About the product
The poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” is a fairy tale written in 1818 - 1820. The author was inspired to create the work by Russian folklore, Russian epics and popular popular stories. Pushkin’s poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” is full of elements of grotesque fantasy, colloquial vocabulary and the author’s good-natured irony. According to literary scholars, the work is a parody of the chivalric novels and romantic ballads of Zhukovsky.
You can read the summary of “Ruslan and Lyudmila” directly on our website.
The material was prepared jointly with the highest category teacher Lyubov Alexandrovna Koroshchup.
Experience as a teacher of Russian language and literature - 30 years.
Brief summary of the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by Pushkin
Dedication
Pushkin dedicated the poem to the beautiful half of humanity - girls, women, whom he calls beauties.
The introduction describes the world of fairy tales and miracles, in which extraordinary stories are born - this is the famous passage “At the Lukomorye”, which immerses the reader in a special atmosphere.
Song one
This is a significant event in the family of Prince Vladimir of Kyiv. He threw a feast in honor of his daughter Lyudmila, who was getting married. Her chosen one, Ruslan, is a handsome, strong and brave warrior. The guests are feasting, but Ruslan also has envious ill-wishers who lay claim to Lyudmila’s hand.
The feast is in full swing, but the groom thinks of only one thing - he can’t wait to be alone with the beautiful bride. When this long-awaited moment comes, and the lovers are left alone, the unexpected happens. The wind rises out of nowhere, thunder rumbles, someone's strange words are heard, and the bride disappears.
Vladimir learns that his daughter was kidnapped right from her wedding bed by an unknown force. He sends the knights to search for Lyudmila, promising to marry her to the one who finds the girl. Ruslan's rivals, Rogdai, Farlaf and Ratmir, perked up. Along with Ruslan, they set off on a journey in search of the kidnapped beauty. On the way, their paths diverged.
Ruslan drove up to the cave in which a gray-haired old Finn lived. He revealed to Ruslan that her Lyudmila was kidnapped by the sorcerer Chernomor. The sage told the knight the story of his love for the beautiful Naina. In her name, he accomplished many feats. Despite all the Finn’s efforts, the girl remained indifferent to him. Then he settled in the forest and learned secret sciences. He decided to get the girl’s reciprocity by studying the foundations of the universe, the laws of nature. And the miracle happened, Naina’s long-awaited love came, but too late. His beloved turned out to be an ancient old woman, since many years had passed since their meeting. Naina also turned out to be a witch. He rejected her love, and she announced to the Finn that she would take revenge on him and those who would be next to him.
Song two
Rogdai, burning with jealousy, wants to eliminate his main rival - kill Ruslan. He sees the rider and tries to catch up with him, thinking that it is Ruslan. Having overtaken the knight, he raises his sword over him, but it turns out that he made a mistake. In front of him is Farlaf, who is frightened and falls into the ravine. Rogdai despairs of finding Ruslan, but then he meets a hunchbacked old woman. The witch shows the way where he can find the one he is looking for.
Waking up in the luxurious mansion of Chernomor, Lyudmila is dejected. She sees only a field and a vortex in front of her. It is not known what will happen to her. She is alone, her beloved is not nearby. She comes out. Lyudmila examines the unusual surroundings of the place where she finds herself and walks through the strange garden. She is surrounded by magical beauty.
After the walk, the girl was suddenly transported to her chambers. And she saw a strange procession moving towards her. It was a vile dwarf, the sorcerer Chernomor. His huge beard was carried by slaves on pillows. Seeing the sorcerer, the girl got scared and knocked off his cap. Those who entered were embarrassed and quickly left.
There is a fight between Rogdai and Ruslan. The main character defeated the enemy, throwing him into the Dnieper, where Rogdai fell into the arms of a mermaid.
Song three
Naina appeared to Chernomor in the form of a serpent. The old woman tells the dwarf that she is his ally.
Lyudmila began to try on the headdress, which the sorcerer had forgotten in the confusion. She saw a strange feature of the cap. If you turned it back to front, the girl became invisible. Putting on an invisibility hat, Lyudmila disappears, hiding from the sorcerer.
Ruslan sees a huge head on the battlefield. The head is alive, it wrinkles and is indignant. At the sight of Ruslan, she is filled with rage and anger - her nostrils are flared, steam is coming from her mouth. The head blows with all its might, and Ruslana is carried away into the field. The Knight does not give up, he strikes the Head. She rolls away, and Ruslan finds a shining sword that was lying under her.
