Batyushkin Konstantin Nikolaevich. Konstantin Batyushkov: biography, creativity and interesting facts. Russian poet Batyushkov Konstantin Nikolaevich: a brief biography. The period of revelation in creativity
Konstantin Nikolaevich Batyushkov
Batyushkov Konstantin Nikolayevich (1787/1855) - Russian poet. V early period creativity for Batyushkov was assigned the title of head of the Anacreonist direction with his characteristic singing of the joys of life (“Bacchae”, “Merry Hour”, “My Penates”). In later years, Batyushkov's poetry acquires completely different - elegiac and tragic - motives, which are a reflection of the spiritual crisis suffered ("Hope", "My Genius", "Separation", "Dying Tass").
Guryeva T.N. New literary dictionary / T.N. Guriev. - Rostov n / a, Phoenix, 2009, p. 29-30.
Batyushkov Konstantin Nikolaevich (1787 - 1855), poet.
Born on May 18 (29 n.s.) in Vologda in a well-born noble family. Childhood years were spent in the family estate - the village of Danilovsky, Tver province. Home education was led by the grandfather, marshal of the nobility of the Ustyuzhensky district.
From the age of ten, Batyushkov studied in St. Petersburg in private foreign boarding schools, and spoke many foreign languages.
From 1802 he lived in St. Petersburg in the house of his relative M. Muravyov, a writer and educator, who played a decisive role in shaping the personality and talent of the poet. He studies the philosophy and literature of the French Enlightenment, ancient poetry, and the literature of the Italian Renaissance. For five years he served as an official in the Ministry of Public Education.
In 1805 he made his debut in print with satirical verses "Message to my verses". During this period, he writes poems of a predominantly satirical genre ("Message to Chloe", "To Filisa", epigrams).
In 1807, he enlisted in the people's militia and, as a hundredth head of a militia battalion, went on a Prussian campaign. In the battle of Heilsberg he was seriously wounded, but remained in the army and in 1808-09 participated in the war with Sweden. After retiring, he devotes himself entirely to literary creativity.
The satire "Vision on the Banks of Leta", written in the summer of 1809, marks the beginning of the mature stage of Batyushkov's work, although it was published only in 1841.
In 1810 - 12 actively collaborated in the journal "Bulletin of Europe", moving closer to Karamzin, Zhukovsky, Vyazemsky and other writers. His poems "Merry Hour", "Lucky Man", "Source", "My Penates" and others appear.
During the war of 1812, Batyushkov, who did not join the army due to illness, experienced "all the horrors of war", "poverty, fires, hunger", which was later reflected in the "Message to Dashkov" (1813). In 1813-14 he participated in the foreign campaign of the Russian army against Napoleon. The impressions of the war formed the content of many poems: "The Captive", "The Fate of Odysseus", "Crossing the Rhine", etc.
In 1814-17 Batyushkov traveled a lot, rarely staying in one place for more than six months. going through a hard spiritual crisis: disappointment in the ideas of enlightenment philosophy. Religious sentiments are on the rise. His poetry is painted in sad and tragic tones: the elegy "Separation", "The Shadow of a Friend", "Awakening", "My Genius", "Tavrida", etc. In 1817, the collection "Experiments in Verse and Prose" was published, which included translations , articles, essays and poems.
In 1819 he left for Italy at the place of his new service - he was appointed an official at the Neopolitan mission. In 1821 he was seized by an incurable mental illness (mania of persecution). Treatment in the best European clinics was unsuccessful - Batyushkov no longer returned to normal life. His last years passed with relatives in Vologda. Died of typhoid
July 7 (19 n.s.) 1855. Buried in Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery .
Used materials of the book: Russian writers and poets. Brief biographical dictionary. Moscow, 2000.
Vologda. Monument to K. Batyushkov.
Photo A.N. Savelyeva
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BATYUSHKOV Konstantin Nikolaevich (05/18/1787 - 07/07/1855), Russian poet. Born into a family belonging to the ancient Novgorod nobility. After the early death of his mother, he was brought up in private St. Petersburg pensions and in the family of the writer and public figure M. N. Muravyov.
