«Contra spem spero!» — Latin for "I hope against hope" — is Lesya Ukrainka's poetic manifesto, written on 2 May 1890 when she was nineteen and already chronically ill. The whole poem is built on oxymoron: laughing through tears, sowing flowers on frost, hoping without hope. For a C1 learner it rewards close reading because its defiance is carried by grammar — the choice of future tense, the reflexive verbs of feeling, the imperative hurled at her own dark thoughts. We annotate the first two stanzas, the ones every Ukrainian schoolchild memorises. The Latin title is kept in Latin, as the author wrote it; everything else is standard, if heightened, Ukrainian.
The text
Ге́тьте, ду́ми, ви хма́ри осі́нні! То ж тепе́ра весна́ золота́! Чи то так у жалю́, в голосі́нні Проми́нуть молоді́ї літа́?
Ні, я хо́чу крізь сльо́зи смія́тись, Серед ли́ха співа́ти пісні́, Без наді́ї таки́ сподіва́тись, Жи́ти хо́чу! Геть, ду́ми сумні́!
Away, thoughts, you autumn clouds! For now it is golden spring! Is it really thus, in sorrow, in lamenting, That my young years are to pass?
No, I want to laugh through tears, To sing songs amid misfortune, Without hope, to keep on hoping all the same, I want to live! Away, sad thoughts!
This is canonical, public-domain text (Lesya Ukrainka, 1890). The English is line-by-line and literal, to keep the grammar transparent, not to reproduce the metre or rhyme.
Line-by-line grammar
«Ге́тьте, ду́ми» — the imperative-particle and the address
Ге́тьте is the particle геть ("away! be gone!") given a plural imperative ending -те, as if it were a verb — геть → ге́тьте, "all of you, be gone." This is poetic licence: геть is normally an adverb/interjection, but here Ukrainka conjugates it to command her own thoughts directly. ду́ми ("thoughts") is the one she is addressing — functionally a vocative of address, though for inanimate abstract nouns the form coincides with the nominative plural. The whole line is an apostrophe: the poet speaks to her despair as to a person.
Геть із доро́ги, бо зіб’ю́!
Out of the way, or I'll knock you down!
Ге́тьте, су́мніви, — я вже все ви́рішила.
Away, doubts — I've already decided everything.
On building and using imperatives (and softer alternatives), see The Imperative: Formation.
«ви хма́ри осі́нні» — apposition and inverted adjective
ви хма́ри осі́нні ("you autumn clouds") is in apposition to ду́ми: the thoughts are the clouds. Note the adjective осі́нні placed after its noun хма́ри. Prose order is осі́нні хма́ри; postposing the adjective is marked poetic word order, lending weight and a folk-song cadence. The pronoun ви ("you," plural/respectful) addresses the thoughts collectively.
Прийшли́ вони́, го́сті незва́ні, і все зіпсува́ли.
They came, those uninvited guests, and ruined everything (postposed adjective for effect).
Why Ukrainian can reorder adjective and noun without breaking grammar is covered in Word Order: Free but Not Random.
«То ж тепе́ра весна́ золота́!» — the missing copula and an archaic adverb
There is no verb here: "For now [is] golden spring." Ukrainian drops the present-tense "is," so весна́ золота́ stands as a bare predicate. То ж is the emphatic particle cluster "why, after all; for indeed." тепе́ра is a poetic/colloquial variant of the standard тепе́р ("now") — the extra -а is metrical and old-fashioned; in modern prose you write тепе́р. Again золота́ ("golden") follows its noun весна́ for poetic emphasis.
Тепе́р я розумі́ю, чому́ ти мовча́в.
Now I understand why you kept silent (modern standard: тепер).
То ж я каза́ла тобі́, що так і ста́неться!
But I told you it would turn out this way!
«Проми́нуть молоді́ї літа́?» — synthetic-looking future and an archaic adjective ending
Проми́нуть is the perfective future, 3rd person plural, of мину́ти / промину́ти ("to pass, go by"): "the years will pass." Because the verb is perfective, its present-shaped endings carry future meaning — no auxiliary бу́ти is needed. молоді́ї is the long (full) adjective ending -ії, an archaic/poetic variant of modern молоді́ ("young," nom. pl.). The older -ая/-еє/-ії endings survive in poetry and folk song for rhythm; the modern standard contracts them. літа́ here means "years" (a suppletive plural that pairs with рік "year").
Кани́кули промину́ть шви́дко, на́віть не помі́тиш.
