Topolia
The narrator who tells the story of Tchornobriva and her transformation.
Khustina
The narrator describes the girl's stitching and the Tchumak's journey.
Prologue
The woman who laments her fate and abandons her child.
I
The narrator describes the old couple's life and laments their childlessness.
Caucasus
The narrator speaks collectively for the oppressed, expressing defiance and hope.
To the Circassians
The speaker, possibly Shevchenko, addresses the Circassians directly with biting irony.
To the Rich and Great
The unnamed speaker delivers a direct, accusatory address to the rich and great, condemning their hypocrisy and greed.
To the Master
The speaker who addresses Christ and critiques religious hypocrisy.
Again Addressing the Circassians
The speaker addresses the Circassians, offering a cynical version of enlightenment.
To Jacques de Balmont
The speaker who mourns a friend and sends songs to Ukraine.
To the Dead
The poet-narrator speaks throughout, lamenting Ukraine's woes and urging his countrymen to awaken.
I
The speaker who weeps for his country's woes and calls for awakening.
II
The narrator speaks in first person, reflecting on the state of Ukraine and its people.
III
The narrator speaks as a voice of conscience, addressing the people of Ukraine and reflecting on the nation's suffering and hope.
Lyric: From Day to Day, from Night to Night
The speaker of the lyric, expressing personal despair and longing for fate or divine engagement.
A Poem of Exile
The speaker of the poem, an exile counting his days in prison and longing for Ukraine.
Memories of an Exile
The speaker who laments his exile and finds comfort only in memories of home.
Hymn of Exile
The speaker who gazes at the sunset and longs for Ukraine.
On the Eleventh Psalm
The speaker who laments the lack of good folk and calls upon God to intervene.
Prayer: To Tsars and Kings
The speaker who prays for love rather than material wealth.
Prayer: My Prayer for the Tsars
The speaker who prays for the Tsars, the peoples, the pure in heart, and for himself.
Prayer: For Those That Have Done Wrong to Me
The speaker of the prayer, addressing God on behalf of those who have wronged them and for all humanity.
Prayer: To Those of the Ever-Greedy Eyes
The speaker of the prayer, representing the voice of the oppressed toiling class.
Mighty Wind
The speaker who laments her lost lover and appeals to the wind and sea.
Hymn of the Nuns
The collective voice of the nuns, expressing their sorrow and resentment.
To the Goddess of Fame
The speaker who addresses the Goddess of Fame, inviting her to lodge with him.
Iconoclasm
The speaker addresses 'brother light' and urges rebellion against religious icons and clergy.
My Testament
The speaker who delivers the testament, expressing a longing for Ukraine's liberation and his own death.
The Water Fairy
The water fairy narrates her own origin and the fate of her mother.
Lyric: Only Friend, Clear Evening Twilight
The speaker who addresses the twilight and expresses longing and sorrow for his homeland.
The Reaper
The speaker who fears the reaper and describes being struck down and forgotten in the dark.
Lyric: I Care Not, Shall I See My Dear
The speaker who laments his exile and the fate of Ukraine.
A Dream
The dreamer who longs for Ukraine and reflects on its beauty and sorrow.
Kalina
The mother who watches and mourns her daughter's nightly visits and eventual death.
Drowsy the Waves
The speaker who laments his imprisonment and isolation by the sea.
See Fires Ablaze
The speaker who observes the festivities and weeps alone, lamenting his lost youth.
To the Makers of Sentimental Idyls
The speaker who recounts his childhood suffering and critiques the makers of sentimental idyls.
The Bondwoman's Dream
The bondwoman, a slave who reaps wheat and dreams of her son's freedom.
Winter
The narrator addresses the reader directly, using second-person 'thou' to convey a universal lament about aging and lost hope.