Since 1802 - in the service of the Ministry of Public Education (including the clerk for Moscow University). He approaches the Radishchev Free Society of Lovers of Literature, Sciences and Arts, but quickly moves away from it. His creative ties with the circle are much closer. A. N. Olenina (I. A. Krylov, Gnedich, Shakhovskoy), where the cult of antiquity flourished. Actively collaborates in the magazine "Flower Garden" (1809).
Enters the literary circle "Arzamas", actively opposing the "Conversation of lovers of the Russian word", an association of patriotic writers and linguists (cm.: Shishkov A.S.). In the satire “Vision on the banks of Lethe” (1809), he first used the word "Slavophile".
In the 1810s, Batyushkov became the head of the so-called. "light poetry", dating back to the tradition of anacreotics of the 18th century. (G. R. Derzhavin, V. V. Kapnist): the chanting of the joys of earthly life is combined with the affirmation of the poet's inner freedom from the political system, the stepson of which the poet felt himself to be.
The patriotic enthusiasm that seized Batyushkov in connection with Patriotic War of 1812, takes him beyond the limits of “chamber lyrics”. Under the influence of the hardships of the war, the destruction of Moscow and personal upheavals, the poet is experiencing a spiritual crisis, disillusioned with educational ideas.
In 1822, Batyushkov fell ill with a hereditary mental illness that forever stopped his literary activity.
BATYUSHKOV Konstantin Nikolaevich (05/18/1787 - 07/07/1855), poet. Born in Vologda. He belonged to an old noble family. He was brought up in St. Petersburg, in private foreign boarding houses. Besides French He was fluent in Italian and later in Latin. He served in the military (he was a participant in three wars, including the foreign campaign of 1814) and petty bureaucratic service, and later in the Russian diplomatic mission in Italy. In 1822, he fell ill with a hereditary mental illness that had been creeping up on him for a long time. From 1802 he settled in the house of the writer M. N. Muravyov, his relative; Then he began to write poetry. He joined the Free Society of Lovers of Literature, Sciences and Arts. With the poetic satire "Vision on the Banks of the Leta" (1809), which became widespread in the lists, Batyushkov took an active part in the controversy with the "Conversation of the Lovers of the Russian Word". Batyushkov was the first to use the word "Slavophile", which later became widely used. Batyushkov joined the Arzamas literary circle, which opposed the Conversation, which included representatives of new literary movements - from V. A. Zhukovsky and D. V. Davydov to the young Pushkin , whose mighty talent Batyushkov immediately highly appreciated. He became close to the circle of A. N. Olenin, where the cult of antiquity flourished. Batyushkov's works, published in magazines, were published in 1817 as a separate edition - "Experiments in Verse and Prose" (in 2 parts).
Batyushkov became the head of the so-called. "light poetry" dating back to the tradition of anacreontics of the 18th century, the most prominent representatives of which were G. R. Derzhavin and V. V. Kapnist ("a model in syllable", as Batiushkov called it). The chanting of the joys of earthly life - friendship, love - was combined in Batyushkov's intimate friendly messages with the assertion of the poet's inner freedom, his independence from the "slavery and chains" of the feudal-absolutist social system, whose stepson he acutely felt himself to be. The program work of this kind was the message "My Penates" (1811-12, publ. 1814); according to Pushkin, it "... breathes with some kind of intoxication of luxury, youth and pleasure - the style trembles and flows - the harmony is charming." An example of "light poetry" is the poem "Bacchae" (published in 1817). The patriotic enthusiasm that seized Batyushkov in connection with the war of 1812 led him beyond the limits of "chamber" lyrics (the message "To Dashkov", 1813, the historical elegy "Crossing the Rhine", 1814, etc.). Under the influence of the painful impressions of the war, the destruction of Moscow and personal upheavals, Batyushkov is experiencing a spiritual crisis. His poetry is increasingly colored in sad tones (the elegy "Separation", 1812-13; "Shadow of a Friend", 1814; "Awakening", 1815; "To a Friend", 1815, etc.), sometimes reaching extreme pessimism ("Saying Melchizedek, 1821). Batyushkov's best elegies include My Genius (1815) and Tauris (1817). A significant contribution to the development of Russian poetry was Batyushkov's deep lyricism, combined with an unprecedented artistry of form. Developing the tradition of Derzhavin, he demanded from the poet: "Live as you write, and write as you live." Many poems are, as it were, pages of Batyushkov's poeticized autobiography, in whose personality the features of a disappointed, early aged, bored "hero of the time" are already visible, which later found artistic expression in the images of Onegin and Pechorin. With regard to poetic skill, Batyushkov's models were the works of ancient and Italian poets. He translated Tibull's elegies, poems by T. Tasso, E. Parny, and others. One of Batyushkov's most famous works, the elegy "The Dying Tass" (1817), is dedicated to the tragic fate of the poet - a topic that persistently attracted Batyushkov's attention.
