The content of the work Ruslan and Lyudmila. BUT

Year of writing: 1820

Genre of work: poem

Main characters: Vladimir- old prince Ludmila- daughter, Ruslan- prince, Chernomor- wizard, Rogdai, Ratmir, Farlaf- knights.

Plot

Ruslan and Lyudmila got married. On their wedding night, the bride goes missing. Prince Vladimir is not pleased with Ruslan's inaction. He sends knights in search. The reward is half the kingdom and the bride. Looking for Lyudmila and Ruslan. He drove into the cave where the old wizard was sitting. He said that Chernomor had stolen the girl and said that Ruslan would save her. Rogdai decides to kill the opponent, looking for him. Lyudmila is not happy with anything, but she is not given to Chernomor, putting on an invisibility hat. Ruslan defeats Chernomor in battle, cut off his magic beard. He finds Lyudmila sleeping and takes her to Kyiv. Rogdai kills the hero in a dream, but the wizard from the cave resurrected the knight. He gave the ring, thanks to which the bride will wake up. And so it happened.

Conclusion (my opinion)

Ruslan did not give up, but by all means he was looking for Lyudmila. This showed real feelings. He was courageous, the obstacles did not frighten him. Even death is not the end for a hero.

Poetic fairy-tale work of the outstanding Russian classic of Russian literature Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila", was written in the period from 1818 to 1820. The author, impressed by the beauty, diversity and originality of Russian folklore (epics, legends, fairy tales and popular tales), creates a unique poetic work that has become a classic of world and Russian literature, distinguished by a grotesque, fantastic plot, the use of colloquial vocabulary and the presence of a certain amount of authorial irony.

According to some literary critics, the poem was created as a parody of chivalric romances and poetic ballads in the romantic style of Zhukovsky, who was fashionable at that time (the basis was his popular ballad "The Twelve Maidens"), who, after the publication of the poem, presented Pushkin with his portrait with words of gratitude from a defeated teacher for a winning student.

History of creation

(The first edition of "Ruslan and Lyudmila" by A.S. Pushkin, St. Petersburg. Printing house of N. Grech, 142 p., 1820)

According to some reports, Pushkin conceived the idea of ​​writing this fairy tale poetry with a "heroic spirit" during his lyceum education. But he began to work on it much later, already in 1818-1820. The poetic poem was created under the influence of not only exclusively Russian folklore, here the motives of the works of Voltaire and Ariosto are still clearly felt. The names for some of the characters (Ratmir, Farlaf, Ragdai) appeared after Pushkin read the History of the Russian State.

Analysis of the work

(Near Lukomorye there is a green oak Golden chain on an oak tom.., Chromo-lithography by A.A. Abramov. Moscow, 1890)

In this poetic work, the author skillfully combined antiquity, moments of Russian history and the time in which the poet lived. For example, his image of Ruslan is akin to the image of the legendary Russian heroes, he is just as brave and courageous, but Lyudmila, thanks to her some carelessness, coquettishness and frivolity, on the contrary, is closer to the young ladies of the Pushkin era. The most important thing for the poet was to show in the work the triumph of good over evil, the victory of a bright beginning over dark, gloomy forces.

After the poem appeared in print in 1820, it almost immediately brought the poet well-deserved fame. Distinguished by lightness, irony, sublimity, grace and freshness, it was a deeply original work in which various genres, traditions and styles were talentedly mixed, immediately captivating the minds and hearts of readers of that time. Some critics condemned the use of deliberately folk phrases in the poem; not everyone understood the author's unusual technique and his unusual position as a narrator.

Story line

The poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" is divided into six parts (songs), it begins with lines where the author talks about who this work is dedicated to, and it is intended for beautiful girls, for the sake of which this fairy tale was written. Then comes the well-known description of the magical country Lukomorye, the green oak growing there and the mythical creatures living there.

