III. 83
I gaze demented on the black shawlAnd my cold soul is torn by grief.
When young I was and full of trustI passionately loved a young Greek girl.
The charming maid, she fondled me,But soon I lived the black day to see.
Once as were gathered my jolly guestsA detested Jew knocked at my door.
Thou art feasting (he whispered) with friendsBut betrayed thou art by thy Greek maid.
Moneys I gave him and curses,And called my servant the faithful.
We went: I flew on the wings of my steed;And tender mercy was silent in me.
Her threshold no sooner I espiedDark grew my eyes, and my strength departed.
The distant chamber I enter alone,An Armenian embraces my faithless maid.
Darkness around me; flashed the dagger;To interrupt his kiss the wretch had no time.
And long I trampled the headless corpse,--And silent and pale at the maid I stared.
I remember her prayers, her flowing blood,But perished the girl, and with her my love.
The shawl I took from the head now deadAnd wiped in silence the bleeding steel.
When came the darkness of eve, my serfThrew their bodies into the Danube's billows--
Since then I kiss no charming eyes,Since then I know no cheerful days.
I gaze demented on the black shawl,And my cold soul is torn by grief.
Words in this poem
- demented a.
- Insane; mad; of unsound mind. [From Dement.]
- passionately adv.
- In a passionate manner; with strong feeling; ardently.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- headless a.
- Having no head; beheaded; as, a headless body, neck, or carcass. [AS. heáfodleás.]
- corpse n.
- A human body in general, whether living or dead; -- sometimes contemptuosly. [OF. cors (sometimes written corps), F. corps, L. corpus; akin to AS. hrif womb. See Midriff, and cf. Corse, Corselet, Corps, Cuerpo.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
III. 83 is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems With Introduction and Notes, Project Gutenberg ebook #54991; 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, III. 83, in Poems (1888), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #54991, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pushkin-poems/iii-83.html, id L25534.
Form and metre
III. 83 is 32 lines in 16 stanzas of 2 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 79%).
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.
- 3 AA meA · seeA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I gaze demented on the black shawl | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| And my cold soul is torn by grief. | 8 | ········ |
| When young I was and full of trust | 8 | ········ |
| I passionately loved a young Greek girl. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The charming maid, she fondled me, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But soon I lived the black day to see. | 9 | ········· |
| Once as were gathered my jolly guests | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| A detested Jew knocked at my door. | 9 | ·˘/˘····· |
| Thou art feasting (he whispered) with friends | 9 | ··/˘·/˘·· |
| But betrayed thou art by thy Greek maid. | 9 | ·˘/······ |
| Moneys I gave him and curses, | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| And called my servant the faithful. | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| We went: I flew on the wings of my steed; | 10 | ·········· |
| And tender mercy was silent in me. | 10 | ·/˘/˘·/˘·· |
| Her threshold no sooner I espied | 8 | ·/··/˘·· |
| Dark grew my eyes, and my strength departed. | 10 | ·······˘/˘ |
| The distant chamber I enter alone, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·/˘˘/ |
| An Armenian embraces my faithless maid. | 11 | ·˘/˘˘/˘·/˘· |
| Darkness around me; flashed the dagger; | 9 | /˘·····/˘ |
| To interrupt his kiss the wretch had no time. | 11 | ··˘/······· |
| And long I trampled the headless corpse,-- | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| And silent and pale at the maid I stared. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| I remember her prayers, her flowing blood, | 9 | ·˘/˘···/· |
| But perished the girl, and with her my love. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The shawl I took from the head now dead | 9 | ········· |
| And wiped in silence the bleeding steel. | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| When came the darkness of eve, my serf | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Threw their bodies into the Danube's billows-- | 11 | ··/˘···/˘/˘ |
| Since then I kiss no charming eyes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Since then I know no cheerful days. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I gaze demented on the black shawl, | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| And my cold soul is torn by grief. | 8 | ········ |
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.