Robert Stevenson, author of the world famous books Treasure Island, Diamond Rajah, The Black Arrow, is also the author of beautiful poems, including the ballad Heather Honey.
History of the work
Stevenson's Ballad was born in 1875 in beautiful Scotland. Scotland is a Scottish land. From English scot is translated as "scott", land - land. In ancient times, Scottish land was inhabited by Scottes, Britons and Picts. How the latter appeared, no one knows. They were first mentioned in 257 as the enemies of Rome. It is known that they united in a union, and then in a kingdom. The heyday of the state of the Picts came in the VIII century. At the beginning of the next century they were conquered by the Scots. From the Picts there was no written language and language, but the images were preserved.
The poem “Heather Honey” was based on a medieval legend called “The Last of the Picts”. He was told in the south of Scotland, in the county of Galloway, where, according to legend, the Picts people ceased to exist. According to legends and chronicles, the Picts were brave warriors. The conquerors were amazed at their courage and were perplexed, where did so little rebellion and courage come from in short picts?
The legend of the picts
Once upon a time there lived a people called the Picts. They were tiny people with red hair and long arms. And their feet were so wide that when it rained, they could lie upside down and hide behind them like umbrellas. This people was a great builder, all the ancient fortresses in the country were built by their hands. They stood in a chain from the quarry itself and passed stones to each other to the place where they built.
This little nation was also known for the ale that they cooked from heather. It was an unusually affordable drink, since there was always a lot of heather in this country. Other tribes living in the country sought a recipe for this magical drink. But the Picts did not betray the secret that was passed from father to son with a strict order: not to let anyone know her and never. Wars were waged in the country one after another, and soon only a handful of people remained from the once great people. Probably, the picts were supposed to disappear, but the secret of heather honey was still tightly kept secret.
Finally, it came to the battle with the Scottes, in which the Picts were completely defeated. Only two remained of the great people - father and son. They brought these people to the king of scott. And then small and defenseless picts stood before him, and the king demanded the secret of heather from them. And he bluntly said that he would torture them cruelly and mercilessly if they did not do so voluntarily. Therefore, it is better to give in and tell.
Last mead
The old father said: “I see that there is no sense in resisting. But before I tell you a secret, you must fulfill one condition. " "What?" the king asked. “Will you do it?” - the old man answered the question with a question. “Yes,” said the king, “you can believe my word.” The old pict said: “I would never want to be responsible for the death of my son. But now I wish him dead, and the secret of heather honey is ready to tell only after his death. "
The king was very surprised by the behavior and request of the old man. Although he was cruel, it was also difficult for him to kill his son in front of the old father. But the king kept his promise. The lad was executed. As soon as the son fell dead, the father said: “Do what you want with me. You could make your son tell a secret, for youth is weak. But you can never force me! ” The king was amazed that a simple savage could outwit him, the king himself. The king decided that he should not kill the old man. The biggest punishment for a pic will be if you leave it alive. They took the old man like a prisoner. He lived for many years, to a very old age - he became blind and impenetrable.
... People would have long forgotten that such a person lived. But somehow the fellows stopped in his house and began to boast of their strength. The old man said that he would test one of their wrists to compare the strength of people who lived in the old days. Well done, for the sake of laughter, they handed him an iron rod. The old man just broke it in two, like a stick. “A fair amount of cartilage,” said the old man, “but not at all what is in our time.”
This was the last of the picts.
Heroes of the poem
This beautiful legend formed the basis of Stevenson’s ballad Heather Honey, the main theme of which was the death of the last picts. The idea of the poem is the struggle against the enslavers for freedom and independence. Marshak translated this ballad into Russian in a difficult time for Russia - in 1942. Then, victory over fascism depended on each person, and Stevenson's ballad calls for loving the Motherland and being persistent.
Small picts by their example showed that to die for the Fatherland is a feat. To give out the secret of heather ale is to betray your people, their traditions. Love for the native land is more precious than life. The protagonist, the last of the picts, proved that it is better to die than to live in dishonor. He is the personification of a brave and courageous people. The son, like his father, is indestructible and freedom-loving. The Scottish king strives for absolute power; he is a cruel and ruthless man.
Ballad Analysis
The work begins with a story about the Picts, chanting a heather drink. Then the plot began - “the king of Scotland came” and destroyed the Picts. Further development of events - heather blossoms in the country, but they don’t make a drink out of it, and yet “it was sweeter than honey”. But the secret of honey died along with the owners of this land - small picts. "In the caves underground" found the surviving father and son. They know the secret of heather honey, and the king interrogates them, trying to figure out a secret. The climax of the ballad - at the request of the old man, his son was thrown into the sea. And the denouement of the work - the father, after the death of his son, challenges his enemies.
The old man is ready to die, but not to betray his people, not to submit to the conquerors. In this regard, the ballad goes far beyond the Scottish theme. In a small episode, the author affirms the independence of the people and proclaims the right of every people to freedom, to tradition, to their land. Several times in the work the phrase “secret of the drink” sounds. But this is not just a heather honey recipe. This is the secret of the resilience of small honey products, which lies in the desire to gain freedom and in love for the native land.
The tragedy of the work is that it has no choice between life and death. The father, wise in life, understands that they will be killed in any case, and chooses death for his son. He stubbornly accepts her. The father also dies, but does not betray a sacred secret. Conquerors can rob an old man of his life, but not his love for his native land and his will.