The People
1ST PERSON. He is inexorable! He thrust from himPrelates, boyars, and Patriarch; in vainProstrate they fall; the splendour of the throneAffrights him.
3RD PERSON. See! The Chief MinisterIs coming out to tell us what the CouncilHas now resolved.
THE PEOPLE. Silence! Silence! He speaks,The Minister of State. Hush, hush! Give ear!
SHCHELKALOV. (From the Red Balcony.)The Council have resolved for the last timeTo put to proof the power of supplicationUpon our ruler's mournful soul. At dawn,After a solemn service in the Kremlin,The blessed Patriarch will go, precededBy sacred banners, with the holy ikonsOf Donsky and Vladimir; with him goThe Council, courtiers, delegates, boyars,And all the orthodox folk of Moscow; allWill go to pray once more the queen to pityFatherless Moscow, and to consecrateBoris unto the crown. Now to your homesGo ye in peace: pray; and to Heaven shall riseThe heart's petition of the orthodox.
Words in this poem
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- 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.]
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- fatherless a.
- Destitute of a living father; as, a fatherless child.
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The People 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 People, in Boris Godunov (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #5089, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pushkin-boris-godunov/the-people.html, id L25463.
Form and metre
The People is 24 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
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.
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 himA · vain · throne · himA
- 4 ---AA---------- balcony · time · supplication · dawnA · kremlinA · preceded · ikons · go · boyars · all · pity · consecrate · homes · rise · orthodox
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1ST PERSON. He is inexorable! He thrust from him | 12 | ·/˘···/˘···· |
| Prelates, boyars, and Patriarch; in vain | 10 | /˘˘/·/˘··· |
| Prostrate they fall; the splendour of the throne | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Affrights him. | 3 | ··· |
| 3RD PERSON. See! The Chief Minister | 9 | ·/˘···/˘˘ |
| Is coming out to tell us what the Council | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| Has now resolved. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| THE PEOPLE. Silence! Silence! He speaks, | 9 | ·/˘/˘/˘·· |
| The Minister of State. Hush, hush! Give ear! | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| SHCHELKALOV. (From the Red Balcony.) | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| The Council have resolved for the last time | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| To put to proof the power of supplication | 11 | ·····/····· |
| Upon our ruler's mournful soul. At dawn, | 10 | ··//˘/˘··· |
| After a solemn service in the Kremlin, | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| The blessed Patriarch will go, preceded | 10 | ··/˘···˘/˘ |
| By sacred banners, with the holy ikons | 11 | ·/˘/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Of Donsky and Vladimir; with him go | 10 | ····/˘˘··· |
| The Council, courtiers, delegates, boyars, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| And all the orthodox folk of Moscow; all | 11 | ···/˘···/·· |
| Will go to pray once more the queen to pity | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Fatherless Moscow, and to consecrate | 10 | /˘˘/˘··/˘· |
| Boris unto the crown. Now to your homes | 10 | /˘········ |
| Go ye in peace: pray; and to Heaven shall rise | 10 | ·······/·· |
| The heart's petition of the orthodox. | 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.