“Once on Epiphany evening”: what is the meaning of the ballad “Svetlana?

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

One of the most famous works of Russian romanticism is the ballad "Svetlana". Zhukovsky took the plot from the work of the German poet Gottfried August Burger, reworked it, adding a Russian flavor and replacing the tragic ending of the original with a happy ending. A creepy story about a dead groom leading his bride away, common among Western romantics, turns into just a nightmare in Svetlana.

Why did the author need to rewrite someone else's ballad? Why was it not enough just to make a translation? Why did Zhukovsky change the end? By answering these questions, we will understand what the meaning of the ballad "Svetlana" is.

Translation from German into Russian mode

Surprisingly, a colorful Russian ballad "Svetlana" turned out from a German-romantic work. Zhukovsky had previously translated this ballad, and her heroine was called Lyudmila. Byin meaning and content, it is much closer to Burger's Lenore, just as mystical and creepy. It was a success with readers, but the author continued to work on the plot, changing and supplementing it.

The content of the ballad "Svetlana" resembles a good Russian fairy tale, where everything ends with the victory of good over evil. The author drives fear and horror into readers, but in the end it all turns out to be just a dream, a nightmare that does not come true. Perhaps this is what the poet was striving for, reworking the plot. A happy ending and wishes of happiness to the heroine radiate kindness and light, this is how Zhukovsky sees the world.

What is the meaning of the ballad "Svetlana"?

If you answer this question in a nutshell, then the point is the victory of love and faith over death and darkness.

Zhukovsky believed in goodness. His heroine is pure in soul, she prays, turning to the “comforter angel”, sincerely believes in salvation, and it comes to her in the form of a white dove. So the author conveys to us his life conviction that the devilish temptations cannot destroy a sinless soul.

Ballad "Svetlana": summary

The action takes place on Epiphany evening, when, according to popular belief, with the help of fortune-telling, you can look into the future, find out fate. The author describes the types of fortune-telling: girls throw a "slipper" over the gate, feed a chicken with grain, sing fortune-telling songs and tell fortunes about their betrothed, looking in the mirror at night by candlelight. Svetlana is sad because there has been no news from her beloved for a long time, she dreams that he will return soon.

Troubled in anticipation, she decides to look in the mirror. Suddenly, her fiancé appears, joyfully announcing that the heavens have been tamed, the murmur is heard. He invites her to marry. Carrying along, he puts Svetlana in a sleigh, and they set off through the snowy plain to a strange temple, where instead of the expected wedding, the deceased is being buried.

The journey is cut short when the sleigh stops near a small hut. The groom and horses suddenly disappear.

Left alone at night in an unfamiliar place, Svetlana crosses herself and enters the house where the coffin stands. The terrible dead man, in whom Svetlana recognizes her lover, gets up and stretches out her dead hands to her. A white dove comes to the rescue, miraculously protecting the heroine from a terrible dead man.

Svetlana wakes up at home. Everything that happens turns out to be just a bad dream. At the same hour, the long-awaited groom returns, he althy and happy.

This is the ballad "Svetlana". The summary ends with the wedding played by the heroes.

The secret power of the name

Few people remember that the name Svetlana was invented by Vasily Zhukovsky specifically for this ballad. It has firmly entered into use, has become widespread and has come down to our days. Light is heard in it, it sounds very kind. It is such a bright joy that fills the quiet and pure soul of the girl, her love and faith will not fade and will not dissolve in anything. The meaning of the ballad "Svetlana" is already in its very name.

And night turns to daylight

Spooky romantic ballads usually take place under the cover of night - the darkest and most mysterioustime of day, covering various secrets with darkness. Zhukovsky ends the action with daylight, the ringing of a bell and the crow of a rooster. Darkness and fears are replaced by the return of a loved one and a long-awaited wedding, a nightmare is left behind. And here the author himself tells us what the meaning of the ballad is: “Svetlana” is the triumph of light over darkness, the victory of love over death and faith over temptation.

Lines filled with light

Zhukovsky's ballad is a creative gift to Alexandra Andreevna Protasova (Voyeikova), who, according to the author, was a muse that "inspired him to a poetic mood."

The work has become fateful for the author. "Svetlana" was the name of the poet's friends from the literary society "Arzamas". P. A. Vyazemsky wrote in his memoirs that Zhukovsky was “Svetlana not only in name, but also in soul.” So, having put his ideals and essence into the work, the author conveyed to us the "bright" faith, worldview and attitude.

The ballad was also reflected in the works of many Russian writers and poets, including A. S. Pushkin, who borrowed the "silent and sad" image of Svetlana when describing the heroine of the novel "Eugene Onegin" Tatyana.

And, although the work took the basis for the plot in a German ballad, it can be considered primordially Russian, it certainly has a Russian flavor, close to folklore and folk art. Svetlana herself resembles the heroine of a Russian fairy tale or a folk song. The personal authorship of the poet is indisputable here. He believed that Russian literature, having studied Western achievements,should not blindly copy them, but try to convey them to the Russian reader in her own way.