The cry of Yaroslavna Zabolotsky. Yaroslavna's real cry

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" - famous literary monument Ancient Rus', in which the author talks about Prince Igor’s unsuccessful campaign against the Polovtsians at the end of the 12th century.

One of the parts of the poem is “Yaroslavna’s Lament,” which describes the moment of grief of Igor’s wife, Yaroslavna, about the prince’s unsuccessful campaign and his death during it. This part of the poem is recognized as one of the best. Yaroslavna acts as an image, a symbol eternal love to my husband.

The image of Yaroslavna represents a family, a home, careful attitude to her husband, longing for him, because Prince Igor could die from the enemy’s hand at any moment. Unknown author draws attention to how true Yaroslavna is to her feelings, because she is ready to become a bird in order to overcome the distance and stand next to her beloved. This technique of turning into animals and birds is generally inherent in Russian folklore.

The action itself in the poem takes place after Russia adopted Christianity, but the traditions of paganism still exist. This can also be traced in such actions as: Igor saw a black shadow over the Russian army and doubted the correctness of his actions.

Another example: Yaroslava turns to the sun, river, wind, seeking consolation. She conducts a conversation with them, either asking for help, or, on the contrary, accusing them of indifference. At the same time, the reader understands how beautiful and boundless Rus' is, because the writer more than once describes the beauty and power of the Russian land.

During her lyrical song, Yaroslavna personifies the entire Russian land and all its inhabitants. She suffers and empathizes for all of Rus', but at the same time, hope for a successful outcome and a bright future slips into her words.

Yaroslavna's entire song is permeated with love and tenderness for Prince Igor and the hope that he will return home with his army. And fate is favorable to the heroes. She rewards the princess for Yaroslavna’s true bright feelings and faith. Igor manages to escape from captivity, Yaroslavna’s forces carry him to his home.

That is why Yaroslavna’s crying is one of the most important plot components. It is the image of Yaroslavna that personifies the general people's grief, but also faith in the best. Yaroslavna in the poem “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is the force, the basis on which the idea of creation and peace is affirmed.

Episode Yaroslavna's Lament - analysis

“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is one of the most important monuments ancient Russian literature. The work tells us about the unsuccessful campaign of the Russian Novgorod-Seversk prince Igor Svyatoslavovich against the Polovtsian tribes, which occurred in 1185. “The Word” has a clear structure, which is conventionally divided into several main episodes.

The first episodes include an introduction and description of the hike itself and preparations for it. Before Igor's regiment moves, the prince sees various signs and anticipates failure. When it comes to battle, the prince, along with his squad, finds himself surrounded and, under the pressure of the Polovtsian army, is captured by the enemy.

After the capture of Igor, there is an episode in The Lay that is noted by the majority literary critics and linguists, as the most poetic and sublime. In this segment of the work, the prince’s wife Yaroslavna appears before the reader. Early in the morning she goes out to the fortress wall in Putivl and weeps bitterly for her husband Igor. Her monologue is a deep, heartfelt song, permeated with longing for a loved one and hope for his speedy return from the battlefield. She turns to the wind, which scattered her joy; to the “bright, bright” sun, which has drawn the bows of the Russians with thirst; to the “Dnieper-Slavutich”, carrying her tears to the sea. All of vast Rus' appears before the reader in her heartfelt monologue, filled not only with suffering and sadness, but also with bright hope for the prince’s speedy return from a dangerous campaign.

The image of Yaroslavna plays a key role in the work. She personifies not only endless love and loyalty, but also the general national grief for those who fell on the battlefield, were severely wounded in battle and were captured by the enemies of the Russian wars. “Yaroslavna’s Lament” is not the suffering of one girl, it is the suffering of the entire people. And just as Yaroslavna prays for her husband, so the entire Russian people prays for the return of the prince and his army.

It is also worth noting that in addition to the spiritual component, in “The Lament” we also see a beautiful landscape sketch of Ancient Rus'. After all, it is by turning to all of nature that Yaroslavna expresses her melancholy, and it is in her prayer to the boundless expanses of Rus' that she shows her boundless hope.

