Tristia, by Osip Emilievich Mandelstam (Trans., Bruce McClelland)

   The scene here is most likely taken from Racine's Phedre, ('Que ces vains ornements, que ces voiles me pèsent.') and not directly from Euripides' Hippolytus. See Phedre, Sc. III.

   (Moscow 1990) has shirokoxmuryj, 'widely gloomy or cloudy', instead of temno-buryj,'dark brown'.

   The Russian verb here is almost ambiguous: poju means either 'I sing' or 'I offer, serve'. Though the latter meaning is more likely in this context, the ambiguity may be intentional, considering the "musical" nature of "Italian speech". See also the poem beginning "A phantom scene barely glimmers..."

   Note on Aurora goes here.

   An allusion to the Time of Troubles (1598-1613) in Russia, from the rule of Boris Godunov to that of Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov. Basically, this poem concerns Theodore's half-brother, Dmitri Carevich, who in 1591 was found in the courtyard of his estate in Uglich, a small town outside of Moscow, with throat mysteriously slashed, thus paving the way for a dynastic crisis.

   Uglich: on the import of Uglich, see Clarence Brown's biography, Mandelstam:"'Uglich' is as familiar a name, and almost as fraught with his meaning, as 'Runnymede,' say, or the 'Alamo.'" (p. 222)

   Note about the Carevich's hat goes here.

   three meetings: The Metropolitan of Moscow was consecrated as the Third Rome in 1589, under Theodore I. It is conjectured that the reason for this was that "those who formulated [the doctine] believed the end of the world was approaching and the Last Judgment. They were merely trying to keep Orthodox Christianity alive as a last refuge to the end." (G. Vernadsky, A History of Russia)

   (Moscow 1990) has pereminalis', 'shifted their weight (from one foot to another -- presumably to get back on the curb)', instead of lushili semja, 'cracked (sunflower) seeds'.

   bound hands: it is believed that Dmitri was an epileptic

   Solominka: nickname of Princess Salomeia Nikolaevna Andronikova, or, as she was better known in Western Europe, Lou-Andreas Salome.

   The Struve edition and (Moscow 1990) both have ne spish' instead of ty spish'. On the surface, the difference seems to be one of opposition in meaning: "When you are not sleeping..." versus "When you are sleeping...". Since the passage is referring to insomnia, it would seem that the first version is more logical. However, since spish here is an imperfective verb, there is no emphasis upon completion of the action; therefore, one reading of the second variant might be "When you are going to sleep (i.e. not yet asleep)...".

   Mandel'stam is playing with derivations from the root solom-, having to do with straw. Solomka is both a diminutive of soloma, 'straw' (as is solominka), and also the word for 'matchstick'.

   In the past tense in Russian, the gender of the subject can be determined from the form of the verb. In this case, the verb poterjala is feminine, meaning that the subject "I" is a woman.

   Salamis: Ajax accompanied the Greeks with twelve Salaminian ships to the Trojan War.

   medusa: Here, since it is not capitalized, can mean either a generalized Medusa, snakes and all, or a sea-nettle or type of jellyfish. Medusa is the generic term for 'jellyfish' in Russian.

   The original Russian yurodivyj is often applied to a special class of people in Russian medieval society, the so-called "holy fools". So the craziness being implied here is deemed to be of this sacred sort. The 'place' being referred to is a sloboda, a type of settlement or village exempted from normal State obligations.

   The original Russian byt' bede is a special dative construction meaning 'there will be (it is fated to be) disaster or trouble'. This construction is used by Pushkin in Boris Godunov.

   Taurides: a mountain range in Turkey near the Black Sea. [*****See also the poem beginning "The thick golden stream of honey . . ." (p.35)*****]

   "Baiu, baiushki. baiu...": the beginning of a well-known Russian lullaby.

   quadrigae: L., 'four-horsed chariots.'

   Note about skalds (Scandinavian singers?) here

   Note about Levites here

   (Moscow 1990) has a variant reading: Nam peli Shuberta -- rodnaja kolybel', 'Shubert was sung for us -- a native cradle (or lullaby, kolibel'naja pesnja).

   (Moscow 1990) has the adjective bezumnoj, 'senseless', instead of zverinjoj, 'savage'.

   What?/Alright? (Russ. Shto/Vo?): in the Struve & Filippov edition these lines begin "Shto?"/"Co?" which are different pronunciations of the word for 'what' in Russian and Polish (or Ukrainian), respectively. "Vo," on the other hand, is a colloquialism meaning something like 'Alright!'.

   (Moscow 1990) has the phrase vigilij gorodskix, 'of the town's vigil'

   wax:A Slavic method of divination was the spilling of molten wax or lead into cold water. Its final, cooled-off shape would then be interpreted.

