The image above is a photo of the Aragvi River in the nation of Georgia.
"На Xолмах Грузии" (On The Hills of Georgia) was written by Alexander Pushkin in 1829. Below is the original Russian text, followed by an English translation.
На холмах Грузии лежит ночная мгла;
Шумит Арагва предо мною.
Мне грустно и легко; печаль моя светла;
Печаль моя полна тобою,
Тобой, одной тобой… Унынья моего
Ничто не мучит, не тревожит,
И сердце вновь горит и любит — оттого,
Что не любить оно не может.
The hills of Georgia are covered by the night; Ahead Aragvi runs through stone, My feeling's sad and light; my sorrow is bright; My sorrow is full of you alone, Of you, of only you... My everlasting gloom Meets neither troubles nor resistance. Again inflames and loves my poor heart, for whom Without love, 'tis no existence.
Born on May 26th, 1799, Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (Александр Сергеевич Пушкин) was one of the most prominent figures of the Golden Age of Russian literature. Born in Moscow, Pushkin is often referred to as the "greatest" poet from Russia and the founder of modern Russian Literature. Growing up, Pushkin enrolled in the Imperial Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. There he began his literary career. At first, Pushkin followed the romantic style of his older colleagues, Vasily Zhukovsky (Василий Жуковский), who has had work reviewed on this website, and Konstantin Batyushkov (Константи́н Никола́евич Ба́тюшков). In 1817, Pushkin was elected to an exclusive literary circle, the Arzamas Society. Other prominent Golden Age writers were members of this group, notably Zhukovsky and Batyushkov. At the same time, Pushkin began to gain notoriety. His claim to fame came as a result of his beautiful poems and his outspoken political views. These were the same political views that inspired rebels, at the time referred to as "Decembrists," to stage a revolt in December of 1825, hence the name "Decembrists." Unfortunately for the rebels, their uprising was unsuccessful and shut down quickly. As a result of Pushkin's revolutionary political views, the tsar, Alexander I of Russia, exiled Pushkin in May of 1820. After the Decembrist uprising in late-1825, the new tsar, Nicholas I of Russia, allowed Pushkin to return because he knew Pushkin had not taken part in the revolt and because he knew of Pushkin's immense fame. However, the tsar put him under heavy censorship to prevent him from writing anti-government literary pieces. Pushkin had agreed to the censorship, but he was not yet aware of the burden it would become. This forced Pushkin to become more creative. This creativity can be seen in many of his poems, including "On the Hills of Georgia" (Xолмах Грузии).
Alexander Pushkin wrote, "On the Hills of Georgia" (Xолмах Грузии), in 1829, around 4 years after his initial exile from St. Petersburg. Pushkin begins the poem by mentioning "The hills of Georgia," and the "Aragvi." The Aragvi is a river, surrounded by hills, in the nation of Georgia. The river can be seen in the photo above. Pushkin then quickly pivots to talking about his feelings, "my feeling’s sad and light." He makes this transition after mentioning the Aragvi River to emphasize that his feelings flow like water in a river. Pushkin concludes the first stanza with an emphasis on his sorrow for "you," implying that this specific poem is written for someone in particular. Pushkin opens up the second, and final, stanza by mentioning "you" again. He proceeds to maintain the somber tone that was established in the first stanza. He goes on to mention his "everlasting gloom" and his "poor heart." Pushkin concludes the poem by stating that for "you," without love, 'tis no existence." In this quote, he states that without love from "you," life is meaningless. Pushkin is famous for his diction and the beautiful imagery of his poems. He effectively creates a connection between himself and the reader by using words that allow the reader to feel exactly what he is feeling. Overall, this poem is about love, how love is constantly flowing, and that without love, there is no existence.
Some aspects of love may have changed since 1829, as people are now able to meet each other through online dating apps, however, after around 200 years the nature of love has not changed. Love is a large part of everyone's lives. It can drive people to do crazy things, like entering into a duel to fight for your wife (Pushkin died in a duel over his wife). The purpose of this poem is to show the reader how important love is, and that it is possible to create beauty even in dark places, such as that of a broken heart. It is important to look back at this poem, and its message, to be reminded that heartbreak and sadness do not last forever, and they can often turn into beauty. Readers can look at this poem and feel empowered to look for or create beauty in their lives.
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