Yaroslavna’s suffering does not go unanswered and, it seems, not only God, but also the natural elements under his control, help Igor escape from enemy captivity. It is nature, turning to which Yaroslavna cried, that saves the prince during his journey home. The first thing that Igor, who has returned home, does is go to the “holy Mother of God Pirogoshcha,” which once again shows how skillfully the nameless author of the “Word” combines the traditions of the pagan faith with the new, not yet fully rooted faith in Christ. Thus, “Yaroslavna’s Lament” is probably the most main episode this ancient monument ancient Russian literature, since it is here that we see not only the historical component of the “Word”, but also the spiritual one.

Old Church Slavonic text

A voice is heard on the Danube of Yaroslavl,
zegzice is unknown, it’s too early to say:
“I’ll fly,” he said, “on the route along the Dunaevi,
I’ll wash my hairy sleeve in Kayal Retz,
In the morning the prince will see his bloody wounds
on his body."

Opera "Prince Igor". Yaroslavna's lament (listen)

Yaroslavna cries early
in Putivl (on the visor), Arkuchi:
“Oh, the wind, the sail!
Why, sir, are you forcing yourself?
Why are Khinov’s arrows moot?
(in his easy way)
in my opinion, howl?
You never know how the mountain blows under the clouds,
cherishing ships on the blue sea?
Why, sir, is my joy
scattering along the feather grass?

Yaroslavna is too early to cry
I’m putting the city on the fence, Arkuchi:
“About the Dnieper Slovutitsyu!
You have broken through stone mountains
through the Polovtsian land.
You cherished Svyatoslavl's nosads
to Kobyakov's cry.
Cherish, sir, my kindness towards me,
but I wouldn’t have sent tears to him
It's early at sea."

Yaroslavna cries early
in Putivl on the visor, arkuchi:
“Bright and bright sun!
You are warm and red to everyone:
to which, sir, shine your ardent rays
Are you okay?
In the abyssal field I long for their rays to be harnessed,
Shall they wear it tightly?”

Translation

Yaroslavna's Lament - listen to audio

Yaroslavna cries early
“Oh wind, sail!
Why, sir, are you blowing towards me?
Why are you rushing Khin's arrows?
on their light wings
on my dear warriors?
Wouldn't it be enough for you to breathe under the clouds?
cherishing ships on the blue sea?
Why, sir, did you scatter my joy through the feather grass?”

Yaroslavna cries early
in Putivl-city on a visor, saying:
“Oh Dnepr Slovutich!
You broke through stone mountains through the Polovtsian land.
You cherished Svyatoslav’s plantings on yourself
to Kobyakov's camp.
Come, sir, to my dear one,
so that I don’t send tears to him
it’s early at sea!”

Yaroslavna cries early
in Putivl on a visor, saying:
“Bright and thrice bright sun!
You are warm and wonderful to everyone:
why, lord, did you spread your hot rays
on the warriors of my fret?
In a waterless field thirst twisted their bows,
Have they filled their quivers with grief?”

Many have written about the creative power of love. Dmitry Levchik, offering his version of the creation of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” argues that pain and jealousy are no less capable of giving rise to a great work, and the inexplicable “punctures” and shortcomings of the famous poem become natural if it was written by... a woman.

“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is a mystery work. The poem found by Musin-Pushkin was prepared for publication, but its original burned down during the fire of Moscow in 1812. Therefore, historians argue about the authenticity of the “Lay” (there is a version that it is a fake of the 18th century), and about the time of its writing (XII, XIII or XVI centuries), and about authorship, and about the number of languages and dialects in which it was written “The Word” (for example, there is a version about the Russian-Polovtsian writing of the poem). And all authors find arguments in favor of their version.
It seems to me that everyone is more or less right, simply because the poem was rewritten several times, and there is little left of the original version of the 12th century. Naturally, being a lover of Russian history and literature, I could not resist the temptation to present my version. At least about who the author of this poem is.

1.

And here I am forced to ask a few questions. First of all, to yourself.
How did the hero of the poem, Prince Igor, reach the Polovtsians? On foot? Well, obviously not. Most likely, on horseback. As usual, we moved across the steppe. But pay attention to the fact that in the text of the Lay there are almost no Russian horses and cavalry. More precisely, there is no detailed description of them. There are references to saddles and stirrups. There is almost no description of the harness, harness, or horse fighting. There is no mention of Spurs, for example. And they have been known in Rus' since the 11th century and were a widespread attribute of the Russian horseman just twenty years after the event described in the poem, in early XIII century. Is it possible that Igor’s squad, which was advanced in the times of the 12th century, did not have this equipment? She even had it! These spurs are on display at the State Historical Museum! And by some chance, it was at the stand dedicated to “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.”

