Eugene Onegin, the first chapter

In the Onegin's chapter one, first of all,
Where youth and folly intertwine,
The portraits's painted, stark and thrall,
Of noble hearts in sharp decline.

Society's dictates, shallow and vain,
Mold minds to dance and bow with grace,
But wealth and status cannot sustain
The void that gnaws, a bitter chase.

Eugene, a child of this vapid sphere,
Becomes a mirror to its flaws,
His actions, deemed as foolish, clear
The fault lies not in him, but cause.

For all the nobles share his plight,
Raised in a world of empty show,
Their spirits dim, their souls filled with night,
They wander aimlessly, lost and low.

The summary fails to capture the whole,
The ambiance, the poet's keen eye,
But even glimpses of this tragic role
Unveil the ills that youth defy.

For shallowness and pleasure's sway
Will lead to ruin, it is plain,
And though the hero may not hold the sway,
The consequences of his acts remain.