First song begins with a story about a feast in the palace of the Kyiv prince Vladimir the Red Sun, dedicated to the wedding of his daughter, the beautiful Lyudmila, and the brave young hero Ruslan. There is also the legendary epic singer and storyteller Bayan, as well as Ruslan's three rivals Ratmir, Ragdai and Farlaf, who are also in love with Lyudmila, they are evil of the newly-born groom, full of envy and hatred for him. Here misfortune happens: the evil sorcerer and dwarf Chernomor kidnaps the bride and takes her to his enchanted castle. Ruslan and three rivals move out of Kyiv in search of her, in the hope that whoever finds the prince's daughter will receive her hand and heart. On the way, Ruslan meets the elder Finn, who tells him the story of his unhappy love for the girl Naina and shows him the way to the terrible sorcerer Chernomor.

Second part (song) tells about the adventures of Ruslan's rivals, about his clash and victory over Ragday who attacked him, and also describes the details of Lyudmila's stay in Chernomor's castle, her acquaintance with him (Chernomor comes to her room, Lyudmila gets scared, squeals, grabs him by the cap and he flees in terror).

In the third song a meeting of old friends is described: the wizard Chernomor and his friend the sorceress Naina, who comes to him and warns him that the heroes are coming to him for Lyudmila. Lyudmila finds a magic hat that makes her invisible and hides all over the palace from an old and nasty sorcerer. Ruslan meets the giant head of the hero, defeats it and takes possession of the sword that can kill Chernomor.

In the fourth song Radmir refuses to search for Lyudmila and remains in the castle with young charmers, and only one faithful warrior Ruslan stubbornly continues his journey, which becomes more and more dangerous, on the way he meets a witch, a giant and other enemies, they try to stop him, but he firmly goes to its purpose. Chernomor fraudulently catches Lyudmila, dressed in an invisibility cap, in magic nets and she falls asleep in them.

Fifth song tells about the arrival of Ruslan in the halls of the wizard, and about the heavy battle between the hero and the villain-dwarf, who wears Ruslan on his beard for three days and three nights, and, in the end, surrenders. Ruslan captivates him, cuts off his magic beard, throws the sorcerer into a sack and goes to look for his bride, whom the vile dwarf hid well, putting on an invisibility cap. Finally, he finds her, but cannot wake her up, and in such a sleepy state he decides to take her to Kyiv. On the night road, Farlaf surreptitiously attacks him, seriously injures him and takes Lyudmila away.

In the sixth song Farlaf brings the girl to his father and tells everyone that he found her, but he still cannot wake her up. Elder Finn saves and revives Ruslan with living water, he hurries to Kyiv, which was just attacked by the Pechenegs, bravely fights with them, removes witchcraft from Lyudmila and she wakes up. The main characters are happy, a feast is arranged for the whole world, the dwarf Chernomor, who has lost his magical power, is left in the palace, in general, good will dine evil and justice will triumph.

The poem ends with a lengthy epilogue, in which Pushkin tells readers that with his work he glorified the traditions of ancient times, says that in the process of work he forgot about all insults and forgave his enemies, in which friendship helped him a lot, which is of great importance for the author .

main characters

The hero Ruslan, the groom of the prince's daughter Lyudmila, is the central character of Pushkin's poem. The description of the trials that fell to his lot, withstood with honor and great courage in the name of saving his beloved, forms the basis of the entire storyline. The author, inspired by the exploits of Russian epic heroes, depicts Ruslan not only as the savior of his beloved, but also as a defender of his native land from nomadic raids.

Ruslan's appearance, described with special care, should fully, according to the author's intention, convey his conformity to the heroic image: he has blond hair, symbolizing the purity of his plans and the nobility of the soul, his armor is always clean and shiny, as befits a knight in brilliant armor, always ready for battle. At the feast, Ruslan is completely absorbed in thoughts about his future marriage and ardent love for his bride, which does not allow him to notice the envious and evil looks of his rivals. Against their background, he compares favorably with purity and directness of thoughts, sincerity and sensuality. Also, the main character traits emerge during his journey to the Chornomor castle, he manifests himself as an honest, decent and generous person, a brave and courageous warrior, purposefully and stubbornly moving towards his goal, a faithful and devoted lover, ready to even die for the sake of his love.