By the way, only women rode without spurs in Rus'. Let's remember this and continue our research.

How does Igor’s squad conduct the battle? The poem very strangely describes the tactics of the battle with the Polovtsians. Let us remember the most famous line of “Words”: "Rusichs great fields fence the shields with ink, seek honor for yourself, and glory for the prince.” It is interpreted unambiguously: the Russians stood shield to shield in close formation, “blocked the field with red shields, seeking honor for themselves and glory for the prince.” That is, they fought on foot. That is, they finally reached the Polovtsians on foot?

Maybe Igor did not ride on horses, but, for example, on boats. He simply went down the “Great Don,” that is, the Seversky Donets. Which is very logical for the Novgorod-Seversky prince. That's why there were few horses. Perhaps only two princes. Across the steppe, Igor’s march would have been instantly heard. The Cuman reconnaissance would have realized that a small detachment was coming, and the Cumans would have taken the necessary measures for defense. Maybe the author of “The Lay” simply does not imagine how well sound travels in the steppe and how well one can see the movements of masses of people from any elevation? Something is wrong here. After all, the Polovtsians clearly missed Igor’s first blow. Conclusion - the blow was delivered from a direction and in a way from which the Polovtsians did not expect. The blow was sudden. Perhaps from the Don, from the river (assuming that Igor came on boats). That's why the strike was successful.

And then we had to get away. It was here, perhaps, during one of the stops that the Polovtsian khans Gzak and Konchak cut him off from the boats. And they killed the squad. The poem mentions the desire of Igor’s soldiers to break through to the water. Modern commentators say that Igor's army suffered from thirst. They even inserted this into “Yaroslavna’s Lament”:
The sun is three times bright! With you
Everyone is welcome and warm.
Why are you a daring army of the prince?
Did you burn with hot rays?
And why are you waterless in the desert?
Under the attack of the formidable Polovtsians
Thirst has drawn down the marching bow,
Is your quiver full of grief?
No! Apparently, it wasn’t water that Igor’s soldiers wanted to drink! They made their way to the boats!
It seems that everything “fits together.” Moreover, in “Yaroslavna’s Lament” it is mentioned that the army of Svyatoslav of Kyiv against Khan Kobyak moved precisely on boats. Remember: “Oh, Dnieper Slovutitsyu! You have broken through stone mountains through the Polovtsian land. You cherished Svyatoslavlin’s gardens until Kobyakov’s regiment.” But why, why is there no description of rooks in the poem? Strange. Very strange.

How did the Polovtsians themselves reach Igor? It seems that in some versions of the translation of the Lay even “unoiled carts” on which the Polovtsians move are mentioned. Logical. It is logical to transport some of the weapons on convoy carts. And these carts creak so much that they scare away the surrounding swans. But I turned to the very first translation of the poem and saw that there were no “carts”. There are "telgi". Where is the proof that “telgi” are “carts” and not “kestrels,” that is, birds of prey that are frightened by the movements of the Polovtsian army? That’s why the swans are worried, sensing that predators are out hunting outside of school hours. This is even more logical for the text of the poem. This is how the Polovtsian convoy “disappears”. There are no "carts".

Now let's look at the description of the weapons of the Russians and Polovtsians. The text of the “Tale” contains a mention and description of such weapons: sabers, swords, helmets, chain mail, shields, knives, spears, throwing spears, bows, arrows. However, there is no description or mention of such weapons as axes and poleaxes, maces and poleaxes, and flails. Particularly alarming is the lack of mention of battle axes. After all, along with a sword, almost every warrior had an ax. In general, axes were at that time a much more common weapon than the sabers repeatedly mentioned in the Lay. Also, the text of the poem does not mention the masks on the helmets. Neither Russians nor Polovtsians. Go to the State Historical Museum and look at these faces. This is an ordinary weapon part. But it is obvious that the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” did not know all this. Could the author in this situation be a warrior or a person who knows what Prince Igor’s warrior looks like? Obviously not.

