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Byron the corsair main characters. Romantic hero in the poem by J

George Gordon Lord Byron(1788-1824) was in the first quarter of the 19th century the “ruler of thoughts”, the living personification of romanticism. He, like no one else, embodied the romantic ideal of the complete merging of biography and creativity, when the artist lives by the same laws by which his heroes live, and the events of his life immediately turn into the material of his works. The "Byronic Legend" is still alive today, and it is important to separate myth from fact.

Byron was born into an aristocratic family, at the age of ten he inherited the title of lord and family estate in the north of England, and was educated in privileged educational institutions- at Harrow School and the University of Cambridge. He was preparing for a career statesman And for a long time did not regard poetry as the main work of his life. Despite belonging to the ruling elite, he was a rebel by nature, and his whole life was a challenge to the conventions accepted in society. He considered English society inert and hypocritical, and did not want to make any concessions public opinion and after a short period of glory in his homeland (1812-1816), he left England forever, settling in Italy. His life ended in Greece, where he took part in the national liberation struggle of the Greeks against the Turks.

Byron's poetic heritage is great and varied. Recognition came to him with the publication of the poem "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" (1812), where he created the first romantic hero in English literature and created the genre of romantic lyric-epic poem. Its forms were developed in the cycle of “Eastern Poems” (1813-1816), where romanticism reaches classical forms. With the move to Italy, his work is enriched in terms of genre (the drama “Manfred”, the mystery “Cain”, the poems “Beppo”, “Mazeppa”). Main work recent years Byron's life remained unfinished - this is the novel in verse "Don Juan".

An example of Byron's romanticism can be poem "Corsair"(1814) from the cycle "Oriental Poems". In all six poems of the cycle, Byron draws on impressions of his southern journey, which he undertook through the Mediterranean countries in 1809-1811. For the first time, he presented pictures of southern nature to the reader in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, and this was one of the components of the success of this poem; the public expected new exotic landscapes from the young poet, and in “The Corsair” Byron develops the Orientalist motifs so characteristic of romanticism in general. The East in romantic art is contrasted with European civilization as a world of free, natural passions playing out against the backdrop of beautiful, fertile nature. But for Byron, the East is more than a conventional romantic background: the action in “The Corsair” takes place on the islands of the Greek archipelago and in coastal Greece, which is under the rule of the Turks (Seyid Pasha in the poem), and the routes of the pirate raids of the protagonist Conrad are topographically accurate, maybe be traced on the map, and in the descriptions of Greece at the beginning of the third song of the poem, Byron directly relies on his own impressions four years ago. Thus, behind the romantic landscape of the poem, pictures of nature and morals taken from life appear; Byron often gave an accurate reproduction of the historical and ethnographic environment in his poems.

At the heart of "The Corsair", as in all other "Eastern poems", is the conflict of the hero with the world; The plot is reduced to one dramatic situation - the struggle for love.

The hero of "Corsair" is the leader of the pirates Conrad, his beloved is the meek Medora. The action in the poem begins with the receipt of some news on the pirate island, which forces Conrad to say goodbye to Medora and give the order to urgently raise the sails. Where the pirates are going and what Conrad's plan is becomes clear from the second song of the poem. The leader of the pirates decides to forestall the blow of his longtime enemy Seid Pasha and, in the guise of a dervish pilgrim, makes his way to a feast in the Pasha's palace. He must strike the enemy in his house, while his pirates set fire to Seid Pasha's fleet on the eve of going to sea, but the fire in the bay begins earlier than agreed, a hot battle breaks out, in which Conrad rescues Seid's beloved wife from the burning seraglio. Pasha, Gulnar. But military fortune is fickle, and now the pirates are fleeing, and Conrad is captured and thrown into prison. In the third song of the poem, Seyid Pasha delays the execution of Conrad, inventing the most painful death for him. Meanwhile, Gulnar, grateful to Conrad and falling in love with him, offers to arrange his escape. At first, Conrad rejects her proposal: he does not want to owe his freedom to a woman whose love he cannot respond to, because he loves only Medora. But when Gulnar sneaks into his dungeon again, he sees a bloody stain on her forehead - she herself killed Seid Pasha, and together they board a ship heading to the pirate island. Upon his return, Conrad learns of Medora's death. The beloved could not bear the news of his captivity, and, having lost the meaning of life with her, Conrad disappears:

Everything is in vain - day after day rolls on, Conrad is gone, and there is no news about him, And there is no trace of his fate anywhere: Did he die or disappeared forever? The pirates cried for him alone... They erected a stone for Medora. A monument to Conrad has not been erected: Who knows, maybe he did not die - the Corsair, whose name again resurrects the Darkness of crimes and one love.

