Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin (1743-1816) -outstanding Russian poet of the 18th - early 19th century. Creativity Derzhavin was in many innovative and left a significant mark in the history of the literature of our country, influencing its further development.
Life and creativity Derzhavina
Reading Derzhavin’s biography, it can be noted that the writer's early years did not indicate that he was destined to become a great man and a genius innovator.
Gavrila Romanovich was born in 1743 in Kazan province. The family of the future writer was very poor, but belonged to the nobility.
Young years
As a child, Derzhavin had to endure death.father, which has worsened the financial situation of the family. Mother was forced to go to any lengths to provide her two sons and give them at least some kind of upbringing and education. There were not so many good teachers in the province where the family lived. We had to put up with those who could be hired. Despite the difficult situation, poor health, unqualified teachers, Derzhavin, thanks to his abilities and perseverance, still managed to get a decent education.
Military service
While still a student of the Kazan gymnasium, the poetwrote his first poems. However, he did not manage to finish his studies at the gymnasium. The fact is that the clerical error committed by some employee led to the fact that the young man was sent a year earlier to military service in St. Petersburg, in the Transfiguration Regiment, as an ordinary soldier. Only ten years later, he still managed to achieve the rank of officer.
With military service life andCreativity Derzhavin greatly changed. The duty of the service left little time for literary activity, but despite this, during the war years Derzhavin composed quite a few comic poems, and also studied the works of various authors, including Lomonosov, whom he especially honored and considered a role model. German poetry also attracted Derzhavin. He knew German very well and translated German Russian poets into Russian and often relied on them in his own poems.
However, at that time Gavril Romanovich had not yet seen his main vocation in poetry. He sought a military career, to serve his country and improve the financial situation of the family.
В 1773-1774 гг.Derzhavin participated in the suppression of the uprising of Yemelyan Pugachev, but he did not achieve the increase and recognition of his merits. Having received as a reward only three hundred souls, he was demobilized. For some time, circumstances forced him to make a living in a not entirely honest way - playing cards.
Disclosure of talent
Стоит отметить, что именно в это время, к the seventieth years, his talent was first truly revealed. "Chatalagai Odes" (1776) aroused the interest of readers, although in creative terms this and other works of the seventies were not completely independent. Creativity Derzhavin was somewhat imitative, in particular Sumarokov, Lomonosov and others. The strict rules of versification, which, following the classicist tradition, obeyed his poems, did not allow the author’s unique talent to be fully revealed.
In 1778, a joyful event happened in the writer's personal life - he passionately fell in love and married Ekaterina Yakovlevna Bastidon, who became his poetic muse for many years (under the name Plenira).
Own path in literature
Since 1779, the writer has chosen his ownpath in the literature. Until 1791, he worked in the ode genre, which brought him the greatest fame. However, the poet does not just follow the classic examples of this strict genre. He is reforming it, completely changing the language, which becomes unusually sonorous, emotional, not at all what it was in measured, rational classicism. Completely changed Derzhavin and the ideological content of the ode. If earlier state interests were above all, then now personal, intimate revelations are brought into Derzhavin’s work. In this regard, he foreshadowed sentimentalism, with its emphasis on emotionality, sensuality.
Last years
In the last decades of his life, Derzhavin ceased to write odes, in his work love lyrics, friendly messages, and comic verses began to predominate.
The poet died on July 8, 1816, in the estate of Zvanka, a place he loved very much.
Creativity Derzhavin briefly
Сам поэт своей главной заслугой считал введение в the fiction of the "funny Russian syllable", in which elements of a high and colloquial style were mixed, combined lyrics and satire. Derzhavin's innovation was also in the fact that he expanded the list of themes of Russian poetry to include subjects and motifs from everyday life.
Solemn odes
Creativity Derzhavin briefly characterizehis most famous odes. They often adjoin household and heroic, civil and personal beginning. Creativity Derzhavin, thus, combines previously incompatible elements. For example, "Poems on the birth in the North of the porfireborn child" can no longer be called a solemn ode in the classic sense of the word. The birth of Alexander Pavlovich in 1779 was described as a great event, all geniuses bring him various gifts - intelligence, wealth, beauty, etc. However, the wish of the last one ("Be on the throne is man") indicates that the king is a man which was not typical of classicism. Innovation in the work of Derzhavin was manifested here in a mixture of the civil and personal status of a person.