Let us turn again to the battle tactics of Prince Igor. The phrase haunts me: “The great Russians fenced off the fields with emblazoned shields.” No matter how you interpret it, it still turns out that Prince Igor built a closed linear formation of infantrymen against the Polovtsian cavalry. This is ridiculous. Infantry can resist cavalry only if it is formed in a square. But not linearly! The ancient Romans already knew this. But Igor didn’t know? I do not believe!

Some modern commentators also write that the prince was so noble that he even hurried the warriors so that they could fight on an equal basis with the foot non-combatants. This is the same as transferring tankers from tanks into the trenches with the infantry for universal equality in battle. That is, Igor led the infantry into an open field and, forming a linear formation, exposed mobile Polovtsian archers and cavalrymen to cavalry attacks. This can't be true!

At the same time, he somehow managed to win his first victory. And suddenly. “Right off the bat, the filthy Polovtsian plakas trampled under foot, and, drying with arrows across the field, the red Polovtsian girls rushed, and with them gold, and pavoloks, and precious oxamites.” How? How did Igor manage to defeat the cavalry with infantry? And he also pursued the Polovtsians. How? Running?

But at the same time, most of the other realities of the 12th–13th centuries are mentioned in the poem. Right down to the beaver trim on the princess's sleeve. The author saw this. And the author understands the ethics of the knights of that time: “It is better to be killed by swords than to be captured by the hands of the filthy!” Death is better than captivity. We must keep our word.

Illustrations by Vladimir Favorsky for “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” 1950
© Russian state library

And how wonderfully the feelings of the Russian princess Yaroslavna are described! How beautiful is her cry! At the same time, many commentators note that in Putivl she could not cry on the wall, since the city wall was destroyed at that time. But the author of “The Lay” has no time for the wall. A woman’s experiences are important to him! Sometimes one gets the impression that it is precisely for the sake of “Yaroslavna’s Lament” that the entire poem was written!

“On the Danube, Yaroslavny hears a voice, it’s too early to shout: “I’ll fly – speech – along the Danube, I’ll wet the Bebryan sleeve in the Kayal River; in the morning the prince will see his bloody wounds on his cruel body.” Yaroslavna cries early in Putivl on her visor, arching: “Oh, the wind, the sail! Why, sir, do you forcibly fly! Why do Khinov’s arrows fly on their easy wings on my frets? "Why, sir, did my joy dissipate in the tottering way?" Yaroslavna early cries to the city of Putiv on the fence, arching: “Oh, Dnieper Slovutitsa! You pierced the stone mountains through the land of Polovtsian. You cherished Svyatoslavlin’s gardens until Kobyakov’s regiment. Cherish, sir, my kindness to me, but you did not send to It’s too early for him to go to sea!” Yaroslavna cries early in Putivl on her visor, arching: “Bright and bright sun! You are warm and red for everyone. Why, sir, do you spread your hot ray on your way? In the waterless field I long for the rays to be harnessed, tighter for them?”

I will specifically repeat the beginning of the cry in N. Zabolotsky’s translation:

I, poor thing, will turn into a cuckoo,
I'll fly along the Danube River
And a sleeve with a beaver edge,
I bend down and soak in Kayal.
The fogs will fly away,
Prince Igor will open his eyes slightly,
And in the morning I will wipe away the bloody wounds,
Bent over the mighty body.

Who is he? Who felt so subtly female soul? And could a man even feel and write like that?

So, the author is a man who knew very well many of the realities of that time, but who had not seen the steppe, who had not seen Russian soldiers, who had not seen major battles. Where could this author be? His place of residence is obviously the mountains. The author is a resident of a mountainous area, and one where stories about Rus' and Russians reach, but Russians themselves rarely go there. At least, probably, there are only representatives of the feudal class, and then they are women. The author speaks Russian well. He is Russian-speaking at least.

There is another clue in the text of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” a geographical one:

Venetians, Greeks and Moravians,
Every day they sing about Russians!
They magnify Prince Svyatoslav,
Igor the brave is cursed.
And the guest of the German land laughs,
what happened when it was gone more strength,
Igor the Prince in Kayala Polovtsian
drowned Russian wealth.

