Literature Help: Eugene Onegin

By Students' Academy

“Eugene Onegin” by Alexander Pushkin was first published in a complete edition in 1833. It is a novel in verse.

Being considered a classic of Russian literature, “Eugene Onegin” inspired several contemporary and future writers in the country.

The eponymous protagonist of the novel has served as the model for several Russian literary heroes.

The novel was initially published as a series from 1825 to 1832. The latest accepted version of the book was published in 1837.

Literature Help: Eugene Onegin
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Mar 13, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311392831

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Literature Help: Eugene Onegin

Copyright

Literature Help: Eugene Onegin

Students' Academy

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Chapter One: Introduction

Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin was first published in a complete edition in 1833. It is a novel in verse.

Being considered a classic of Russian literature, Eugene Onegin inspired several contemporary and future writers in the country.

The eponymous protagonist of the novel has served as the model for several Russian literary heroes.

The novel was initially published as a series from 1825 to 1832. The latest accepted version of the book was published in 1837.

The novel has 389 stanzas of fourteen lines each of iambic tetrameter. The rhyme scheme is quite unusual: ABABCCDDEFFEGG. BDFG are unstressed and ACE are stressed syllables.

This particular form of the verse has come to be known as the Onegin Stanza or the Pushkin Sonnet.

The verse has innovative rhyme scheme and rhythm. There is natural tone and diction.

The economical transparency of presentation clearly shows the virtuosity that makes Alexander Pushkin the undisputed master of Russian Poetry.

The narrator of the story is a slightly fictionalized version of Pushkin’s public image. The narrator presents the story in a tone that is educated, intimate, and worldly. However, the narrator often digresses to give more details of this social and intellectual world.

Using this technique of frequent digression, the writer has been able to develop the characters and emphasize the drama of the plot. For all that the plot is quite simple.

It is an aesthetic piece of literature that is highly admired by scholars, critics, educationalists, and book lovers around the world.

The verse narrative is highly artful. It very skillfully and beautifully deals with the themes such as life, death, love, ennui, convention, and passion, etc.

In the 19th century, most of the novelists got their novels published serially. In the same way, this novel was written and published serially.

Several parts of each chapter were published in magazines before the final printing of each chapter.