Poem “About prowess, exploits, glory” by Alexander Blok in English with English and Russian side by side

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Русская литература – Русская поэзия – Все Стихи Александра Блока – Устаревшие русские слова и их значение
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Translation of the poem “About prowess, exploits, glory” by Alexander Blok in English with English and Russian side by side
Short analysis of the poem “About prowess, exploits, glory” by Alexander Blok

Translation of the poem “About prowess, exploits, glory” by Alexander Blok in English with English and Russian side by side

О доблестях, о подвигах, о славе – Александр Блок	About prowess, exploits, glory by Alexander Blok

	Translated by Akirill.com 11/06/2023

О доблестях, о подвигах, о славе	About prowess, exploits, glory
Я забывал на горестной земле,	I forgot on the sorrowful land,
Когда твое лицо в простой оправе	When your face in a simple frame
Передо мной сияло на столе.	Was shining on the table in front of me.


Но час настал, и ты ушла из дому.	But the hour came, and you left home.
Я бросил в ночь заветное кольцо.	I threw the treasured ring into the night.
Ты отдала свою судьбу другому,	You gave your destiny to someone else,
И я забыл прекрасное лицо.	And I forgot your beautiful face.


Летели дни, крутясь проклятым роем…	The days flew by, spinning like a cursed swarm…
Вино и страсть терзали жизнь мою…	Wine and passion tormented my life…
И вспомнил я тебя пред аналоем,	And I remembered you in front of the lectern,
И звал тебя, как молодость свою…	And I called to you, like my youth…


Я звал тебя, но ты не оглянулась,	I called you, but you didn’t look back,
Я слезы лил, но ты не снизошла.	I shed tears, but you didn’t condescend.
Ты в синий плащ печально завернулась,	You sadly wrapped yourself in a blue cloak,
В сырую ночь ты из дому ушла.	On a damp night, you left the house.


Не знаю, где приют твоей гордыне	I don’t know where your pride is sheltered
Ты, милая, ты, нежная, нашла…	You, my dear, you, gentle one, have found…
Я крепко сплю, мне снится плащ твой синий,	I sleep soundly, I dream of your blue cloak,
В котором ты в сырую ночь ушла…	In which you left on a damp night…


Уж не мечтать о нежности, о славе,	No longer dreaming of tenderness, of glory,
Все миновалось, молодость прошла!	Everything is over, youth is gone!
Твое лицо в его простой оправе	Your face in its simple frame
Своей рукой убрал я со стола.	I removed from the table with my own hand.

Short analysis of the poem “About prowess, exploits, glory” by Alexander Blok

Alexander Blok wrote the poem “About prowess, exploits, glory” in 1908, just after his wife Lyubov Mendeleeva left him. It should be noted that the couple separated and reunited several times, and it was during one of these periods of separation that this poem appeared. His wife was his muse and you can feel his pain at being left for another in each of the poem’s line.

In the first quatrain of the poem, Alexander Blok says that his love for his wife was so strong that for her, he abandoned exploits, fame and prowess and she became his muse. Her portrait which is on his desk “Was shining on the table in front of me” may mean that maybe his love was so strong that he forgot everything when he saw her shinning face in front of him, or maybe he compared his beloved “face in a simple frame” with an icon in which the gold paint reflects light creating the illusion that it is glowing from within, and used this comparison to emphasize the divine essence of his beloved.

Next, the poet writes about his wife leaving and his reaction. At first he was hurt and mad. He threw “the treasured ring” away, then in the next three quatrains he describes the pain and suffering he went through because of his wife betrayal. First he tried to drown his pain and suffering in “Wine and passion” but he was overwhelmed by the memories of a happy past. Then he begged her again and again to come back but his “Prayers and tears” didn’t bring his wife back.

The blue coat in which his beloved wife left cut his life in two: before and after the separation. The fact that his beloved wife left under the cover of a “damp night,” added a special mystery and drama to her departure. We can also add that for Alexander Blok, the symbolism of color always plays a great role and the blue color represents unearthly purity and sadness.

Already after prayers and tears, there is no longer anger in Blok’s soul and he called his wife with affectionate words “my dear, you, gentle one”

Finally the poem ends with the recognition that both his youth (which is associated with his wife since he was young when they got married) and his wife are irrevocably gone and he cleared the table of her “face in its simple frame” in a symbolic farewell.

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Translation of the poem “About prowess, exploits, glory” by Alexander Blok in English with English and Russian side by side

Short analysis of the poem “About prowess, exploits, glory” by Alexander Blok

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