B. A. Zhukovsky, "Cup": summary, main idea

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-02 10:52

Remembering the work of V. A. Zhukovsky, it is impossible not to talk about ballads. The most famous are "Svetlana" and "Lyudmila". Few will remember the interesting, different ballad "The Cup". Being a free translation of Schiller's work, the ballad "The Cup" by Zhukovsky, a summary of which we will present in this article, is of interest to the reader not only because of the plot and the beauty of the style, but also because of the allegorical meaning, various meaningful layers. Their value lies in the fact that they can be interpreted by each reader in their own way, giving rise to many unexpected judgments.

Call the king

Zhukovsky's ballad "The Cup" begins from the stage on the rock. The summary of the first part of the work looks like this: the ruler called all his subjects to a high rock. He appealed to the knights and men-at-arms to give him back the golden goblet, which would be their reward. Having received the cup, the king throws it from a high cliff into the depths of the sea.

He calls the knights again with his call, but no one dares to go forgoblet. Everyone looks down in silence. Then the king had to turn to his subjects for the third time.

Act of the Page

The page appears in the second part of the ballad "The Cup" by Zhukovsky. In the summary of this part, it should be said that the young man, unexpectedly for everyone, volunteered to get this royal item. Everyone looked at him in amazement: he was very young and handsome, bold and daring.

The audience felt sorry for the brave young man, but they did not dare to pity him out loud. The page went to the very edge of the cliff and began to peer into the depths of the sea. They were terrible and mysterious: the waves beat noisily against the rocks, everything roared, as if a thunderstorm had begun. It seemed that water and fire mixed up, the abyss raged. The young man, saying a prayer, threw himself off the cliff.

Page Alert

Experiences of subjects are also masterfully shown in this part of the ballad "The Cup" by Zhukovsky. In a brief summary, we note that the subjects were very worried about the fate of the brave young man. Everyone present was horrified when the page disappeared into the depths of the sea. When they looked at this raging stream, no one had any doubt that he could not be saved. But they continued to peer into the waves.

The spectators began to argue that they would not agree to jump off the cliff for whatever the king's we alth. Even if he promises them to share the throne with him. Because no one has yet climbed out of this sea abyss, and all the ships that got there turned into wreckage. But the struggle between water and fire is growing, a smoldering column rises to the sky.foam. And suddenly the stream rushes up with a terrifying roar.

Return of the Page

The climax of Zhukovsky's ballad "The Cup" is extremely important. In the summary of this part, one should talk about the miraculous return of a brave young man from a raging abyss. Spectators saw how he fights with the sea with one hand, and in the other he holds the royal goblet.

Page is happy that he was able to get out and can welcome the light again. The spectators are also happy that the young man managed to escape. Without strength, he gets ashore and falls at the feet of the king with a goblet. The ruler orders his daughter to give him a reward by filling the goblet with a stream of grapes. And it seems to the young man that there is nothing better in the world.

Further, the page encourages people to enjoy life and talks about what happened to him in the depths of the sea. He saw deep-sea creatures and only miraculously managed to grab onto the cliff on which the goblet was. Trying to escape from the monster, he got into the tide, and a column of water rose to the surface.

New king challenge

The most important thing in Zhukovsky's ballad "The Cup" is the unexpected proposal of the ruler. Despite the fact that the young man proved his courage, he offers him a new task: he throws a ring with a diamond into this goblet and says that if the page rushes after him and gets him again, he will become his favorite knight and will receive the royal daughter as his wife. The young girl began to ask her father to have pity on the poor page.

But the king, not listening to her, throwsreward into the depths of the sea. The young man, inspired by the look of the royal daughter, in which fear and pity were read, rushes into the waves. But in vain did the princess peer into the waters. They continued to foam and make noise in the same way, but the page remained in the abyss of the sea.

Main idea

In the "Cup" by Vasily Zhukovsky, the main characters are the king and the page. The cup symbolizes the conscience of the king. For him, this quality is not of particular value. That is why the king so carelessly throws the goblet into the sea. He does not think about what he is doing wrong and unreasonable, asking to get it: after all, there are very few chances to return from the depths of the sea. This characterizes him as an unreasonable ruler.

But his subjects, on the contrary, are well aware of the danger and put their lives and he alth above all treasures. Thus, it can be said that subjects are common sense, the link between risk and prudence. The page can be associated with risk and courage, challenging fate itself. Also, a young man can be compared to fire: he burns brightly, attracts him, can warm him, and the king is water that can extinguish him at once.

For a king, the fact that a page could complete his task is a defeat, and his vanity cannot come to terms with it. That is why he throws the cup again. The motives of the young man are not completely clear, why he decided to once again throw himself into the raging sea. It could be a belief in one's invulnerability after a miraculous rescue, or a secret love for the princess.

But the main idea of Zhukovsky's "Cup" is this: no needtempt fate, even if you're lucky. You need to be able to reason logically and rationally. After all, the princess wisely said that there was no need to send the page again, and if the king wants to hear more about what is happening in the depths of the sea, then let someone else go.

This ballad differs from other works by V. A. Zhukovsky. After all, the poet was a fan of romanticism and admired the work of German and English poets. And in the "Cup" there is a call not to give in to emotions, but to always try to reason before doing anything. This is what makes this ballad so amazing and unlike the others. The plot makes you wonder if people have the right feelings when they make decisions.

But it should be noted that the features of the romantic direction are present in this work. The page is shown as an ardent, courageous and romantic young man. This can be understood by the way he describes everything that happened to him in the depths of the sea. The action itself takes place during the time of kings, knights and beautiful ladies, which is also characteristic of romanticism. Thus, the ballad "The Cup" is an amazing and wonderful combination of romanticism and deep meaning.