Parasha And Other Poems

Parasha and Other Poems by Ivan Turgenev showcases the author’s early mastery of narrative poetry before he became renowned for his prose fiction. The title poem, Parasha, brought Turgenev to the attention of the influential critic Vissarion Belinsky and tells the humorous story of a young woman’s marriage to her dull neighbor and their ordinary, contented life. The collection also includes four other narrative poems—Andrei, A Conversation, The Landowner, and The Village Priest—all reflecting Turgenev’s keen interest in everyday Russian life, his wit, and his stylistic versatility, foreshadowing the qualities that would define his later prose masterpieces.