In the image of Lyudmila Pushkin, he showed a portrait of the ideal bride and lover, who faithfully and faithfully waits for her fiance and misses him immensely. The prince's daughter is depicted as a thin, vulnerable nature, possessing special tenderness, sensitivity, elegance and modesty. At the same time, this does not prevent her from having a firm and rebellious character, which helps her resist the evil sorcerer Chernomor, gives her strength and courage and does not obey the vile kidnapper and faithfully wait for her deliverer Ruslan.

Quotes

Find out, Ruslan: your offender

Wizard terrible Chernomor,

Beauties old thief,

Midnight owner of the mountains.

Things of bygone days

legends of antiquity deep ..

There, King Kashchei languishes over gold;

There is a Russian spirit ... there it smells of Russia! author A.S. Pushkin

Features of compositional construction

The genre of the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" refers to novels and poems of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, gravitating towards creativity in the "national" spirit. It also reflects the influence on the author of such trends in literature as classicism, sementalism, and chivalric romance.

Following the example of all magical knightly poems, this work has a plot built according to a certain pattern: hero knights are looking for their beloved, kidnapped by some mythical villain, overcome a series of trials for this, armed with certain talismans and magical weapons, and in the end they receive a hand and beauty heart. The poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" is built in the same vein, but it is distinguished by amazing grace, freshness, subtle wit, brightness of colors and a slight trail of epicureanism, characteristic of many works written by Pushkin during his studies at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. It is the author's ironic attitude to the content of the poem that cannot give this work a real "national" color. The main advantages of the poem can be called its light and beautiful form, playfulness and witty style, provocativeness and cheerfulness of the general mood, a bright thread running through all the content.

Pushkin's fairy tale poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila", cheerful, light and witty, became a new word in the established literary traditions of writing heroic ballads and poems, it was very popular among readers and caused great resonance among literary critics. No wonder Zhukovsky himself admitted his complete failure, and gave the branch of championship to the young talent of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, who, thanks to this work, took a leading position in the ranks of Russian poets and became famous not only in Russia, but also far beyond its borders.

Pushkin's poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" and its summary introduces the reader to the meaning, plot, as well as the characters of "Ruslan and Lyudmila" by Pushkin. So, Pushkin wrote the work in 1818, and it begins with lines about the sea, a mermaid and a scientist cat on the branches, after which the fairy tale itself begins. The tale consists of six chapters, which the writer called songs.

Characters and heroes of Ruslan and Lyudmila Pushkin

The first song introduces us to such characters as Ruslan, Lyudmila, Prince Vladimir, Ruslan's three rivals - Ratmir, Rogdai, Farlaf. They all gathered at a feast organized in honor of the wedding of Ruslan and Lyudmila. Everyone feasted and had fun until the newlyweds were left alone. This is where the unthinkable happens. Lyudmila disappears. Her father Vladimir promises to give his daughter as a wife only to the one who finds her. So, in addition to Ruslan, his rivals, who were not indifferent to Lyudmila, also go in search of a girl.

Having gone in search of his beloved, Ruslan meets the old magician Finn in the cave, who tells the guy that Lyudmila was stolen by none other than Chernomor. Ruslan spent the night with the wizard. The wizard shared his story of unhappy love for the girl Naina, who is now an evil old sorceress.

Further, Pushkin's fairy tale "Ruslan and Lyudmila" continues with the second song, where we see Rogdai, who decided to kill Ruslan. He goes in search of him. When Rogdai sees the rider, he starts chasing him, but it turned out to be Farlaf. Rogdai goes on, and the old woman Naina comes up to Farlaf and advises him to go home. Wait there for her instructions. Further, Pushkin's poems "Ruslan and Lyudmila" lead us to the palace of Chernomor, where Lyudmila was walking in the garden, and when the dwarf Chernomor came to her, she screamed so much that everyone was frightened and ran away. At the same time, Chernomor drops his invisible hat.

