The last word in Kinbote¡¯s Commentary to Shade¡¯s poem is Gradus:
God will help me, I trust, to rid myself of any desire to follow the example of the other two characters in this work. I shall continue to exist. I may assume other disguises, other forms, but I shall try to exist. I may turn up yet, on another campus, as an old, happy, health heterosexual Russian, a writer in exile, sans fame, sans future, sans audience, sans anything but his art. I may join forces with Odon in a new motion picture: Escape from Zembla (ball in the palace, bomb in the palace square). I may pander to the simple tastes of theatrical critics and cook up a stage play, an old-fashioned melodrama with three principles: a lunatic who intends to kill an imaginary king, another lunatic who imagines himself to be that king, and a distinguished old poet who stumbles by chance into the line of fire, and perishes in the clash between the two figments. Oh, I may do many things! History permitting, I may sail back to my recovered kingdom, and with a great sob greet the gray coastline and the gleam of a roof in the rain. I may huddle and groan in a madhouse. But whatever happens, wherever the scene is laid, somebody, somewhere, will quietly set out--somebody has already set out, somebody still rather far away is buying a ticket, is boarding a bus, a ship, a plane, has landed, is walking toward a million photographers, and presently he will ring at my door--a bigger, more respectable, more competent Gradus. (note to Line 1000)
Shade¡¯s murderer, Jakob Gradus is also known as Jack Degree. In a letter of May 16, 1835, to Pushkin Katenin compares Kukolnik (a schoolmate of Gogol) to Prince Shakhovskoy and says that, contrary to Boileau¡¯s words, il est bien des degr¨¦s du m¨¦diocre au pire (there are many degrees from mediocre to worst):
§³§å§Õ§ñ §á§à §ä§Ó§à§Ú§Þ, §å§Ó§í! §ã§Ý§Ú§ê§Ü§à§Þ §á§â§Ñ§Ó§Õ§à§á§à§Õ§à§Ò§ß§í§Þ §ã§Ý§à§Ó§Ñ§Þ, §ä§í §å§Þ§â§×§ê§î (§Õ§Ñ§Û §Ò§à§Ô §ä§Ö§Ò§Ö §Þ§ß§à§Ô§à §Ý§Ö§ä §Ù§Õ§â§Ñ§Ó§ã§ä§Ó§à§Ó§Ñ§ä§î!) §£§Ö§ß§Ú§ñ§Þ§Ú§ß§à§Þ §â§å§ã§ã§Ü§Ú§ç §á§à§ï§ä§à§Ó, §ð§ß§Ö§Û§ê§Ú§Þ §Ú§Ù §ã§í§ß§à§Ó §ª§Ù§â§Ñ§Ú§Ý§ñ, §Ñ §ß§à§Ó§à§Ö §á§à§Ü§à§Ý§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö §Ò§Ö§Ù§ì§Ú§Þ§ñ§ß§ß§à§Ö; §Ú§Ò§à §Ú§Þ§Ö§ß§Ñ, §á§à§Õ§à§Ò§ß§í§Ö §¬§å§Ü§à§Ý§î§ß§Ú§Ü§å, sentent fort le Perrault. §¤§Õ§Ö §Ö§Þ§å §Õ§à §º§Ñ§ç§à§Ó§ã§Ü§à§Ô§à? §µ §ä§à§Ô§à §Ó§Ö§Ù§Õ§Ö §Ü§à§Ö-§é§ä§à §ç§à§â§à§ê§à. §³§Ó§à§ñ §³§Ö§Þ§î§ñ §Þ§Ú§Ý§Ñ, §Ó §¡§â§Ú§ã§ä§à§æ§Ñ§ß§Ö §è§Ö§Ý§Ñ§ñ §Ú§Õ§Ö§ñ, §Ú §Ò§å§Õ§î §Ó§ã§× §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ó§ä§à§â§à§Û §Ñ§Ü§ä, §Ó§í§ê§Ý§Ñ §Ò§í §Ó §ã§Ó§à§×§Þ §â§à§Õ§Ö §ç§à§â§à§ê§Ñ§ñ §Ü§à§Þ§Ö§Õ§Ú§ñ; §Ü§ß§ñ§Ù§î §ß§Ö §ä§ë§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§í§Û §ç§å§Õ§à§Ø§ß§Ú§Ü §Ú §ß§Ö §Ó§Ö§Ý§Ú§Ü§Ú§Û §á§à§ï§ä, §ß§à §Ó§à§á§â§Ö§Ü§Ú Boileau:
Il est bien des degr¨¦s du m¨¦diocre au pire
§ã§Ú§â§Ö§é§î §Õ§à §¬§å§Ü§à§Ý§î§ß§Ú§Ü§Ñ; §Ú §Ü§Ñ§Ü§Ú§Þ§Ú §ã§ä§Ú§ç§Ñ§Þ§Ú, §ã §ä§Ö§ç §á§à§â §Ü§Ñ§Ü §à§ß§Ú §Ó§Ù§Ò§å§ß§ä§à§Ó§Ñ§Ý§Ú§ã§î §á§â§à§ä§Ú§Ó§å §Ó§ã§Ö§ç §á§â§Ñ§Ó§Ú§Ý, §à§ß§Ú §á§Ú§ê§å§ä!
