The Cloister on Kazbek
The Cloister on Kazbek - meaning Summary
Yearning for Spiritual Ascent
Pushkin’s poem presents Mount Kazbek’s cliffside cloister as a remote, cloud-hidden sanctuary that embodies spiritual aspiration. The speaker contrasts the earthly gorges and worldly farewells with the luminous, timeless monastery that seems like an ark of heaven. The poem expresses longing to leave the valleys behind and ascend into a sacred, tranquil cell near God, framing physical ascent as a metaphor for religious or inner transcendence.
Read Complete AnalysesHigh, o’er the family of tops, lead, Kazbek, your royal dome’s spread, And shines with timeless beams around. Your cloister, hidden behind clouds, Like some ark of the heaven-land, Glides, vaguely seen over the mounds. Oh, distant and desired strand! There, saying ‘farewell’ to the gorges, To lift self to the free abode – Into the cell o’er clouds, gorgeous, Into the neighborhood of God! Translated by Yevgeny Bonver
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