The holidays will pass quickly, you won't even notice.
Мину́ло вже три ро́ки, відко́ли ми бачи́лися.
Three years have already passed since we last saw each other.
For the perfective future and its three formation routes, see The Synthetic Future (читатиму).
«Ні, я хо́чу крізь сльо́зи смія́тись» — the rhetorical Ні and the analytic intention
The stanza pivots on Ні ("No") — a one-word rhetorical refusal answering the despairing question just asked. Then я хо́чу… смія́тись: хоті́ти ("to want") + the infinitive смія́тись. This is not a future tense as such but a statement of will — yet it does the work of a defiant future ("I will laugh"). крізь сльо́зи ("through tears") uses крізь + accusative (motion through). The key reflexive is here too (see next note).
Я хо́чу поба́чити мо́ре хоч раз цьо́го лі́та.
I want to see the sea at least once this summer.
Крізь шум дощу́ годі́ було́ щось почу́ти.
Through the noise of the rain it was impossible to hear anything (крізь + accusative).
смія́тись — the reflexive -сь variant
смія́тись is the reflexive verb "to laugh." Crucially, the reflexive marker appears here as -сь, not -ся — смія́тись rather than смія́тися. Both are correct; -сь is the contracted variant used after a vowel, especially in poetry and casual speech, chosen here for the metre. сподіва́тись (next line, "to hope") shows the same -сь. смія́тися has no non-reflexive partner — it is one of the inherently-reflexive verbs of emotion, like боя́тися ("fear") and усміха́тися ("smile").
Не смі́йся з ньо́го — йому́ й так нелегко́.
Don't laugh at him — things are hard enough for him as it is.
Ді́ти ра́до смія́лись усю́ доро́гу додо́му.
The children laughed happily the whole way home.
The -ся / -сь alternation and the inherently-reflexive verbs are in Reflexive Verbs (-ся): Overview.
«Без наді́ї таки́ сподіва́тись» — the title's oxymoron, in grammar
This is the Latin title turned into Ukrainian: без наді́ї ("without hope," без + genitive наді́ї) plus сподіва́тись ("to hope"). таки́ ("nonetheless, after all") is the small but vital concessive particle that makes the line an oxymoron rather than a contradiction: to hope, anyway, with no hope. без always governs the genitive — наді́я → наді́ї.
Без па́спорта тебе́ не пу́стять на борт.
Without a passport they won't let you on board (без + genitive).
Він таки́ прийшо́в, хоч і запізни́вся на годи́ну.
He did come after all, even if he was an hour late.
«Жи́ти хо́чу! Геть, ду́ми сумні́!» — inverted modal and a closing imperative
Жи́ти хо́чу inverts the usual order (хо́чу жи́ти) so that Жи́ти ("to live") lands first and hardest — the infinitive is fronted for maximum emphasis, the rhetorical climax of the stanza. The line closes by circling back to геть ("away") and the now-named enemy: ду́ми сумні́ ("sad thoughts"), again with the adjective postposed. The repetition of геть frames the whole stanza as a single act of will.
Зна́ти пра́вду я хо́чу, а не заспоко́єння.
It is the truth I want to know, not reassurance (infinitive fronted for emphasis).
Glossary: poetic / archaic forms → modern equivalents
| In the poem | Form / note | Modern standard |
|---|---|---|
| тепе́ра | poetic/colloquial, metrical -а | тепе́р ("now") |
| молоді́ї | long (full) adjective ending, archaic/poetic | молоді́ ("young," nom. pl.) |
| смія́тись, сподіва́тись | contracted reflexive -сь after a vowel (poetic/colloquial) | смія́тися, сподіва́тися (full -ся; both standard) |
| ге́тьте | the interjection геть given a verbal imperative -те (poetic licence) | геть! ("away!") — used as an invariable interjection |
| літа́ | "years," suppletive plural paired with рік | ро́ки (the everyday plural of рік); літа́ is literary/poetic |
| голосі́ння | "lamenting, wailing" (verbal noun) | still current, but elevated; плач is the plainer word |
Common Mistakes
❌ Я бу́ду хо́чу жи́ти.
Incorrect — don't stack буду onto a conjugated verb; either я хочу жити (I want to live) or я житиму (I will live).
✅ Жи́ти хо́чу!
I want to live!
❌ Я смія́ю крізь сльо́зи.
Incorrect — сміятися is reflexive and must keep -ся/-сь: я сміюся / сміюсь.
✅ Я смію́сь крізь сльо́зи.
I laugh through tears.