As in all "Eastern Poems", Conrad is a loner rebel who professes extreme individualism. Byron does not show his past, the poem only says that his innate virtues were so high that the world was jealous of him and slandered him:

He was pure until he began his battles with people and the Almighty; He was wise, but the world considered him stupid and spoiled him with his training; He was too proud to drag out his life, humbled, And too firm to fall into the dirt before the strong. Instilling fear, slandered with youth, He became a friend of Anger, but not of Humility, He considered the call of anger to be a call from the Divine to take revenge on the majority for the machinations of the minority.

Conrad is a strong, courageous nature, he rules the pirates with an iron fist, everyone respects and fears him for his unparalleled courage and success in business:

Around, on all the seas, the name alone sows fear in souls; He is stingy in speech - he knows only the order, The hand is firm, the eye is sharp and keen; He does not give their feasts any joy, But he is a favorite beyond reproaches.

Conrad's first appearance in the poem is typical of a romantic hero. He stands on the top of a cliff, leaning on a sword, looking at the waves, and his very position in space at this moment - he is higher than the others, pirates are rising up to him with a report - this spatial solution of the scene emphasizes the exclusivity of the hero. The same idea of exclusivity is carried out in the portrait of Conrad (ninth stanza of the first canto). This is a detailed portrait based on a combination of opposites, where each external feature becomes an expression of the character properties of the hero. Byron creates such a vivid portrait of a romantic hero that some of his features will forever become part of the characteristic appearance of a romantic literary character:

A tanned cheek, a white forehead, A wave of curls - like a crow's wing; The curl of the lip involuntarily reveals a secret passage to an arrogant thought; Although his voice is quiet, and his appearance is straight and bold, there is something in him that he would like to hide. Seeing the sharp features of the faces, you will be both captivated and embarrassed. It’s as if in him, in his soul, where the darkness has frozen, the work of terrible, vague forces is in full swing.

Contempt for people, cruelty, and the habit of violence did not completely dry out Conrad’s soul. For the first time in the history of world literature, when creating his romantic hero, Byron justifies in him actions and feelings that are far from the Christian ideal, and a substitution of moral values occurs - the author endows the criminal Conrad, who without hesitation sheds human blood, with irresistible charm. The only feeling connecting the hero with humanity, the last living string in his soul, which he therefore values so much, is love.

In love, the character of the romantic hero is most fully revealed; love in romanticism is an uncompromising passion, highest value life, so the romantic hero fights for love against any hostile forces. The plot in all “Eastern Poems” is based on that episode in the hero’s life where he enters into the last, fatal battle for love. Only death separates the hero of "Eastern Poems" from his beloved, like Conrad and Medora. Both female images of the poem - the meek Medora, who is all devotion and adoration, and the ardent Gulnar, capable of committing a crime for the sake of love - are contrasted with each other.

As in other Byronian poems, the main way to create the character of the hero is through action. Conrad is an active nature, his ideal is anarchic personal freedom, and the plot of the poem is characterized by increased drama. The reader is presented with a series of motley, spectacular scenes, contrasted with each other on the principle of contrast: the pirates’ song glorifying the sea space and freedom opens the poem; the opposite is the sad song of the lonely Medora; the picture of a feast in the luxurious palace of Seyid Pasha is replaced by a picture of a bloody battle; the despondency of Conrad in prison during a night visit to Gulnar and the cheerful freshness of the sea during their flight. The poem amazes with its richness of moods and colors.

The words of V.G. are quite applicable to Conrad and other heroes of “Eastern Poems”. Belinsky, what he said about the poet himself: “This is a human personality, indignant against the common and, in its proud rebellion, relying on itself.” A.S. also speaks about the same extreme individualism of Byron’s heroes. Pushkin:

Lord Byron, by a lucky whim, clothed himself in dull romanticism and hopeless selfishness...

