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Boris Godunov and Little Tragedies
The collected dramatic works of the father of modern Russian literature In a tale of intrigue, deception, murder, and retribution, Boris Godunov charts the rise and fall of an ambitious prince who cannot avoid facing the consequences of his dark past. Based on the historical figure of the nobleman Boris Godunov, who seized power from Ivan the Terrible€™s successor in 16th-century Russia, and partly inspired by Shakespeare€™s Macbeth, Alexander Pushkin€™s 1825 play showcases the author€™s mastery of verse and dramatic form. Also included are Pushkin€™s celebrated four Little Mozart and Salieri, The Miserly Knight, The Stone Guest, and A Feast During the Plague; as well as pictures and an extensive section about the author's life and works.
288 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2010
About the author
Alexander Pushkin
2,924 books3,640 followersWorks of Russian writer Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin include the verse novel
Eugene Onegin
(1831), the play
Boris Godunov
(1831), and many narrative and lyrical poems and short stories.
See also:
Russian: Александр Сергеевич Пушкин
French: Alexandre Pouchkine
Norwegian: Aleksander Pusjkin
Spanish:Aleksandr Pushkin
People consider this author the greatest poet and the founder of modern literature. Pushkin pioneered the use of vernacular speech in his poems, creating a style of storytelling—mixing drama, romance, and satire—associated ever with greatly influential later literature.
Pushkin published his first poem at the age of 15 years in 1814, and the literary establishment widely recognized him before the time of his graduation from the imperial lyceum in Tsarskoe Selo. Social reform gradually committed Pushkin, who emerged as a spokesman for literary radicals and in the early 1820s clashed with the government, which sent him into exile in southern Russia. Under the strict surveillance of government censors and unable to travel or publish at will, he wrote his most famous drama but ably published it not until years later. People published his verse serially from 1825 to 1832.
Pushkin and his wife Natalya Goncharova, whom he married in 1831, later became regulars of court society. In 1837, while falling into ever greater debt amidst rumors that his wife started conducting a scandalous affair, Pushkin challenged her alleged lover, Georges d'Anthès, to a duel. Pushkin was mortally wounded and died two days later.
Because of his liberal political views and influence on generations of Russian rebels, Pushkin was portrayed by Bolsheviks as an opponent to bourgeois literature and culture and a predecessor of Soviet literature and poetry. Tsarskoe Selo was renamed after him.
See also:
Russian: Александр Сергеевич Пушкин
French: Alexandre Pouchkine
Norwegian: Aleksander Pusjkin
Spanish:Aleksandr Pushkin
People consider this author the greatest poet and the founder of modern literature. Pushkin pioneered the use of vernacular speech in his poems, creating a style of storytelling—mixing drama, romance, and satire—associated ever with greatly influential later literature.
Pushkin published his first poem at the age of 15 years in 1814, and the literary establishment widely recognized him before the time of his graduation from the imperial lyceum in Tsarskoe Selo. Social reform gradually committed Pushkin, who emerged as a spokesman for literary radicals and in the early 1820s clashed with the government, which sent him into exile in southern Russia. Under the strict surveillance of government censors and unable to travel or publish at will, he wrote his most famous drama but ably published it not until years later. People published his verse serially from 1825 to 1832.
Pushkin and his wife Natalya Goncharova, whom he married in 1831, later became regulars of court society. In 1837, while falling into ever greater debt amidst rumors that his wife started conducting a scandalous affair, Pushkin challenged her alleged lover, Georges d'Anthès, to a duel. Pushkin was mortally wounded and died two days later.
Because of his liberal political views and influence on generations of Russian rebels, Pushkin was portrayed by Bolsheviks as an opponent to bourgeois literature and culture and a predecessor of Soviet literature and poetry. Tsarskoe Selo was renamed after him.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 5, 2026
A clásic that is enjoyable and smooth, though i think it is not the best of Pushkin, showing character complexity. At the beginning u was a bit thrown by the theater play fornat/ dialogue, however by the 2rd scene it was actually interesting.
