potent, let thanks be rendered, | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| Honoured our TSAR'S and each chieftain's name, | 10 | /˘/˘···/˘· |
| To th'Empire safety, to Don's brave offspring | 10 | ···/˘···/· |
| Laurels and fame! | 4 | /˘·· |
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.