"Keep me safe, my talisman..."
(A.S. Pushkin)
“Keep me from serious wounds...”
(D.V. Venevitinov)
PUSHKIN AND NORTHERN PROVINCES
And what about the Northern provinces?
To answer this question you need to look into the genealogy of Pushkin and Venevitinov, the northern branches of their family trees:
- 1613, Dvina governor Nikita Mikhailovich Pushkin, nephew of Semyon Mikhailovich - the direct ancestor of the poet;
- 1633 – 1634, governor in Kargopol Fyodor Timofeevich Pushkin;
- 1647, governor in Veliky Ustyug Stepan Gavrilovich Pushkin;
- 1652 – 1656, Dvina governor Boris Ivanovich Pushkin, nephew of Nikita Mikhailovich Pushkin;
- 1740 – 1743, Arkhangelsk governor Alexey Andreevich Obolensky (was married to Anna Vasilyevna Priklonskaya - the sister of the grandmother of Sergei Lvovich Pushkin); The great-grandson of A.A. Obolensky was Dmitry Vladimirovich Venevetinov, who was also A.S. Pushkin’s second cousin. The acquaintance of the poets began in childhood and was continued in Moscow in 1826 upon Pushkin’s return from exile.
- 1743 – 1745, Arkhangelsk governor, acting chamberlain Alexey Mikhailovich Pushkin;
- In 1826, Pavel Isaakovich Hannibal, the cousin of Pushkin the poet, ended up in exile in Solvychegodsk. According to the dirty denunciations of the mayor Sokolov to the Vologda Governor-General Minitsky, in order to increase the punishment in 1827, the Solovetsky Monastery was assigned to Lieutenant Colonel Hannibal as his place of residence, where he stayed until the fall of 1832.
In search of the poet’s genealogy in the northern land, much has been done by local historians and Pushkin scholars: research fellow State Archives of the Arkhangelsk Region Nikolai Alekseevich Shumilov and Arkhangelsk writer Igor Vladimirovich Strezhnev.
VENEVITINOV
Venevitinov Dmitry Vladimirovich (14 (26). September 1805, Moscow, - 15 (27). March 1827, St. Petersburg, buried in Moscow), Russian poet, critic. This young man was unusual in everything. His appearance alone already amazed his contemporaries. This is how Venevitinov appeared to the woman’s eyes: “He was a handsome man in the full sense of the word. Tall, like a marble sculpture. His face had, in addition to beauty, some other inexplicable charm. Huge blue eyes, very pubescent long eyelashes, shone with intelligence." And here is the look of the writer: "Venevitinov was a poet in life: his happy appearance, his quiet and important thoughtfulness, his harmonious movements, inspired speech, secular, unfeigned courtesy, so familiar to everyone who saw him close, vouched for the fact that he would create his life as an elegant work.”
LOVE-WISE
By 1823, a circle of lovers of wisdom had formed in Moscow - the wise men, which, in addition to Venevitinov, included the prose writer V. F. Odoevsky, the critic I. V. Kireevsky, the writers N. M. Rozhalin and A. I. Koshelev; The circle was joined by the prose writer and historian M. P. Pogodin, and the poet and philologist S. P. Shevyrev. These then young writers challenged the philosophical tastes of the era. They turned their mental gaze to the works of the thinkers of “Foggy Germany” - Schelling, Fichte, and partly Kant. Formally, the circle disbanded in 1825, but spiritual unity continued to persist for some time.
September 1826. A.S. Pushkin returns from exile to Moscow and finds himself surrounded by literary friends - Baratynsky, Vyazemsky, Mitskevich, Pogodin. Among them, he notices and then singles out the young poet Dmitry Venevitinov. The young man was smart, handsome and, as literary scholars would later define, “a deep and original thinker.” N.G. Chernyshevsky wrote about him: “Had Venevitinov lived even ten years more, he would have advanced our literature forward for decades...” (Poln. sobr. soch., vol. 2, 1949, p. 926). On short time Pushkin became close to the wise men. He created the poem “In the worldly, sad and boundless steppe”, which clearly echoes his reflections on three eras human life with Venevitinov’s “Three Roses” (1826), “Three Fates” (1826 or 1827). Pushkin even initiated the publication of the journal of wise men "Moskovsky Vestnik" (Venevitinov is the author of its program). But the “poet of reality” was alien to some of the speculativeness characteristic of Venevitinov.
Nowadays, when assessing Venevitinov’s work, conclusions are increasingly drawn that perhaps with him began the transition in Russian poetry “from the beauty of form to the sublimity of content.” Many of the themes outlined by Dmitry Venevitinov were subsequently successfully explored in their works by Lermontov and Tyutchev.
VENEVITINOV AND RING – TALISMAN
Without going into the intricacies of Venevitinov’s work, we will try to outline the story associated with the ring. The fact is that Dmitry Venevitinov wore a ring in the form of a keychain. It was an ancient ring excavated by archaeologists in the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Herculaneum. And he came to Dmitry as a gift from Zinaida Volkonskaya, with whom he was in love. Dmitry Venevitinov dedicates the poem “To my ring” to the ring, where he calls it “a pledge of compassion,” a guardian against “thirst for glory” and “spiritual emptiness.” He asks not to take off the ring even at the “hour of death,” “so that the coffin does not separate us.” At the end of the poem he prophetically writes:
And it will open you up again...
Fate allowed him to live a short time - 22 years. In October 1826, he moved to St. Petersburg and, under the patronage of Zinaida Volkonskaya, entered the Asian department of the College of Foreign Affairs. In the winter of 1827 he caught a cold; The disease could not be stopped, and soon the doctor warned the friends gathered in the patient’s apartment that Venevitinov had only a few hours left to live.
It fell to A.S. Khomyakov to tell him the terrible news. Khomyakov approached the dying man and put on his finger the ring given by Volkonskaya, which the poet vowed to wear either on his wedding day or on the day of his death... The poet was buried with him in the Moscow Simonov Monastery.
In 1930, an autopsy was made on Venevitinov’s grave, the ring was found and transferred to the Literary Museum. Now the ring is kept in the Bakhrushin Museum in Moscow.
HISTORICAL REFERENCE
ABOUT THE FATE OF ZINAIDA VOLKONSKAYA
Princess Zinaida Alexandrovna Volkonskaya was born in 1792 in Turin from the marriage of Prince Alexei Mikhailovich Beloselsky with Varvara Yakovlevna Tatishcheva.
Having married Prince Nikita Grigorievich Volkonsky (died in 1844), she first lived in St. Petersburg and occupied a high position at court. After 1812 - abroad: in Teplitz, Prague, Paris, Vienna, Verona. Returning to Russia, to St. Petersburg, she began studying antiquity, but in response she received displeasure and ridicule, and at the end of 1824 she moved to Moscow. Here she began to study native language and literature, domestic antiquities: she was interested in songs, customs, folk legends. In 1825, she even worked on the founding of a Russian society for the organization national museum and for the publication of ancient monuments.