July 5, 2023
oh, I shall come to feel such hatred for you,
as soon as passion’s shameful fever passes
as soon as passion’s shameful fever passes
August 17, 2011
I love Pushkin. And I quite liked the plays collected in this volume but they, or at least the main play Boris Godunov, are not his very best work. With the rather large caveat that I am not qualified to judge the quality of the language -- especially in translation -- it is hard to see how Pushkin could have become known as the Shakespeare of Russia solely on the strength Boris Godunov.
Boris Godunov consciously follows the tradition of Shakespeare's history plays, telling the story of the accession of Boris Godunov, the rise of the Pretender Dimitri, his gathering of Polish and Russian soldiers to invade Moscow, Boris Godunov's death, and Dimitri's triumph. It is an epic canvas stretching from Moscow to the provinces to Lithuania and Poland, featuring dozens of characters, and fast paced action that goes from short scene to short scene. Moscow itself feels almost like a character.
The biggest weakness is that Pushkin seems to have stuck quite literally to the actual history, which does not have quite the same drama as a classical play -- for example Godunov dies of natural causes before Dimitri reaches Moscow. The characters also lack depth and evolution and although there are a few minor comic scenes, there is nothing resembling Falstaff and his friends.
This volume also collects four "little tragedies," tiny one act gems that in some cases are only a few pages long. Mozart and Salieri imagines Salieri poisoning Mozart for the sake of art -- or specifically so that he Mozart does not eclipse and render null and void all of the lesser art produced by other composers. In a few places it calls for music and when I once saw it performed with the accompaniment of Mozart's music it was especially powerful. The Stone Guest, a compressed version of Don Juan, is also quite good. The other two seems lesser, although I cannot judge if they are redeemed by the verse.
None of this should be taken to say this is not excellent or worth reading (although Eugene Onegin and Pushkin's stories are worth reading first). To say a play falls short of Shakespeare is not exactly to dismiss it. Just that this is the most natural comparison, likely courted by Pushkin, so worth thinking a bit through that lens.
A few of the four "little tragedies" collected in this volume are
Boris Godunov consciously follows the tradition of Shakespeare's history plays, telling the story of the accession of Boris Godunov, the rise of the Pretender Dimitri, his gathering of Polish and Russian soldiers to invade Moscow, Boris Godunov's death, and Dimitri's triumph. It is an epic canvas stretching from Moscow to the provinces to Lithuania and Poland, featuring dozens of characters, and fast paced action that goes from short scene to short scene. Moscow itself feels almost like a character.
The biggest weakness is that Pushkin seems to have stuck quite literally to the actual history, which does not have quite the same drama as a classical play -- for example Godunov dies of natural causes before Dimitri reaches Moscow. The characters also lack depth and evolution and although there are a few minor comic scenes, there is nothing resembling Falstaff and his friends.
This volume also collects four "little tragedies," tiny one act gems that in some cases are only a few pages long. Mozart and Salieri imagines Salieri poisoning Mozart for the sake of art -- or specifically so that he Mozart does not eclipse and render null and void all of the lesser art produced by other composers. In a few places it calls for music and when I once saw it performed with the accompaniment of Mozart's music it was especially powerful. The Stone Guest, a compressed version of Don Juan, is also quite good. The other two seems lesser, although I cannot judge if they are redeemed by the verse.
None of this should be taken to say this is not excellent or worth reading (although Eugene Onegin and Pushkin's stories are worth reading first). To say a play falls short of Shakespeare is not exactly to dismiss it. Just that this is the most natural comparison, likely courted by Pushkin, so worth thinking a bit through that lens.
A few of the four "little tragedies" collected in this volume are
September 20, 2013
I'm not sure Boris Godunov is a play meant to be read; or maybe the OneWorld edition isn't: given the extensive notes and appendices, it seems to have more of an historical point than a literary one. In any case, the presented text is very fragmented, with scenes jumping wildy between a large cast, different places and ellipsing huge spans of time. It's almost as if complete acts had been omitted and the play ends with the eponymous character dying of a sudden disease while the pretender takes the throne completely off-stage. None of the romantic, political or family intrigues are resolve. Very puzzling.
The Little Tragedies are far more classical, and are easier to enjoy, but they are in no way memorable.
The Little Tragedies are far more classical, and are easier to enjoy, but they are in no way memorable.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews