To Kern

What it is

This is a poem by Pushkin, dated 1825 and published in 1827 according to the record, presented here in English. Its title names Kern, and the poem describes a woman who appeared before the speaker like a ghost, a fleeting apparition and a genius of pure grace. The speaker recalls years of gloom and then a return of faith, inspiration, tears, life and tender love.

Why it matters

The poem is one of Pushkin's love poems. It shows how his personal feelings often became the subject of his verse, and it reveals the emotional life behind his writing in the 1820s.

Look closer

• The poem repeats the line about a ghost and a fleeting apparition. Why might the speaker return to the same image?
• The speaker moves from despair to renewed life. What events or feelings in the poem mark that change?
• The poem is addressed to a named person. What does a reader gain and lose by knowing that a real person may stand behind the poem?