Her constant interlocutors were Zhukovsky, Pushkin, Prince Vyazemsky, Baratynsky, Venevitinov, Shevyrev and others. Pushkin dedicated “Gypsy” to her and in his famous message on this occasion called her “the queen of muses and beauty.”
In 1829, Princess Volkonskaya moved from Moscow to Rome. A poet and composer, she herself wrote cantatas and composed music for them. Her “Cantata in Memory of Emperor Alexander I” is famous. In Rome she lived as a hermit, but did not forget about Russia - she wrote the poem “Neva Water” in 1837. The collected works of Princess Volkonskaya were published by her son, Prince Alexander Nikitich Volkonsky: “The Works of Princess Zinaida Alexandrovna Volkonskaya.”
The princess died in 1862 in Rome.
PUSHKIN AND THE RING - TALISMAN
A.S. Pushkin, having learned about Venevitinov’s death, said with bitterness and regret: “Why did you let him die?” But Pushkin already had a short life span left - only 10 years. And he also had his own story with the ring...
In 1899, Russia celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. The Pushkin exhibition was opened in May. Among the various exhibits was a gold ring. I.S. Turgenev wrote about him: “Ring<…>presented to Pushkin in Odessa by Princess Vorontsova. He wore this ring almost constantly.”
Who is Princess Vorontsova? After Bessarabia and the Caucasus, Pushkin was sent to Odessa, where in 1823–1824 he served in the office of the Novorossiysk Governor-General Count Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov, and met his wife Elizaveta Ksaverevna. The poet was deeply passionate about Countess Vorontsova and dedicated a number of poems to her. She responded to him with no less ardent passion and gave him a talisman ring. Elizaveta Ksaveryevna at that time was thirty-one years old, Alexander Sergeevich twenty-four. More than 30 drawings with her image have been preserved in Pushkin’s manuscripts.
One of their contemporaries describes the character and appearance of E.K. Vorontsova: “She was already over thirty years old, and she had every right to seem young... With innate frivolity and coquetry, she wanted to please, and no one was better at that than she. She was young in soul, young in appearance. was what is called beauty; but the quick, tender gaze of her cute little eyes pierced right through; the smile of her lips, the like of which I had never seen, seemed to invite a kiss. " A. S. Pushkin dedicated poetry to her: "The Burnt Letter" , "Angel", "In last time your image is cute..." Vorontsova became one of the prototypes for Tatyana in his novel "Eugene Onegin".
But Pushkin’s friend A.A. Raevsky was also in love with Elizaveta Vorontsova, who, out of jealousy, informed Vorontsova’s husband about her connection with Pushkin. According to Alexander Sergeevich, this was the reason for his expulsion from Odessa to the village of Mikhailovskoye. Pushkin was irritated by this turn of events, wrote the poem “Insidiousness,” in which he condemns the act of A.A. Raevsky, and composed an epigram on the governor M.S. Vorontsov. Remember: “Half my lord, half merchant...”, alluding to the governor’s English upbringing and his dishonest commercial dealings in the port of Odessa.
Having left against his own will, Pushkin corresponds with Elizaveta Vorontsova for some time. Under the impression of a love that has not yet cooled down, but is already being lost, Pushkin writes several lyric poems: “Let him crowned with the love of beauty...”, A burnt letter, A desire for glory, All as sacrifices to your memory. In the poem “Keep me, my talisman,” Alexander Sergeevich writes: “Keep me in the days of persecution, In the days of repentance, excitement: You were given to me in the days of sadness.”
“The poet’s sister, O.S. Pavlishcheva, told us,” wrote P.V. Annenkov, “that when a letter came from Odessa with a seal decorated with exactly the same cabalistic signs that were on her brother’s ring, the latter locked himself in his room, did not go out anywhere and did not receive anyone.”
But he didn’t save it, didn’t preserve his talisman. Before his death, Pushkin gave this ring to the poet Zhukovsky. From Zhukovsky, by inheritance, it goes to his son Pavel Vasilyevich, who gives it to I.S. Turgenev. After Turgenev’s death, Polina Viardot, a famous singer at that time and his close friend, returned this priceless relic to Russia.
HISTORICAL REFERENCE
ABOUT THE FATE OF ELIZAVETA VORONTSOVA
Vorontsova Elizaveta Ksaverevna (1792 - 1880), nee Branitskaya, wife of the count, later prince (1844) M.S. Vorontsov, lady of state (1838). She was youngest daughter Polish magnate and niece of Catherine’s favorite Grigory Potemkin, was born on the family estate of Belaya Tserkov. Lisa spent her childhood and youth in the village and ended up abroad, in Paris, only in 1819.
Here she met Count M.S. Vorontsov, whom she married in the same year. The young remained in Europe for another four years.
In 1823, in connection with the appointment of Vorontsov as Novorossiysk governor-general, they returned to Russia. Her son was born in October.
Vorontsov forgave his wife for her inappropriate flirtation with Pushkin, and took Elizaveta Ksaveryevna to Alupka, where the couple together developed the estate and palace, which to this day is called Vorontsov’s.
When the emperor sent 63-year-old Vorontsov as governor to the Caucasus, she first cried for a long time, and then got ready and went to fetch her husband in troubled Tiflis. Then Elizaveta Ksaveryevna followed her husband wherever his service took him. Mikhail Semenovich died in 1882 and was buried in Odessa cathedral. After the death of her husband, Elizaveta Ksaverevna remained in Odessa, next to his grave.
She died at the age of 90.
Material prepared by V. Plotnikov
POEMS
A.S. PUSHKIN AND D.V. VENEVITINOVA
A.S.PUSHKIN
KEEP ME MY TALISMAN...
Protect me, my talisman,
Keep me in the days of persecution,
In days of repentance and excitement:
You were given to me on the day of sorrow.
When the ocean rises
The waves are roaring around me,
When the clouds burst into thunder -
Keep me safe, my talisman.
In the solitude of foreign countries,
In the bosom of boring peace,
In the anxiety of a fiery battle
Keep me safe, my talisman.
Holy sweet deception
A magical luminary of the soul...
It hid itself, changed...
Keep me safe, my talisman.
Let it be in the age of heart wounds
It won't spoil the memory.
Farewell hope; sleep, desire;
Keep me safe, my talisman.
D.V.VENEVITINOV
TO MY RING
You were dug up in a dusty grave,
Herald of age-old love,
And again you are dust from the grave
You will be bequeathed, my ring.