In the third song of Pushkin's poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" we again find ourselves in the castle of Chernomor, where the old woman Naina made her way and who told about the heroes and that she was on his side. The dwarf, rejoicing at such support, dares to go to Lyudmila again, but does not find her anywhere, because the girl put on an invisibility cap.

Ruslan at this time gets on the battlefield, where he sees the dead soldiers. There he encounters a talking head, which he mistook for a hill. The head turned out to be the brother of the dwarf Chernomor. She longs for revenge, which is why she talks about the great power of the sword that she keeps and that she can cut off her beard.

In the fourth song, we see Ratmir, who came across a castle with charms. Fascinated by their beauty, he stays there, forgetting about Lyudmila. And at this time, Lyudmila, with the help of deceit, finds Chernomor and puts her to sleep.

In the fifth song, Ruslan fights Chernomor and cuts off his beard. Having found a sleeping girl and taking a dwarf with him, Ruslan goes to Kyiv. It is there that Lyudmila will be able to wake up. On the way, when Ruslan fell asleep at night, he was killed by Farlaf, who was sent by Naina, saying that his time had come.

In the sixth song, Farlaf brings his daughter to Prince Vladimir, but no one could wake the girl.

At this time, Finn revives Ruslan, who is in a hurry to Kyiv, because the city was attacked by the Pechenegs. On the way, Finn gave Ruslan a ring that should revive the girl. Ruslan bravely fights on the battlefield and defeats the Pechenegs, after which he woke Lyudmila.

Pushkin's poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" ends with a happy ending, a happy feast.

The main idea and essence of the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" is that with the help of love you can defeat any evil, so Ruslan overcame all obstacles, saved both Lyudmila and his native land.

The poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" begins with a dedication to the ladies, in which Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin expresses the hope that the poem will be read by them. This is followed by a fabulous opening "At Lukomorye there is a green oak ..."

wedding feast

Song 1 tells about this event. We will begin the description of the brief content with it. The plot of the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" begins with a feast in Kyiv. This is where the main characters first appear. Prince Vladimir the Sun, whose name is reminiscent of the famous Vladimir the Red Sun, married his youngest daughter Lyudmila to the brave Prince Ruslan. At the feast there were also three rivals of the young spouse, who had previously claimed the hand of Lyudmila - Rogdai, Farlaf and Ratmir.

The kidnapping of Lyudmila

Night fell, and the newlyweds gathered to retire. But as soon as they lay down on the wedding bed, a mysterious voice rang out, and Lyudmila was kidnapped by an unknown sorcerer.

Upon learning of what had happened, the prince-father invited the recent guests of the wedding feast. Vladimir was angry with Ruslan because he did not protect his daughter, and therefore vowed to give Lyudmila as a wife to someone who could save her. The young husband and three of his rivals went to look for the princess. At first they moved in one direction along the banks of the Dnieper, but by the end of the day they went in different directions.

Encounter with a hermit

Ruslan, left alone, soon came across a cave. An old hermit lived there. He revealed to the hero that Lyudmila had been kidnapped by a formidable sorcerer - Chernomor, the ruler of the Midnight Mountains. Due to old age, he could not seize Lyudmila by force, but still kept her captive. The elder also said that Ruslan would defeat the evil wizard, although it would not be easy.

History of the hermit

Even citing a very brief summary of the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila", it is worth mentioning some of the characters in the background. The hermit told Ruslan about his life. In his youth, he was a Finnish shepherd and passionately fell in love with the beautiful neighbor Naina. But she was too proud and rejected a simple shepherd. The hot young man gathered a squad of brave fellows and for ten years gained the glory of a warrior in raids on neighboring countries. But when he returned to Naina with rich gifts, crowned with military glory, she again rejected him. Then he retired to the forest jungle, where he studied magic, dreaming of using it to win the heart of an impregnable beauty.

