Я вас любил...
I loved you, part 4
This is part 4, of the reading A. S. Pushkin’s “I loved you” poem word by word series. If you’d like to start from the very first line, you can do so here: I loved you, part 1.
То робостью, то ревностью томим;
The following is a literal translation by U. R. Bowie:
“At times by timidity, at times by jealousy tormented;”
Let’s read it together word by word.
То – "at times" (The conjunction "то... то" in Russian is a correlative conjunction, often translated into English as "at times... at other times" or "sometimes... sometimes.")
Example:
А за окном то дождь, то снег,
И спать пора, и никак не уснуть.
Lyrics by Lev Oshanin, music by Arkadiy Ostrovsky, performance by Maya Kristalinskaya
робостью – "by timidity" (Noun, instrumental case, singular, nominative case - “робость”)
Example:
С какой мы робостью любви
Своё дыханье затаили! - А. Фет
ревностью – "by jealousy" (Noun, instrumental case, singular, nominative case - “ревность”)
Example:
Всё, что могло вызвать ревность, обиду друг на друга, подчёркивалось, подавалось на блюдечке. - С. Юрский
томим – "tormented" (Predicate, verb, passive participle, singular, past)
The word "томим" is a shortened version of the participle “томимый”, derived from the verb "томить" (to torment, to languish, to suffer from longing or discomfort).
Example:
Грезит ночь. Уснули люди,
Только я тоской томим. - С. Есенин
And as usual, let's take a look at the poetic translation of the two lines (one of which we read in the previous post) offered by Genia Gurarie:
I loved you; and the hopelessness I knew,
The jealousy, the shyness—though in vain—
Stay with us to keep reading the famous poem word by word. And share with your friends!
The final part, the last two lines — this will bring you to the part 5.