Katenin quotes Pushkin¡¯s prediction that he (Pushkin) will die Veniaminom russkikh poetov, yuneyshim iz synov Izrailya (as the Benjamin of Russian poets, the youngest if Israel¡¯s sons).
In a letter of Sept. 9, 1830, to Pletnyov (to whom Eugene Onegin is dedicated) Pushkin quotes the last words of his uncle Vasiliy Lvovich (who died on Aug. 20, 1830): kak skuchny statyi Katenina! (how boring are the articles of Katenin!):
§¢§Ö§Õ§ß§í§Û §Õ§ñ§Õ§ñ §£§Ñ§ã§Ú§Ý§Ú§Û! §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ö§ê§î §Ý§Ú §Ö§Ô§à §á§à§ã§Ý§Ö§Õ§ß§Ú§Ö §ã§Ý§à§Ó§Ñ? §á§â§Ú§Ö§Ù§Ø§Ñ§ð §Ü §ß§Ö§Þ§å, §ß§Ñ§ç§à§Ø§å §Ö§Ô§à §Ó §Ù§Ñ§Ò§í§ä§î§Ú, §à§é§ß§å§Ó§ê§Ú§ã§î, §à§ß §å§Ù§ß§Ñ§Ý §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ, §á§à§Ô§à§â§Ö§Ó§Ñ§Ý, §á§à§ä§à§Þ, §á§à§Þ§à§Ý§é§Ñ§Ó: §Ü§Ñ§Ü §ã§Ü§å§é§ß§í §ã§ä§Ñ§ä§î§Ú §¬§Ñ§ä§Ö§ß§Ú§ß§Ñ! §Ú §Ò§à§Ý§Ö§Ö §ß§Ú §ã§Ý§à§Ó§Ñ. §¬§Ñ§Ü§à§Ó§à? §Ó§à§ä §é§ä§à §Ù§ß§Ñ§é§Ú§ä §å§Þ§Ö§â§Ö§ä§î §é§Ö§ã§ä§ß§í§Þ §Ó§à§Ú§ß§à§Þ, §ß§Ñ §ë§Ú§ä§Ö, le cri de guerre a la bouche!
Vasiliy Lvovich Pushkin is the author of Opasnyi sosed (¡°The Dangerous Neighbor,¡± 1811). In a letter of Dec. 28, 1816, to his uncle Pushkin calls Vasiliy Lvovich Nestor Arzamasa (the Nestor of Arzamas)* and Opasnyi dlya pevtsov sosed (a neighbor dangerous for bards):
§´§Ö§Ò§Ö, §à §¯§Ö§ã§ä§à§â §¡§â§Ù§Ñ§Þ§Ñ§ã§Ñ,
§£ §Ò§à§ñ§ç §Ó§à§ã§á§Ú§ä§Ñ§ß§ß§í§Û §á§à§ï§ä, ¡ª
§°§á§Ñ§ã§ß§í§Û §Õ§Ý§ñ §á§Ö§Ó§è§à§Ó §ã§à§ã§Ö§Õ
§¯§Ñ §ã§ä§â§Ñ§ê§ß§à§Û §Ó§í§ã§à§ä§Ö §±§Ñ§â§ß§Ñ§ã§Ñ,
§©§Ñ§ë§Ú§ä§ß§Ú§Ü §Ó§Ü§å§ã§Ñ, §Ô§â§à§Ù§ß§í§Û §£§à§ä!
§´§Ö§Ò§Ö, §Þ§à§Û §Õ§ñ§Õ§ñ, §Ó §ß§à§Ó§í§Û §Ô§à§Õ
§£§Ö§ã§Ö§Ý§î§ñ §á§â§Ö§Ø§ß§Ö§Ô§à §Ø§Ö§Ý§Ñ§ß§î§Ö
§ª §ã§Ý§Ñ§Ò§í§Û §ã§Ö§â§Õ§è§Ñ §á§Ö§â§Ö§Ó§à§Õ ¡ª
§£ §ã§ä§Ú§ç§Ñ§ç §Ú §á§â§à§Ù§à§ð §á§à§ã§Ý§Ñ§ß§î§Ö.
