Abstract

This is a lively and readable guide to Alexander Pushkin’s novel in verse Eugene Onegin, a landmark of European Romanticism, and arguably the best of all Russian poetry. Professor Briggs addresses the question of how such remarkable poetry can have been composed about a rather banal plot, and considers the form of the work and its poetic techniques in detail. He offers fresh interpretations of the characters and events of the poem, and sets it against its European background. He discusses its influence - notably Tchaikovsky’s operatic version - and points to its life-affirming philosophy and spirit of joyfulness. The book includes a chronological chart and a guide to further reading.\textbackslash n\textbackslash nPreface\textbackslash nNote on translations and references\textbackslash nChronology\textbackslash n1 The poetry of Eugene Onegin\textbackslash nIntroduction\textbackslash nThe Russian language\textbackslash nProblems of translation\textbackslash nThe Onegin stanza\textbackslash nA close look at two stanzas\textbackslash n2 Shades of unreality\textbackslash nThe story\textbackslash nThe presence of Pushkin\textbackslash nInherited perceptions of Eugene Onegin\textbackslash nMorning into midnight\textbackslash n3 The unreal reputations of Eugene Onegin and\textbackslash nTatyana Larina\textbackslash nEugene Onegin\textbackslash nGuilty or not guilty?\textbackslash nImaginary superiority\textbackslash nThe Byronic background\textbackslash nIn and out of character\textbackslash nTatyana Larina\textbackslash nThe two Tatyanas and two Eugenes\textbackslash nThe two rejection scenes\textbackslash nThe earlier Tatyana\textbackslash n4 Olga, Lensky and the duel\textbackslash nThe younger sister\textbackslash nVladimir Lensky 81\textbackslash nThe duel 87\textbackslash nWhy did he do it? 94\textbackslash n5 It is in verse, but is it a novel? 99\textbackslash nThe careless fruit of my amusements’ 100\textbackslash nAn educated pen 101\textbackslash nIn search of the serious content 103\textbackslash nPrivacy of conscience and moral awareness 103\textbackslash nHistory and fate 104\textbackslash nThe possibility and closeness of happiness 105\textbackslash nDealing with death 108\textbackslash nKnowledge of human nature 110\textbackslash nEugene Onegin as a landmark 111\textbackslash nGuide to English translations and further reading 114.