# To Jacques de Balmont explained — Poetry > Chapter companion for Poetry by Taras Shevchenko. ## What happens The poet addresses a departed friend, Jacques de Balmont, who was poisoned by Muscovite agents for his love of Ukraine. The speaker sends songs of sorrow to the friend's spirit, asking it to join the Cossacks along the Dnieper and to watch over ancient tombs until the poet returns. ## Themes in this chapter ### National Identity and Liberation The poem mourns a friend killed for his devotion to Ukraine and calls for the spirit to join the Cossacks, symbolizing the struggle for national freedom. ### Love and Loss The speaker's deep personal grief for a dear friend who died for the homeland is expressed through the sending of songs and the longing for reunion. ## Character check-ins ### Unknown The speaker who mourns a friend and sends songs to Ukraine. ### The Cossacks Mentioned as the bold spirits with whom the friend's spirit should fly. ### The Dnieper The river along whose shores the friend's spirit is to keep watch. ## Key lines > So they drove thee along, my dearest friend, For Ukraina did’st thou shed That good heart’s blood of thine so red. They forced you away, my beloved friend, because you shed your noble blood for Ukraine. _The poet laments the friend's sacrifice and forced exile or death._ > Our country’s hangman, shame to think, Muscovite poison gave thee to drink. Shamefully, the executioner of our nation gave you Muscovite poison to drink. _Direct accusation of the Russian authorities poisoning the friend._ > Let thy spirit fly with Cossacks bold. Along the shores of Dnieper old. May your spirit soar with the brave Cossacks beside the ancient Dnieper River. _The poet envisions the friend's spirit joining the legendary Cossack warriors._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_22_se/chapters/to-jacques-de-balmont - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_22_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_22_se/chapters