§£ §á§Ú§ã§î§Þ§Ö §£§Ñ§ê§Ö§Þ §£§í §ß§Ñ§Ù§í§Ó§Ñ§Ý§Ú §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §Ò§â§Ñ§ä§à§Þ, §ß§à §ñ §ß§Ö §à§ã§Þ§Ö§Ý§Ú§Ý§ã§ñ §ß§Ñ§Ù§Ó§Ñ§ä§î §£§Ñ§ã §ï§ä§Ú§Þ §Ú§Þ§Ö§ß§Ö§Þ, §ã§Ý§Ú§ê§Ü§à§Þ §Õ§Ý§ñ §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §Ý§Ö§ã§ä§ß§í§Þ.
§Á §ß§Ö §ã§à§Ó§ã§Ö§Þ §Ö§ë§Ö §â§Ñ§ã§ã§å§Õ§à§Ü §á§à§ä§Ö§â§ñ§Ý,
§°§ä §â§Ú§æ§Þ §Ò§Ñ§ç§Ú§é§Ö§ã§Ü§Ú§ç §ê§Ñ§ä§Ñ§ñ§ã§î §ß§Ñ §±§Ö§Ô§Ñ§ã§Ö.
§Á §Ù§ß§Ñ§ð §ã§Ñ§Þ §ã§Ö§Ò§ñ, §ç§à§ä§î §â§Ñ§Õ, §ç§à§ä§ñ §ß§Ö §â§Ñ§Õ,
§¯§Ö§ä, §ß§Ö§ä, §Ó§í §Þ§ß§Ö §ã§à§Ó§ã§Ö§Þ §ß§Ö §Ò§â§Ñ§ä,
§£§í §Õ§ñ§Õ§ñ §Þ§à§Û §Ú §ß§Ñ §±§Ñ§â§ß§Ñ§ã§Ö.
According to Pushkin, he did not quite lose his mind, stumbling on Pegasus because of Bacchic rhymes. Pushkin says that Vasiliy Lvovich (who, in a letter to his nephew, called him ¡°my brother¡±) is his uncle even on Parnassus. Gradus ad Parnassum (a theoretical and pedagogical work written in Latin) is sometimes shortened to Gradus.
Shade¡¯s dangerous neighbor, Kinbote invites the poet to a glass of wine:
"A suggestion," I said, quivering. "I have at my place half a gallon of Tokay. I'm ready to share my favorite wine with my favorite poet. We shall have for dinner a knackle of walnuts, a couple of large tomatoes, and a bunch of bananas. And if you agree to show me your 'finished product,' there will be another treat: I promise to divulge to you why I gave you, or rather who gave you, your theme."
"What theme?" said Shade absently, as he leaned on my arm and gradually recovered the use of his numb limb.
"Our blue inenubilable Zembla, and the red-caped Steinmann, and the motorboat in the sea cave, and--"
"Ah,"said Shade, "I think I guessed your secret quite some time ago. But all the same I shall sample your wine with pleasure. Okay, I can manage by myself now." (note to Line 991)
In his Otvet Kateninu (¡°Reply to Katenin,¡± 1828) Pushkin quotes a line from Derzhavin¡¯s poem Filosofy p¡¯yanyi i trezvyi (¡°Philosophers, Drunk and Sober,¡± 1789), Ne p¡¯yu, lyubeznyi moy sosed! (¡°I do not drink, my gent neighbor!¡±):
§¯§Ñ§á§â§Ñ§ã§ß§à, §á§Ý§Ñ§Þ§Ö§ß§ß§í§Û §á§à§ï§ä,
§³§Ó§à§Û §é§å§Õ§ß§í§Û §Ü§å§Ò§à§Ü §Þ§ß§Ö §á§à§Õ§ß§à§ã§Ú§ê§î
§ª §Ó§í§á§Ú§ä§î §Ù§Ñ §Ù§Õ§à§â§à§Ó§î§Ö §á§â§à§ã§Ú§ê§î:
§¯§Ö §á§î§ð, §Ý§ð§Ò§Ö§Ù§ß§í§Û §Þ§à§Û §ã§à§ã§Ö§Õ!
§´§à§Ó§Ñ§â§Ú§ë §Þ§Ú§Ý§í§Û, §ß§à §Ý§å§Ü§Ñ§Ó§í§Û,
§´§Ó§à§Û §Ü§å§Ò§à§Ü §á§à§Ý§à§ß §ß§Ö §Ó§Ú§ß§à§Þ,
§¯§à §å§á§à§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§à§Û §à§ä§â§Ñ§Ó§à§Û:
§°§ß §Ù§Ñ§Þ§Ñ§ß§Ú§ä §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §á§à§ä§à§Þ
§´§Ö§Ò§Ö §Ó§à §ã§Ý§Ö§Õ §à§á§ñ§ä§î §Ù§Ñ §ã§Ý§Ñ§Ó§à§Û.
