Что же мне делать, слепцу и пасынку,
Chto zhe mne delat, sleptsu i pasynku,
В мире, где каждый и отч и зряч,
V mire, gde kazhdyj i otch i zryach,
Где по анафемам, как по насыпям—
Gde po anafemam, kak po nasypyam—
Страсти! где насморком
Strasti! gde nasmorkom
Назван–плач!
Nazvan–plach!
Glossary
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RUSSIAN
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ROMANIZED
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DEFINITION
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POSSIBLE SYNONYMS
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|---|---|---|---|
| анафемам | anafemam (n.) | people or things intensely disliked or loathed; denunciations of something as accursed | anathemas, evils, abominations, hate, curses, torments |
| что | chto (pron.) | used to ask for information about someone or something | what, which |
| делать | delat (v.) | from the verb сделать—to perform, achieve, or complete an action | do, make, create, accomplish, produce, operate, set about doing |
| где | gde (adv.) | at, in, or to which | where, in which, within which |
| и | i (conj.) | in addition to | and, plus, as well as |
| как | kak (prep.) | similar to | as, like, as if, just like |
| каждый | kazhdyj (pron.) | every person | everyone, all, each, everybody |
| мире | mire (n.) | our planet, together with all of its countries, peoples, and natural features | world, earth, universe, existence, land |
| мне | mne (pron.) | referring to the speaker | I, me |
| насморком | nasmorkom (n.) | a common virus characterized by congested nasal passages, sneezing, and headache | sniffles, snuffles, sniveling, runny noses, sneezes, a head cold |
| насыпям | nasypyam (n.) | walls or banks of earth or stone built to prevent a river flooding | embankments, banks, mounds, ridges, levees, causeways, dams |
| назван | nazvan (past part.) | to identify, specify, or mention using words | is named, is called, is christened, is termed, is labeled, is referred to |
| отч | otch (adj.) | taken care of and watched over by a father | fathered, of a father, parented, cradled, nurtured, raised |
| пасынку | pasynku (adj.) | rejected or cast out by society or a social group | outcast, cast aside, discarded, forsaken, godforsaken, abandoned |
| плач | plach (n.) | the act of shedding tears, especially as an expression of distress or pain | mourning, crying, weeping, lamenting, lament, wailing, sobbing |
| по | po (prep.) | implying direction | over, up to, along, by, in |
| поэты | poeti (n.) | people who write poems | poets, bards, lyricists |
| слепцу | sleptsu (adj.) | unable to see | blind, sightless, unseeing, groping, in darkness |
| страсти | strasti (n.) | strong and barely controllable emotions | passions, desires, sentiments, love, ardor, fervor |
| в | v (prep.) | enclosed by or on top of something | in, within, upon, on |
| же | zhe (adv.) | used as an intensive after a word or phrase to express impatience or necessity | again, already, must, should, ought |
| зряч | zryach (adj.) | able to see | sighted, seeing, in the light, looking |
Background
About Free Verse
- Free verse is a literary device that can be defined as poetry that is free from limitations of regular meter or rhythm and does not rhyme with fixed forms. Such poems are without rhythms and rhyme schemes; do not follow regular rhyme scheme rules and still provide artistic expression. In this way, the poet can give his own shape to a poem how he/she desires. However, it still allows poets to use alliteration, rhyme, cadences or rhythms to get the effects that they consider are suitable for the piece.
Bio
As a child, Marina Tsvetaeva escaped from her unhappy family and the frequent violent quarrels with her older half-siblings by running wild on the beach, climbing cliffs, and making up fantasy adventures. When she was eighteen years old, she published her first book of poetry. She had an immensely difficult and dramatic life, living through two world wars, a major revolution, and a devastating famine. Her husband Sergei was a double agent spy who was eventually found out and killed. The Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin did not like her, so none of the writers who admired her poetry dared to help her. She died jobless and penniless in 1941. An asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter is named after her: 3511 Tsvetaeva.