But not love now by you
Blessed the eternal flame
And above you, in heartache,
She made a holy vow...
No! friendship in the bitter hour of farewell
Gave to weeping love
You are the key to compassion.
Oh, be my faithful talisman!
Protect me from serious wounds,
And the light and the insignificant crowd,
From the caustic thirst for false glory,
From a seductive dream
And from spiritual emptiness.
In hours of cold doubt
Revive your heart with hope,
And if you are imprisoned in sorrows,
Far from the angel of love,
He's planning a crime,
With your wondrous power you tame
Gusts of hopeless passion
And from my rebellious breast
Turn away the lead of madness.
When will I be at the hour of death
Saying goodbye to what I love here,
I won't forget you when I say goodbye:
Then I'll beg my friend,
So that he leaves my cold hand
I didn’t take you off, my ring,
So that the coffin does not separate us.
And the request will not be fruitless:
He will confirm his vow to me
With the words of the fatal oath.
Centuries will fly by, and perhaps
That someone will disturb my ashes
And in it he will discover you again;
And again timid love
He will whisper to you superstitiously
Words of tormenting passions,
And again you will be her friend,
Just as it was for me, my ring is faithful.
1826 or 1827
A.S.PUSHKIN
BURNED LETTER
Goodbye love letter! goodbye: she said...
How long have I delayed! I haven't wanted to for so long
Hand consign all my joys to fire!..
But that's it, the time has come. Burn, letter of love.
I'm ready; My soul listens to nothing.
The greedy flame is already accepting your sheets...
Just a minute!.. they burst into flames! blazing - light smoke,
Wandering, lost with my prayer.
Having already lost the impression of the faithful ring,
The melted sealing wax is boiling... Oh providence!
It's finished! Dark sheets curled up;
On the light ashes are their cherished features
They turn white... My chest feels tight. Dear ashes,
Poor joy in my sad fate,
Stay forever with me on my sorrowful chest...
D.V.VENEVITINOV
THREE ROSES
Into the remote steppe of the earthly road,
Emblem of heavenly beauty,
The gods threw us three roses,
Eden's best flowers.
Alone under the cashmere sky
Blooms near a bright stream;
She's a marshmallow lover
And the inspiration of the nightingale.
She never fades day or night,
And if someone rips it off,
As soon as the morning ray appears,
A fresh rose will bloom.
Another one is even more beautiful:
She, at the ruddy dawn
Blooming in the early sky,
Captivates with its bright beauty.
This rose smells fresh
And it’s more fun to meet her:
For a moment she turns red,
But every day it blooms again.
The third blows still fresh,
Although she is not in heaven;
She is cherished for hot lips
Love on virgin cheeks.
But this rose will soon wither:
She is shy and tender,
And in vain the morning ray will appear -
It will not bloom again.
THREE PARTS
Three enviable fates in the world, friends.
The lucky one is the one who controls fate for centuries,
There is an unsolved thought in the soul.
He sows for the harvest, but does not reap the harvest:
People's recognition is not his praise,
The curses of the people are not reproaches to him.
He bequeaths to the centuries a deep plan;
After the death of an immortal, things mature.
A poet's lot on earth is more enviable.
From infancy he became friends with nature,
And the stones saved the heart from the cold,
And the rebellious mind is educated by freedom,
And a ray of inspiration lit up in my eyes.
He clothes the whole world in harmonious sounds;
Will the heart be embarrassed by the excitement of torment -
He will cry out grief in burning verses.
But believe, O friends! happier a hundred times
A carefree pet of fun and laziness.
Deep thoughts do not trouble the soul,
He does not know tears and the fire of inspiration,
And the day flew by for him like another,
And he will meet the future again carelessly,
And the heart will fade without heartache -
Oh rock! Why didn’t you give me this inheritance?
A.S.PUSHKIN
* * *
In the worldly steppe, sad and boundless,
Three keys mysteriously broke through:
The key of youth, the key is fast and rebellious,
It boils, runs, sparkling and murmuring.
Castalian key with a wave of inspiration
In the worldly steppe he gives water to exiles.
The last key is the cold key of oblivion,
He will quench the heat of the heart sweetest of all.
DESIRE FOR FAME
When, intoxicated with love and bliss,
Silently kneeling before you,
I looked at you and thought: you are mine, -
You know, dear, whether I desired fame;
You know: removed from the windy light,
Bored by the poet's vain title,
Tired of long storms, I did not pay attention at all
A distant buzz of reproaches and praise.
Could the rumors bother me about the verdicts,
When, bowing your languid gaze towards me
And quietly laying his hand on my head,
You whispered: tell me, do you love, are you happy?
Tell me, won’t you love someone else like me?
Will you never forget me, my friend?
And I kept an awkward silence,
I was completely filled with pleasure, I imagined
That there is no future, that a terrible day of separation
It will never come... So what? Tears, torment,
Treason, slander, all against my head
It suddenly collapsed... What am I, where am I? I'm standing
Like a traveler struck by lightning in the desert,
And everything went dark before me! And now
I am tormented by a new desire for me:
I wish glory so that in my name
Your hearing was amazed all the time, so that you
I was surrounded by loud rumors
Everything, everything around you sounded about me,
So that, listening to the faithful voice in silence,
Did you remember my last prayers
In the garden, in the darkness of the night, at the moment of separation.
D.V.VENEVITINOV
Leave me, forget me!
I loved you alone in the world,
But I loved you as a friend
How they love a star on air,
How they love the bright ideal
Or a lucid dream of the imagination.
I have recognized a lot in life,
In love alone I did not know torment,
And I want to go to the grave,
Like a charmed ignoramus.
Leave me, forget me!
Look - this is where my hope is;
Look - but why did you flinch?
No, don’t tremble: death is not terrible;
Oh, don't whisper to me about hell:
Believe me, there is hell in the world, beautiful friend!
Where there is no life, there is no pain.
Give me a kiss as a guarantee of goodbye...
Why do your kisses tremble?
Why are your eyes burning in tears?
Leave me, love someone else!
Forget me, I'll soon be on my own
I will forget the sorrow of earthly life.
1826
A.S.PUSHKIN
The god of Lemnos has bound you
For the hands of the immortal Nemesis,
Freedom's secret guard, punishing dagger,
The last judge of Shame and Resentment.
Where Zeus's thunder is silent, where the sword of the Law slumbers,
You are the executor of curses and hopes,
You are hidden under the shadow of the throne,
Under the shine of festive clothes.
Like a hellish ray, like the lightning of the gods,
A silent blade shines in the villain's eyes,
And, looking around, he trembles,
Among their feasts.
Everywhere your unexpected blow will find him:
On land, on the seas, in the temple, under tents,
Behind hidden castles
On the bed of sleep, in the family.