So four decades passed. When he finally cast the spell and Naina appeared to him, he was horrified - she became old and ugly. Now Naina could answer him with love, but he no longer wanted to. Then she, offended, vowed to take revenge on her former admirer. It turned out that all these years Naina also studied witchcraft, because, as the old man said, she already knows about his meeting with Ruslan, and he is in danger from an angry sorceress.

Opponent's plans

Rogdai, not forgiving Ruslan good luck in love affairs, decided to kill him, but turning back, he met only Farlaf, who was having dinner in the field. He did not differ in courage and, seeing that Rogdai took him for Ruslan, he wanted to run away as soon as possible. However, while jumping over a ravine, he fell off his horse. Rogdai took out a sword to deal with a hated rival, but saw that it was not Ruslan, turned around and left.

The appearance of Naina

Nearby, Rogdai met a hunchbacked old woman (in fact, it was the sorceress Naina), who showed him the direction in which Ruslan should be looked for. Then Naina appeared to Farlaf, advising him to abandon the search for Lyudmila and retire to his Kiev estate.

Lyudmila at Chernomor

And with Lyudmila the following happened. After Chernomor took her from her wedding bed to his castle, the girl came to her senses only in the morning, in a richly decorated room. The maids respectfully dressed her in a beautiful sundress girded with pearls.

But Lyudmila was not pleased with the surrounding luxury. She yearned for Ruslan and her home. Chernomor had a beautiful large garden, fragrant with overseas flowers, where she could walk, and there she even got the idea to commit suicide by throwing herself from the bridge between the rocks.

Everything in this place was magical - as soon as the girl sat down on the grass, lunch miraculously appeared in front of her. And with the onset of darkness, an unknown force transferred Lyudmila back to the palace, where the maids prepared her bedchamber. When the princess was about to sleep, the door suddenly opened and the beard of Chernomor entered the room - a long line of slaves carried her ahead of the sorcerer.

Behind the beard appeared the sorcerer himself, a disgusting dwarf. Lyudmila squealed in horror, threw off the cap from his head and wanted to strike. From her cry, the Arabs-slaves faded away, and Chernomor wanted to run away, but got tangled in his own beard and collapsed to the ground.

And Ruslan at this time continued on his way. Suddenly, from behind came a cry: "Stop!" Ruslan saw that Rogdai was approaching. They fought for a long time, but in the end Ruslan managed to throw his opponent off his horse and threw him into the Dnieper. According to rumors, Rogdai got to the mermaid, and his ghost for a long time wandered along the coast at night.

Sorcerer's Secret

In the morning, after the inglorious flight from Lyudmila, Chernomor met with Naina, who arrived in the form of a flying kite. Turning into a woman, she made an offer of an alliance against Ruslan and the hermit. Chernomor willingly agreed, telling Naina the secret of his invincibility. The only way to kill him was to cut off his beard.

Song 3 of the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" tells about these events. In a brief summary of this part of the work, we will talk about the subsequent adventures of the heroes.

Disappearance of Lyudmila

After Naina flew away, Chernomor again visited the captive princess, but it turned out that she had disappeared. The sorcerer sent slaves to look for her. But where, in fact, could Lyudmila have gone? And she, having become dressed in the morning, saw the cap of Chernomor lying on the floor. Trying it on backwards, the girl found that she had become invisible. So it turned out that the cap is actually a cap of invisibility.

And Ruslan, after defeating Rogdai, went ahead and soon saw a field covered with the remains of the dead and weapons. There he picked up a replacement for his armor and shield, which fell into disrepair after a fight with an opponent. Only the hero did not find a new sword.

Monstrous Head

Driving further, he noticed a mountain from a distance, which seemed to be alive. Nearby, the hero was surprised to see a huge sleeping Head. Ruslan tickled her nose with a spear, and the Head sneezed so hard that she almost blew the hero off his horse. Angry at the man who woke her up, the Head began to blow on him with all her might, and Ruslan was blown into the field by the wind. The hero gathered all his strength and rushed to the Head, pierced her tongue with a spear and hit her cheek so that she rolled to the side. It turns out that there was a sword under it. Ruslan took it and wanted to cut off his nose with ears, but she begged for mercy and told about herself.

