Russians hold Pushkin in such high esteem that his place in Russian literature can reasonably be compared to that of Shakespeare in the literatures of the English language. Pushkin's literary genius seems to have been almost limitless: in addition to the long narrative and short lyric poems for which he is most famous, he also wrote short stories, stage plays and literary criticism. His letters are among the best in European literature. Many literary historians …showed first 75 words of 1611 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1611 total…called the countess "old witch" to her face. In MACBETH, the witches predict not only the protagonist's speedy rise to power but also his guilt, his insomnia, and his catastrophic fall.) Through natural or supernatural means, depending on how one chooses to interpret the episode featuring the ghostly visitor to Hermann's rooms, Hermann shows the wrong card at the crucial moment, and the moment of victory is turned horrifically into the moment of defeat.