The treasured Rubicon rustles under Caesar,
Sovereign Rome fell, the Law became its head;
But Brutus rebelled, a freedom-loving man:
You defeated Caesar - and, dead, he embraces
Pompey marble is proud.
The fiend of rebellion raises an evil cry:
Despicable, dark and bloody,
Over the corpse of Headless Liberty
An ugly executioner appeared.
Apostle of doom, to weary Hades
With his finger he designated victims,
But the highest court sent him
You and the maiden Eumenides.
O young righteous man, chosen one of fate,
O Zand, your age has died on the chopping block;
But the virtues are holy
A voice remained in the executed ashes.
In your Germany you have become an eternal shadow,
Threatening disaster to the criminal force -
And at the solemn grave
The dagger is burning without an inscription.
D.V.VENEVITINOV
Enchantress! How sweetly you sang
About a wondrous land of enchantment,
About the hot homeland of beauty!
How I loved your memories
How eagerly I listened to your words
And how I dreamed of an unknown land!
You have drunk this wonderful air,
And your speech breathes it so passionately!
You've been looking at the color of the sky for a long time
And she brought us the color of heaven in her eyes.
Your soul flared up so clearly
And a new fire was lit in my chest.
But this fire is languid, rebellious,
He does not burn with quiet, tender love, -
No! it burns, and torments, and kills,
Worried by changing desires,
It will suddenly subside, then it will boil violently,
And the heart will awaken again with suffering.
Why, why did you sing so sweetly?
Why did I listen to you so greedily?
And from your lips, singer of beauty,
Did you drink the poison of dreams and joyless passion?
Do you know the son of the gods,
A favorite of muses and inspiration?
Would I recognize among the sons of earth
Are you his speech, his movements? –
He is not quick-tempered, and has a strict mind
Doesn't shine in a noisy conversation,
But a clear ray of high thoughts
Involuntarily shines in a clear gaze.
Let him surround him, in a delight of joy,
Windy youth rebels, -
Crazy scream, cold laugh
And unbridled joy:
Everything is alien, wild for him,
He looks at everything silently.
Only something rarely comes from his lips
He loses his quick smile.
His goddess is simplicity,
And the quiet genius of reflection
He was given from birth
The seal of silence on the lips.
His dreams, his desires,
His fears, expectations -
Everything in him is a mystery, everything in him is silent:
Carefully kept in my soul
He has unsolved feelings.
When suddenly something
Will excite the fiery breast, -
Soul, without fear, without art,
Ready to pour out in speeches
And shines in fiery eyes.
And again he is quiet and bashful
He lowers his gaze to the ground,
As if he had heard the reproach
For irrevocable impulses.
Oh, if you meet him
With a thoughtful expression on his stern brow, -
Walk quietly near him,
Don't break with a cold word
His sacred, quiet dreams!
Look with a tear of awe
And say: this is the son of the gods,
Pet of muses and inspiration!
A.S.PUSHKIN
Poet! Do not value people's love.
There will be a momentary noise of enthusiastic praise;
You will hear the judgment of a fool and the laughter of a cold crowd,
But you remain firm, calm and gloomy.
You are the king: live alone. On the road to freedom
Go where your free mind takes you,
Improving the fruits of your favorite thoughts,
Without demanding rewards for a noble deed.
They are in you. You are your own highest court;
You know how to evaluate your work more strictly than anyone else.
Are you satisfied with it, discerning artist?
Satisfied? So let the crowd scold him
And spits on the altar where your fire burns,
And your tripod shakes in childish playfulness.
Literature:
1. Venevitinov D.V., Complete collection works, edited and with notes by B.V. Smirensky. Introductory article by D. D. Blagoy, [M. - L.], 1934;
2. Venevitinov D.V., Complete. collection poems. Entry Art., preparation of text and notes. B.V. Neumann, L., 1960.
3. Venevetinov D.V., Poems / Comp., intro. article and notes V.I. Sakharov. – M.: Sov. Russia, 1982. – 176 p., 1 sheet. Portrait – (Poetic Russia);
4. Mordovchenko N.I., Russian criticism of the first quarter of the 19th century, M. - L., 1959;
5. Pushkin A.S., Collected works in 10 volumes. T.1. Poems 1813 – 1824. M., “Khudozh. Lit.”, 1974.
6. Pushkin A.S., Collected works in 10 volumes. T.2. Poems 1825 – 1836. M., “Khudozh. Lit.”, 1974.
7. Pushkin A.S., Collected works in 10 volumes. T.9. Letters 1815 – 1830. M., “Art. Lit.”, 1977.
8. Russian poets. Anthology of Russian poetry in 6 volumes. Moscow: Children's literature, 1996.
9. Sakulin P.N., From the history of Russian idealism, vol. 1, M., 1913;
10. Strezhnev N.V. “To the icy northern waves”: A.S. Pushkin and the White Sea North: Lit. - local history essays. – Arkhangelsk: North-West. Book Publishing house, 1989.
11. Chernyshevsky N.G. Full collection cit., vol. 2, 1949
Dmitry Venevitinov (1805—1827)
Dmitry Vladimirovich Venevitinov lived only twenty-two years. He was born into an old noble family in Moscow. Like many young people of his time, he received an excellent education at home. Even as a child, Venevitinov showed versatile abilities: at the age of fourteen he read Greek and Roman authors in the originals. Later, he attended Moscow University as a volunteer, after which in 1824 he was accepted into service in the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Venevitinov had a reputation good musician, painter, original literary critic, expert on ancient and modern philosophy, and also a poet - a “philosophical lyricist.”
The term “philosophical lyrics” does not have stable content and taken on its own, out of historical context, in sufficiently conditional IN different times different people put different meanings into it. Philosophical poems in the understanding of some may seem far from philosophical to others, and vice versa. And yet, in terms of historical and literary terms, this term has the right to exist. At least for Russia in the 1820s and 1830s. he was a concept alive and in to a greater extent determined the content of the poetic life of that era.
The point is not at all that the poems of certain Russian poets of 1820 - 1830. fully and in its entirety corresponded to the concept of “philosophical lyrics”. But at that time there was an orientation toward “philosophical lyricism,” and this orientation largely determined the very life of poetry and the peculiarities of its perception, which was reflected in what exactly the poets wrote and how, from what angle, their works were read.