And although Pushkin’s “Prisoner of the Caucasus” contains many elements directly borrowed from Byron, Pushkin does not exalt, but condemns the individualism of the romantic hero.

Thus, “The Corsair” is a lyric-epic poem in which the lyrical principle in the depiction of the central character and the epic, narrative principle are fused together, which manifests itself in the richness and variety of action. Conrad is a hero who represents the purest example of a romantic worldview in all of Byron's work, and the poetics of "The Corsair" is the most characteristic example of the construction of a romantic poem. The plot is based on the culminating episode from the hero’s life, which decides his fate; neither his past nor further development his life is not described, and in this sense the poem is fragmentary. In addition, the plot is built as a chain of bright paintings-fragments, the cause-and-effect relationships between which are not always clearly stated in the poem, and fragmentation becomes the structure-forming principle of a romantic poem. The hero is taken at the moment of the highest tension of vital forces, in circumstances that are exceptional even for his life as a robber. At such moments, a person’s character is revealed to the end, and the demonic, gloomy, majestic character of Conrad is created in the poem with the help of various artistic means: a portrait, the author’s characteristics, the attitude of the women who love him towards him, but mainly through a description of his actions. One of the leitmotif images of the poem is the image of the sea, so characteristic of all of Byron’s poetry; The free sea element becomes a symbol of freedom for him. The pirate song that opens the poem contains these words:

In the midst of the jubilation of dark blue waters, the thought is boundless, the soul is free to fly Above the foamy, endless wave - Here is our kingdom, here is our home!

The lyrical element that permeates the poem is most clearly revealed in the end-to-end image of the sea.

Year of writing:

1813

Reading time:

Description of the work:

George Byron wrote the story-poem “The Corsair” in just two weeks. The story was well received by readers. Already on the first day, 10,000 books were sold.

There are almost 2000 poems in the story. It is divided into a dedication and three songs. Interestingly, each song has an epigraph taken from the Divine Comedy written by Dante Alighieri.

The Corsair is one of Byron's most popular works. Below you can find a summary of the poem.

Full of picturesque contrasts, the coloring of “The Giaour” is also distinguished by Byron’s next work in the “eastern” cycle - the more extensive poem “The Corsair”, written in heroic couplets. In a short prose introduction to the poem, dedicated to the author’s fellow writer and like-minded person Thomas Moore, the author warns against what is, in his opinion, a characteristic defect of modern criticism - the wrongful identification of the main characters that has haunted him since the time of Childe Harold - be it Giaour or someone else the other is with the creator of the works. At the same time, the epigraph to the new poem - a line from Tasso's "Jerusalem Liberated" - emphasizes the internal duality of the hero as the most important emotional leitmotif of the narrative.

The action of “Corsair” takes place in the south of the Peloponnesian Peninsula, in the port of Koroni and the Pirate Island, lost in the vastness of the Mediterranean. The time of action is not precisely indicated, but it is easy to conclude that the reader is facing the same era of the enslavement of Greece Ottoman Empire which has entered a crisis phase. The figurative speech means characterizing the characters and what is happening are close to those familiar from “Gyaur”, however, the new poem is more compact in composition, its plot is more detailed (especially with regard to the adventurous “background”), and the development of events and their sequence - more orderly.

The first song opens with a passionate speech, depicting the romance of the pirate lot, filled with risk and anxiety. Bonded by a sense of military camaraderie, the filibusters idolize their fearless chieftain, Conrad. And now the fast brig, under the pirate flag that terrified the entire area, brought encouraging news: the Greek gunner reported that in the coming days a raid on the city and the palace of the Turkish governor Seid could be carried out. Accustomed to the oddities of the commander’s character, the pirates become timid when they find him immersed in deep thought. Several stanzas follow with a detailed description of Conrad (“Mysterious and forever alone, / It seemed that he could not smile”), inspiring admiration for heroism and fear - the unpredictable impulsiveness of someone who had withdrawn into himself, who had lost faith in illusions (“He is among people the most difficult of schools - / The Path disappointment - passed") - in a word, bearing the most typical features of a romantic rebel-individualist, whose heart is warmed by one indomitable passion - love for Medora.

