"Taras on Parnassus" is a satirical work of classical Belarusian literature of the 19th century. There is still debate about the authorship of the poem, but most scholars are inclined to believe that it belongs to the pen of Konstantin Verenitsyn. This article presents the poem "Taras on Parnassus" (summary).
The work was enthusiastically accepted by many writers of that time. Bogdanovich M.A., a Belarusian poet, spoke particularly well of him. He said that the poem was written in living language and aptly emphasizes the whole truth about Russian literature and about the place in it of many of the writers mentioned.
Taras on Parnassus in abbreviation
The summary begins with a description of the protagonist. He is the forester Taras. He was a responsible and honest person, he did not swear with anyone and did not abuse alcohol. Taras loved his work very much, and even at night, when he could not sleep, he went to protect the forest.
Somehow a story happened with the forester. Early in the morning he went hunting to hunt black grouse. Hearing some sound and thinking that it was a bird, he ran and came across a bear. By some miracle avoiding the attack, Taras found himself in the next world. The astonished forester did not believe his eyes, a wonderful world opened before him: birds sang around, flowers delighted the eye. Suddenly, a curly chubby boy appeared from nowhere with a bow and arrow on his shoulder. To the question of Taras about where he is, the child replied that the road from the next world goes straight to the sacred mountain. What happened next, you will find out by reading the summary. "Taras on Parnassus" is a work glorifying Belarusian literature of that period and exposing some critics.
Holy mountain
The forester, without having obtained from the boy help in finding the way, went wherever his eyes look. Taras walked for a long time and finally saw Parnassus in front of him. A lot of people crowded around the mountain, everyone had full hands of books and magazines. Everyone wanted to go upstairs and for this was ready to tear others to shreds. The author makes a special allusion to the presence of Bulgarin (editor of the journal Northern Bee), his comrade-in-arms Grech and the Russian writer Sologub. The work "Taras on Parnassus", a brief summary of which is presented in this article, is accusatory. Fast forward to the world of the poem.
Suddenly everyone fell silent for a moment. Four writers appeared (Pushkin, Gogol, Zhukovsky and Lermontov), they without any effort, freely and with dignity flew to the sacred mountain.
Abode of the gods
With great difficulty, Taras also climbed to the top. The first thing he saw was a huge house. Around him was a large yard on which cattle grazed. Entering the house, Taras remarked in surprise that the house was full of gods, there weren’t even any places available. Each of them went about his own business: Neptune fixed the net and watched the children, Saturn weaved bast shoes, the goddesses washed clothes, Mars and Hercules fought, and Zeus warmed himself on the stove. Beauty Venus spun in front of the mirror, and Cupid flirted with the girls. Here is a summary of what is going on. Taras on Parnassus decided to stay and watch what will happen next.
Feast
Suddenly the mountain staggered. It turned out that Zeus turned upside down on the stove. He told everyone that the time has come to eat. The maid Geba quickly set the table and served alcohol. All the gods abandoned their affairs, gathered at a large and long table and began to have a meal. Heba, meanwhile, was making more and more dishes: porridge, jelly, oat pancakes, lard and other treats, mainly of Belarusian cuisine. Taras, seeing so many dishes, also wanted to eat. By this time, all the gods were intoxicated and began to sing, and Bach even started vulgar ditties.
Dancing
The goddesses, hearing the sounds of the pipe, began to dance. The chubby slender Venus, Neptune with a nymph and Vesta with Jupiter - no one was left behind. The gods danced, forgetting about age and decency. Even Mars got so excited that he started playing with nymphs and galloping. Everyone had fun, and those who were not able to dance were transferred to sleep under the benches.
Taras was so amused that he jumped into the center and also began to dance. The forester was dancing so well that all the gods opened their mouths in surprise. And Jupiter could not resist, went up to Taras and asked where he came from and who. The forester replied that he was an ordinary person, but did not know how he got here. And he told the gods Taras on Parnassus a summary of what happened to him. The gods learned that during the hunt he met a bear and was so frightened that he did not even understand how he found himself among them. Taras complained that during all this time he was very hungry. Zeus, hearing these words, signaled to Gebe, and she brought the forester a bowl of soup and bread. Taras, satisfying his hunger, only thought that it was time to go home, when suddenly two marshmallows grabbed him and dragged him into the same forest from which he had come. This is the adventure Taras went through on Parnassus. The summary of it surely amused you.
Return to old life
After this incident, Taras has changed a lot. Since then, he has not so diligently guarded his forest, as before. If anyone tried to steal something, the forester did not interfere. He gave up the habit of walking and guarding the forest at night.
Taras told everything that happened to him, only to one person - the storyteller, and he carefully wrote everything down.
The poem "Taras on Parnassus", the content of which we described above, is a vivid example of classical Belarusian literature. This work is required to be read in schools of this country.
Despite disputes about authorship, scholars agreed that only the person deeply familiar with their own culture could write the poem "Taras on Parnassus." It was first published in Russian in 1890, exactly one year after the first publication in the Minsk Leaflet.