Once it was the head of a valiant warrior. For glory and courage, he was hated by the evil younger brother - Chernomor, who owned witchcraft and had a magical beard that gave him invulnerability. One day, an insidious sorcerer told his elder brother about the sword, which, as it is written in the books, is safely stored in a distant country. Chernomor convinced his brother that this sword brings death to both of them, so you need to get it in any way.

The glorious warrior believed his younger brother and set off on the road. Chernomor sat on his shoulder, pointing the way. The sword was eventually found, and there was a dispute as to who should own it. Chernomor went to the trick, offering to lie down on the ground together and listen - a ringing will be heard from it, and the first one who hears it will become the owner of the sword. The naive elder brother agreed, but as soon as he lay down on the ground, Chernomor deprived him of his head. A lot of time passed, and the body of the warrior decayed, but with the help of magic Chernomor made his head immortal and put a wonderful sword to guard.

After the story told, the Head asked Ruslan to take revenge on Chernomor. The sword should have helped.

Adventures of Ratmir

The third rival of Ruslan Ratmir galloped to the south. Suddenly he came across a palace, along the wall of which a girl was walking, inviting travelers. When Ratmir drove up to the gate, he was met by a crowd of girls. They undressed him, took him to the bathhouse and fed him. Ratmir stayed with one of the girls for the night.

And Ruslan tirelessly moved north, looking for his beloved. Along the way, he came across warriors and monsters with whom he had to fight.

Lyudmila's deception

Lyudmila, meanwhile, walked unseen through the gardens and halls of Chernomor. Sometimes she took off her magic hat, teasing the sorcerer's servants who were looking for her. But when they tried to catch her, she instantly disappeared. Chernomor, in anger and annoyance, nevertheless came up with a way to catch the girl. He turned into Ruslan, who had received a wound, and began to plaintively call the princess. Lyudmila, of course, threw herself into his arms, but suddenly she saw that in front of her was not her husband at all, but a hated kidnapper. The girl tried to escape, but Chernomor brought her into a deep sleep. And at that moment, the sound of a horn was heard not far - it was Ruslan who reached the lands of the villain.

Battle

Ruslan challenged Chernomor to a fight. Suddenly, the sorcerer attacked the warrior from the air and began to beat him. Ruslan deftly knocked the wizard down and grabbed his beard. Trying to free himself, Chernomor rushed into the air. Ruslan, on the other hand, hung on the magic beard and did not unhook.

Their flight continued for three days, and the sorcerer began to get tired. No matter how he tried to confuse Ruslan with false speeches, he did not succumb and forced him to take himself to his wife. When Chernomor descended in his garden, Ruslan immediately cut off his witch's beard. But where is Lyudmila? The knight began to look for his beloved, crushing everything around. By chance, he touched the magic hat on Lyudmila's head and saw his wife sound asleep.

Taking his beloved in his arms and putting the sorcerer in a knapsack, Ruslan went back. Passing familiar places, he again met the Head. She, having learned about revenge, finally tried to express to her brother the anger that tormented her and died.

Soon Ruslan met a secluded poor house near an unknown river. There, the beauty was waiting for her husband. He turned out to be a fisherman, and when he landed on the shore, Ruslan recognized him as Ratmir. Although he was the Khazar Khan, for the sake of love, he refused loud fame, wealth, and even twelve beautiful girls he met on the way. The men hugged and talked in a friendly way; Ratmir no longer thought about Lyudmila.

Ruslan's death

And the evil sorceress Naina found Farlaf, who lived in the wilderness, and took him with her to the valley, where the tired Ruslan slept next to Lyudmila. Tom had a bad dream in which Farlaf and Lyudmila appeared to Vladimir at the feast.

The real Farlaf rode up on a horse to Ruslan and pierced him three times with a sword, grabbed the sleeping Lyudmila and left. Ruslan spent the night unconscious, and in the morning, trying to get up, fell down dead.