Creation experiences in early XIX centuries of philosophical poetry are associated primarily with the names of Venevitinov and the poets of his circle. In 1823, a group of young people, graduates of Moscow University, who served in the Moscow archive of the College of Foreign Affairs, formed a circle of philosophy lovers, the so-called “Society of Philosophy.” These were mainly fans of German idealistic philosophy, in particular Schelling. Members of this circle, the undoubted ideologist of which was D. Venevitinov, also included the poet V. F. Odoevsky, the collector of folk songs I. V. Kireevsky, S. P. Shevyrev, A. S. Khomyakov and others. In fact, the “Society of Philosophy” lasted only two years, but its collapse in 1825 did not interrupt friendly ties or destroy common hopes and quests. Among the former lyubo-wise men there was an acute question of the poetry of thought - the necessity, the unification of poetic creativity and philosophical idealism. Philosophical problems were considered in close connection with poetic ones, the tasks of Russian philosophy - in connection with the tasks of Russian poetry.
D. V. Venevitinov was both the ideologist of the “Society of Philosophy” and a practitioner of “philosophical” poetry of the 1820-1830s.Venevitinov substantiated the theoretical justification for the need for a philosophical direction in poetry in the article “On the State of Education in Russia”: “The first feeling never creates and cannot create, because it always represents agreement. Feeling only gives rise to thought, which develops in struggle and then, again turning into feeling, appears in the work. And therefore, the true poets of all peoples, of all centuries, were deep thinkers, were philosophers and, so to speak, the crown of enlightenment.” For Venevitinov, philosophy is closely connected with poetry. Ultimately, they have the same tasks. Nature and man, man’s knowledge of the mysteries and secrets of nature, nature and mind in their relationship, in their agreement - this, according to Venevitinov, is the main subject of philosophy. But this “harmonization of nature with the mind” is what is most accessible to the poet. In poetry and through poetry, man is introduced to the primordial, to nature, the primary inseparability of man and the cosmos is expressed and realized.
Of course, Venevitinov was not the only one who preached the need to unite poetry and philosophy. S.P. Shevyrev, A.S. Khomyakov, V.F. Odoevsky, I.V. Kireevsky and many others also strived. But Venevitinov was one of the first to talk about this and who tried to embody the idea in his poetic practice.
Venevitinov’s life and literary activity were very short, which, however, did not prevent his contemporaries from appreciating Venevitinov’s significance extremely highly. In “Literary Dreams” Belinsky wrote about him: “Venevitinov alone could reconcile thought with feeling, idea with form, for, of all young poets Pushkinsky period, he alone embraced nature not with a cold mind, but with fiery sympathy and, with the power of love, could penetrate its sanctuary...” It is interesting that later (after Lermontov), in 1845, Belinsky will say about Venevitinov more carefully and in some ways more accurately: “Venevitinov died in the prime of his life, leaving a book of poetry and a book of prose: in both of them one can see the wonderful hopes that this young man gave for his future, both are youthfully beautiful; but neither one nor the other represents anything definite.”
At first glance, Venevitinov’s poems seem quite traditional. And this first impression is not so deceptive. In Venevitinov we will encounter familiar genres (elegy, epistles), familiar themes (love, poetry, nature), familiar, established imagery (life - “sea”, “boundless ocean”, poet - “favorite of muses and inspiration”), familiar to poetic dictionary vocabulary (“brow of a mysterious nature”, “flaming doe”, “cold darkness of the graves”). His poetic form is also traditional: iambics absolutely predominate in his metrics, moreover, most often tetrameters iambs, his compositions, as a rule, are free; among the strophic compositions, only sonnets are found. All this is not new at all, all this is typical of Russian poetry of the Pushkin period. And only in a few of his poems does Venevitinov seem to break out of vicious circle poetic conventions, overcomes the inertia of the finished style and amazes the reader with the freshness and power of thought and expression. But according to these few best poems Venevitinov alone should be judged. And judge not only what is in them, but also what is intended in them. In assessing Venevitinov’s poetry, a projection into the future is especially necessary. After all, before us is only the beginning of a path that Venevitinov was not destined to follow to the end.
The main range of themes of Venevitinov’s “mature” works is connected with nature and man, the existence of man, and the poet is the only one among people who has access to the secrets of both man and nature. Venevitinov’s poems about life, about human existence are subjective enough to excite us, but they always contain a philosophical, generalized thought. They contain a solution not so much to a personal as to a general riddle; their hero is not I, but We, not man, but humanity:
At first life captivates us;
Everything is warm in her, everything warms my heart
And, like a tempting story,
Our mind cherishes the whimsical.
Something frightens you from afar,
But in this fear there is pleasure:
It pleases the imagination
How about a magical adventure
Night old man's story.
But the playful deception will end!
We get used to miracles -
Then we look at everything lazily,
Then life became hateful to us:
Its mystery and plot
Already long, old, boring,
Like retold fairy tale
Tired before the hour of sleep.
("Life", 1826)
The poem gives the impression of being very sincere, warmed by a genuine feeling, but it is also conceptual, it contains a whole philosophy of life. Hence its unusual harmony, completeness, and logical consistency. This is the poetry of thought itself exact value this word.
A typical representative of Russian romanticism, Venevitinov paints in his works the image of an artist, a “son of the gods,” striving to comprehend the secrets of the universe, to be a champion of goodness and truth, destined to become the leader of all humanity. In his programmatic article “On the State of Education in Russia,” Venevitinov wrote: “The artist animates canvas and marble only in order to realize his feeling, in order to be convinced of its strength; the poet artificially transfers himself into the struggle with nature, with fate, in order to test his spirit in this contradiction and proudly proclaim the triumph of the mind.”
The December events of 1825, as well as passionate, but, alas, unrequited love Venevitinov to Princess 3. Volkonskaya was blown up vitality mentally fragile poet. In the fall of 1826, he left Moscow and moved to St. Petersburg, where in March 1827 he died suddenly at the age of less than twenty-two years.
Venevitinov, Dmitry Vladimirovich
Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia
Dmitry Vladimirovich Venevitinov (September 14 (26), 1805, Moscow - March 15 (27), 1827, St. Petersburg) - Russian romantic poet, translator, prose writer and philosopher.
Dmitry Venevitinov was born on September 14 (26), 1805 in Moscow, in the parish of the now lost Church of Archdeacon Euplaus, which was located at the intersection of Myasnitskaya Street and Milyutinsky Lane. His father, retired ensign of the Semenovsky regiment Vladimir Petrovich Venevitinov (1777-1814), came from a wealthy Voronezh noble family. Mother, Anna Nikolaevna, came from the princely family of Obolensky-Belykh. Through her, Dmitry Venevitinov was distantly related (second cousin) to A.S. Pushkin.
Venevitinov grew up in a preserved house in Krivokolenny Lane, where he received a classical home education, led by his mother (Princess Anna Nikolaevna Obolenskaya), . French and Latin languages, and classical literature, Venevitinov was taught by his tutor Dorer, a retired French officer, Greek by the Greek Bayle (Baylo), painting by the artist La Perche. Russian literature was taught by Moscow University professor A.F. Merzlyakov, and music, most likely, by I.I. Genishta.
