Ночь, улица, фонарь, аптека
Ночь, улица, фонарь, аптека,
Бессмысленный и тусклый свет.
Живи ещё хоть четверть века –
Всё будет так. Исхода нет.
Умрёшь – начнешь опять сначала
И повторится всё, как встарь:
Ночь, ледяная рябь канала,
Аптека, улица, фонарь.
Glossary
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WORD
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ROMANIZED
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DEFINITION
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POSSIBLE SYNONYMS
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|---|---|---|---|
| аптека | apteka (n.) | a store where medicinal drugs are dispensed and sold | drugstore, pharmacy, chemist’s shop, apothecary, corner store |
| бессмысленный | bessmyslennyi (adj.) | having little or not use or purpose | pointless, senseless, meaningless, foolish, inane, idle, in vain, worthless |
| будет | budet (future v.) | to stay in the same place or position | be, stay, remain, be there |
| четверть | chetvert' (n.) | each of four equal parts into which something can be divided | quarter, fourth of |
| ещë | eshchio (pron.) | used to refer to an additional thing of a type already mentioned | another, more |
| фонарь | fonar' (n.) | a light illuminating a road, typically on a tall pole | streetlight, streetlamp, lamp, lantern, light |
| и | i (conj.) | in addition to or following | and, then |
| исхода | iskhoda (n. | the final part of something; a termination of a state or situation | end, resolution, close, conclusion, exit, way out, solution |
| как | kak (adv.) | used in comparisons | as, like |
| канала | kanala (n.) | an artificial waterway for boats or irrigation | canal, channel, sewer |
| хоть | khot' (part.) | despite the possibility, no matter whether | even, even if, if you like |
| ледяная | edianaia (adj.) | covered with or consisting of ice; very cold | icy, glacial, ice-cold, frozen |
| начнëшь | nachniosh' (future v.) | to come into being or have a starting point at a certain time or place | start, begin, commence, take off |
| нет | net (determ.) | not any | no |
| ночь | noch' (n.) | the time from sunset to sunrise | night, evening, after hours, dark hours |
| опять | opiat' (adv.) | another time | again, once more, yet again, anew, over again |
| повторится | povtoritsia (v.) | to occur again in the same way or form | repeat, reoccur, recur, happen again, replicate itself |
| рябь | riab' (n.) | a small wave or series of waves on a surface of water | ripple, wavelet, undulation, ruffle, ridge |
| сначала | snachala (adv.) | from/at the beginning | all over again, afresh |
| свет | svet (n.) | the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible | light, illumination |
| так | tak (adv.) | referring back to a state previously mentioned | as it was, the same, the same as now, the same as always, so, just so |
| тусклый | tusklyi (adj.) | lacking brightness, vividness, or sheen | dull, tarnished, dim, faded, dreary, lusterless, flat, wan |
| улица | ulitsa (n.) | a public road in a city or tow, usually lined by buildings on each side | street, road, avenue, pavement |
| умрëшь | umriesh' (future v.) | to stop living | die, pass away, depart, perish, bite the dust |
| века | veka (n.) | a period of one hundred years | century, age, lifetime |
| всё | vsio (pron.) | all things | everything, it all, all |
| встарь | vstar' (adv.) | in earlier times | formerly, in olden times/days, in the past, before |
| живи | zhivi (imperative v.) | to remain alive | live, exist, go on, live through, experience |
Bio
Alexander Blok was born in Saint Petersburg, into an intellectual family. His father was a law professor in Warsaw, and his maternal grandfather the head of Saint Petersburg State University. After his parents’ separation, Blok lived with relatives near Moscow. Blok considered his poetical output as comprised of three volumes. The first volume is composed of his early poems about the Fair Lady, his wife Lyuba. The second volume comments upon the impossibility of attaining the ideal for which he craved. The third volume, featuring his poems from pre-revolutionary years, is livelier. In this volume Blok returns to classical models while continuing to include themes of despair, chaos, the modern city, and the absurdity of human existence. This poem is from that volume.