I have wanted to read Alexander Pushkin’s ‘Ruslan and Lyudmila‘ for a long time and so I decided to read it now, for #RedOctoberRussianReads.
I discovered that I have three translations of the book. One of the interesting decisions I had to take was which translation to read. Initially, I thought I’ll read all three. But after I started reading, I thought I’ll read the one which appeals to me more, and which flows more smoothly for me, and reference back to the other two and read specific passages. This is what I did in the end. More about the translations in a while.
The story told in ‘Ruslan and Lyudmila‘ goes like this. The young prince Ruslan is married to the beautiful princess Lyudmila. But on their wedding night, Lyudmila is kidnapped by the evil dwarf Chernomor. Ruslan and three other young men who are his rivals ride away the next morning in search of Lyudmila. Are they able to save Lyudmila from the evil dwarf? You have to read the story to find out.
I enjoyed reading ‘Ruslan and Lyudmila‘ very much. Most of the characters were very interesting, but two of them were my favourites. When Ruslan rides through a Steppe-like plain, he spots a mountain in the middle. But when he comes closer, he discovers that it is a head, a huge head, and it is living. At present it seems to be sleeping. Ruslan takes his lance and pokes the giant head’s nostrils. The head sneezes. What happens after that – there is a reason they say ‘Don’t poke the bear‘ – you have to read the story to find out. That head is one of the most fascinating characters in the story and one of my favourites. Another favourite character was one of Ruslan’s rivals Ratmir. His life undergoes some major changes and when he comes out on the other side – you’ll have to read to find out what happened, it is so amazing.
There are six cantos in the story – yes, the story is one long poem. At the end of the fifth canto, a heartbreaking thing happens. Why does this always happen in the penultimate chapter, in the penultimate episode, in the penultimate book? Why does someone always die in the ninth episode of ‘Game of Thrones‘? Why does one of the main characters die in the penultimate volume of the Harry Potter series? I am wondering whether Pushkin started this penultimate chapter thing. But I can’t tell you what happened to whom in that chapter. That is for you to discover.
Now a word on the translations.
All the three translations were interesting and very different from each other. The first one by Roger Clarke was a bilingual edition. It had the Russian text on the left and the English translation on the right. It was an easy to understand translation and Clarke had explained in his note at the end of the book on why he translated the original into free verse and didn’t use Pushkin’s rhyming scheme. The second edition was a translation by D.M.Thomas. Thomas had tried to keep the rhyming scheme intact and he had explained in his introduction how he tried preserving Pushkin’s tetrameter intact and why he tried doing that. This was very interesting, because here we have two translators who did opposite things and tried providing justification for the same, and they both sounded convincing! The third translation was by Jacob Krup and I felt that it was written in such a way so that it could appeal to children. The Roger Clarke translation was the one which flowed more smoothly for me, and that is the one I read, while comparing passages with the other two. I am giving below the first passage from the story from all the three translations. Tell me which one you like the most.
Translation 1 (by Roger Clarke) :
“By an arc of sea a green oak stands;
to the oak a chain of gold is tied;
and at the chain’s end night and day
a learned cat walks round and round.
Rightwards he goes, and sings a song;
leftwards, a fairy tale he tells.”Translation 2 (by D.M.Thomas) :
“A green oak by the salt sea weathered;
And to it by a gold chain bound
A highly learned cat is tethered,
Who on the chain goes round and round :
Walks to the left – he tells a story,
Walks to the right – a song he sings.”Translation 3 (by Jacob Krup) :
“At the seashore’s a golden chain;
That golden chain entwines an oak.
A learned cat around that oak
Day and night keeps his walk :
Goes to right – a song he sings;
Returning, left – a tale he brings.”
So, who is the winner – Clarke or Thomas or Krup? 🙂
I thought I’ll share the covers of all the three editions (you can see the first cover above) and some inside pages of the third one, because it has some exquisite Russian Palekh paintings. Hope you enjoy looking at them.
This is my first book by Pushkin. I can’t wait to read more books by him. Have you read ‘Ruslan and Lyudmila‘? What do you think about it?
Vishy's Blog 
Great post! Goodness, I have read Ruslan and Lyudmilla for sure, in Russian as well (since my native language is Russian) and a million times during my childhood, too! In that way, I am glad I don’t have to debate whose translation is the best. From the passages you included above, I can say that Clarke’s translation may be the most direct and faithful, but that does not mean it may be the best because the spirit of the poem must also be conveyed.
From what I can see none of the three translators had any idea how to translate “У лукоморья”…one translated it as “at the seashore’s”, another as ““by an arc of sea” – must have given them a headache, but if you ask a Russian-speaker what this word actually means most would not even try to elaborate since they are not sure themselves, its archaic. It actually means “a bay” and in the context of a fairy-tale – “a forbidden/magical place at the end of the world.”
It is such a great classic story and I still cannot believe that it is Pushkin’s first major work. I particularly like the passage in the book where there is a description of dark wizards and their place of living. Overall, I am so glad you enjoyed this book and the editions you present all look absolutely gorgeous!
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, Diana! It is so wonderful that your native language is Russian! You get to read so much beautiful Russian literature in the original! So jealous 🙂 Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the translations. It was so insightful to read. I loved your translation – “a forbidden / magical place at the end of the world.” That is so beautiful! This book must read so much more beautifully in Russian! One day when my Russian gets better, I’ll try to read the book in Russian. Thanks for inspiring me!
Russian is a difficult language to learn; it is difficult even for native speakers when they write it! But, I also believe it is rewarding on so many levels, you cannot imagine. A new world really opens to you (as with any language, I guess, but still!). My mother was actually named after Ludmila in this poem, would you believe that? It is true, so I have a close affinity with this poem.
Loved what you said about Russian and about learning new languages! Very true! So wonderful to know that your mother was named after Ludmila in the poem! This is so cool! Thanks for telling me about this 🙂
Yes, the Clarke translation comes the closest. He could have made up a word like “Sea-bow” to describe the bay. Also, “Rightward he goes – a song he starts” would be better, as it should be an echo of the next line to preserve the feeling of the original. Pushkin uses a word that literally means “winds up” instead of “sings”. I think this poem is the closest thing in Russian to a “National Myth”, like the Greek “Iliad” or the Hindu “Ramayana”. It draws on old folk traditions and is instantly recognized by any Russian.