The head changes its attitude towards the knight and will forgive him to reason with her. The head tells the main character the story of his life. Once upon a time, the Head was a valiant warrior who knew no defeat. He had a younger brother, Chernomor, who was born a bearded dwarf, although he was smart. Chernomor was very jealous of his older brother, he conceived an insidious plan and cut off his head. The head reveals the secret of Chernomor. Ruslan learns that his strength lies in his beard.
Canto Four
In search of Lyudmila, Ratmir came across a castle - the abode of beautiful maidens. In their surroundings, Ratmir forgets about his love for Lyudmila. He enjoys spending time with them in the bathhouse. The virgins give the knight their warmth and love. Meanwhile, Ruslan continues his search.
The invisibility hat helped Lyudmila hide from the dwarf. The sorcerer deceives Lyudmila. He transforms into Ruslan and calls the girl in his voice. Lyudmila revealed herself by tearing off her hat. The dwarf grabs the captive and puts her to sleep. Having gained power over her, he begins to touch her. Here the sound of a horn is heard - it was the knight Ruslan who challenged the sorcerer to battle.
Song five
Knowing that the sorcerer's power is in his beard, Ruslan grabs the dwarf for it. Soaring up, Chernomor flies in the air, but the main character holds on tenaciously. They fly like this for two days. On the third day their fight ends. The dwarf begs for forgiveness, and Ruslan cuts off his beard, which contains his strength.
Ruslan finds his bride sleeping and cannot wake her up. The old Finn tells the knight to return home with the sleeping Lyudmila. The wise old man claims that in Kyiv she will be able to wake up. Ruslan is inspired by the elder’s words. He takes the sleeping Lyudmila and heads to Kyiv. He also carries Chernomor with him in his knapsack.
On the way back, Ruslan tells Golova that he punished his brother. To celebrate, the head dies.
On the road, Ruslan meets a happy couple - a fisherman and a girl. In the fisherman he recognizes Ratmir, who found his love and abandoned the search for the beautiful Lyudmila for a quiet and happy life. Ratmir is not going to fight anymore, he does not want military victories and glory. He is sweet to his girlfriend, to whom he is grateful for the happy change that has occurred in him.
Unlike Ratmir, Farlaf still wants to kill Ruslan. He is waiting for the witch. Naina appeared to him and led Farlaf to the place where the tired Ruslan was fast asleep. Farlaf thrust his sword into Ruslan’s body three times, and took the sleeping girl with him. Ruslan lay bleeding all night.
Song six
Farlaf returns to Kyiv with a sleeping Lyudimla in his arms. He tells Prince Vladimir how he managed to snatch the girl from the tenacious clutches of the terrible goblin. He claims that the fight with the villain lasted three days, after which he won. Lyudmila is saved and safe. Everyone would be happy here, but she is sleeping and no one can wake her up.
At this time, the Pechenegs attacked Kyiv. It’s sad both in the city and in the prince’s chambers. Lyudmila continues to sleep, servants stand around her. Vladimir looks at his daughter with tears and does not know how to help her.
Dead Ruslan is left lying alone in the field. Thanks to his secret science, the Finn saw that Ruslan was killed. Finn knows where two keys flow that can bring Ruslan back to life. He washes the knight’s wounds with dead and living water, reviving him. Ruslan comes to life. Finn is happy, the old man says that fate has come true. He tells Ruslan that a battle awaits the knight and gives him a ring with which he needs to touch Lyudmila’s face.
Ruslan fights his Pecheneg enemies and liberates the city. The knight awakens Lyudmila with a magic ring. Farlaf talks about his crime and is forgiven. The prince sees his daughter alive and unharmed, he is happy, and Lyudimla and Ruslan are happy.
Epilogue
The poet talks about himself, that, immersed in legend, he forgot about existing problems. He is only annoyed that he no longer feels the divine song of love.
Summary
Dedication
The author dedicates his work to the “beauties” - “the queens of his soul.” The poem begins with a description of the fabulous Lukomorye - a magical world is revealed to the reader, where a learned cat, a mermaid, a goblin, Baba Yaga, King Kashchei, knights and sorcerers live.
Song one
Prince Vladimir marries his youngest daughter Lyudmila to the “brave Prince Ruslan.” The celebration is in full swing, guests listen to the song of the “sweet singer” Bayan, glorifying the newlyweds. However, not everyone is having fun; three knights, Ruslan’s rivals - Rogdai, Farlaf, Ratmir - are sitting “despondently, with a cloudy brow.”