Which countries are listed? Rus', Polovtsian field, Venice, Greece, Moravia, Germany. It is strange that the most powerful country in this region at that time, Hungary, is not mentioned. That is, the eastern and Central Europe without main country this part of the world. This is the zone of traditional influence of Byzantium. And at that time the conflict zone between Byzantium and Hungary. At the same time, the author of the Lay knows the Carpathians precisely as Hungarian (Ugric) mountains. Yaroslav Osmomysl Galitsky is also mentioned in the text of the Lay, who “Sitting high on your gold-plated table, propping up the Ugric mountains with your iron planks, blocking the queen’s path.” That is, Hungary is mentioned without a name, or rather, its king is mentioned without a name.

Apparently, the author does not like the Hungarian king Belo Alexei so much, considers him a pseudo-ruler, that he does not even want to talk about him. Only an ardent supporter of Bela’s main enemy, Andronikos I Komnenos, who ruled in Byzantium in 1183–1185, could behave this way. Moreover, only people very close to him, for example, his relatives, could hate Andronicus’ enemies so much. By the way, this Andronik is the great-great-grandson of Yaroslav the Wise, since he is the son of Irina, the daughter of the Przemysl Prince Volodar Rostislavovich, the grandfather of Yaroslav Osmomysl, the great-grandson of Yaroslav the Wise. Perhaps the author of the Lay is related to the house of Osmomysl. Then everything is logical.

So, the author is a resident of a mountainous region, educated, knows how a princess dresses, he is not indifferent to women’s experiences, knows knightly morality, has never seen warriors or battles, and is also an ardent supporter of Andronikos I Komnenos. Knowing this, we can assume that the author is a woman, a nun, from the Russian ruling class, most likely from the Principality of Przemysl, possibly living in the Byzantine highlands. Most likely in the Balkans. Only such an assumption can explain why the author knows what the fashionable cut of the sleeve is women's clothing, and doesn’t know what a battle ax is! Only such an assumption can explain why the author “point-blank does not see” Bela as Hungarian. And this is precisely what explains why Prince Igor sits on his horse “like a woman.” How else could a woman talk about a horseman?

2.

There is another riddle in The Tale of Igor's Campaign. The poem does not mention the name of Prince Igor's wife. Only patronymic - Yaroslavna. Although this is not a mystery to us at all. Most historians consider her to be the daughter of the Galician prince Yaroslav Osmomysl. And they believe that her real name is Euphrosyne. Maybe. What complicates matters is that Osmomysl had three daughters. The second, whose name we do not know, was the wife of the Hungarian king. The name of the third is known: Vysheslava, later Queen of Poland. However, Euphrosyne as Igor’s wife is not in the chronicles. She was “figured out.”

And there is another version that Igor had not one, but two wives. We can assume the following. Efrosinya Yaroslavna, in separation from the prince, suddenly became worse. Of course, she was not rejuvenated or made beautiful during six births (she gave birth to Igor five boys and a girl). But in separation she gave up. She cried her eyes out, became haggard, lost weight, and became unattractive. Igor, having escaped from captivity, did not return to his old wife, but married a young one. And the worst thing is that the viper sisters, the wives of the kings of Hungary and Poland, approved Igor’s second marriage. And in the “interests of the state” Yaroslavna was exiled to a Byzantine monastery in the Balkans. Away from Rus'.

There she could well have told about her fate to one of the novices who understood Russian. She, imbued with the story, wrote the basis of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” Anything is possible. History knows stories that are not like this! But this almost fantastic assumption explains to us why Euphrosyne’s name is not in the poem. Yes, simply because she accepted something different in monasticism. And apparently, she did not even want (or had the right) to tell her worldly name to her sister in Christ. And she didn’t ask. Or I didn’t dare. Or she couldn't. This is how the nameless Yaroslavna entered the poem.

Thus, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” may become the first female chivalric novel in verse, written in Russian in convent in the Balkans. And in this sense, it is a monument not only of Russian, but also of Byzantine and Balkan literature.

And this is not a battle song. In our opinion, this is a lyrical romance about the love of Princess Yaroslavna for her husband Igor.

