On Pushkin's "Onegin"

Thoughts on “Eugene Onegin” by Alexander Pushkin (1833)

“There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.”
- William Shakespeare.
Brutus, in Julius Caesar, act 4, sc. 2, l. (1623).

I read again Eugene Onegin,
Though not in its native tongue,
(I read a really good translation,
James Fallen, Oxford Press, the one).

Here Pushkin tells with deep concern,
That as we journey through our life,
As Shakespeare told us, we must learn,
To follow Fate or endure strife.

I love the flow of Pushkin’s verses,
Love the thoughts with which they’re filled,
The rhythm of his words and phrases,
Fills me with a happy lilt.

He writes of youthful joys and sorrows,
Pain and happiness alike,
Portraying both with depth he borrowed,
From observing truth and life.

His story, told with such precision,
Of the woes of searching youth,
Who fail to see that Fate’s decisions
Guide them to their happy truth.

This is his most important message,
Fate will guide us to our goal,
Of joy and peace and happiness,
If we submit to Him our will.

And yet one part of Pushkin’s writing,
I perceive as fatal flaw,
His focus more on pain and suffering
Than we have in life we know.

What morbid need did he perceive
To have Onegin kill his friend?
Such is not life and easily
Could be avoided in the end.

His story would be better told
If it had more reflected life,
Could still have taught us lessons old,
Could still have shown the hurt and strife.

So in the end I’m left with sadness,
When uplifted I would feel,
I’d rather have been left with gladness,
Guided to a life ideal.

Yet still I understand his motive,
As in life, his willful youth,
Did not accept gifts they were given,
Not knowing universal truth.

And so they suffered, suffered dearly,
Suffered pain their whole lives through,
(Or died too young!) Not knowing clearly,
From their errors pains accrue.

So let’s not do as Pushkin does,
But let us all learn from this Bard,
Accept the place that Fate may lead us,
Live a life that’s truly charmed.

© 100103 Petit Poet