In 1822, Dmitry Venevitinov entered Moscow University, where he became interested in German philosophy and romantic poetry. At the university I attended individual lectures, in particular courses by A.F. Merzlyakov, I.I. Davydov, M.G. Pavlov and Loder. Participated in meetings of the student literary circle of N. M. Rozhalin. In 1823, he successfully passed the university course exam and in 1824 entered the service of the Moscow Archive of the College of Foreign Affairs (“archive youths” - this is how Pushkin ironically called the employees of this archive in his novel “Eugene Onegin”). In August - September 1824, together with younger brother Alexei visited his Voronezh estates, which was clearly reflected in his letters.
Venevitinov, together with Prince V.F. Odoevsky, organized the secret philosophical “Society of Philosophy,” which also included I.V. Kireevsky, A.I. Koshelev, V.P. Titov, N.A. Melgunov and others. M.P. Pogodin and S.P. Shevyrev attended the meetings of the circle, without being formally its members. The circle studied German idealistic philosophy - the works of F. Schelling, I. Kant, Fichte, Oken, F. Schlegel and others. Venevitinov took an active part in the publication of the Moskovsky Vestnik magazine.
In November 1826, Venevitinov, under the patronage of Princess Zinaida Volkonskaya, moved from Moscow to St. Petersburg, joining the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Upon entering St. Petersburg, the poet, together with F. S. Khomyakov and Count Laval’s librarian O. Vaucher, who was escorting the wife of the Decembrist Prince to Siberia. S.P. Trubetskoy, Ekaterina Ivanovna (née Laval) was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the Decembrist conspiracy. He spent three days under arrest in one of the guardhouses in St. Petersburg. Venevitinov was interrogated by the duty general Potapov. According to biographers, the arrest and interrogation had a strong effect on Venevitinov He spent three days under arrest, which worsened his lung disease.After that, in March, returning lightly dressed from a ball, Venevitinov caught a severe cold.
Venevitinov and Khomyakov settled in the Lanskys’ house. Being away from family and friends, away from his native Moscow, depressed the poet, although his social circle in St. Petersburg was quite wide: V.F. Odoevsky and A.I. Koshelev already lived here. A. Delvig was a frequent guest of Venevitinov.
The poet died on March 15 (27), 1827 in St. Petersburg, before reaching the age of 22. He was buried in the cemetery of the Simonov Monastery in Moscow. He bequeathed to put a ring on his finger at the hour of his death - a gift from Zinaida Volkonskaya. When he fell into oblivion, the ring was put on his finger. But suddenly Venevetinov woke up and asked: “Am I getting married?” And he died. A. Pushkin and A. Mitskevich were at the funeral. Reburied in the 1930s. on Novodevichy Cemetery...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Another poet of Pushkin's era.
Dmitry Vladimirovich Venevitinov, who lived only 22 years, remained in the memory of his contemporaries as highly educated and unusually talented person. He successfully practiced painting, as evidenced by the canvases he painted in oils. Studying music made him not only a singer and an excellent musician, but also a composer. He seriously studied music theory. IN at a young age Dmitry read the writers' originals Ancient Rome and Greece, translated Sophocles and Horace. Acquaintance with the “History of the Russian State” prompted him to visit ancient Russian cities and study the antiquities there. Venevitinov valued the work of N. M. Karamzin not only as a historical, but also as a literary masterpiece, and ranked it among epic poetry. Moscow University professors gave him and his friends Alexei and Fedor Khomyakov private lessons in mathematics and history belles lettres. People who knew him noted his philosophical mind.
The years of his life (1805-1827) partially coincided with the time when A.S. Pushkin, Vladimir Odoevsky, V.K. Kuchelbecker, F.I. Tyutchev, A.A. lived and worked. Delvig, N.M. Yazykov, Denis Davydov, P.A. Vyazemsky, V.A. Zhukovsky. Some were older than him, some outlived him significantly. He was friends with someone, he just knew someone, he studied with someone, he was united by a common cause with someone. M. Yu. Lermontov, who turned 13 years old in the year of Venevitinov’s death, wrote an epitaph 3 years later, at 16 years old.
Dmitry Vladimirovich is often compared to the most famous European poets of that time, Lord Byron, Goethe, and Shelley. We are talking about the poet's appearance. They called him handsome: he was tall like a marble statue. It was noted that his huge eyes with long eyelashes shone with intelligence. In 1826, Anselm Lagrene, a French artist, painted a portrait of D.V. Venevitinov, which is reproduced in publications about the poet and his poems and prose. It was his appearance that gave birth to many myths about Venevitinov as an ideal, dreamy, handsome poet.
In Moscow, on Krivokolenny Lane, house number 4 is decorated with two memorial plaques. One of them reports that this is the house of the Venevitinov family, and the second is installed in memory of the fact that it was here, in this house, in 1826 A.S. Pushkin read Boris Godunov. When, at the request of Karamzin, Pushkin was returned from exile, he settled in Moscow, where he immediately became a central figure in the cultural life of that time. It was during this period that the reading of Boris Godunov took place. By that time, Pushkin knew that Venevitinov had written an article about the first chapter of Eugene Onegin. He said: “This is the only article that I read with love and attention. Everything else is either abuse or over-sweetened game.” Proof of Pushkin’s sympathy for Venevitinov is the invitation of Venevitinov to all readings of “Boris Godunov” by the poet himself. It was with Venevitinov that Pushkin shared the idea of writing “The Pretender,” “Mozart and Salieri,” scenes from “Faust,” and “Count Nulin.” Communication with Pushkin played a role great importance V spiritual development young poet. Many of his later works and ideas are the result of their discussions of Russian culture and literature, especially poetry. Their views did not always coincide, and they debated about the philosophical transformation of all Russian culture.
The Venevitinovs' house in Moscow was an ordinary noble nest. Their family was ancient and honored. Dmitry's parents owned estates in the Voronezh province. In Moscow they were considered enlightened and hospitable people, and artists, singers, and musicians often gathered in their house. After the death of her husband, Anna Dmitrievna, the poet’s mother, managed to make her salon a Moscow landmark. Until the age of 8, she herself was involved in the upbringing and education of her son, then she handed him over to tutors and teachers, whom she chose very carefully. It is known that first the captain of the Napoleonic army Dorer worked with the boy, and then the Greek Baylo. Both of them were very educated people, and thanks to them, Dmitry received a classical education, loved literature, and read ancient philosophers. Home education ended when he turned 17, and a year earlier his first poems, first attempt at writing, or poetic experiments appeared.