The genres of "light poetry", according to Batyushkov, require "possible perfection, purity of expression, harmony in style, flexibility, smoothness" and therefore are the best remedy for the "education" and "improvement" of the poetic language ("Speech on the influence of light poetry on the language", 1816). Batyushkov also wrote in prose, believing that this is also an important school for the poet (mainly essays, articles on literature and art; the most significant of them are "Evening at Kantemir", "Walk to the Academy of Arts"). Batyushkov's verse reached a high artistic perfection. Contemporaries admired his "plasticity", "sculpture", Pushkin - "Italian" melodiousness ("Italian sounds! What a miracle worker this Batyushkov"). With his translations of "From the Greek Anthology" (1817-18) and "Imitations of the Ancients" (1821), Batyushkov prepared Pushkin's anthological poems. Batiushkov was weary of the narrowness of themes and motives, the monotony of the genres of his poetry. He conceived a number of monumental works filled with content “useful to society, worthy of himself and the people”, was fond of Byron's work (translation into Russian from Childe Harold's Wanderings). All this was cut short by mental illness, which forever stopped Batyushkov's literary activity. The poet remarked bitterly: “What can I say about my poems! I look like a man who did not reach his goal, but he carried a beautiful vessel filled with something on his head. The vessel fell off his head, fell and shattered, go and find out now what was in it. Pushkin, objecting to critics who attacked Batyushkov's poetry, urged them to "respect the misfortunes and unripe hopes in him." Batyushkov played a significant role in the development of Russian poetry: along with Zhukovsky, he was the immediate predecessor and literary teacher of Pushkin, who carried out much of what was started by Batyushkov.
Site materials used Big Encyclopedia Russian people - http://www.rusinst.ru
Batyushkov and Pushkin
Batyushkov Konstantin Nikolaevich (1787-1853) - poet, participant Patriotic War 1812. Pushkin met Batyushkov as a child, at his parents' house. Their communication was especially frequent in 1817-1818, at meetings of the Arzamas society. Batyushkov's poetry, saturated with motifs of careless love, friendship, the joy of communicating with nature, had a strong influence on Pushkin's early work. Unknown artist. 1810s
Used materials of the book: Pushkin A.S. Works in 5 vol. M., Synergy Publishing House, 1999.
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Batyushkov Konstantin Nikolaevich (1787-1855). Pushkin was still a boy when he first saw Batyushkov in his parents' Moscow home. A few years later, Batyushkov, a brilliant military officer and famous poet, came to Tsarskoye Selo to visit a promising lyceum student (1815). By this time, young Pushkin was already reading Batyushkov's poems, imitating them, learning from them. Until the end of his days, he remained a supporter of the "school of harmonic accuracy", the founders of which he considers Zhukovsky and Batyushkov - this "miracle worker" who brought "Italian sounds" to Russian poetry.
Personal communication between Pushkin and Batyushkov was not too close and prolonged. They met in the Arzamas literary society, of which they were members, saw each other on "Saturdays" at V. A. Zhukovsky's, in the Olenins' salon and in other St. Petersburg houses. Batyushkov entered the diplomatic service and was assigned to Italy. Pushkin was among those who came to see him off and say goodbye. It was November 19, 1818. Since then, he saw Batyushkov only once more, many years later, when he visited the mentally ill poet in Georgians near Moscow on April 3, 1830. The impression of this last meeting was apparently reflected in the poem "God forbid I go crazy ...".
