The Lithuanian Frontier (October 16Th, 1604)
PRINCE KURBSKY and PRETENDER, both on horseback.Troops approach the Frontier
KURBSKY. (Galloping at their head.)There, there it is; there is the Russian frontier!Fatherland! Holy Russia! I am thine!With scorn from off my clothing now I shakeThe foreign dust, and greedily I drinkNew air; it is my native air. O father,Thy soul hath now been solaced; in the graveThy bones, disgraced, thrill with a sudden joy!Again doth flash our old ancestral sword,This glorious sword--the dread of dark Kazan!This good sword--servant of the tsars of Moscow!Now will it revel in its feast of slaughter,Serving the master of its hopes.
PRETENDER. (Moves quietly with bowed head.) How happyIs he, how flushed with gladness and with gloryHis stainless soul! Brave knight, I envy thee!The son of Kurbsky, nurtured in exile,Forgetting all the wrongs borne by thy father,Redeeming his transgression in the grave,Ready art thou for the son of great IvanTo shed thy blood, to give the fatherlandIts lawful tsar. Righteous art thou; thy soulShould flame with joy.
KURBSKY. And dost not thou likewiseRejoice in spirit? There lies our Russia; sheIs thine, tsarevich! There thy people's heartsAre waiting for thee, there thy Moscow waits,Thy Kremlin, thy dominion.
PRETENDER. Russian blood,O Kurbsky, first must flow! Thou for the tsarHast drawn the sword, thou art stainless; but I lead youAgainst your brothers; I am summoningLithuania against Russia; I am showingTo foes the longed-for way to beauteous Moscow!But let my sin fall not on me, but thee,Boris, the regicide! Forward! Set on!
Words in this poem
- galloping a.
- Going at a gallop; progressing rapidly; as, a galloping horse.
- fatherland n.
- One's native land; the native land of one's fathers or ancestors. [Imitated fr. D. vaderland. See Father, and Land.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- stainless a.
- Free from stain; immaculate.
- tsar n.
- The title of the emperor of Russia. See Czar.
- kremlin n.
- The citadel of a town or city; especially, the citadel of Moscow, a large inclosure which contains imperial palaces, cathedrals, churches, an arsenal, etc. [Russ. kremle.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
- regicide n.
- One who kills or who murders a king; specifically (Eng.Hist.), one of the judges who condemned Charles I. to death. [F. régicide; L. rex, regis, a king + caedere to kill. Cf. Homicide.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Lithuanian Frontier (October 16Th, 1604) is in the public domain. This text is taken from Boris Godunov: a drama in verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #5089; 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, The Lithuanian Frontier (October 16Th, 1604), in Boris Godunov (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #5089, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pushkin-boris-godunov/the-lithuanian-frontier-october-16th-1604.html, id L25482.
Form and metre
The Lithuanian Frontier (October 16Th, 1604) is 38 lines in 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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.
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| PRINCE KURBSKY and PRETENDER, both on horseback. | 11 | ····˘/˘··/· |
| Troops approach the Frontier | 6 | ·˘/·˘/ |
| KURBSKY. (Galloping at their head.) | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| There, there it is; there is the Russian frontier! | 11 | ·······/˘˘/ |
| Fatherland! Holy Russia! I am thine! | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| With scorn from off my clothing now I shake | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The foreign dust, and greedily I drink | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| New air; it is my native air. O father, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Thy soul hath now been solaced; in the grave | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Thy bones, disgraced, thrill with a sudden joy! | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| Again doth flash our old ancestral sword, | 10 | ˘/··/·˘/˘· |
| This glorious sword--the dread of dark Kazan! | 11 | ·/˘˘·····/˘ |
| This good sword--servant of the tsars of Moscow! | 11 | ···/˘····/· |
| Now will it revel in its feast of slaughter, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Serving the master of its hopes. | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| PRETENDER. (Moves quietly with bowed head.) How happy | 12 | ˘/˘·/˘····/˘ |
| Is he, how flushed with gladness and with glory | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| His stainless soul! Brave knight, I envy thee! | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| The son of Kurbsky, nurtured in exile, | 10 | ·····/˘·/· |
| Forgetting all the wrongs borne by thy father, | 11 | ˘/˘······/˘ |
| Redeeming his transgression in the grave, | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Ready art thou for the son of great Ivan | 11 | /˘·······/˘ |
| To shed thy blood, to give the fatherland | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Its lawful tsar. Righteous art thou; thy soul | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| Should flame with joy. | 4 | ···· |
| KURBSKY. And dost not thou likewise | 8 | ······/· |
| Rejoice in spirit? There lies our Russia; she | 10 | ˘/·/··//˘· |
| Is thine, tsarevich! There thy people's hearts | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Are waiting for thee, there thy Moscow waits, | 10 | ·/˘····/·· |
| Thy Kremlin, thy dominion. | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| PRETENDER. Russian blood, | 6 | ˘/˘/˘· |
| O Kurbsky, first must flow! Thou for the tsar | 10 | ·········· |
| Hast drawn the sword, thou art stainless; but I lead you | 12 | ······/˘···· |
| Against your brothers; I am summoning | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| Lithuania against Russia; I am showing | 12 | ·˘/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| To foes the longed-for way to beauteous Moscow! | 12 | ·······/˘˘/˘ |
| But let my sin fall not on me, but thee, | 10 | ·········· |
| Boris, the regicide! Forward! Set on! | 10 | /˘·/˘˘/˘·· |
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.