Return to Kyiv

Farlaf brought Lyudmila to Kyiv. Her father met them and saw that his daughter was sound asleep. Farlaf swore that he himself won it from the goblin from the Murom forests.

The people of Kiev were constantly going to look at the sleeping princess. No matter how hard they tried to wake her up with loud sounds and music, nothing helped. Vladimir was sad. And in the morning a new misfortune happened - the city was besieged by the Pechenegs.

Ruslan's friend, a hermit-sorcerer, already knew about what had happened. With the help of witchcraft, he ended up near magical streams, one of which was with dead water, and the other with living water. The elder filled the jugs, recited a witching spell, transferred to Ruslan and revived him with miraculous waters. Saying goodbye forever, the wizard gave Ruslan a ring that would help wake Lyudmila.

Happy end of the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila"

The inhabitants of Kyiv watched in horror as the enemies besieged the city. The princely combatants could not drive the Pechenegs away. But the next day, the people of Kiev were awakened by an incomprehensible noise - an unknown warrior was chopping down foreigners. The broken Pechenegs fled. The jubilant Kyiv met the hero, who was Ruslan. He hurried to the prince's chamber. Having touched Lyudmila's face with a magic ring, Ruslan woke her up. Happy Prince Vladimir ordered to re-celebrate the marriage of the heroes of the poem Ruslan and Lyudmila. Farlaf, who obeyed, was forgiven, and Chernomor, who had lost his witchcraft power, was taken into the service of the prince.

Describes how the Kyiv prince Vladimir-Solntse gave out his daughter Lyudmila to the glorious hero Ruslan. But when the young people went to rest after the wedding feast, a strange spell was heard in the darkness, and Ruslan saw how a certain sorcerer flies into the air, taking his wife with him.

The saddened Prince Vladimir the next morning promised to give Lyudmila as a wife to anyone who puts her on and saves her. Not only Ruslan went in search of the kidnapped, but also three of his former rivals for her hand - the violent warrior Rogdai, the boastful reveler Farlaf and the young Khazar Khan Ratmir.

Each of them went his own way. Ruslan soon saw a cave on the way where the wise wizard Finn was sitting. He revealed to the knight that Lyudmila had been kidnapped by the evil magician Chernomor. Finn told Ruslan the story of his love for the beautiful girl Naina. In his youth, Finn could not attract her even with the glory of feats of arms and rich gifts. In sorrow, he hid in the woods to study magic. Tempted in her forty years later, Finn again found Naina, but now instead of a young beauty he saw a decrepit and ugly old woman. Terrified, Finn abandoned her, and the annoyed Naina, who herself had become a sorceress by that time, vowed to take revenge on him and all his friends.

Illustration for song 1

Canto 2 - Summary

The envious Rogdai seethed with such hatred for Ruslan that he decided to return from the path, catch up and kill him. But confusing his victim from afar, he mistakenly ran into Farlaf. Farlaf remained unharmed, but came from this attack in such fear that he easily accepted the advice of Naina, who appeared to him: not to look for Lyudmila anymore, but to return home.

Rogdai nevertheless caught up with Ruslan, but in a fierce battle with him he was defeated. Ruslan threw Rogdai into the Dnieper, where he became the husband of a river mermaid.

The kidnapped Lyudmila woke up in the morning alone on a luxurious bed in the Chernomor castle. Going out for a walk in a magnificent garden full of fragrant plants, beautiful statues and waterfalls, she thought of suicide with anguish. In the evening, magical power carried her through the air back to the bedroom. Chernomor soon came to her there - a clean-shaven, humpbacked dwarf with a long beard, which was carried in front of him on pillows by many servants-Araps. Frightened, Lyudmila jumped up and with a screech knocked the cap off the sorcerer. The confused Chernomor ran away, tangled in his beard. Behind him retreated and his slaves.

Canto 3 - Summary

Naina, who flew to Chernomor in the guise of a winged serpent, made an alliance with him against Ruslan and Finn. Meanwhile, Lyudmila, trying on a cap knocked off Chernomor yesterday in front of the mirror, suddenly noticed that if you put it on backwards, it hides the one who wears it from the eyes like an invisibility cap.