§¯§Ö §ä§Ñ§Ü §Ý§Ú §à§á§í§ä§ß§í§Û §Ô§å§ã§Ñ§â,
§£§Ö§â§Ò§å§ñ §â§Ö§Ü§â§å§ä§Ñ, §á§à§Õ§ß§à§ã§Ú§ä
§¦§Þ§å §Ó§Ö§ã§×§Ý§í§Û §£§Ñ§Ü§ç§Ñ §Õ§Ñ§â,
§±§à§Ü§Ñ §Ó§à§Ú§ß§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§í§Û §å§Ô§Ñ§â
§¦§Ô§à §ß§Ñ §Þ§Ö§ã§ä§Ö §ß§Ö §á§à§Õ§Ü§à§ã§Ú§ä?
§Á §ã§Ñ§Þ §ã§Ý§å§Ø§Ú§Ó§í§Û ¡ª §Þ§ß§Ö §Õ§à§Þ§à§Û
§±§à§â§Ñ §å§Ò§â§Ñ§ä§î§ã§ñ §ß§Ñ §á§à§Ü§à§Û.
§°§ã§ä§Ñ§ß§î§ã§ñ §ä§í §Ó §ã§ä§â§à§ñ§ç §±§Ñ§â§ß§Ñ§ã§Ñ;
§±§â§Ö§Õ §Õ§Ö§Ý§à§Þ §Ü§å§Ò§à§Ü §ß§Ñ§Ý§Ú§Ó§Ñ§Û
§ª §Ý§Ñ§Ó§â §¬§à§â§ß§Ö§Ý§ñ §Ú§Ý§Ú §´§Ñ§ã§ã§Ñ
§°§Õ§Ú§ß §ã §á§à§ç§Þ§Ö§Ý§î§ñ §á§à§Ø§Ú§ß§Ñ§Û.
In the penultimate line Pushkin mentions lavr Kornelya ili Tassa (¡°the laurel of Corneille or Tasso¡±). Pushkin¡¯s poem is a reply to Katenin¡¯s Staraya byl¡¯ (¡°A True Story of Old,¡± 1828), a parody on Pushkin¡¯s Stansy (Stanzas, 1826). In Katenin¡¯s poem Pushkin is portrayed as a castrated Greek singer:
§£§í§ã§à§Ü §Ú §á§â§Ö§Ý§Ö§ã§ä§Ö§ß, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Õ§Ö§Ó§Ú§è§Ñ, §Ô§â§Ö§Ü.
§¬§â§Ñ§ã§Ñ§Ó§è§Ñ §Ó §Þ§Ý§Ñ§Õ§Ö§ß§ã§ä§Ó§Ö §ã§Ü§à§á§Ú§Ý§Ú;
§°§ß §á§Ý§Ñ§Ü§Ñ§Ý §ã§ß§Ñ§é§Ñ§Ý§Ñ: §Ü§Ñ§Ü §ã§Ý§Ö§á §é§Ö§Ý§à§Ó§Ö§Ü!
§¦§Þ§å §Ø§Ö §Õ§à§Ò§â§à §ã§à§ä§Ó§à§â§Ú§Ý§Ú:
§³§á§à§Ü§à§Û§ß§í§Û, §Ò§à§Ô§Ñ§ä§í§Û §å§ã§ä§â§à§Ú§Ý§Ú §Ó§Ö§Ü
§ª §Þ§Ú§Ý§à§ã§ä§î§ð §è§Ñ§â§ã§Ü§à§Û §á§à§é§ä§Ú§Ý§Ú.