Conrad's beloved reciprocates his feelings; and one of the most heartfelt pages in the poem is Medora’s love song and the scene of the heroes’ farewell before the campaign. Left alone, she finds no place for herself, as always worrying for his life, and he is on the deck of the brig giving instructions to the team, fully prepared to carry out a daring attack - and win.

The second song takes us to the banquet hall in Seid's palace. The Turks, for their part, have long been planning to finally clear the sea surroundings of pirates and are dividing up the rich booty in advance. The pasha's attention is attracted by a mysterious dervish in rags, who appears from nowhere at the feast. He says that he was captured by infidels and managed to escape from his captors, but he flatly refuses to taste the luxurious dishes, citing the vow made to the prophet. Suspecting him as a spy, Seid orders to seize him, and then the stranger instantly transforms: under the humble guise of a wanderer was hiding a warrior in armor and with a sword that strikes on the spot. The hall and the approaches to it are instantly filled with Conrad’s comrades; a furious battle begins: “The palace is on fire, the minaret is burning.”

Having crushed the resistance of the Turks, the merciless pirate, however, shows genuine chivalry when the flames that engulfed the palace spread to the female half. He forbids his brothers in arms to resort to violence against the Pasha’s slaves and he himself carries the most beautiful of them, the black-eyed Gulnar, out of the fire in his arms. Meanwhile, Seid, who escaped from the pirate blade in the confusion of the battle, organizes his numerous guards in a counterattack, and Konrad has to entrust Gulnar and her friends in misfortune to the care of a simple Turkish house, and he himself has to enter into an unequal confrontation. Around him, one after another, his slain comrades fall; he, having cut down countless enemies, is captured barely alive.

Having decided to subject Conrad to torture and a terrible execution, the bloodthirsty Seid orders him to be placed in a cramped dungeon. The hero is not afraid of future trials; in the face of death, only one thought worries him: “How will Medora meet the news, the evil news?” He falls asleep on a stone bed, and when he wakes up, he discovers the black-eyed Gulnar secretly sneaking into the prison in his prison, completely captivated by his courage and nobility. Promising to persuade the pasha to delay the impending execution, she offers to help the corsair escape. He hesitates: running cowardly from the enemy is not in his habits. But Medora... After listening to his passionate confession, Gulnar sighs: “Alas! Love is only given to the free!”

The third song opens with the author's poetic declaration of love for Greece (“Beautiful city of Athens! Whoever saw your wondrous sunset / will come back...”), followed by a picture of the Pirate Island, where Conrad is waiting in vain for Medora. A boat with the remnants of his detachment approaches the shore, bringing terrible news: their leader is wounded and captured, the filibusters unanimously decide to rescue Conrad from captivity at any cost.

Meanwhile, Gulnar’s persuasion to delay the painful execution of “Gyaur” has an unexpected effect on Seid: he suspects that his beloved slave is not indifferent to the captive and is plotting treason. Showering the girl with threats, he kicks her out of her chambers.

Three days later, Gulnar once again enters the dungeon where Conrad is languishing. Insulted by the tyrant, she offers the prisoner freedom and revenge: he must stab the pasha in the silence of the night. The pirate recoils; follows the woman’s excited confession: “Don’t call revenge on a despot a crime! / Your despicable enemy must fall in blood! / Did you flinch? Yes, I want to become different: / Pushed away, insulted - I take revenge! / I am undeservedly accused: / Although I was a slave, I was faithful!”

“A sword - but not a secret knife!” - this is Conrad's counter-argument. Gulnar disappears to appear at dawn: she herself took revenge on the tyrant and bribed the guards; a boat and a boatman are waiting for them at the coast to take them to the treasured island.

The hero is confused: there is an irreconcilable conflict in his soul. By the will of circumstances, he owes his life to the woman in love with him, and he himself still loves Medora. Gulnar is also depressed: in Conrad’s silence she reads condemnation of the atrocity she committed. Only a fleeting hug and a friendly kiss from the prisoner she saved brings her to her senses.

On the island, the pirates joyfully welcome their leader who has returned to them. But the price set by providence for the hero’s miraculous deliverance is incredible: in the castle tower only one window does not light up - Medora’s window. Tormented by a terrible premonition, he climbs the stairs... Medora is dead.

