UKRAINIAN Oleksandr Oles' "Charms of the Night"

CHARMS OF THE NIGHT

Mocking, weeping nightingales

Beat the drums of songs in their chests:

"Kiss, kiss her lips, kiss the lady, --

There will be no youth again!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Don't worry about what will be there,

Whether oblivion or betrayal:

Spring comes to face you,

Spring is now your gay friend.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

For one moment, put away your

Sadness, thoughts and misery --

And the current of your own soul

Flows into the roaring sea.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Seize the fleeting moment of life!

Charm yourself, get drunk, savor

Amid dreams and forgetfulness

Fall in love with indulgence.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Behold, the entire earth shivers

In the warm embrace of night,

A leaf soughs briskly to the flowers,

A stream chatters to the grass.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The stars reflect in the water,

Mists travel toward the clouds...

Here flow the thick fragrances,

There the tipsy willow branches twist.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

As the spark still burns inside you

That did not have time to fade, --

Set fire! Life is just one moment,

For death's a whole eon.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Why do you stand there, unmoving,

When all the world is singing?

Calibrate the golden strings:

The banquet celebrated by Spring.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Boldly step to clanging goblets

With flames, with songs, to visit

At the joyful feast of blossoms,

Love, dreams, sensuality.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Without return, all will perish:

What time takes, what people take,

The heart's fire will extinguish,

And the torso will grow cold.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Your self you will want to retrieve,

Like Faust, the days are gone...

But know: the gods above are stingy,

Above us -- deaf and far, withdrawn..."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mocking, weeping nightingales

Beat the drums of songs in their chests:

"Kiss, kiss her lips, kiss the lady --

There will be no youth again!"

Essay on "Charms of the Night"

Charms of the Night, a Ukrainian poem brimming with vivid imagery and emotional depth, explores the transient nature of life and youth while urging readers to embrace the present with passion and abandon. The poem is a rich reflection on the ephemeral joys of life, framed by the figure of Spring, the passing of time, and the inexorable approach of death. Through powerful natural imagery, the poem urges a deep engagement with the moment, embracing the sensory pleasures of life, while acknowledging the inevitable passage of time and the coldness that follows.

At its core, "Charms of the Night" revolves around the theme of seizing the moment. The poem opens with the sound of nightingales singing -- "Mocking, weeping nightingales / Beat the drums of songs in their chest" -- which immediately sets a tone of urgency and emotion. The birds' "mocking" and "weeping" voices echo the complexities of life, suggesting that while we are swept up in fleeting pleasures, there is a deep sense of loss or melancholy intertwined with joy. These nightingales, through their song, echo a call to action: "Kiss, kiss her lips, kiss the lady, -- / There will be no youth again!" The injunction to kiss serves as a metaphor for embracing the fleeting joys of youth and life, while the reminder that "youth will not come again" suggests an existential awareness of time's fleeting nature.

The poem's advice is to embrace life in its full richness, disregarding the uncertainties of the future. "Don't worry about what will be there, / Whether oblivion or betrayal" the speaker suggests, reminding the reader that the future is unknown and often unkind. Instead, the poem encourages living in the now, with "Spring comes to face you" serving as a symbol of renewal and vitality. Spring here represents both a literal season and a metaphor for the vibrancy of youth. By urging readers to "put away your / Sadness, thoughts and misery," the speaker encourages a release of negative emotions and a full immersion in life's pleasures. The "current of your own soul" flowing "into the roaring sea" conveys an image of surrendering oneself to the overwhelming force of life's experiences, emphasizing immersion over introspection.

The call to live fully is emphasized further in the lines: "Seize the fleeting moment of life! / Charm yourself, get drunk, savor." The urgency of this sentiment mirrors the urgency of spring itself -- a season that arrives swiftly and is gone just as quickly. "Amid dreams and forgetfulness / Fall in love with indulgence," the speaker urges, pointing to indulgence in sensory pleasures as a means of transcending life's ephemeral nature. The idea that dreams and forgetfulness are intertwined in indulgence reinforces the notion that embracing life's pleasures can offer a temporary reprieve from the awareness of mortality.

The physical world is intricately tied to the emotional and spiritual world throughout the poem. The imagery of the "earth shiver[ing] / In the warm embrace of night" evokes a vivid sense of natural sensuality and transformation, as if the entire world is engaged in a dance of passion and loss. The leaf, the stream, and the willow branches contribute to a sensual, organic atmosphere. The stars "reflect in the water," and "mist travels toward the clouds," reinforcing the theme of transience, as these beautiful, celestial images shift and dissolve, much like life itself. This blending of nature's cycles with the human experience suggests that life and death, joy and sorrow, are all part of an interconnected whole, reminding us of the inevitability of change.