As a volunteer, he attended lectures and debates on the literature of Professor Merzlyakov at Moscow University. Venevitinov was the professor’s main opponent during these conversations. His judgments were logical and deep. Those present were amazed by the dialectic of his arguments. This was not a desire to simply argue, it was a formed view of literature and an approach to it, because in a few years he would return to these disputes and write an article about the shortcomings of Merzlyakov’s theory. He also attended lectures by M.G. Pavlova and I.I. Davydov, in which his attention was attracted by the deep truths of classical German philosophers.
At the university, like-minded friends gather around Venevitinov, each of them has left a mark on Russian culture. This was a new generation of Russian romantics, which moved away from imitating Zhukovsky and young Pushkin. They feared one-sidedness and wingless aspirations. Romantics are lovers of wisdom. The Society of Philosophy was headed by Vladimir Odoevsky and Dmitry Venevitinov. The name of the society came from its goal - love of wisdom, diligent study of ancient and German philosophers and work on the creation of an original Russian philosophy, from which a new Russian literature should arise. Its members were young philosophers who strived for higher knowledge about man and nature. The society was formed in 1823, and in 1826 Venevitinov wrote an article “On the state of education in Russia.”
The Lubomirs deeply studied the writings of the German romantic thinker Schelling, which gave them themes for poetry: harmony between the world and man (between the ideal and the real). Venevitinov was convinced that this harmony should be the beginning of everything, and it becomes one of the main themes of his poetry. In Venevitinov’s work, nature appears, the value of which is equated to the self-valued world of the individual. The poet himself said that the self-development of nature coincides with the movement of poetic consciousness. And the poet borrows the form of art from nature. Venevitinov’s nature is not abstract philosophical concept, she is Russian, from Moscow and Voronezh. In 1924, he toured the family's Voronezh estates to resolve material issues and issues related to the management of the estates. The trip turned out to be very fruitful for his creativity.
In 1826 D.V. Venevitinov and many of his Lyubomir friends passed the required civil service exam and entered the Moscow Archive of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs. In Moscow circles they were nicknamed “archive youths”, and A. S. Pushkin described them in the seventh chapter of “Eugene Onegin” as a capital landmark. In October 1826, Venevitinov, under the patronage of Zinaida Volkonskaya, with whom, according to some contemporaries, he was in love, and Count Laval, entered the Asian department of the College of Foreign Affairs in St. Petersburg. Life in St. Petersburg was very eventful. Museums, concerts, passion for the East, meetings with wise men, Delvig, acquaintance with the Decembrists, which served as the reason for his arrest, and at the same time, career successes.
However, the St. Petersburg period did not last long. For his lungs, the St. Petersburg climate turned out to be disastrous. The old illness recurred, and in 1827 Venevitinov died. He felt that the end was near, the thought of this comes through both in his poems and in letters to friends. Nevertheless, he did not abandon his concerns about his mother, friends, and service. Pushkin and Mitskevich walked behind Venevitinov’s coffin along with other writers. His death gave rise to a stream of poems that were included in the “wreath” collection.
Images and lines by D.V. Venevitinov's works are inherited by a variety of poets, right up to Nekrasov. But there is one poet whose themes and style he seems to predict and define, this is Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov. However, many Russian poets of later generations find their own in his many-sided work, thereby defining his special place and significance in the life of Russian lyrical consciousness.
D.V. Venevitinov
(1805-27)-21 years
Our nature is truly an abomination:
Humbly flat fields -
Russia has the most land
Considers height as insolence, -
Trashy huts, taverns,
Belly women bare feet,
Men in bast shoes with holes,
Impassable roads
Yes, the spitz of eternal churches -
The picture from the clyster tubes is correct,
The view from the manor houses is scanty
Traces of the landowners' plans,
Dirt, filth, stench and cockroaches
And everyone needs the master's whip -
And that's what many fools
They call it “Sacred Motherland”.
1826
"The Life of Art". 1924, No. 6 (according to a now unknown list), signature – D.V. Venevitinov. Pech. by ed.: Free Russian poetry second half of the XVIII- first half of the 19th century century. L., 1970 (B-poet. BS) (according to the list of N. A. Herzen, made in 1870 with the elimination of Ogarev’s edits, with corrections. According to other lists, articles 1, 3, 8, 11 and taking into account considerations, expressed in the article: Likhachev D. S. From the commentary to the text of the poem “Motherland” // Likhachev D. S. Literature - reality - literature. L., 1984. pp. 29-30).
Free Russian poetry of the 18th-19th centuries. Will join. article, comp., intro. notes, preparation text and notes S. A. Racer. L., Sov. writer, 1988 (Poet's book. Big gray.) - in the section "Second quarter of the 19th century"
At the first publication it was attributed to D.V. Venevitinov (1805-1827) and was later included in the Complete Collection. Op. Venevitinova (M., 1934). However, most researchers deny Venevitinov’s authorship. The list on which the first publication was made (the magazine “Life of Art,” 1924, No. 6) was allegedly kept in the Pushkin House, but no traces of it were found there; where the list was taken from and where it disappeared is unknown. Texts and characteristics of other lists - P. A. Efremova in TsGALI, from the collection. P. P. Shibanova (State Library named after Lenin), N. A. Herzen (TsGALI) - see in the publication: Grishunin A. L., Chernykh V. A New lists of the poem known as “Motherland” / / “Problems of modern philology”. M., 1965. S. 372-377. Detailed analysis articles and a refutation of Venevitinov’s authorship are contained in the book. V. V. Vinogradova “Problems of authorship and the theory of styles” (Moscow, 1961, pp. 89-103).
Horned women, i.e. married women in headdresses - kichkas (like a warrior).
...
p/s
- for this verse one could share the fate of the Decembrists, incl. it is not surprising that it is nameless, although it is attributed to Dm. Venevitinov - (based on poetic data and citizenship, Pushkin himself could equally well have signed it)
(E.K.)
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FROM WIKIPEDIA
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Venevitinov, Dmitry Vladimirovich
Dmitry Venevitinov was born on September 14 (26), 1805 in Moscow in the parish of the now lost Church of Archdeacon Euplaus, which was located at the intersection of Myasnitskaya Street and Milyutinsky Lane. His father, retired ensign of the Semenovsky regiment Vladimir Petrovich Venevitinov (1777-1814), came from a wealthy Voronezh noble family. Mother, Anna Nikolaevna, came from the princely family of Obolensky-Belykh. Through her, Dmitry Venevitinov was distantly related (second cousin) to A.S. Pushkin.
Venevitinov grew up in a preserved house on Krivokolenny Lane, where he received a classical education at home, led by his mother. Venevitinov was taught French and Latin, as well as classical literature, by his tutor Dorer, a retired French officer, Greek by the Greek Bayle (Baylo), and painting by the artist La Perche. Russian literature was taught by Moscow University professor A.F. Merzlyakov, and music, most likely, by I.I. Genishta. Venevitinov studied perfectly and German, apparently, under the leadership of H.I. Gerke, the tutor of his early deceased brother Peter.
