☰ Contents · Russian language

Nikitin’s poem and Chekhov’s “Vanka”

Lessons 37–38 · 2 lessons · G. T. Gasilova, Yu. Yu. Musurmanova. Russian Language, Grade 6 (for schools with Uzbek and other languages of instruction). 2nd revised edition. “O‘zbekiston milliy ensiklopediyasi”, Tashkent, 2017
37

I. S. Nikitin. “Поутру вчера дождь…” (Yesterday morning rain…)

Textbook, p. 138
GoalRead I. S. Nikitin’s poem about the arrival of winter and describe the change from autumn to winter and the poet’s mood.
New words
первый снег · birinchi qorмороз · qirov (sovuq)облако · bulutрека · daryo
Explanation

Ivan Savvich Nikitin (1824–1861) was a Russian poet who loved nature and the life of ordinary people. The poem in the textbook describes the change from autumn to winter. In the morning rain taps on the windows and rising fog looks like clouds. At noon the rain stops and snow like white fluff begins to fall on the autumn mud. The night passes and in the morning the sky is clear, the air light and clean, the river frozen. The poet welcomes winter as a guest: «Здравствуй, гостья-зима!» Personification (олицетворение) shows winter as a kind guest. «Что белый пушок» compares snow to fluff (сравнение). The mood is joyful and proud: frost is familiar to the people of his land and tempers them. A painting that fits this poem is A. Plastov’s «Первый снег»; both show the first snow with the same joy.

Worked examples
«Первый снег» (summary in my own words). «Утром шёл дождь, и вокруг стоял густой туман. К полудню дождь стих, и на мокрую землю лёг первый лёгкий снежок. Ночью стало холодно, а утром всё вокруг побелело. Река покрылась льдом, воздух стал свежим и звонким. Дети выбежали на улицу, чтобы встретить зиму.» (In the morning it rained and thick fog lay around. By noon the rain stopped and the first light snow fell on the wet ground. At night it grew cold and by morning everything was white. The river was covered with ice, the air was fresh and ringing. The children ran out to meet winter.)
Autumn signs: «дождь», «туман», «грязь» (mud); winter signs: «снег», «мороз», «лёд». Comparison: «снег как пух» (snow like fluff).
Class activity

“Season picture”. On the left of the board draw or write autumn signs, on the right winter signs. Pupils name the sequence of changes in Russian: «Сначала … Потом … Утром …»

Practice
1
What was the weather like in the morning? What changed at noon?
2
Which device is «Здравствуй, гостья-зима!»?
3
Compare «снег» with «пух». What sentence is formed?
4
What mood does the poem have and why?