...She remembered. She remembered everything, of course. I remembered the first time I saw him. A hero, slanting fathoms in his shoulders, a firm, authoritative voice, and a look... the look of slightly slanted, brown eyes inherited from his Polovtsian mother, that look fascinated, suppressed, called and beckoned... The young princess could not take her eyes off his eyes, from this look.
She remembered how her sisters whispered in the corners of the little lights. But it was not they, but her, his beloved daughter, who betrothed such a handsome man to Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl of Galicia-Volyn.
At less than sixteen years old, Euphrosyne became his wife mighty prince Novgorod-Seversky Igor.

She also remembered the first time he hugged her, she remembered how she felt dizzy with happiness...
I also remembered the first birth, the pain, happiness and joy of motherhood. Vladimir, Oleg, Rostislav, Roman, Svyatoslav... How even the little princes looked like their dad!

I remembered how she dissuaded him from attacking his neighbors. She dissuaded me from going to Smolensk. She didn’t like, oh, how she didn’t like Igor’s then ally, the Polovtsian Khan Konchak, with his always sweaty head and sticky eyes. He was the complete opposite of Igor. Well, such a person could not be a friend to her husband. But even then, when Konchak became Igor’s enemy, even then she also dissuaded Igor from going against Konchak. She felt that the enmity with the Polovtsian Khan would not end well.

And when that ill-fated campaign happened on Easter, when there were already rumors about the death of the army, when she realized that the prince would not return soon, then grief overwhelmed her.
She almost never left the Transfiguration Cathedral, constantly prayed, asked the Lord for the prince to remain alive, so that he would return to her... She cried all her eyes out, her legs were tired of kneeling, there was aching all over her body. But the prince was still not there... And there was no news about him...

It was then, on the advice of her nurse, whom she brought with her from Galich and whose family included Volynian sorcerers, that she turned to completely non-Orthodox forces. She sacrificed a dove and began to pray to the water master, the Dnieper-Slavutich, the wind, the sun-Yaril.
And the miracle happened. The old magic helped! The prince turned out to be alive! And soon after this news came another - he escaped from captivity, and already in native land!
But apparently it’s impossible Orthodox person To filthy forces address. This is a sin. And one sin leads to another sin and misfortune.

The prince has returned, returned, but it’s as if he’s not himself! He didn’t hug or caress. Nothing! And then she found out about her, about that young noblewoman whom the prince now fell in love with. I understand that this is retribution for the sin of praying to idols. And nothing can be done about it... And then, when they told her that she had to leave the world, and then, when she, like a weak-willed doll, was put in a cart and sent here to the monastery, and then, when she took monastic vows, she no longer cried. There were no tears.

At the monastery I learned to sew, knead dough, and care for chickens. She was obedient. It became even easier. News from Rus' rarely reached here. Few people understood Russian. And this also made it easier. No one bothered to ask questions about his former life. And only one young novice, originally from Przemysl, a very young girl, sent to the monastery from childhood and knowing nothing about life outside the walls, only she occasionally asked to tell about how life was there... in the world...

She was telling. She didn't tell everything. But even from these stories, she saw how the girl’s eyes lit up, how she whispered something, as if she was trying to remember the words of Euphrosyne’s story...

And then the news came about Igor’s wedding, about the gifts that Euphrosyne’s sisters gave the newlyweds (Envious! Now is your time to hurt!). The news came about the birth of his daughter...

Then, late at night, without noticing it, Euphrosyne began to howl quietly, like a woman, in her cell. And the tears that had not been on her cheeks for so many years began to flow again. "Cain! Judas! Traitor!" - came out of her lips.
This was Yaroslavna’s real cry...