The poem then shifts focus, urging the reader to live fully, even in the face of inevitable death. "As the spark still burns inside you / That did not have time to fade," the speaker calls for action: "Set fire!" This fiery image speaks to the passion and intensity that should define one's life, even as it acknowledges that "life is just one moment, / For death's a whole eon." The message here is clear: life, though brief, is a moment to be seized, for it passes in the blink of an eye, while death represents a vast eternity.

As the poem progresses, the tone shifts slightly, becoming more reflective and existential. The rhetorical question, "Why do you stand there, unmoving, / When all the world is singing?" challenges the reader's passivity, urging them to act while the world around them pulses with life and sound. The reference to "calibrating the golden strings" suggests a metaphorical tuning of one's life, aligning oneself with the harmony of the world. This is further reinforced by the imagery of a banquet -- a celebration of life, love, and sensuality orchestrated by Spring.

However, the poem also conveys a sobering message: "Without return, all will perish." The inevitable passage of time and the loss of youth are not to be ignored or denied, and the poem insists that both time and people take from us what cannot be retrieved. "The heart's fire will extinguish, / And the torso will grow cold," the poem warns, reminding us of the finality of death and the coldness that follows the warmth of life.

In the final stanzas, the speaker likens the desire to retrieve the past to the myth of Faust, who, in seeking to reclaim lost time, is condemned to the same fate as others: death. "But know: the gods above are stingy, / Above us -- deaf and far, withdrawn..." This reflection on the unfeeling nature of the divine highlights the futility of attempting to reverse time or reclaim lost youth, as the gods are indifferent to human suffering. The mention of the gods being "deaf and far" emphasizes the disconnect between human desires and divine indifference, reinforcing the message that life must be embraced while it lasts.

In conclusion, "Charms of the Night" is a poignant meditation on the fleeting nature of life, urging readers to live fully and without regret, to savor the moment, and to accept the inevitability of death. Through rich natural imagery, the poem captures the beauty and transience of existence, while offering a sobering reminder that time moves forward relentlessly. It encourages the reader to embrace indulgence, to experience life with passion, and to align themselves with the rhythm of nature, for it is only in the present that life can be truly lived. By balancing the joy of living with the inevitability of loss, the poem becomes both a celebration of life's fleeting beauty and a call to courage in the face of mortality.

The Allusion to Faust

In Goethe's Faust, the protagonist makes a pact with Mephistopheles, selling his soul in exchange for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. A significant part of Faust's journey reflects his despair at lost youth and missed opportunities.

The poem mirrors Faust's existential yearning, especially in the lines (І схочеш ти вернуть собі, / Як Фауст, дні минулі...):

"І схочеш ти вернуть собі, / Як Фауст, дні минулі..." [Pronunciation: ee s(k)Hochesh* TI verNOOt soBEE, / Yak Faust, dnee mINOOLee..."]

("Your self you will want to retrieve, / Like Faust, the days are gone...").

*(k)H pronounced like the "ch" in the German name/word "Bach" (i.e. "hard" H)

This explicitly draws a parallel between Faust's unfulfilled longing to recapture time and the speaker's warning to the reader or listener: enjoy the present, for the gods (fate, life, or destiny) are stingy and indifferent, and lost moments can never truly be recovered.

Themes of Carpe Diem and Transience:

Like Faust, the poem's addressee is encouraged to seize the fleeting joys of life before they fade into oblivion. The nightingales, spring, and nature's vibrancy urge the reader to embrace passion, indulgence, and love.

However, there's a bittersweet undertone, as the speaker acknowledges that such moments are impermanent, and any attempt to reclaim them (as Faust tried) is futile.

The Inevitability of Death:

Faust's struggles highlight the tension between the fleeting nature of life and the eternity of death, which resonates in ("Життя — єдина мить, / Для смерті ж — вічність ціла."):

"Життя — єдина мить, / Для смерті ж — вічність ціла." [Pronunciation: zhItTYA* -- yeDIna MIt, / Dlya smerteezh -- veechneest tseela."]

("Life is just one moment, / For death's a whole eon.")

*zh pronounced like the "s" in the English word "pleasure" (i.e. "soft" j [e.g. like in French name "Jean"])

Both the poem and Faust explore the human condition's existential reality: life's ephemerality and the impossibility of reversing its course.

Critique of the Divine:

The poem's view of the gods as "stingy" and "deaf" aligns with Faust's struggle against a universe that seems indifferent to human desires. This reinforces a sense of isolation and existential defiance.