Vishnevetsky, Mnishek
MNISHEK. With none but my Marina doth he speak,With no one else consorteth--and that businessLooks dreadfully like marriage. Now confess,Didst ever think my daughter would be a queen?
VISHNEVETSKY. 'Tis wonderful.--And, Mnishek, didst thou thinkMy servant would ascend the throne of Moscow?
MNISHEK. And what a girl, look you, is my Marina.I merely hinted to her: "Now, be careful!Let not Dimitry slip"--and lo! AlreadyHe is completely tangled in her toils.
(The band plays a Polonaise. The PRETENDER andMARINA advance as the first couple.)
MARINA. (Sotto voce to Dimitry.) Tomorrow evening at eleven, besideThe fountain in the avenue of lime-trees.CAVALIER. What can Dimitry see in her?
DAME. How say you?She is a beauty.
CAVALIER. Yes, a marble nymph;Eyes, lips, devoid of life, without a smile.
DAME. He is not handsome, but his eyes are pleasing,And one can see he is of royal birth.DAME. When will the army march?
CAVALIER. When the tsarevichOrders it; we are ready; but 'tis clearThe lady Mnishek and Dimitry meanTo keep us prisoners here.
DAME. A pleasant durance.
CAVALIER. Truly, if you...
MNISHEK. We old ones dance no longer;The sound of music lures us not; we press notNor kiss the hands of charmers--ah! My friend,I've not forgotten the old pranks! Things nowAre not what once they were, what once they were!Youth, I'll be sworn, is not so bold, nor beautySo lively; everything--confess, my friend--Has somehow become dull. So let us leave them;My comrade, let us go and find a flaskOf old Hungarian overgrown with mould;Let's bid my butler open an old bottle,And in a quiet corner, tete-a-tete,Let's drain a draught, a stream as thick as fat;And while we're so engaged, let's think things over.Let us go, brother.
VISHNEVETSKY. Yes, my friend, let's go.
Words in this poem
- dreadfully adv.
- In a dreadful manner; terribly.
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- polonaise a.
- Of or pertaining to the Poles, or to Poland. [Written also Polonese.] [F. polonais, polonaise, Polish.]
- tomorrow adv.
- On the day after the present day; on the next day; on the morrow. [Prep. to + morrow.]
- avenue n.
- A way or opening for entrance into a place; a passage by which a place may by reached; a way of approach or of exit. [F. avenue, fr. avenir to come to, L. advenire. See Advene.]
- cavalier n.
- A military man serving on horseback; a knight. [F. cavalier, It. cavaliere, LL. caballarius, fr. L. caballus. See Cavalcade, and cf. Cavallier, Caballine.]
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- durance n.
- Continuance; duration. See Endurance. [OF. durance duration, fr. L. durans, -antis, p. pr. durare to endure, last. See Dure, and cf. Durant.]
- somehow adv.
- In one way or another; in some way not yet known or designated; by some means; as, the thing must be done somehow; he lives somehow.
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Vishnevetsky, Mnishek 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, Vishnevetsky, Mnishek, in Boris Godunov (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #5089, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pushkin-boris-godunov/vishnevetsky-mnishek.html, id L25480.
Form and metre
Vishnevetsky, Mnishek is 44 lines in 13 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 -AA- speak · businessA · confessA · queen
- 9 -A-A tsarevich · clearA · mean · hereA
- 12 --A---A-------- longer · not · friendA · now · were · beauty · friendA · them · flask · mould · bottle · tete · fat · over · brother
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 |
|---|---|---|
| MNISHEK. With none but my Marina doth he speak, | 12 | ······˘/˘··· |
| With no one else consorteth--and that business | 11 | ····˘/˘··/˘ |
| Looks dreadfully like marriage. Now confess, | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘·˘/ |
| Didst ever think my daughter would be a queen? | 10 | ·/··/˘···· |
| VISHNEVETSKY. 'Tis wonderful.--And, Mnishek, didst thou think | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| My servant would ascend the throne of Moscow? | 11 | ·/˘·˘/···/· |
| MNISHEK. And what a girl, look you, is my Marina. | 13 | ··········˘/˘ |
| I merely hinted to her: "Now, be careful! | 11 | ·/˘/˘····/˘ |
| Let not Dimitry slip"--and lo! Already | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| He is completely tangled in her toils. | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| (The band plays a Polonaise. The PRETENDER and | 12 | ·····˘/·˘/˘· |
| MARINA advance as the first couple.) | 10 | ˘/˘˘/···/˘ |
| MARINA. (Sotto voce to Dimitry.) Tomorrow evening at eleven, beside | 20 | ˘/˘·······˘/·/˘·˘/˘/ |
| The fountain in the avenue of lime-trees. | 11 | ·/˘··/˘···· |
| CAVALIER. What can Dimitry see in her? | 11 | ·˘/········ |
| DAME. How say you? | 4 | ···· |
| She is a beauty. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| CAVALIER. Yes, a marble nymph; | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| Eyes, lips, devoid of life, without a smile. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| DAME. He is not handsome, but his eyes are pleasing, | 12 | ····/˘····/˘ |
| And one can see he is of royal birth. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| DAME. When will the army march? | 7 | ····/˘· |
| CAVALIER. When the tsarevich | 8 | ·˘/····· |
| Orders it; we are ready; but 'tis clear | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| The lady Mnishek and Dimitry mean | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| To keep us prisoners here. | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| DAME. A pleasant durance. | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| CAVALIER. Truly, if you... | 7 | /˘˘/˘·· |
| MNISHEK. We old ones dance no longer; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| The sound of music lures us not; we press not | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| Nor kiss the hands of charmers--ah! My friend, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I've not forgotten the old pranks! Things now | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Are not what once they were, what once they were! | 10 | ·········· |
| Youth, I'll be sworn, is not so bold, nor beauty | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| So lively; everything--confess, my friend-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Has somehow become dull. So let us leave them; | 11 | ·/·˘/······ |
| My comrade, let us go and find a flask | 10 | ·/········ |
| Of old Hungarian overgrown with mould; | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Let's bid my butler open an old bottle, | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| And in a quiet corner, tete-a-tete, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Let's drain a draught, a stream as thick as fat; | 10 | ·········· |
| And while we're so engaged, let's think things over. | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Let us go, brother. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| VISHNEVETSKY. Yes, my friend, let's go. | 9 | ········· |
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