An icon hung on the wall of the abbess's cell of the monastery Holy Virgin. On it, the Queen of Heaven was depicted in royal vestments, in all her strength, and even the halo above her head was like a crown. The abbess stood in the middle of the cell. A young novice was kneeling in front of her. “Did you write this? Did you write such a sinful text? Is that why I taught you to read and write?” The novice was neither alive nor dead... She herself showed her song to Mother Superior, she was sure that she would like such a song, a song about eternal marital love... But it was different! Mother was angry. “How do such thoughts come into your head! What are you writing?! “I will wash the mighty body of the prince, I will dry the wounds on him with a sleeve with a beaver edge”... This is sinful! I impose penance on you... Fasting, prayer, and most importantly - never write anything again! Leave!" The novice left. The abbess took the text again and began to read. No! Such a text must be destroyed... in the fire... But the morning is wiser than the evening! In the morning I’ll figure out what to do with the song...
The abbess lay down. Sleep came surprisingly quickly. A strange dream. She saw Her! Her! Queen of Heaven! I saw more than one. There were people nearby... a cross... the Savior in the hands of the disciples... Mother Superior realized that in a miraculous way the Mother of God was showing her, unworthy, Golgotha, the removal of Our Savior from the cross... And then she saw how the Mother of God approached her Son, dressed not in common tunic, and just like on the icon, in royal robes. She came up and wiped the blood from his face and body with the sleeve of her royal robe. The sleeve was trimmed with beaver fur. The blood of the Savior clearly remained on the fur...
The Mother Superior woke up... No! It's a sign! The song cannot be burned or destroyed! But there’s no place for her in a monastery either! What to do... Unless we send this song away from human eyes and ears somewhere into wild Scythia? To the north... Where there are no real Christians... Yes, that’s probably what will have to be done...
Away from human eyes...

“Yaroslavna’s Lament” (translated by Zabolotsky)

Over the wide bank of the Danube,
Above the great Galician land
Crying, flying from Putivl,
Yaroslavna's young voice:

“I, poor thing, will turn into a cuckoo,
I'll fly along the Danube River
And a sleeve with a beaver edge,
I bend down and soak in Kayal.
The fogs will fly away,
Prince Igor will open his eyes slightly,
And in the morning I will wipe away the bloody wounds,
Leaning over the mighty body.”

Far away in Putivl, on the visor,
Only the dawn will break in the morning,
Yaroslavna, full of sadness,
Like a cuckoo calling to the Yura:

“What are you, Wind, telling viciously,
Why are the fogs swirling by the river,
You raise the Polovtsian arrows,
Are you throwing them into Russian regiments?
What don't you like in the open air?
Fly high under a cloud,
Ships to cherish in the blue sea,
Are the waves swaying behind the stern?
You, sowing enemy arrows,
Only death blows from above.
Oh, why, why my fun
Are you scattered in the feather grass forever?”

At dawn in Putivl, wailing,
Like a cuckoo in early spring,
The young Yaroslavna calls,
On the wall is a sobbing city:

“My glorious Dnieper! Stone Mountains
In the Polovtsian lands you struck,
Svyatoslav to distant expanses
I wore Kobyakovs to the regiments.
Cherish the prince, sir,
Save it on the far side
So that I can forget my tears from now on,
May he return to me alive!”

Far away in Putivl, on the visor,
Only the dawn will break in the morning,
Yaroslavna, full of sadness,
Like a cuckoo calling to the Yura:

“The sun is three times bright! With you
Everyone is welcome and warm.
Why are you a daring army of the prince?
Did you burn with hot rays?
And why are you waterless in the desert?
Under the attack of the formidable Polovtsians
Thirst has drawn down the marching bow,
Has your quiver overflowed with grief?

Efrosinya Yaroslavna(2nd half of the 12th century) - wife of the Novgorod-Seversk prince Igor Svyatoslavich, daughter of a Galician prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich Osmomysl, one of central characters"Tales about Igor's Campaign." “Yaroslavna’s Lament” is considered one of the most poetic fragments of “The Lay...”, and Yaroslavna herself is a symbol faithful wife who, thanks to her love, can save her husband on the battlefield.

Perov Vasily Grigorievich (1834-1882) “Yaroslavna’s Lament.” 1881
Canvas, oil.
Private collection.

This is one of latest works great artist. His strength was undermined by consumption, contracted from a cold while hunting. IN last years PEROV's life turned from a cheerful and lively person into an irritable and suspicious person. If before he was often dissatisfied with his works, saying that “it’s good, it’s good, but I think that I can and can write better,” now this dissatisfaction with himself has turned into a chronic illness mixed with some kind of bitterness. He destroyed his paintings, altered them and spoiled them. So, he destroyed his beautiful picture“Old parents at the grave of their son”, cutting out the figures of an old man and an old woman from it, cut into pieces “The Pugachev Rebellion” in its first, best edition; from “The Girl Throwing herself into the Water” he made “Yaroslavna’s Lament”.