"Felitsa"
In this ode, Derzhavin dared to turn to theEmpress and argue with her. Felitsa is Catherine II. Gavrila Romanovich represents the reigning persona as a private person, which violates the strict classical tradition that existed at that time. The poet admires Catherine II not as a state official, but as a wise man who knows his way in life and follows him. Then the poet describes his life. The self-irony in describing the passions that owned the poet serves to emphasize the virtues of Felitsa.
That is, the ode genre is completely focused onthe object of praise, the poet turns into a friendly message, where there are two sides, and each of them is important, not just the addressee. In Catherine II, the poet appreciates most of all generosity, simplicity, condescension, that is, personal, human qualities.
"To the capture of Ishmael"
В этой оде изображен величественный образ Russian people conquering the Turkish fortress. Its force is likened to the forces of nature: earthquake, sea storm, volcanic eruption. However, it is not spontaneous, but is subordinated to the will of the Russian sovereign, driven by a sense of devotion to the motherland. The extraordinary power of the Russian warrior and the Russian people as a whole, his power and greatness were depicted in this work.
"Waterfall"
В этой оде, написанной в 1791 году, главным the image becomes the image of a stream symbolizing the frailty of being, earthly glory and human greatness. The prototype of the waterfall was Kivach, located in Karelia. The color palette of the product is rich in various shades and colors. Initially, it was just a description of the waterfall, but after the death of Prince Potemkin (who died unexpectedly on the way home, returning with a victory in the Russian-Turkish war) Gavril Romanovich added a picture with semantic content, and the waterfall began to personify the frailty of life and lead to philosophical reflections on various values. Derzhavin was personally acquainted with Prince Potemkin and could not help but respond to his sudden demise.
However, Gavrila Romanovich was far from admirationPotemkin. In the ode he is opposed to Rumyantsev - that is, in the opinion of the author, a true hero. Rumyantsev was a true patriot, caring for the common good, and not personal glory and well-being. This hero in the ode figuratively corresponds to a quiet stream. The inconspicuous beauty of the Suna River with its majestic and calm flow, clear waters, contrasts with the noisy waterfall. People like Rumyantsev, who live their lives calmly, without fuss and a boil of passions, can reflect the beauty of the sky.
Philosophical odes
Themes of creativity Derzhavin continue philosophicalodes. The ode "To the death of Prince Meshchersky" (1779) was written after the death of Paul's heir, Prince Meshchersky. And death is depicted figuratively, it "sharpens the spit blade" and "grinds his teeth." Reading this ode, at first it even seems that it is a kind of "hymn" of death. However, it ends with the opposite conclusion — Derzhavin calls upon us to value life as a “heaven's instant gift” and live it so as to die with a pure heart.
Anacreontic lyrics
Подражая древним авторам, создавая переводы их of the poems, Derzhavin created his miniatures, in which one feels the national Russian flavor, life, describes Russian nature. Classicism in the works of Derzhavin and here has undergone its transformation.
Anacreon's translation for Gavrila Romanovich isthe opportunity to go to the realm of nature, man and life, which had no place in strict classical poetry. The image of this ancient poet, who despises light and loves life, very attracted Derzhavin.
In 1804 came out in a separate edition"Anacreontic Songs". In the preface, he explains why he decided to write "light poetry": the poet wrote such poems in his youth, and now he printed because he left the service, became a private person and is now free to publish everything he wants.
Late lyrics
To features creativity Derzhavina in lateperiod refers to the fact that at this time he practically ceases to write odes and creates mostly lyrical works. The poem "Eugene. Life is forbidden", written in 1807, describes the daily home life of an old nobleman who lives in a luxurious rural family estate. Researchers note that this work was written in response to Zhukovsky's elegy "Evening" and was a controversial nascent romanticism.
The late work of Derzhavin includes the work “Monument”, filled with faith in human dignity despite adversity, life's vicissitudes and historical changes.
The value of Derzhavin’s work was very great. The transformation of classic forms begun by Gavrila Sergeyevich was continued by Pushkin, and later by other Russian poets.