Conrad's grief is inescapable. In solitude, he mourns his girlfriend, and then disappears without a trace: “A series of days passes, / There is no Conrad, he disappeared forever, / And not a single hint announced, / Where he suffered, where he buried the flour! / He was mourned only by his gang; / His girlfriend was received by the mausoleum... / He will live in the traditions of families / With one love, with a thousand atrocities.” The ending of “The Corsair,” like “The Giaour,” leaves the reader alone with the feeling of an incompletely solved mystery surrounding the entire existence of the protagonist.

You have read a summary of the story Corsair. In the summary section of our website, you can read the summary of other famous works.

Song one

Pirates are feasting on the island. Their kingdom is “above the foamy, endless wave.” Their joy is a storm, a fight. They do not know fear, they are bored with death, because among pirates death is quick, “souls instantly break ties with us,” as the pirate song says. The leader of the pirates is Conrad.

He is stingy in speech - he only knows the order,
The hand is strong, the eye is sharp and keen;
He doesn't give their feasts any fun.

Conrad behaves like a righteous man - he abstains from luxurious food, “the enemy of the sensual - he is harsh and simple.” Conrad enjoys unquestioned authority among the pirates; not a single person dares not only to challenge the orders of the Corsair, but also to disturb him without a good reason.

In the distance, pirates notice a ship. It soon becomes clear that this is their pirate brig flying a blood-red flag. Those who arrived brought joyful news. The Corsair's longtime spy, the Greek, writes that an excellent opportunity has arisen to rob the Turkish Pasha's fleet. After reading the Greek's message, Conrad decides to immediately set off. He orders his weapons to be checked and prepared for battle. No one dares argue with the Leader.

He is secretly separated from everyone,
His sigh and laughter are a wonder,
And the name "Conrad" turns into chalk

The tan of anyone who is fierce and brave.
Lord of souls, most skillful strategist,
He, terrifying, delights those
He who is terrible - those who praise him...
The brilliance of skill - luck - success -
And, domineering, he is strong in the lack of will of all.
He dictates - and the feats of their hands

Everyone around him honors him as one of his merits.

Conrad was not always a merciless pirate. In the past lies the reason for his current anger at the whole world.

He was wise, but the world considered him stupid

And he spoiled it with his training;
I was too proud to drag out my life, humbled,
And too strong to fall into the mud before the strong...
Inspiring fear, slandered from a young age,
I became a friend to Anger, but not to Humility...
He had hatred - but for those hearts
Where is hatred mixed with servility?
Him, standing far away from everyone,

And friendship and contempt bypassed:
Marveling at him, they feared his deeds,
But no one dared to humiliate him.

However, Conrad is subject to one sincere passion - Love. Conrad happily and mutually loves Medora, does not pay attention to the beautiful captives, of which there are many on the island of pirates. Now, before a dangerous campaign, Conrad is going to say goodbye to his beloved and goes to her castle. Approaching Medora's room, Conrad hears the sounds of a sad song. The girl sings about her love for him, about love that knows no rest, because lovers must constantly part, and Medora lives in eternal fear for Conrad’s life. Medora dreams of the day when “peace will lead us into a peaceful home.” Medora wonders why her gentle lover is so cruel to people. Conrad announces to Medora that he “must go on a short journey again.” Medora is upset, she invites Conrad to at least share with her the festive meal that she was preparing, hoping that he will come to her. But Conrad can't stay. He hears the cannon signal: it’s time to move. Conrad leaves, “touching his forehead with a kiss.” Left alone, Medora gives free rein to tears.

Conrad returns to the ship. “A true leader would sooner die suddenly than lose his honor because of a woman’s torment.” He again becomes a decisive commander, gives orders, orders that his comrades wait for them back for the victory feast in three days. Conrad unfolds nautical charts, checking with them, looks through the telescope, notices the Turkish galley fleet. He is unperturbed; he calmly calls on his comrades to begin the massacre.

