I will analyze the use of sound elements within Pushkin’s “Rusland and Ludmila” and the folk songs. Firstly, Pushkin includes many details relating to sound in his text. During the celebratory moments of the text, before the wedding, descriptive words such as the “cheer of spirit,” “hum and hubub,” and “tuneful singing” to convey joy (131). Sound descriptors are also used to indicate a change in the tale’s tone as the story transitions to the peaceful and harmonious atmosphere of Rusland and Ludmila’s bedroom using words such as “hush,” “lovelorn whispers,” and “sounds of kisses” (133). Finally, sound is used to convey negative emotions and tumult during the story. Silence is used to convey fear when Ludmila disappears, loud noises (“clash” and “thudding”) are used to convey conflict when Ruslan goes into battle, and ominous sounds such as “churchyard tones” and “slow soliloquy” to convey a tone of mourning. These descriptors allow the tale’s plot and progression to be illustrated. 

To further analyze the use of sound in Russian folk culture, the Russian folk songs also convey a similar variety of moods and tones. The peacefulness and tranquility evocative of nature is expressed in The Slender Mountain Ash, which contrasts the light hearted and happy tone of the Forest Berry and the somber and beautiful The Black Raven. It is interesting how auditory elements manage to illustrate stories in a different way than the explicit use of visual elements. Auditory elements rely more heavily on evoking certain tones to create a story while visual elements can more explicitly show the audience the storyline.

The incorporation of sound into a textual work is an interesting use of detail to convey the tone of the story. Just as we have seen in many of the operas we have previously examined, music and sound is heavily utilized to set a mood and convey emotion. In the absence of auditory elements in these ancient texts, Pushkin uses descriptive elements to incorporate sound to accomplish a similar task.