In 1822, Dmitry Venevitinov entered Moscow University, where he became interested in German philosophy and romantic poetry. At the university I attended individual lectures, in particular courses by A.F. Merzlyakov, I.I. Davydov, M.G. Pavlov and Loder. In 1823, he successfully passed the university course exam and in 1824 entered the service of the Moscow Archive of the College of Foreign Affairs (“archive youths” - this is how Pushkin ironically called the employees of this archive in his novel “Eugene Onegin”). In August - September 1824, together with his younger brother Alexei, he visited his Voronezh estates, which was clearly reflected in his letters.
Venevitinov, together with Prince V.F. Odoevsky, organized the secret philosophical “Society of Philosophy,” which also included I.V. Kireevsky, A.I. Koshelev, V.P. Titov, N.A. Melgunov and others. M.P. Pogodin and S.P. Shevyrev attended the meetings of the circle, without being formally its members. The circle studied German idealistic philosophy - the works of F. Schelling, I. Kant, Fichte, Oken, F. Schlegel and others. Venevitinov took an active part in the publication of the Moskovsky Vestnik magazine.
In November 1826, Venevitinov, under the patronage of Princess Zinaida Volkonskaya, moved from Moscow to St. Petersburg, joining the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Upon entering St. Petersburg, the poet, together with F. S. Khomyakov and Count Laval’s librarian O. Vaucher, who was escorting the wife of the Decembrist Prince to Siberia. S.P. Trubetskoy, Ekaterina Ivanovna (née Laval), was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the Decembrist conspiracy. He spent three days under arrest in one of the guardhouses in St. Petersburg. Venevitinov was interrogated by the duty officer, General Potapov. According to biographers, the arrest and interrogation had a strong effect on Venevitinov. Venevitinov and Khomyakov settled in the Lanskys’ house. Being away from family and friends, away from his native Moscow, depressed the poet, although his social circle in St. Petersburg was quite wide: V.F. Odoevsky and A.I. Koshelev already lived here. A. Delvig was a frequent guest of Venevitinov.
Monument to Dmitry Venevitinov and the Venevitinov estate in Novozhivotinny
Venevitinov caught a bad cold on March 2, running lightly dressed from a ball in the Lansky house to his outbuilding. He died on March 15 (27), 1827 in St. Petersburg, surrounded by friends, apparently from severe pneumonia, before reaching the age of 22. The poet's funeral service was held in the Church of St. Nicholas the Sea. The body was sent to Moscow. D.V. Venevitinov was buried on April 2, 1827 at the cemetery of the Simonov Monastery in Moscow. A. Pushkin and A. Mitskevich were at the funeral.
Venevitinov bequeathed to put on his finger at the hour of his death a ring from Herculaneum - a gift from Zinaida Volkonskaya. When he fell into oblivion, A. S. Khomyakov put the ring on his finger. Suddenly Venevitinov woke up and asked: “Am I getting married?” And he died. In the 1930s, during the demolition of the Simonov Monastery, the body of D.V. Venevitinov was exhumed and reburied at the Novodevichy Cemetery, 2nd site. Row 13 (photo of the grave). The ashes of D.V. Venevitinov’s mother and brother Alexei were not reburied. The graves were destroyed. During exhumation, the ring was removed from the poet’s finger and is now kept in the Literary Museum.
Creation
In his literary activity Venevitinov showed diverse talents and interests. He was not only a poet, but also a prose writer, wrote literary, programmatic and critical articles (his polemic with N. A. Polev over Chapter 1 of Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin” is known), translated prose works of German authors, including Goethe and Hoffmann (E. A. Maimin. “Dmitry Venevitinov and his literary heritage" 1980).
Venevitinov wrote only about 50 poems. Many of them, especially the later ones, are filled with deep philosophical meaning, what is distinctive feature poet's lyrics.
The central theme of Venevitinov's latest poems is the fate of the poet. The cult of the romantic poet-chosen one, highly elevated above the crowd and everyday life, is noticeable in them:
...But in pure thirst for pleasure
Don’t trust every harp’s hearing
There are not many true prophets
With the seal of secret on his forehead,
With the gifts of lofty lessons,
With the verb of heaven on earth.
A number of Venevitinov’s poems of 1826-1827, written a few months before the poet’s death (“Testament”, “To my ring”, “Poet and Friend”) can rightfully be called prophetic. In them, the author seemed to foresee his early death:
...The soul told me long ago:
You will rush through the world like lightning!
You are given to feel everything,
But you won't enjoy life.
Venevitinov was also known as a gifted artist, musician, and music critic. When the posthumous edition was being prepared, Vladimir Odoevsky proposed to include in it not only poems, but also drawings and musical works: “I would like to publish them together with the works of my friend, who wonderfully combined all three arts.”
List of works by Venevitinov[hide]
Prose
"Sculpture, painting and music"
"Morning, noon, evening and night"
"Plato's Conversations with Alexander"
Poetry
XXXV (“I feel it’s burning inside me...”) 1827
Twig
Brownie
Eupraxia
Sacrifice
Life
Will
Signs before Caesar's death
Italy
To friends on New Year
To friends
To the image of Urania
To the music lover
To my goddess (“It’s not proud thoughts that rise up…”) 1827
To my ring (“You were dug up in a dusty grave...”) 1826
To Pushkin
To S[karyatin]
K. I. Gerke (In the evening hour of solitude...)
Dagger
Wings of Life
Love your pet inspiration...
Favorite color
My prayer
For New Year 1827
Novgorod
Freeing the Skald
Song of the Greek
Song of Colma
Clara's Song
Message to R[ozhal]nu (Leave, oh my friend...)
Message to R[ozhal]nu (I am young, my friend...)
Last poems (“Love the pet of inspiration...”) 1827
Poet and friend (“You are only blossoming in life…”) 1827
Poet
Sonnet (To you, O pure Spirit...)
Sonnet (Quiet are my days...)
Three roses (“Into the remote steppe of the earthly road...”) 1826
Three fates
Comfort
Quatrain (I heard stones...)
Four excerpts from the unfinished prologue
Elegy (“Sorceress! How sweetly you sang...”) 1827
I feel it's burning inside me...
Editions[edit | edit wiki text]
"Works of D.V.V." (1829),
“The Complete Works of D. V. Venevitinov,” edited by A. V. Pyatkovsky. St. Petersburg, 1862
“Poems by Venevitinov” (1884)
Venevitinov D.V. “Complete Works” M.-L., 1934.
Venevitinov D.V. “Poems. Prose" M., 1980.