Song two

“I organized a feast in honor of Seyid Pasha’s future victories.” He intends to defeat the pirates and capture sea robbers, and then divide the rich booty among his people. A lot of Muslims gathered under the banner of Seid. A dervish, a fugitive from a pirate ship, is brought to Seyid Pasha. This is Conrad in disguise. Seid Pasha begins to interrogate him. But the dervish seems to be stalling for time. “I am a worthless spy: my eyes were fixed only on escape,” he declares. According to the dervish, the pirates are stupid and careless: after all, the guards overslept - the dervish’s flight, which means the pasha’s “invincible fleet” will also oversleep. Seyid Pasha orders to feed the dervish, but he does not eat anything, explaining that this is his vow, that if he begins to taste the joys of life, the Prophet will “block his path to Mecca.” However, from the outside it seems that “for those who were condemned to fasting and labor for so long, he behaved strangely.” At this moment, the pirates attack the Turks, take them by surprise and put them to flight. Conrad sheds his dervish robes and appears as “a horseman rushing through the smoke,” “like Afrit, the demon of evil.” Conrad fights heroically, the Pasha himself retreats, forgetting about his harem. Conrad forbids offending women: “We were born to kill and perish, but we must always spare the gentle sex!” Conrad himself takes away the decoration of the pasha's harem, Gulnar. Seyid Pasha sees that there are few pirates. He is ashamed that such a small detachment managed to break his will, and he gives the order to attack. There are many more Muslims, and soon the pirate detachment is almost completely killed, only a few manage to escape. Conrad is captured.

Gulnar is hidden by Conrad in a safe place. She wonders why “the robber, covered in blood, seemed more tender to her than Seid in love.” She understands that Seid was saving only himself, and the unknown pirate took care of weak women first. Seyid Pasha decides to execute Konrad with a painful execution - impale him and imprison him until the morning. Conrad is “defeated, alone, but the will managed to breathe courage into his chest.” Shackled, the prisoner behaves with dignity.

At night, Gulnar makes her way to Conrad. She thanks him for saving her. It is not in her power to save the life of the noble pirate, but she promises, with the help of female charms, to influence Seid Pasha and delay the execution for at least a day. Conrad tells Gulnar about his Medora, about their mutual love, that he is not afraid of death, but is afraid of causing grief to his beloved. He asks Gulnar if she loves Seyid Pasha. Ta answers negatively: “He will come, he will go - I don’t need him anyway, he is close, but not in the heart, but on the outside... And I am a slave, I am afraid of a different fate, which is worse than slavery - to become his wife.” Before leaving, Gulnar clings to Conrad's shackles, cries, her tears, like diamonds, remain on the iron of the chains.

The pirates, who miraculously survived, come to Medora and tell the girl that Conrad is in captivity. Medora takes the blow with restraint, without tears or screams.

There was in her, meek, this grace -
Tolerate, soften, hope and wait.

Having learned the details of Conrad's captivity, Medora collapses. Conrad's friends rush to take care of her, and then tell Anselmo, who remained on the island in Conrad's place, about what happened. Anselmo decides to go rescue Conrad from captivity, and if he is already killed, to avenge him.

Gulnar tries to soften the pasha, persuade him, convince him that if he does not execute Conrad, he will only win. He will find out where the pirates' countless treasures are and take possession of them. But Pasha is adamant. He is not interested in treasures: “His hour of torment is incomparable with wealth! The Corsair is in chains, and I have power over him.” Pasha agrees to postpone the execution for a day, but only so that he will have more time to come up with a more sophisticated execution. He humiliates Gulnar, suspecting that she stands up for the captured pirate for a reason (he saw Conrad carrying Gulnar in his arms from the battlefield):

Hey, two-faced woman! Hear:
He is not the only one mortal. And the only word is -
And you...