Pushkin¡¯s Stanzas begin as follows:
V nadezhde slavy i dobra
Smotryu vperyod ya bez boyazni¡
In the hope of glory and good
I look forward without fear¡
Hazel Shade¡¯s ¡°real¡± name seems to be Nadezhda Botkin (an American scholar of Russian descent, Professor Vsevolod Botkin went mad and became Shade, Kinbote and Gradus after the suicide of his daughter). Nadezhda Botkin drowned herself in Lake Omega. Russian for ¡°lake¡± is ozero. In One: XVIII of Eugene Onegin Pushkin, among other authors, mentions Ozerov, Katenin, Corneille and Shakhovskoy:
§£§à§Ý§ê§Ö§Ò§ß§í§Û §Ü§â§Ñ§Û! §ä§Ñ§Þ §Ó §ã§ä§Ñ§â§í §Ô§à§Õ§í,
§³§Ñ§ä§Ú§â§í §ã§Þ§Ö§Ý§í§Û §Ó§Ý§Ñ§ã§ä§Ö§Ý§Ú§ß,
§¢§Ý§Ú§ã§ä§Ñ§Ý §¶§à§ß§Ó§Ú§Ù§Ú§ß, §Õ§â§å§Ô §ã§Ó§à§Ò§à§Õ§í,
§ª §á§Ö§â§Ö§Ú§Þ§é§Ú§Ó§í§Û §¬§ß§ñ§Ø§ß§Ú§ß;
§´§Ñ§Þ §°§Ù§Ö§â§à§Ó §ß§Ö§Ó§à§Ý§î§ß§í §Õ§Ñ§ß§Ú
§¯§Ñ§â§à§Õ§ß§í§ç §ã§Ý§×§Ù, §â§å§Ü§à§á§Ý§Ö§ã§Ü§Ñ§ß§Ú§Û
§³ §Þ§Ý§Ñ§Õ§à§Û §³§Ö§Þ§×§ß§à§Ó§à§Û §Õ§Ö§Ý§Ú§Ý;
§´§Ñ§Þ §ß§Ñ§ê §¬§Ñ§ä§Ö§ß§Ú§ß §Ó§à§ã§Ü§â§Ö§ã§Ú§Ý
§¬§à§â§ß§Ö§Ý§ñ §Ô§Ö§ß§Ú§Û §Ó§Ö§Ý§Ú§é§Ñ§Ó§í§Û;
§´§Ñ§Þ §Ó§í§Ó§Ö§Ý §Ü§à§Ý§Ü§Ú§Û §º§Ñ§ç§à§Ó§ã§Ü§à§Û
§³§Ó§à§Ú§ç §Ü§à§Þ§Ö§Õ§Ú§Û §ê§å§Þ§ß§í§Û §â§à§Û,
§´§Ñ§Þ §Ú §¥§Ú§Õ§Ý§à §Ó§Ö§ß§é§Ñ§Ý§ã§ñ §ã§Ý§Ñ§Ó§à§Û,
§´§Ñ§Þ, §ä§Ñ§Þ §á§à§Õ §ã§Ö§ß§Ú§ð §Ü§å§Ý§Ú§ã
§®§Ý§Ñ§Õ§í§Ö §Õ§ß§Ú §Þ§à§Ú §ß§Ö§ã§Ý§Ú§ã§î.
A magic region! There in olden years
the sovereign of courageous satire,
Fonv¨ªzin shone, the friend of freedom,
and adaptorial Knyazhnin;
there Ozerov involuntary tributes
of public tears, of plaudits
shared with the young Semy¨®nova;
there our Kat¨¦nin resurrected
Corneille¡¯s majestic genius;
there caustic Shahovsk¨®y brought forth
the noisy swarm of his comedies;
there, too, Didelot with glory crowned himself;
there, there, beneath the shelter of coulisses,
my young days swept along.
In One: XLVIII: 14 of EO Pushkin mentions napev torkvatovykh oktav (the strain of Torquato¡¯s octaves):
§³ §Õ§å§ê§à§ð, §á§à§Ý§ß§à§Û §ã§à§Ø§Ñ§Ý§Ö§ß§Ú§Û,
§ª §à§á§Ö§â§ê§Ú§ã§ñ §ß§Ñ §Ô§â§Ñ§ß§Ú§ä,
§³§ä§à§ñ§Ý §Ù§Ñ§Õ§å§Þ§é§Ú§Ó§à §¦§Ó§Ô§Ö§ß§Ú§Û,
§¬§Ñ§Ü §à§á§Ú§ã§Ñ§Ý §ã§Ö§Ò§ñ §á§Ú§Ú§ä.
§£§ã§× §Ò§í§Ý§à §ä§Ú§ç§à; §Ý§Ú§ê§î §ß§à§é§ß§í§Ö
§±§Ö§â§Ö§Ü§Ý§Ú§Ü§Ñ§Ý§Ú§ã§î §é§Ñ§ã§à§Ó§í§Ö,
§¥§Ñ §Õ§â§à§Ø§Ö§Ü §à§ä§Õ§Ñ§Ý§Ö§ß§ß§í§Û §ã§ä§å§Ü
§³ §®§Ú§Ý§î§à§ß§ß§à§Û §â§Ñ§Ù§Õ§Ñ§Ó§Ñ§Ý§ã§ñ §Ó§Õ§â§å§Ô;
§§Ú§ê§î §Ý§à§Õ§Ü§Ñ, §Ó§×§ã§Ý§Ñ§Þ§Ú §Þ§Ñ§ç§Ñ§ñ,
§±§Ý§í§Ý§Ñ §á§à §Õ§â§Ö§Þ§Ý§ð§ë§Ö§Û §â§Ö§Ü§Ö:
§ª §ß§Ñ§ã §á§Ý§Ö§ß§ñ§Ý§Ú §Ó§Õ§Ñ§Ý§Ö§Ü§Ö
§²§à§Ø§à§Ü §Ú §á§Ö§ã§ß§ñ §å§Õ§Ñ§Ý§Ñ§ñ...