After the feast, the young people went to their chambers. Suddenly thunder struck, the room went dark, and “someone in the smoky depths / Soared blacker than the foggy haze.” Ruslan discovers in despair that Lyudmila has disappeared. Having learned about what happened, Prince Vladimir promises anyone who can find her his daughter’s hand and half his kingdom. Ruslan, Rogdai, Farlaf and Ratmir go in different directions in search of Lyudmila.
On the way, Ruslan notices a cave. Entering it, the knight sees a gray-haired old man reading a book. The elder informs him that Lyudmila was kidnapped by the “terrible wizard Chernomor.” The knight stays in the cave for the night, and the old man tells him his story. He was a “natural Finn”, a shepherd in love with a very beautiful and proud girl Naina. However, she refused the young man. Then the Finn went to distant lands and ten years later returned victorious, throwing treasures at the feet of his beloved. But Naina again refused him. Finn decided to attract his beloved with charms, studied for many years in the forests with sorcerers and was finally able to make a woman fall in love with him. However, forty years had passed since their last meeting, and now before him was not a young beauty, but a decrepit old woman, and even a witch. Finn runs away from a woman who is inflamed with passion for him, and since then Naina has hated the man.
Song two
At this time, Rogdai decides to kill his main rival, Ruslan, and goes back. Farlaf, having lunch near the stream, saw a knight rushing towards him, got scared and ran away. When Rogdai, who believed that he was chasing Ruslan, caught up with him, he was disappointed and let the knight go.
On the way, Rogdai met the old woman Naina, who showed him the way to the north. And he “boiled with joy and flew to certain death.” The witch also appeared to Farlaf - she advised him to return to Kyiv, since “Lyudmila will not leave them.”
After the abduction, Lyudmila was in “painful oblivion” for a long time. The girl woke up in rich chambers similar to the house of Scheherazade. Three maidens, accompanied by wonderful singing, braided Lyudmila’s hair, put on her a pearl crown, an azure sundress and a pearl belt. However, the princess is very sad and yearns for Ruslan: “Not a song of flattery or joy cheers her soul.” She is not even happy with the magically beautiful garden where she spends the whole day. At night, a “long row of Arabs” unexpectedly enters her room. They bring on the pillows a long beard belonging to a hunchbacked dwarf. In fright, Lyudmila screamed and wanted to hit the dwarf, but he, trying to escape, got tangled in his own beard. The araps carried him away.
Ruslan rides out into an open field, where a horseman rushes towards him with a spear. It was Rogdai. Ruslan defeats his opponent, and Rogdai finds his death in the river.
Song three
In the morning, a winged serpent flies to the dwarf Chernomor, which “suddenly turned around like Naina.” The woman invites the sorcerer to enter into an alliance, and he agrees.
Chernomor learns that Lyudmila has disappeared - she was neither in the chambers nor in the garden. The girl accidentally discovered the sorcerer's invisibility cap and was now having fun, hiding from the dwarf and his servants.
Ruslan travels to the old battlefield, strewn with bones, where he selects armor for himself, but does not find a worthy sword. Heading further, the prince notices a high hill on which the huge head of a warrior in a helmet sleeps. Ruslan woke up his head, and she, angry, began to blow on the knight. A strong whirlwind carried Ruslan back, but he contrived to thrust a spear into the tongue of the head, and then knocked it over. The prince wanted to “chop off her nose and ears,” but the head asked him not to do this, telling his story. It used to belong to a giant, who was very jealous of his dwarf brother Chernomor. One day Chernomor learned that there was a sword that would cut off the giant’s head and his beard (in which “fatal power was hidden”). The giant got hold of a blade, and while his brother was sleeping, the dwarf cut off his head, placing it there to guard the sword. The head asks Ruslan to take the blade for himself and take revenge on Chernomor.
Canto Four
Ratmir drives out to the valley and sees a castle on the rocks in front of him. The Knight notices a beautiful maiden walking along the wall and singing a song. The young khan knocks on the castle and is greeted by red maidens. Ratmir remains in the castle.
Lyudmila, all this time, wandered around the sorcerer’s possessions, yearning for her lover. “Wounded by cruel passion,” Chernomor decides to catch Lyudmila, turning into a wounded Ruslan. The girl rushes to her lover, but upon discovering the substitution, she falls unconscious. Suddenly, a horn rings.
