EUGENI ONYEGIN. Pushkin's poem (Eugeni Onyegin' is the prototype of the Rus sian novels dealing with unsuccessful heroes. Here the hero Onyegin represents a member of cultured society in the 20's who took Childe Harold for their example. Indeed, the first canto arose directly under the influence of Byron's Juan' and Harold,' but in the further development Pushkin described, not an individual blase, but a class type of helpless, frivolous upper society, and, to a certain ex tent, gave his poem the nature of a social satire, as which .it was recognized by contemporary critics. But, although Pushkin in the begin ning of his poem pursued Onyegin with banter and irony, he looked more objectively at the hero as he proceeded, and even pitied him, when his relation to Lenski and Tatyana became tragic. Onyegin began by joining in his friends' orgies, but soon commenced to pine, and at last tried to busy himself with affairs.
He wanted to act as a benefactor to his peasants, but was not understood by them. After killing Lenski in a duel, he started on a journey, but even his wandering could not cure his blasé spirit. He insulted simple-minded, faithful Tatyana with his cold counsels, and fell in love with her only when he found her married to another man.
The enormous popularity of this poem is evidenced by the fact that up to 1::5 it was re printed in whole or in part 27 times, while for the same period there are recorded 55 critical essays dealing with the subject and 33 trans lations. English translations are by D. Minaieff, (Saint Petersburg 1868) ; by Mrs. J. Buchan Telfer (née Mouravieff, London 1880) ; by Spalding (London 1881). It was dramatized in 1846, and in this form was kept in the repertoire until 1852. It gained its greatest popularity through Chaykovski's opera, written in 1872.