Analysis of Hang Him!
Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev 1818 (Oryol, Oryol Governorate) – 1883 ( Bougival, Seine-et-Oise)
'It happened in 1803,' began my old acquaintance, 'not long before Austerlitz. The regiment in which I was an officer was quartered in Moravia.
'We had strict orders not to molest or annoy the inhabitants; as it was, they regarded us very dubiously, though we were supposed to be allies.
'I had a servant, formerly a serf of my mother's, Yegor, by name. He was a quiet, honest fellow; I had known him from a child, and treated him as a friend.
'Well, one day, in the house where I was living, I heard screams of abuse, cries, and lamentations; the woman of the house had had two hens stolen, and she laid the theft at my servant's door. He defended himself, called me to witness.... "Likely he'd turn thief, he, Yegor Avtamonov!" I assured the woman of Yegor's honesty, but she would not listen to me.
'All at once the thud of horses' hoofs was heard along the street; the commander-in-chief was riding by with his staff. He was riding at a walking pace, a stout, corpulent man, with drooping head, and epaulettes hanging on his breast.
'The woman saw him, and rushing before his horse, flung herself on her knees, and, bare-headed and all in disorder, she began loudly complaining of my servant, pointing at him.
'"General!" she screamed; "your Excellency! make an inquiry! help me! save me! this soldier has robbed me!"
'Yegor stood at the door of the house, bolt upright, his cap in his hand, he even arched his chest and brought his heels together like a sentry, and not a word! Whether he was abashed at all the general's suite halting there in the middle of the street, or stupefied by the calamity facing him, I can't say, but there stood my poor Yegor, blinking and white as chalk!
'The commander-in-chief cast an abstracted and sullen glance at him, growled angrily, "Well?" ... Yegor stood like a statue, showing his teeth as if he were grinning! Looking at him from the side, you'd say the fellow was laughing!
'Then the commander-in-chief jerked out: "Hang him!" spurred his horse, and moved on, first at a walking-pace, then at a quick trot. The whole staff hurried after him; only one adjutant turned round on his saddle and took a passing glance at Yegor.
'To disobey was impossible.... Yegor was seized at once and led off to execution.
'Then he broke down altogether, and simply gasped out twice, "Gracious heavens! gracious heavens!" and then in a whisper, "God knows, it wasn't me!"
'Bitterly, bitterly he cried, saying good-bye to me. I was in despair.
"Yegor! Yegor!" I cried, "how came it you said nothing to the general?"
'"God knows, it wasn't me!" the poor fellow repeated, sobbing. The woman herself was horrified. She had never expected such a dreadful termination, and she started howling on her own account! She fell to imploring all and each for mercy, swore the hens had been found, that she was ready to clear it all up....
'Of course, all that was no sort of use. Those were war-times, sir!
Discipline! The woman sobbed louder and louder.
'Yegor, who had received absolution from the priest, turned to me.
'"Tell her, your honour, not to upset herself.... I've forgiven her."'
My acquaintance, as he repeated this, his servant's last words, murmured,
'My poor Yegor, dear fellow, a real saint!' and the tears trickled down his old cheeks.
Scheme | X X X A X X A X X B X A XX X BB A B XX |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11000111010110110100011111001101 1111011011010010011110101101110011110 11010100011110101111010101011111010101101 11100111110111101101010101111110011011111101001111101011111011010101110011111011 1110111011101010010011101111111010101011111010110111 01011010011110110101100100101011001011101011 100111110110101111110111 1011011011011101111011101110101010010110110111010011010010101111001001011111111110100111 0010011110010111110011011011011111010101110111010110 100100111111110111101011101101110101101100111110010101110 101101001011110111010 111101001011110101010010010111101 1001001110111111001 101011111111010100 11110101100101001001110111001010100010011010101011110101011101011111111011111 11111111110111 100010110010 101101010101111 101111010110100 1010110101111110 1110110011001101111 |
Characters | 3,319 |
Words | 606 |
Sentences | 53 |
Stanzas | 18 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2 |
Lines Amount | 21 |
Letters per line (avg) | 119 |
Words per line (avg) | 27 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 138 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 32 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on April 08, 2023
- 3:01 min read
- 11 Views
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"Hang Him!" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/55649/hang-him%21>.
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