Breakdown of От боли он был готов выть волком и реветь медведем.
и
and
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
быть
to be
от
from
Questions & Answers about От боли он был готов выть волком и реветь медведем.
How do волком and медведем translate to "like a wolf" and "like a bear" without using a comparison word like как?
This showcases the metaphorical instrumental (Творительный сравнения). In Russian, you can compare an action to an animal or object by putting that noun directly into the instrumental case. Instead of saying как волк (like a wolf), you just use the instrumental form волком.
Could I just say выть как волк and реветь как медведь instead?
Yes, using как with the nominative case is grammatically correct and means the same thing. However, using the instrumental of comparison sounds more poetic and expressive. Выть волком is actually a very common fixed idiom in Russian for expressing extreme despair or pain.
Why is the cause of the pain expressed as от боли instead of из-за боли or из боли?
The preposition от plus the genitive case is specifically used when a physical or emotional state causes an involuntary, physical reaction (like howling, crying, or shaking). You would use из for conscious motives, such as из любопытства (out of curiosity), and из-за for external negative causes or obstacles.
Why does the sentence use the short adjective готов instead of the full form готовый?