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T H E W O M A N IN T A R A S S H E V C H E N K O ’S P O E T R Y Oil painting by Taras Shevchenko, 1842. From the poem “Kateryna," in which Shevchenko protested against the morals of the landlords and evils of serfdom, by portaying a young Ukrainian woman who falls in love with a Russian soldier, and is left with child. M y dark-browed beauties, fall in love, But love no Muscovite, For Moscow troopers aliens are, And court in your despite. A Moscow trooper loves in jest And jestingly will leave you; When he returns to Muscovy, His parting will deceive you. If you were one, the care were less, But there’s a mother too Who gave the pretty maiden birth; To death the shame she’ll rue. The heart will wither and yet sing For pleasures sweet and rash; But people wil not hear your heart, They’ll judge you to be trash, So, dark-browed beauties, fall in love, But love no Muscovite, For Moscow troopers aliens are And court in your despite. An excerpt from "Kateryna” from The Poetical Works of Taras Shevchenko — The Kobzar. Translated from Ukrainian by C. H. Andrusyshen and Watson Kirkconnell. University of Toronto Press, 1964. HALYNA KUZYSZYN In many Ukrainian communities the month of March is remembered as the birth anniversary of Ukraine’s greatest poet/writer, Taras Shevchenko (March 9, 1814 —March 10, 1861). Shevchenko was perhaps the most outstanding literary figure of Ukraine’s history, and a political thinker who understood better than any of his contemporaries, that a nation could only exist if all classes could play a vital role in its development. Born into serfdom, Shevchenko became an orphan in his early teens and grew up in poverty. He hoped for an independent Ukraine, where people could think and live freely. A simple peasant, with a modern outlook on life, Shevchenko wrote poetry and essays which had a great impact on the enslaved people of Ukraine. Aside from themes of nationality, democracy and equality, Shevchenko often wrote about the perils of women he observed in his life. The woman was often the vehicle he chose to illustrate injustices and suffer ing. He understood the predicament the women of his time were in, ostracized from the male-dominated spheres. In his poems he personified the peasant woman who was not paid for her labor, the girl seduced by a Russian soldier and left with child, the abandoned mother, and other female images. Such poems include: “Vidma” (Witch), “Maryna", “Kateryna”, “Lileia” (Lily) and “Rusalka” (Mermaid). Shev chenko was consciously a defender of women’s rights and equality. He considered the Virgin Mary a symbol of love; her characteristics something to aspire to. In 1859 he wrote a poem for Maria Markovycheva (popularly known as Marko Vovchok), whom he regarded as a master of expression, and a beacon of light in those dark times of Ukrainian history. Therefore, when we remember the great Taras Shev chenko this month, let us think of him not only as a master poet/writer, but a proponent of self emancipa tion and women’s rights. Self-Portrait, oil, Taras Shevchenko, 1840. 20 ’НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, БЕРЕЗЕНЬ 1994 Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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