To Vyazemsky
To Vyazemsky - fact Summary
Dedicated to Vyazemsky
This short address is explicitly dedicated to Pyotr Vyazemsky, a close friend and fellow poet. Pushkin warns against romantic praise of the sea or of Neptune, arguing that in contemporary life human actions have blurred divisions between sea and land and have made mankind into tyrants, prisoners, or traitors. The poem reads as a realist corrective to grandiose mythic imagery, urging a more sober view of human influence on nature.
Read Complete AnalysesSo the sea, an ancient killer, Ignites your genius bold and soon? You hail the trident of Neptune With sounds of your golden lyre. Don’t sing him fame. In our vile days, Grey Neptune – Earth’s ally and debtor. In every element, man stays A tyrant, prisoner or traitor. Translated by Yevgeny Bonver To Vyazemsky It seems the sea, that scourge of ages, contrives your genius to inspire? You laud upon your golden lyre old Neptune’s trident as he rages. Don’t waste your praise. These days you’ll find that sea and land have no division. On any element mankind is tyrant, traitor, or in prison. Translated by Alan Myers
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