   Pierius: A mountain in NE Greece, said to be the first place known where the muses were worshipped.

   little song: "In the Blacksmith's Shop"

   Epirus: A region in western Greece.

   In the Struve edition of Mandelstam's works and thus in (Moscow 1990) these stanzas are preceded by the following three stanzas:

THEODOSIA [*A resort in the Crimea, where Mandelstam lived in 1919]

   world: In current Russian orthography, the Russian word for 'world' is spelled (and pronounced) the same as the word for peace: mir. In 1921, however, the two words were distinguished by the presence of a "hard sign" at the end of the word meaning 'peace'

   Assumption, Archangel, Resurrection: cathedrals in Moscow.

   Kypris: Aphrodite (of Cyprus, one of the chief seats of worship of that goddess).

   Check wolf fairytale

   clock-hoppers:Mandel'stam uses a hyphenated word, chasy-kuznechnik, which combines the word for 'watch, clock' with the word for 'grasshopper'. It is something of a pun: the root of kuznechnik is related to kuznec, 'smith'. The association of the striking of a clock with the hammering on an anvil is suggested by this compound word. The solution to translation offered here does not capture the clarity of Mandel'stam's term.

   Sazandar: A musician; a member of the National Ensembles of Azerbaiian, Armenia, Georgia, Iran.

   Kura: a river in the Caucasus mountains.

   dukhan:A Caucasian inn. A dukhanshchik is apparently a waiter at one of the inns.

   (Moscow 1990) has the word obmanshchika, 'cheat, fraud'

   (Moscow 1990) includes a final stanza:

   The subject of the (feminine) past tense verb zaplela, 'braided', in the original is unclear. Some suggest that it is the feminine noun ljubov', 'love' implied by the second line of the second stanza. On the other hand, it could be an anonymous feminine subject, which might be rendered simply by 'she'.

   Melpomene: the Muse of Tragedy.

   This poem most likely refers to Tintoretto's painting of Susannah and the Elders, or else by another of several Renaissance artists who painted the scene. The story itself is in the Old Testament Apocrypha

    In the Struve edition and (Moscow 1990), the following lines are included as the sixth stanza of the poem:

    bautta: It., 'a black cape with a hood or mask; a cowl.'

   Aonides:The Muses, so-called because Mt. Helicon and the fountain of Aganippe were in Aonia.

   The Russian plural noun sruby designates fellings, or trees that have been cut down for building frames. In (Moscow 1990) this word is modified by the adjective pakuchie, 'odoriferous (because newly hewn)', rather than the adjective used here, plakuchie, 'weeping' (in this case, because of the running sap -- see the fourth stanza)

   Isaac: the Cathedral of St. Isaac in St. Petersburg

   Gennesarian:Gennesar, or Gennesaret, is a biblical town or region N.W. of the Sea of Galilee. It is mentioned in I Maccabees, as well as Luke 5:1, Matthew 14:34, and Mark 6:53. The New Testament reference follows Jesus' walking on water. Perhaps the gloom Mandel'stam is describing derives from the following scene: " . . . they came into the land of Gennesaret. And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about and brought unto him all that were diseased; And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick. . ."

   cry (Russian, vozglas): no English word can translate this word accurately; it means, roughly, "the final notes of a prayer which are sung or chanted in a loud voice." An alternate translation of this line might be: "And the orphaned final notes of the priest."

   (Moscow 1990) includes a dedication: A.V. Kartashevu

   The epigraph is from Heinrich Heine: "O, my double, o my poor colleague". The epigraph was not originally printed in Tristia.

   (Moscow 1990) has zarnic instead of resnic

   ***Russian lines of Theodosia go here

   (Moscow 1990) had sazandarej (genitive plural noun) instead of sazandarij (nominative masculine singular adjective).

   (Moscow 1990) has the word obmanshchika, 'cheat, fraud'

   A variant of the comparison legche...chem vymolvit' -- ljubit' in (Moscow 1990) is chem imja tvoe povtorit'.

   The last four lines of this poem in (Moscow 1990) read:

   The second line of the third stanza in (Moscow 1990) reads: I xrapit i dyshit t'ma.

   (Moscow 1990) has pritina instead of pritona.

    In the Struve edition and (Moscow 1990), the following lines are included as the sixth stanza of the poem:

   Instead of the line V teni ot shapochki tvoej, (Moscow 1990) has I ten' ot shapochki tvoej.

   (Moscow 1990) has zerkalce instead of zerkalo.

   (Moscow 1990) has zhaloby instead of shalosti.

   The first five lines in (Moscow 1990) differ significantly. The first two stanzas read:

   For a more comprehensive examination of the role of Sophia in Symbolist poetry, see my Sophia-Prunikos: The Dualistic Cosmogony of Vladimir Solov'iev and its Consequence in the Life & Work of Aleksandr Blok (MA thesis, unpublished. University of Virginia, 1994)