Ruslan, continuing his journey, reached the field of the old battle and among the dead bones scattered here found himself new armor instead of those that he had broken in the battle with Rogdai. Then he saw a huge human head lying in the middle of the steppe. She turned out to be alive and began to blow on Ruslan. The terrible whirlwind of the Head's breath first carried the knight into the field, but he still managed to jump up to the monster and hit him with a heavy military gauntlet. The head rolled to the side, and Ruslan saw a sparkling sword under it.

Having tuned in more peacefully, the Head told Ruslan the story of her life. Once it belonged to the glorious hero-hero. He also had a younger brother - the ugly sorcerer Chernomor, whose magical power was in a long beard. Chernomor captivated the brother-hero to look for a wonderful sword, which, according to the stories of magic books, was supposed to cut off one of their heads and another beard. Thanks to the strength and courage of their older brother, they found the sword. But Chernomor treacherously cut off their brother's head, saved her life and forced her to guard the cherished sword in the middle of a distant field.

Canto 4 - Summary

Ratmir, in search of Lyudmila, reached the castle on the rocks - the abode of beautiful maidens who affectionately met the young warrior and gave him their love. Ruslan tirelessly continued to look for his betrothed.

Lyudmila, with the help of a cap of invisibility, hid from Chernomor for a long time in his gardens, but the evil sorcerer deceived her with cunning. He took the form of a wounded Ruslan, appeared in the middle of the garden and began to call Lyudmila for help. Throwing off her hat, she hurried to meet her, but instead of Ruslan she saw her kidnapper. So that Lyudmila would not slip away from him again, Chernomor plunged her into a sound sleep. But just at that time, the sound of Ruslan's battle horn was heard nearby.

Canto 5 - Summary

Ruslan entered the battle with Chernomor. He attacked him with a mace, flying through the air, but Ruslan grabbed the sorcerer by his magical beard. Chernomor soared under the clouds. Ruslan, not letting go of his beard, flew with him until the sorcerer was exhausted. Under the threat of losing his beard, Chernomor transferred Ruslan to Lyudmila.

With the sleeping bride in his arms and with Chernomor tucked into the knapsack behind the saddle, Ruslan set off on the return journey. His road again led through the same battlefield, where the already dying Head, before her death, expressed her last words of reproach to Chernomor. Then Ruslan met Ratmir, who calmed his heart in love with a beautiful fisherwoman, settled with her in an obscure wilderness and left thoughts of Lyudmila.

Illustration for song 5

The evil Naina decided to kill Ruslan with the hands of Farlaf. Appearing at the house of this cowardly braggart, she led him after her to the place where the tired Ruslan fell into a deep sleep. Farlaf plunged a sharp sword into Ruslan's chest three times and, leaving him to die, took Lyudmila, who had never awakened, with him.

Canto 6 - summary

Arriving with Lyudmila to Prince Vladimir, Farlaf swore that he had snatched her from the hands of a terrible goblin in the Murom forests at the risk of his life. However, no one in Kyiv knew how to wake up the sleeping beauty, and then another misfortune happened - the city was besieged by hordes of Pechenegs.

Meanwhile, old Finn, through magic, learned about the sad fate of his young friend and came to his aid. Finn was transferred to the combustible steppes and got two jugs from the miraculous springs flowing there - with living and dead water. With this moisture, the magician healed Ruslan's wounds and revived him.

The squads of Prince Vladimir could not drive the Pechenegs away from Kyiv. But one morning, the townspeople saw from the walls how some hero burst into the enemy camp and began to cut down the steppe dwellers in crowds. The barbarians fled in shame, and the people of Kiev recognized Ruslan in the unknown knight. He rode on a horse to the city and woke Ludmila by touching her with a magic ring received from Finn. The triumphant prince Vladimir played a new wedding of his daughter with Ruslan, who generously forgave his enemies - Farlaf and Chernomor.