Gulnar understands that she is just a thing in the hands of her master, that Seyid Pasha does not love her. But she herself now knows what love is, and for the sake of her beloved she will stop at nothing. At midnight, having bribed the guard, she comes to the Corsair, persuades him to kill the pasha (for which she brings him a knife) and escape together. Conrad again refuses - his weapon is a sword, not a knife, he is not used to attacking from around the corner at night. In addition, Conrad understands that, in principle, he deserved to be executed because he sinned a lot. Conrad calls on Gulnar to be happy, to leave him, and not to darken her life with murder. Gulnar calls the pasha the source of evil, a damned tyrant, and explains that her well-being in the pasha’s palace is illusory: “The old man’s lust saves my life, when he gets tired of women’s charms, the sea will accept the bag with me as a gift.” The girl does not want to live without Conrad, so she decides to kill the hated pasha herself. If she fails to do this, then in the morning she will die along with Conrad on the scaffold. Gulnar leaves. Conrad notices that the door to his dungeon is not locked. Picking up the shackles so as not to ring, Conrad walks through the night palace. He sees Gulnar and hopes that she did not decide to kill. The girl turns around, and the Corsair sees “on her forehead - one unwashed, forgotten stain - a bloody trail, familiar from a young age - the mark of murder, a trace of crime.” Conrad had seen many murders in his life, but none of them touched his soul as much as this one. It seems to him that “a trail of blood, a criminal stream, has washed away the beauty from the dark women’s cheeks.” Gulnar announces to Conrad that a ship is waiting for him, that she has gathered a detachment faithful people, ready to ensure the safety of her and her loved one. Through a secret passage, Gulnar takes Conrad to the seashore. While swimming, Gulnar notices that “his empty, icy gaze is like a sentence.” Gulnar cries, insists that God will not forgive her, but Conrad must forgive, because she committed a crime for his sake, thereby abandoning both a calm earthly life and heavenly paradise. But Conrad does not blame her, he rather reproaches himself. A ship flying a blood-red flag is sailing towards them. This is Anselmo and his comrades rushing to the rescue of their leader. Having lamented a little that the operation to free him failed (because Konrad had already been freed by Gulnar), everyone happily set off on their way back. If Gulnar had told about how she saved the Corsair, the pirates would have chosen her as queen, but she is silent. Conrad is full of “hostility to deeds, sympathy to tears.” He knows that Heaven will punish Gulnar, but he himself feels sorry for the girl. Conrad hugs his savior and kisses her. He knows that even Medora, “whose soul is pure, would forgive the paired lips - here Weakness stole a kiss, here Love gave away her breath.”

The ship approaches the island. Conrad is surprised: he sees no light in Medora's window. He goes up to every room and sees that his beloved is dead. Conrad understands that this is heaven's punishment for his sins. The only creature he loved in the world is now separated from him forever. Medora, of course, will go to heaven, but Conrad, who sinned a lot, will not go to heaven. The corsair is shocked. He cannot say a word, he just sobs alone.

In the morning, Anselmo enters Medora's room. Ho The leader disappeared. They searched for him, but did not find him on the entire island. Since then there has been no news about Conrad, no one knew whether he was alive or “buried with grief.” A monument was erected to Medora, but not to Conrad (since he may be alive). His glory lives on for centuries.

He was one virtue -
And endowed with a thousand vices...

Song one

He is stingy in speech - he only knows the order,
The hand is strong, the eye is sharp and keen;
He doesn't give their feasts any fun.

He is secretly separated from everyone,
His sigh and laughter are a wonder,
And the name "Conrad" turns into chalk
The tan of anyone who is fierce and brave.
Lord of souls, most skillful strategist,
He, terrifying, delights those
He who is terrible - those who praise him...
The brilliance of skill - luck - success -
And, domineering, he is strong in the lack of will of all.
He dictates - and the feats of their hands
Everyone around him honors him as one of his merits.

Conrad was not always a merciless pirate. In the past lies the reason for his current anger at the whole world.

He was wise, but the world considered him stupid
And he spoiled it with his training;
I was too proud to drag out my life, humbled,
And too strong to fall into the mud before the strong...
Inspiring fear, slandered from a young age,
I became a friend to Anger, but not to Humility...
He had hatred - but for those hearts
Where is hatred mixed with servility?
Him, standing far away from everyone,
And friendship and contempt bypassed:
Marveling at him, they feared his deeds,
But no one dared to humiliate him.
However, Conrad is subject to one sincere passion - Love. Conrad happily and mutually loves Medora, does not pay attention to the beautiful captives, of which there are many on the island of pirates. Now, before a dangerous campaign, Conrad is going to say goodbye to his beloved and goes to her castle. Approaching Medora's room, Conrad hears the sounds of a sad song. The girl sings about her love for him, about love that knows no rest, because lovers must constantly part, and Medora lives in eternal fear for Conrad’s life. Medora dreams of the day when “peace will lead us into a peaceful home.” Medora wonders why her gentle lover is so cruel to people. Conrad announces to Medora that he “must go on a short journey again.” Medora is upset, she invites Conrad to at least share with her the festive meal that she was preparing, hoping that he will come to her. But Conrad can't stay. He hears the cannon signal: it’s time to move. Conrad leaves, “touching his forehead with a kiss.” Left alone, Medora gives free rein to tears.

