The Main Ideas Of Two Poems By Taras Shevchenko Essay Samples

In “The Ransacked Grave Mound” Shevchenko tries to reflect the reality that was right in front of his eyes. In the poem we can see his motherland, Ukraine, personified and shown as a loving mother but drawn into despair. The poem begins with rhetorical questions to Ukraine. The author cannot understand why she has to pay such a high price without doing anything wrong. He asks maybe she did not pray to God that he punished her to bear such a fate or did not teach her children of customs that were so important and valued. The motherland replies to Shevchenko that there was no harm in her actions, she truly cared about her children, her consciousness is clear and there is no reason for her to suffer. Further, personified motherland reminds of Bohdan – the poet is clearly referring to Bohdan Khmelnytsky and the treaty with Russia. The author shows his protest against uniting Ukraine with Russia calling Khmelnytsky “unwise son”. It is interesting to stress that Shevchenko appeals to Khmelnytsky by name on behalf of Ukraine, his mother. The bitterness of treason is so deep that the personified Ukraine-mother would have sacrificed one of her sons for the sake of the rest: “If I had known, I would have strangled you in the cradle”. Later, the author describes how the Pereyaslav treaty influenced the life if people living in the country: the lands (steppes) were sold out to Jewish people, who did not care about anything but profit, the country’s sons had to earn for living working on foreigners somewhere abroad, even Dnipro, a great and wide river is dying. The picture of despair and pain is amplified with description of “werewolves”, traitors who will sell themselves to the Muscovites, to Russia and forget about motherland that’s is so valued by Shevchenko. The closing picture – ransacked grave that was dug up in several spots, sums up all the words and feelings conveyed above by the poet. In my opinion, the main idea of “The Ransacked Grave Mound” is Ukraine’s freedom from other nations. Shevchenko wants his country to be independent, strong and prosperous.
Moving forward, to the poem “In captivity I count the days and nights”, I would like to pay attention to the mood of the author. Here he presents his inner thoughts and the way he lives in imprisonment. He has been in captivity for so long, that lost his belief in God: “Don’t plead, for your prayer will be lost on God”. Shevchenko’s grief and sorrow are overwhelming, he shows how it’s terrifying to realize that he cannot even tell about his feelings, how horrible to be closed up alone far away from his life and motherland. It’s extremely difficult to conceive all the feelings of a person whose life was taken away but he remains alive: “Your don’t feel like living in the world, but you have to live”. Shevchenko is now fighting with himself trying not to lose his personality, his soul – the only thing that was left for him. He even hesitates whether all his efforts are worth such a fate - “to drag these chains in captivity”. Even at the moment of weakness, the poet remembers of his motherland and the beauty of its nature. He tries to imagine how is to be home, with people close to him, feel the support and understanding from each and everyone.
Having spoken about Ukraine, Shevchenko goes back to his present. He realizes the fact that he may never see his motherland again and appeals to God to bring his tears home at least. A slight moment of hesitation passes and the poet is ready to suffer for his country again, he is ready to sacrifice his life in the name of his dear country. Shevchenko asks only for the people to remember him, his dedication and deep love to motherland. He is ready to accept everything and states that he will continue writing and will be faithful to Ukraine and himself. The main ides of the poem is to show real love to the native country, strong beliefs and true loyalty to initial life choices.
I would like to draw attention to the fact that the poems were written with 7 years difference and they are full of different emotions. The first poem, “The Ransacked Grave Mound” discloses young and revolutionary Shevchenko who is ready to fight for his motherland. He is not afraid to show his opinion, thoughts. All his nature is full of bitterness of the injustice that his motherland faces. It is worth noticing that the poem was written after Shevchenko’s travel all over Ukraine and before imprisonment. Seven years pass and Shevchenko writes “In captivity I count the days and nights” that shows another person. The poem discloses the inner world of Shevchenko and his life being imprisoned for 4 years. The mood is also very sad as compared to the previous poem, but here some calm strength of word is present, without any calls for fight or gloomy pictures of nation trying to live under the rule of Russia. Shevchenko tries to remember good things for which he loves Ukraine, that make his country so special and valuable for him.
As a conclusion, I would like to say that the poems analyzed show different aspects of Shevchenko’s personality that appeared in two different periods of his life: before and after captivity. His works are full of pain and sorrow for his beloved country, the author’s spirit is indestructible. In both poems Shevchenko finds the most striking words and images to present his thoughts.