§¯§à §ã§Ý§Ñ§ë§Ö, §ã§â§Ö§Õ§î §ß§à§é§ß§í§ç §Ù§Ñ§Ò§Ñ§Ó,
§¯§Ñ§á§Ö§Ó §´§à§â§Ü§Ó§Ñ§ä§à§Ó§í§ç §à§Ü§ä§Ñ§Ó!
With soul full of regrets,
and leaning on the granite,
Eugene stood pensive¡ª
as his own self the Poet has described.
¡¯Twas stillness all; only the night
sentries to one another called,
and the far clip-clop of some droshky
from the Mil¡¯onnaya resounded all at once;
only a boat, oars swinging,
swam on the dozing river,
and, in the distance, captivated us
a horn and a daredevil song.
But, sweeter ¡¯mid the pastimes of the night
is the strain of Torquato¡¯s octaves.
Torquato is the Italian poet Torquato Tasso (1544-95) whose epic La Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered, 1581) is written in octaves. At the end of his footnote to Umirayushchiy Tass (¡°The Dying Tasso,¡± 1817) Batyushkov mentions ten¡¯ velikogo stikhotvortsa (the shade of the great poet):
§¥§Ñ §ß§Ö §à§ã§Ü§à§â§Ò§Ú§ä§ã§ñ §ä§Ö§ß§î §Ó§Ö§Ý§Ú§Ü§à§Ô§à §ã§ä§Ú§ç§à§ä§Ó§à§â§è§Ñ, §é§ä§à §ã§í§ß §å§Ô§â§ð§Þ§à§Ô§à §ã§Ö§Ó§Ö§â§Ñ, §à§Ò§ñ§Ù§Ñ§ß§ß§í§Û «§ª§Ö§â§å§ã§Ñ§Ý§Ú§Þ§å» §Ý§å§é§ê§Ú§Þ§Ú, §ã§Ý§Ñ§Õ§à§ã§ä§ß§í§Þ§Ú §Þ§Ú§ß§å§ä§Ñ§Þ§Ú §Ó §Ø§Ú§Ù§ß§Ú, §à§ã§Þ§Ö§Ý§Ú§Ý§ã§ñ §á§â§Ú§ß§Ö§ã§ä§î §ã§Ü§å§Õ§ß§å§ð §Ô§à§â§ã§ä§î §è§Ó§Ö§ä§à§Ó §Ó §Ö§× §Ó§à§ã§á§à§Þ§Ú§ß§Ñ§ß§Ú§Ö!
In his notes on the margins of the Second Part of Batyushkov¡¯s Opyty v stikhakh i proze (Essais in Verse and in Prose, 1817) Pushkin criticizes Batyushkov¡¯s elegy and says that this is the dying Vasiliy Lvovich, not Torquato:
§¿§ä§Ñ §ï§Ý§Ö§Ô§Ú§ñ, §Ü§à§ß§Ö§é§ß§à, §ß§Ú§Ø§Ö §ã§Ó§à§Ö§Û §ã§Ý§Ñ§Ó§í. ¡ª §Á §ß§Ö §Ó§Ú§Õ§Ñ§Ý §ï§Ý§Ö§Ô§Ú§Ú, §Õ§Ñ§Ó§ê§Ö§Û §¢§Ñ§ä§ð§ê§Ü§à§Ó§å §á§à§Ó§à§Õ §Ü §ã§Ó§à§Ö§Þ§å §ã§ä§Ú§ç§à§ä§Ó§à§â§Ö§ß§Ú§ð, §ß§à §ã§â§Ñ§Ó§ß§Ú§ä§Ö¡ª«§³§Ö§ä§à§Ó§Ñ§ß§Ú§ñ §´§Ñ§ã§ã§Ñ» §á§à§ï§ä§Ñ §¢§Ñ§Û§â§à§ß§Ñ §ã §ã§Ú§Þ §ä§à§ë§Ú§Þ §á§â§à§Ú§Ù§Ó§Ö§Õ§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö§Þ. §´§Ñ§ã§ã §Õ§í§ê§Ñ§Ý §Ý§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î§ð §Ú §Ó§ã§Ö§Þ§Ú §ã§ä§â§Ñ§ã§ä§ñ§Þ§Ú, §Ñ §Ù§Õ§Ö§ã§î, §Ü§â§à§Þ§Ö §ã§Ý§Ñ§Ó§à§Ý§ð§Ò§Ú§ñ §Ú §Õ§à§Ò§â§à§Õ§å§ê§Ú§ñ (§ã§Þ. §Ù§Ñ§Þ§Ö§é§Ñ§ß§Ú§Ö), §ß§Ú§é§Ö§Ô§à §ß§Ö §Ó§Ú§Õ§ß§à. §¿§ä§à ¡ª §å§Þ§Ú§â§Ñ§ð§ë§Ú§Û §£§Ñ§ã§Ú§Ý§Ú§Û §§î§Ó§à§Ó§Ú§é, §Ñ §ß§Ö §´§à§â§Ü§Ó§Ñ§ä§à.
