Thread: «За ужином объелся я...»

Hello everybody:

Now I am trying to translate the following poem:

«За ужином объелся я...»

Александр Пушкин
* * *
За ужином объелся я,
А Яков запер дверь оплошно —
Так было мне, мои друзья
И кюхельбекерно и тошно

My translation so far, which is a stumbling one at this point:


At dinner I stuffed myself with food so tasty,
then Jacob erred and closed the entry-
such was to me , my friends
so кюхельбекерно and nasty

1-
What does кюхельбекерно mean? I presume it means something equal to тошно sine they are connected by и . кюхельбекерно sound almost teutonic.
2-
Anyway, other questions; what is this little couplet all about?
3-
Is this a poetic scherzo?
He gets sick at dinner and Jacob blocks the door.
4-
Is there some kind of ethnic meaning to it since, as we all know, Jacob is mostly a jewish name?


Gracias por su ayuda.

Объелся doesn't mean "I ate a very tasty food", it means "I ate too much [and felt badly]".

I don't understand the "such was to me", but maybe it's my poor English.

What does кюхельбекерно mean?

Nothing. Pushkin had a friend whose surname was Кюхельбекер (it doesn't sound Russian as you can notice).

Is this a poetic scherzo?

Yes, it is!

Is there some kind of ethnic meaning to it since, as we all know, Jacob is mostly a jewish name?

No. An ordinary male name for a servant, a serf.

С Вильгельмом Кюхельбекером Пушкин стрелялся в ноябре 1819 г. А предыстория поединка такова. Один из ближайших друзей Пушкина, Василий Жуковский, принимал Кюхельбекера не очень охотно. Однажды на вопрос Пушкина, отчего он не был на вечере, Жуковский ответил, что еще накануне расстроил себе желудок. А потом добавил: "К тому же пришел Кюхельбекер, притом Яков (слуга Жуковского) дверь запер по оплошности и ушел". Пушкин, встретив Кюхельбекера на балу, лукаво прочел ему свои новые стихи:
За ужином объелся я.
Да Яков запер дверь оплошно,
Так было мне, мои друзья,
И кюхельбекерно, и тошно.
За искажение фамилии Кюхельбекер вызвал Пушкина на дуэль. Первым стрелял Кюхельбекер. Он целился поэту в лоб, но потом взял куда-то влево... Пушкин захохотал, кинул пистолет в воздух и бросился к Кюхельбекеру: "Я в тебя стрелять не буду".

What does кюхельбекерно mean? I presume it means something equal to тошно

Yes, It is.

Boy, Pushkin, he really got into dueling.
Kuechelbecker mus have been a very unpleasant frine.

Originally Posted by Rafael

Кюхельбекер must have been a very unpleasant friend.

It would be so if the poem would not be a joke.

"Unpleasant friend" sounds like "unloved sweetheart" to me. How can it be?

What does кюхельбекерно mean?

It's the feeling that you suffer when you are locked in a room with Кюхельбекер.

Originally Posted by Оля

Originally Posted by Rafael

Кюхельбекер must have been a very unpleasant friend.

It would be so if the poem would not be a joke.

"Unpleasant friend" sounds like "unloved sweetheart" to me. How can it be?

Well, he actually states in the poem : И кюхельбекерно и тошно. и, if I understand correctly, means equivalence, so k... must be sickening and unpleasant. Unpleasant can mean sickening, bothersome. Pushkin probably wrote it tongue in cheek, then, to rib (tease ) his friend. After all it is a scherzo ( joke ).
Thanks to Звездочёт и Оля for all the background history.

Originally Posted by Оля

"Unpleasant friend" sounds like "unloved sweetheart" to me. How can it be?

Well, no. You are not suggesting that men cannot have a homo-affectionate friendship, are you? This, of course, does not necessarily mean homosexuality.
Anyway I corrected the " such was to me like" to "it was to me."

За ужином объелся я,
А Яков запер дверь оплошно —
Так было мне, мои друзья
И кюхельбекерно и тошно




At dinner I stuffed myself with food so tasty,
then Jacob erred and closed the entry-
it was to me , my friends
so кюхельбекерно and nasty

Originally Posted by Rafael

Originally Posted by Оля

"Unpleasant friend" sounds like "unloved sweetheart" to me. How can it be?

Well, no. You are not suggesting that men cannot have a homo-affectionate friendship, are you?

I only meant that if you call someone a friend, he can't be unpleasant to you. Otherwise you wouldn't call him a friend. At best, just an acquaintance.