June 24 2010

Full of picturesque contrasts, the coloring of “The Giaour” also distinguishes Byron’s next “eastern” cycle - the more extensive poem “The Corsair”, written in heroic couplets. In a short prose introduction to the poem, dedicated to the author’s fellow writer and like-minded person, Thomas Moore, he warns against what he sees as a characteristic vice of modern criticism - the wrongful identification of the main characters that has haunted him since the days of “Childe” - be it Giaour or anyone else - with the creator of the works. At the same time, the epigraph to the new poem - a line from Tasso's "Jerusalem Liberated" - emphasizes internal duality as the most important emotional leitmotif of the narrative.

The action of “Corsair” takes place in the south of the Peloponnesian Peninsula, in the port of Koroni and the Pirate Island, lost in the vastness of the Mediterranean. The time of action is not precisely indicated, but it is easy to conclude that the reader is facing the same era of the enslavement of Greece by the Ottoman Empire, which entered a phase of crisis. The figurative and speech means that characterize the characters and what is happening are close to those familiar from “Gyaur”, however, the new poem is more compact in composition, its plot is more detailed (especially with regard to the adventurous “background”), and the development of events and their sequence - more orderly.

The first song opens with a passionate speech, depicting the romance of the pirate lot, filled with risk and anxiety. Bonded by a sense of military camaraderie, the filibusters idolize their fearless chieftain, Conrad. And now the fast brig, under the pirate flag that terrified the entire area, brought encouraging news: the Greek gunner reported that in the coming days a raid on the city and the palace of the Turkish governor Seid could be carried out. Accustomed to the oddities of the commander’s character, the pirates become timid when they find him immersed in deep thought. Several stanzas follow with a detailed description of Conrad (“Mysterious and forever alone, / It seemed that he could not smile”), inspiring admiration for heroism and fear - the unpredictable impulsiveness of a man who had withdrawn into himself, who had lost faith in illusions (“He is among people the most difficult of schools - / The Path disappointment - passed") - in a word, bearing the most typical features of a romantic rebel-individualist, whose heart is warmed by one indomitable passion - love for Medora.

Conrad's beloved reciprocates his feelings; and one of the most heartfelt pages in the poem becomes Medora’s love song and the scene of the heroes’ farewell before the campaign. Left alone, she finds no place for herself, as always worrying about him, and he on the deck of the brig gives out instructions to the team, fully prepared to carry out a daring attack - and win.

Having crushed the resistance of the Turks, the merciless pirate, however, shows genuine chivalry when the flames that engulfed the palace spread to the female half. He forbids his brothers in arms to resort to violence against the Pasha’s slaves and he himself carries the most beautiful of them, the black-eyed Gulnar, out of the fire in his arms. Meanwhile, Seid, who escaped from the pirate blade in the confusion of the battle, organizes his numerous Guards in a counterattack, and Konrad has to entrust Gulnar and her friends in misfortune to the care of a simple Turkish house, and he himself has to enter into an unequal confrontation. Around him, one after another, his slain comrades fall; He, having cut down countless enemies, is captured barely alive.

The hero is confused: there is an irreconcilable conflict in his soul. By the will of circumstances, he owes his life to a woman in love with him, and he himself still loves Medora. Gulnar is also depressed: in Conrad’s silence she reads condemnation of the atrocity she has committed. Only a fleeting hug and a friendly kiss from the prisoner she saved brings her to her senses.

Conrad's grief is inescapable. In solitude, he mourns his girlfriend, and then disappears without a trace: “<…>A series of days pass, / There is no Conrad, he disappeared forever, / And not a single hint announced, / Where he suffered, where he buried the flour! / He was mourned only by his gang; / His girlfriend was received by the mausoleum... / He will live in the traditions of families / With one love, with a thousand atrocities.”

The ending of “The Corsair,” like “The Giaour,” leaves the reader alone with the feeling of an incompletely solved mystery surrounding the entire existence of the protagonist.

Byron the corsair main characters. Romantic hero in the poem by J

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