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Eugene Onegin

Name: Eugene Onegin
Author: Henry M. Hoyt
ISBN: 9781598583403

by Henry M. Hoyt

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Overview

Eugene Onegin, a "novel in verse," as announced by its subtitle, and Russia's best-loved classic, was written by Alexander Pushkin, that country's unsurpassed literary idol. Yet the American reading public generally attributes its authorship to Tchaikovsky, who composed the score and co-authored the libretto of its operatic adaptation. Henry Hoyt, translator for this bilingual edition, suggests that this misunderstanding may stem from other translations' having been cast in a mold ill-fitted to capture both the spirit and meaning of the original. Most of the translations follow the complicated rhyme and meter scheme of the original, where the invention of new rhymes for the translated version forces the translator to abandon verbal fidelity to the original. The other translations are in prose, lacking the rhythm and hence much of the spirit of the original.
Mr. Hoyt's translation is unrhymed, but retains the meter of Pushkin's verses, a procedure under which he believes verbal fidelity is attainable along with rhythm, affording the English-speaking reader an experience as close as possible to that of a Russian-speaking reader of the original.
This publication includes an appendix describing the Cyrillic alphabet for readers unfamiliar with it but interested in examining the original text.

Synopsis

Outstanding translation of Pushkin's most acclaimed work recounts a tale of post-Napoleonic society in which a jaded young aristocrat rejects the love of a country maiden. This edition is enhanced by 16 lithographs.

Booknews

Hofstadter, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of del, Escher, Bach/>, provides an extensive preface to his translation of the classic Russian novel in verse. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

About the Author, Henry M. Hoyt

James E. Falen is Professor of Russian, University of Tennessee at Knoxville. His previous publications include Isaak Babel: Russian Master of the Short Story.

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Kirkus Reviews

The alarmingly learned mathematician and author of such interdisciplinary marvels as his seminal Gødel, Escher, Bach moves into new territory with a lively English version of Pushkin's 1831 verse novel: the mock-heroic tale of how its bored Byronic "hero" (the eponymous Eugene) enchants, then callously rejects the loving Tatyana, and lives to suffer for his caddish behavior. Hofstadter employs the demanding original rhyme scheme (ABABCCDDEFFEGG: a hybrid of the sonnet and the couplet), devising dozens of ingenious rhymes—and recounts his delighted immersion in Pushkin and the Russian language, in a beguiling Preface that's almost as much fun as the immortal Eugene Onegin itself. A masterly performance, and a thoroughly charming book. .