❌ Без наді́я сподіва́тись.
Incorrect — без governs the genitive: без надії, not без надія.
✅ Без наді́ї сподіва́тись.
To hope without hope.
❌ Тепе́ра я живу́ в Ки́єві.
Non-standard — тепера is poetic; in modern prose write тепер.
✅ Тепе́р я живу́ в Ки́єві.
I now live in Kyiv.
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- The Synthetic Future (читатиму)A2 — Ukrainian's distinctive one-word imperfective future (про́ста фо́рма майбу́тнього ча́су): take the imperfective infinitive whole — keeping its -ти — and fuse on the enclitic endings -му, -меш, -ме, -мемо, -мете, -муть. чита́ти → чита́тиму, чита́тимеш, чита́тиме, чита́тимемо, чита́тимете, чита́тимуть; говори́ти → говори́тиму; роби́ти → роби́тиму; ходи́ти → ходи́тиму. The endings descend from a fused old 'have' (я́ти); the stress stays where the infinitive carries it. It works ONLY with imperfectives (no *прочита́тиму), so it always carries ongoing/repeated meaning, and it is fully equivalent to бу́ду + infinitive — but more compact, very common, and with NO Russian counterpart.
- The Analytic Future (буду читати)A2 — The analytic (compound) imperfective future (складена фо́рма майбу́тнього ча́су): the future of бу́ти — бу́ду, бу́деш, бу́де, бу́демо, бу́дете, бу́дуть — followed by an IMPERFECTIVE infinitive, unchanged. бу́ду чита́ти, бу́деш чита́ти, бу́де чита́ти, бу́демо чита́ти, бу́дете чита́ти, бу́дуть чита́ти. The auxiliary must be the FUTURE of бу́ти (not its present), and the infinitive must be imperfective — no *бу́ду прочита́ти; a perfective forms its future synthetically as прочита́ю. бу́ду alone = 'I will be' (Я бу́ду вдо́ма); бу́ду + infinitive = 'I will be V-ing / will V'. It is fully synonymous with the synthetic чита́тиму — the safer default for learners, while -тиму is the idiomatic flourish.
- Reflexive Verbs (-ся): OverviewA2 — The postfix -ся is a single fused ending that attaches AFTER the personal ending (умива́юся, умива́єшся, умива́ється) and is always written together. It covers far more than 'oneself': true reflexive (ми́тися 'wash oneself'), reciprocal (зустріча́тися 'meet each other'), passive/middle (буди́нок буду́ється 'the house is being built'), inherent intransitives English never marks (смія́тися 'laugh', боя́тися 'fear', подо́батися 'be pleasing'), and verbs that exist ONLY with -ся (пиша́тися 'be proud', сподіва́тися 'hope'). The colloquial/poetic variant -сь appears after a vowel (умива́юсь). This page maps the form and the five meaning families.
- The Imperative: FormationA1 — Ukrainian builds the imperative (наказо́вий спо́сіб) from the PRESENT stem. The 2sg takes -и (when stressed or after a cluster: пиши́!, неси́!), -й after a vowel (чита́й!, грай!), a soft -ь after one consonant (сядь!, будь!), or a bare consonant (роби́!). The 2pl/polite adds -те (чита́йте!, несі́ть!). There's a dedicated 1pl hortative in -мо (ході́мо! 'let's go', чита́ймо!) and a 3rd-person command with хай / неха́й (Хай іде́! 'let him go').
- Literary and Poetic FeaturesC1 — The features learners meet in the Ukrainian canon — Shevchenko, Lesya Ukrainka, Franko — and in folk song. The expressive VOCATIVE in apostrophe (Україно!, Світе мій!, Думи мої!), the colloquial/poetic -ть infinitive (співать, кохать), inverted word order for metre (Реве та стогне Дніпр широкий), the archaic preposition од for від, folk diminutives for lyric warmth (соловейко, зіронька, серденько), poetic plurals (очі), epithets and parallelism, the historical present in ballads, and euphony (і/й, з/із/зі). The insight English speakers miss: literary Ukrainian deploys the vocative as direct address to nations and nature, and uses marked archaic forms (од, -ть) that are absent from neutral prose — so reading Shevchenko requires recognizing these as literary devices, not as the everyday norm to imitate.
- Word Order: Free but Not RandomA1 — Ukrainian word order is flexible because case endings (not position) mark grammatical roles — but the freedom is pragmatic: the neutral order is Subject–Verb–Object, and you front the known topic and end with the new, emphasized information.