In his marginal notes Pushkin praises Batyushkov¡¯s poem Nadezhda (¡°Hope,¡± 1815) but says that, as a title, Vera (¡°Faith¡±) would have suited it better:
§¯§Ñ§Õ§Ö§Ø§Õ§Ñ* (§ã§ä§â. 9¡ª10) * §´§à§é§ß§Ö§Ö §Ò§í §£§Ö§â§Ñ.
§£§ã§× §Õ§Ñ§â §Ö§Ô§à, §Ú §Ü§â§Ñ§ê§Ö §Ó§ã§Ö§ç ** ** §¯§Ö§å§Õ§Ñ§é§ß§í§Û
§¥§Ñ§â§à§Ó §ß§Ñ§Õ§Ö§Ø§Õ§Ñ §Ý§å§é§ê§Ö§Û §Ø§Ú§Ù§ß§Ú! §á§Ö§â§Ö§ß§à§ã.
§±§â§Ú§á§Ú§ã§Ü§Ñ §á§à§Õ §ã§ä§Ú§ç§à§ä§Ó§à§â§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö§Þ:
§±§â§Ö§Ü§â§Ñ§ã§ß§à
In Six: XIII: 12 of EO Pushkin compares Olga Larin to vetrenaya nadezhda (giddy hope):
§²§Ö§ê§Ñ§ã§î §Ü§à§Ü§Ö§ä§Ü§å §ß§Ö§ß§Ñ§Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö§ä§î,
§¬§Ú§á§ñ§ë§Ú§Û §§Ö§ß§ã§Ü§Ú§Û §ß§Ö §ç§à§ä§Ö§Ý
§±§â§Ö§Õ §á§à§Ö§Õ§Ú§ß§Ü§à§Þ §°§Ý§î§Ô§å §Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö§ä§î,
§¯§Ñ §ã§à§Ý§ß§è§Ö, §ß§Ñ §é§Ñ§ã§í §ã§Þ§à§ä§â§Ö§Ý,
§®§Ñ§ç§ß§å§Ý §â§å§Ü§à§ð §ß§Ñ§á§à§ã§Ý§Ö§Õ§à§Ü --
§ª §à§é§å§ä§Ú§Ý§ã§ñ §å §ã§à§ã§Ö§Õ§à§Ü.
§°§ß §Õ§å§Þ§Ñ§Ý §°§Ý§Ú§ß§î§Ü§å §ã§Þ§å§ä§Ú§ä§î
§³§Ó§à§Ú§Þ §á§â§Ú§Ö§Ù§Õ§à§Þ §á§à§â§Ñ§Ù§Ú§ä§î;
§¯§Ö §ä§å§ä-§ä§à §Ò§í§Ý§à: §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ú §á§â§Ö§Ø§Õ§Ö,
§¯§Ñ §Ó§ã§ä§â§Ö§é§å §Ò§Ö§Õ§ß§à§Ô§à §á§Ö§Ó§è§Ñ
§±§â§í§Ô§ß§å§Ý§Ñ §°§Ý§Ú§ß§î§Ü§Ñ §ã §Ü§â§í§Ý§î§è§Ñ,
§±§à§Õ§à§Ò§ß§à §Ó§Ö§ä§â§Ö§ß§à§Û §ß§Ñ§Õ§Ö§Ø§Õ§Ö,
§²§Ö§Ù§Ó§Ñ, §Ò§Ö§ã§á§Ö§é§ß§Ñ, §Ó§Ö§ã§Ö§Ý§Ñ,
§¯§å §ä§à§é§ß§à §ä§Ñ§Ü §Ø§Ö, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ò§í§Ý§Ñ.
Having resolved to hate the flirt,
boiling Lenski did not wish
to see Olga before the duel.
The sun, his watch he kept consulting;
gave up at length ¨C
and found himself at the fair neighbors¡¯.
He thought he would embarrass Olinka,
confound her by his coming;¡¯
but nothing of the sort: just as before
to meet the poor bard
Olinka skipped down from the porch,
akin to giddy hope,
spry, carefree, gay ¨C
well, just the same as she had been.
In Line 3 of the preceding stanza Pushkin calls Zaretski (Lenski¡¯s second in his duel with Onegin) sosed velerechivyi (the grandiloquent neighbor).