The artist managed to convey despair, internal tension and the timid hope of a young woman. The heroine is ready to soar into the sky to fly to the aid of her beloved prince. Yaroslavna's face is turned to the sky in desperate prayer. The rising sun has painted the horizon bluish-pink, the tips of the palisade are directed into the sky, birds alarmed by the lamentations are circling over the ancient city. The whole picture is filled with anxious anticipation, a premonition of tragedy. The artist seemed to put his own desperate desire to live into his work.

“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” - a literary monument ancient Russian culture, which tells about the unsuccessful campaign of Prince Igor Svyatoslavich against the Polovtsians in 1185.

Yaroslavna's Cry is one of three parts of the poem, dedicated to the moment of grief of Prince Igor's wife about the unsuccessful outcome of the battle in which his squad took part. This episode is recognized as one of the best in the entire work, and its heroine acts as a symbol of a loving and faithful wife.

The image of Yaroslavna personifies the theme of family, peace, home and endless longing for her husband, who every moment risks dying from the enemy’s sword. Her excitement is so strong and irresistible that she is ready to become a bird in order to quickly be near her husband and heal his wounds. What is characteristic is that such techniques, namely the transformation of heroes of works folk art in various birds and animals, represent one of the main features of Russian folklore.

The action takes place in a period when Rus' had already adopted Christianity, but at the same time still continued the traditions of the pagan faith. They're talking about it artistic images, used in the work. For example, Igor, noticing a black shadow rising above the Russian militia, doubted the successful outcome of the battle.

Or, for example, Yaroslavna’s appeal to the wind, to the sun, to the river means her faith in the pagan gods, personifying the named forces of nature. She talks to them as equals, sometimes reproaching them, sometimes begging for support and protection. In addition, using this technique the author shows the beauty of the Russian land, the vastness of its fields, bright sun, high mountains, deep seas and mighty rivers. All immense and Great Rus' embodied in this picture, personified in the image of the beautiful Yaroslavna. Her cry carries not only suffering and sadness, but is also filled with tenderness and bright hope.

The heroine's monologue is lyrical song, permeated with undying hope for the speedy return of Prince Igor from the battlefield. And for her faith and boundless love, fate generously rewards Yaroslavna. The prayers are heard, and Prince Igor escapes from captivity, led by miraculous power on the way to his home.

Thus, Yaroslavna’s crying is the most important plot component of the poem “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” It is in it that all the power of the general people's grief for the fallen wars is contained and the idea of creation and peace is affirmed.

Option 2

The 12th century for Rus' was marked by many events, but mainly of a military nature. If speak about cultural development state, it is important to note that the remarkable monument of ancient Russian literature “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” dates back to this time.

The above-mentioned work has a clear structure, which is subordinated to the idea, genre features, means of language. There is nothing random or superfluous in “The Word…”: each episode is important, it carries a certain semantic load.

IN this essay we will talk about the episode that literary scholars call “Yaroslavna’s Lament.” This is a kind of prediction of the fate of your beloved Lada.

Yaroslavna personifies the Russian land. And in the girl’s cry the attitude of the entire Russian land towards the military events with the Polovtsians is clearly shown.

If speak about compositional construction text, then “The Lament” is important as a predetermination of Igor’s escape from captivity. Because Lada Yaroslavna turns to the sun, the wind, the Danube, so that they will help her lover free himself from the Polovtsian shackles, so that Lada can be with his beloved.

If “Lamentation” is removed from the text, its harmony and semantic completeness will be disrupted. After all main idea is a call for unity.

Also, don't forget about things like art space and time. IN in this case Special attention given to space. It expands and contracts. In “The Lament” the space is expanded to the very outskirts of the Russian state. This is achieved due to the author’s skill, due to the fact that he brought “Lament” closer to a folk lyrical song.

Important in "Lamentation" and landscape sketches. According to literary critic D. Likhachev, they are designed to be independent actors. This is also typical of ancient Russian texts of that time, because this technique allows one to show and emphasize the enormity of the space that surrounds an insignificant person.

“The Word...” has poetic arrangements. The most interesting are the translations by D. Likhachev and N. Zabolotsky.

If we talk about “The Lament,” Likhachev embellishes the text through metaphors, and Zabolotsky through comparisons.

Several interesting essays

Finally, the long-awaited day has come - this is the anniversary of our school. All the students and I were looking forward to this day because we knew it would be very interesting and fun.

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