I Loved You (poem)


"I Loved You" is a poem by Alexander Pushkin written in 1829 and published in 1830. It has been described as "the quintessential statement of the theme of lost love" in Russian poetry, and an example of Pushkin's respectful attitude towards women.

Text

Cyrillic
Я вас любил: любовь ещё, быть может,
В душе моей угасла не совсем;
Но пусть она вас больше не тревожит;
Я не хочу печалить вас ничем.
Я вас любил безмолвно, безнадежно,
То робостью, то ревностью томим;
Я вас любил так искренно, так нежно,
Как дай вам Бог любимой быть другим.
Romanization
Ya vas lyubíl: lyubóv' eshchyó, byt' mózhet,
V dushé moyéy ugásla ne sovsém;
No pust' oná vas ból'she ne trevózhit;
Ya ne khochú pechálit' vas nichém.
Ya vas lyubíl bezmólvno, beznadézhno,
To róbost'yu, to révnost'yu tomím;
Ya vas lyubíl tak ískrenno, tak nézhno,
Kak day vam Bokh lyubímoy byt' drugím.
Translation
I loved you, and I probably still do.
And for a while the feeling may remain.
But let my love no longer trouble you,
I do not wish to cause you any pain.
I loved you; and the hopelessness I knew,
The jealousy, the shyness- though in vain-
Made up a love so tender and so true
As may God grant you to be loved again.

Summary of the poem

Pushkin expresses his affectionate feelings towards a lady in this poem. He is very much carried away by the beauty of the lady. At the same time, he doesn't want to be very possessive about her. The poet is neither sad nor happy when the lady left him. Even after losing the girl, the poet remains respectful to her.
The poet is not selfish and doesn't want to fight to get back the girl. He just wants to keep her in his heart for a while. The greatest test of love is the ability to wish good for the other person even if you lose the person.

Cultural references

Settings in music

The poem has various references in Soviet and Russian film. Most recently in I Loved You, a trilogy of documentaries by Viktor Kossakovsky.