In his Commentary Kinbote (who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled King of Zembla) mentions a contented Sosed (Zembla¡¯s gigantic neighbor):
That King's reign (1936-1958) will be remembered by at least a few discerning historians as a peaceful and elegant one. Owing to a fluid system of judicious alliances, Mars in his time never marred the record. Internally, until corruption, betrayal, and Extremism penetrated it, the People's Place (parliament) worked in perfect harmony with the Royal Council. Harmony, indeed, was the reign's password. The polite arts and pure sciences flourished. Technicology, applied physics, industrial chemistry and so forth were suffered to thrive. A small skyscraper of ultramarine glass was steadily rising in Onhava. The climate seemed to be improving. Taxation had become a thing of beauty. The poor were a little richer, and the rich a little poorer (in accordance what may be known some day as Kinbote's Law). Medical care was spreading to the confines of the state; less and less often, on his tour of the country, every autumn, when the rowans hung coral-heavy and the puddles tinkled with Muscovy glass, the friendly and eloquent monarch would be interrupted by a pertussal "backdraucht" in a crowd of schoolchildren. Parachuting had become a popular sport. Everybody, in a word, was content--even the political mischiefmakers who were contentedly making mischief paid by a contented Sosed (Zembla's gigantic neighbor). But let us not pursue this tiresome subject. (note to Line 12)
In a letter of Apr. 11, 1831, to Pletnyov Pushkin asks Pletnyov (who was slow to reply to Pushkin¡¯s letters) if he is still alive and calls him ten¡¯ vozlyublennaya (the beloved shade):
§£§à§Ý§ñ §ä§Ó§à§ñ, §ä§í §ß§Ö§ã§ß§à§ã§Ö§ß: §ß§Ú §ã§ä§â§à§é§Ü§Ú §à§ä §ä§Ö§Ò§ñ §ß§Ö §Õ§à§Ø§Õ§×§ê§î§ã§ñ. §µ§Þ§Ö§â §ä§í, §é§ä§à §Ý§Ú? §¦§ã§Ý§Ú §ä§Ö§Ò§ñ §å§Ø§Ö §ß§Ö§ä §ß§Ñ §ã§Ó§Ö§ä§Ö, §ä§à, §ä§Ö§ß§î §Ó§à§Ù§Ý§ð§Ò§Ý§Ö§ß§ß§Ñ§ñ, §Ü§Ý§Ñ§ß§ñ§Û§ã§ñ §à§ä §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §¥§Ö§â§Ø§Ñ§Ó§Ú§ß§å §Ú §à§Ò§ß§Ú§Þ§Ú §Þ§à§Ö§Ô§à §¥§Ö§Ý§î§Ó§Ú§Ô§Ñ.
Pushkin mentions two dead poets: Derzhavin and Delvig. In Six: XX: 14 of EO Pushkin compares Lenski to drunken Delvig:
§¥§à§Þ§à§Û §á§â§Ú§Ö§ç§Ñ§Ó, §á§Ú§ã§ä§à§Ý§Ö§ä§í
§°§ß §à§ã§Þ§à§ä§â§Ö§Ý, §á§à§ä§à§Þ §Ó§Ý§à§Ø§Ú§Ý
§°§á§ñ§ä§î §Ú§ç §Ó §ñ§ë§Ú§Ü §Ú, §â§Ñ§Ù§Õ§Ö§ä§í§Û,
§±§â§Ú §ã§Ó§Ö§é§Ü§Ö, §º§Ú§Ý§Ý§Ö§â§Ñ §à§ä§Ü§â§í§Ý;
§¯§à §Þ§í§ã§Ý§î §à§Õ§ß§Ñ §Ö§Ô§à §à§Ò§ì§Ö§Þ§Ý§Ö§ä;
§£ §ß§×§Þ §ã§Ö§â§Õ§è§Ö §Ô§â§å§ã§ä§ß§à§Ö §ß§Ö §Õ§â§Ö§Þ§Ý§Ö§ä:
§³ §ß§Ö§Ú§Ù§ì§ñ§ã§ß§Ú§Þ§à§ð §Ü§â§Ñ§ã§à§Û
§°§ß §Ó§Ú§Õ§Ú§ä §°§Ý§î§Ô§å §á§â§Ö§Õ §ã§à§Ò§à§Û.
§£§Ý§Ñ§Õ§Ú§Þ§Ú§â §Ü§ß§Ú§Ô§å §Ù§Ñ§Ü§â§í§Ó§Ñ§Ö§ä,
§¢§Ö§â§×§ä §á§Ö§â§à; §Ö§Ô§à §ã§ä§Ú§ç§Ú,
§±§à§Ý§ß§í §Ý§ð§Ò§à§Ó§ß§à§Û §é§Ö§á§å§ç§Ú,
§©§Ó§å§é§Ñ§ä §Ú §Ý§î§ð§ä§ã§ñ. §ª§ç §é§Ú§ä§Ñ§Ö§ä
§°§ß §Ó§ã§Ý§å§ç, §Ó §Ý§Ú§â§Ú§é§Ö§ã§Ü§à§Þ §Ø§Ñ§â§å,
§¬§Ñ§Ü §¥§Ö§Ý§î§Ó§Ú§Ô §á§î§ñ§ß§í§Û §ß§Ñ §á§Ú§â§å.