Song five
As it turned out, Ruslan challenged the sorcerer to battle. In the midst of the battle, the knight grabs Chernomor by the beard and they rise into the sky. Ruslan did not let go of the sorcerer’s beard for three days, and he, tired, descended to the ground. Immediately the knight drew his sword and cut off the sorcerer’s beard, after which he lost his magical power.
Ruslan returns to Chernomor's possessions, but cannot find Lyudmila. Grieving, the knight begins to destroy everything around him with his sword and with an accidental blow knocks off the princess’s invisibility cap. Ruslan falls at the girl’s feet, but she is bewitched and sleeps.
Suddenly, the virtuous Finn appears nearby. He advises taking Lyudmila to Kyiv, where she will wake up. The Knight does just that.
On the way back, Ruslan tells the giant’s head that he has taken revenge, and she dies calmly. Near a quiet river, the knight meets a fisherman with a sweet maiden, whom he recognizes as Ratmir. Former rivals wish each other happiness.
Naina comes to Farlaf. The sorceress takes the knight to Ruslan, who is sleeping at Lyudmila’s feet. Farlaf “stabs thrice-cold steel” into his opponent’s chest and kidnaps the princess.
Song six
Farlaf arrives in Kyiv, but Lyudmila continues to sleep. Soon the Pecheneg uprising begins. At this time, Finn comes to the murdered Ruslan with dead and living water and revives the knight. The wizard sends the prince to protect Kyiv and gives him a ring that will help break Lyudmila’s spell.
Ruslan leads the army and defeats the Pechenegs. After the victory, the prince entered the chambers, touched Lyudmila’s forehead with a ring and the girl woke up. Ruslan and Lyudmila forgave Farlaf, and the dwarf was accepted into the palace.
Farlaf, having lunch in the field, suddenly saw someone rushing towards him on a horse. It was Rogdai, who, having gone alone, began to seethe with such hatred for the successful rival for Lyudmila’s hand, Ruslan, that he eventually returned back to overtake him and kill him. Rogdai mistook Farlaf for Ruslan. The cowardly Farlaf, seeing that Rogdai was not galloping well, hastened to escape from him, but unsuccessfully jumped on his horse over the ditch and fell there. Rogdai, who had jumped up, had already raised his sword over him, but suddenly recognized Farlaf - and left.
Pushkin. Ruslan and Ludmila. Song 2. Brief retelling. Illustrated audiobook
Not far away, under the mountain, Rogdai met a hunchbacked old woman (Naina), who with a stick showed him the road along which Ruslan went. Then Naina appeared in front of Farlaf, advising him not to look for Lyudmila anymore, but rather to go to his estate near Kyiv. Frightened Farlaf followed her advice.
And Chernomor carried Lyudmila, who had been kidnapped by him from her marriage bed, by air to his magic castle. In the morning the girl woke up there on a luxurious bed. Three respectful maids helped her dress in a lush sundress with a pearl belt. Left alone, Lyudmila walked to the window in anguish and saw snowy plains and majestic mountains in front of her. Coming out through the silver door, she found herself in a fragrant garden full of palm trees, cedars, laurels, roses, fountains with beautifully crafted statues, streams and waterfalls. But all these beauties did not touch Lyudmila’s heart. She cried inconsolably. Seeing a bridge between two high rocks, she even thought about throwing herself off it and ending her life that way. After walking around the garden, the princess sat down on the grass - and a tent magically unfolded above her and a sumptuous dinner appeared.
As night fell, magical power lifted Lyudmila into the air and carried her back to the palace. The same three maids helped her get ready for bed. But suddenly the door opened and an impressive procession entered the room. A long row of Arabs carried Chernomor's gray beard on pillows. Then this sorcerer himself entered - a shaven, hunchbacked dwarf in a cap. Lyudmila jumped up, tore off his cap, raised her hand to strike and screamed in fear so that the araps got mixed up, and Chernomor, making an attempt to escape, got tangled in his beard and fell...
Meanwhile, Ruslan, who continued his journey, heard a shout from behind: “Stop.” A fierce horseman flew towards him with threats, and Ruslan recognized him as Rogday. They fought for a long time in a fierce battle, until Ruslan tore his opponent from the saddle and threw him into the Dnieper. Then there were rumors that Rogdai was taken into the arms of a river mermaid, and his huge ghost frightened the fishermen for a long time, wandering near the shore at night.
© The author of the brief retelling is the Russian Historical Library.
on our website you can read the FULL TEXT of the 2nd song of A. S. Pushkin’s poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”