The fate of Batyushkov is full of tragedy. Having outlived Pushkin by almost two decades, he nevertheless remained for his contemporaries and descendants as his young predecessor, who did not have time to show his exceptional talent. He himself understood this and wrote bitterly: “What can I say about my poems! I look like a man who did not reach his goal, but he carried a beautiful vessel filled with something on his head. The vessel fell off the head, fell and shattered into smithereens. Go find out now what was in it.
And Pushkin urged Batyushkov's critics to "respect in him misfortune and immature hopes." Throughout his life, he closely studied and highly appreciated what Batyushkov managed to do in Russian poetry. Melody, euphony, intonational freedom, the extraordinary harmony of all the elements of Batyushkov's verse, the plasticity of the lyrics, the unconventional image of the author - a sage and epicurean - all this made Batyushkov a direct teacher of the young Pushkin. You can even say that he was "Pushkin before Pushkin."
Both poets were aware of this deep affinity of talents. That is why Batyushkov was so enthusiastic about the first songs of Ruslan and Lyudmila: “Wonderful, rare talent! taste, wit, invention, gaiety. Ariost at nineteen could not have written better...” (1818, letter to D. N. Bludov). And two years later, about Pushkin's poem "Yuriev": "Oh! how this villain began to write.
During his lyceum years, Pushkin dedicated two letters to Batyushkov. In many poems of that time, he imitates the "Russian Guys" ("Gorodok", "Shadow of Fonvizin", "Memories in Tsarskoye Selo" and others). In conversations and sketches of critical articles of 1824-1828, Pushkin constantly returns to the assessment of creativity and historical significance Batyushkov. The most detailed analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of Batyushkov's lyrics is contained in Pushkin's notes on the margins of his book "Experiments in Poetry". Researchers find traces of Batyushkov's influence in Pushkin's later works.
L.A. Chereisky. Pushkin's contemporaries. Documentary essays. M., 1999, p. 55-57.
Read further:
Pushkin, Alexander Sergeyevich(1799-1837), poet.
Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery, Vologda bishop, in the vicinity of Vologda.
Compositions:
Experiments in verse and prose, part 1-2. St. Petersburg, 1817;
Op., [Intro. Art. L. N. Maykova, note. his own and V. I. Saitov], vol. 1-3, St. Petersburg, 1885-87.
Literature:
Grevenits I. Several notes about K. N. Batyushkov // VGV. 1855. No. 42, 43;
Gura VV Russian writers in the Vologda region. Vologda, 1951, pp. 18-42;
Lazarchuk R. M. New archival materials for the biography of the poet K. N. Batyushkov // Russian Literature. 1988. N 6. S. 146-164;
Maikov LN Batyushkov, his life and works. SPb., 1896;
Sotnikov A. Batyushkov. Vologda, 1951;
Tuzov V.I. In memory of the Vologda poet K.N. Batyushkov. Vologda, 1892.
Batyushkov Konstantin Nikolayevich (1787-1855) - one of the finest Russian poets of his time. For a long time he headed the movement of Anacreonist poets, was a very famous figure in literary circles. Today, his name is almost forgotten, few people know that such a wonderful writer once lived. Let's correct this injustice.
Batyushkov: biography
The future writer was born on May 18 in the city of Vologda, in an old but impoverished noble family. He was the first son, before him four daughters were born to the Batyushkovs. Konstantin turned out to be a long-awaited boy.
The poet's father, Nikolai Lvovich, was an educated man, but his character was greatly spoiled by resentment against the government because of the disgrace that befell the Batyushkovs due to the participation of a relative in a conspiracy against Catherine II. Konstantin did not have time to recognize his mother, Alexandra Grigoryevna (nee Berdyaev), she fell seriously ill when the boy was only six years old, and soon died. Her ailment was mental and passed on to the writer himself and his older sister.
The childhood of little Kostya passed in the family estate, which was located in the village of Danilovsky. But after the death of his mother, he was sent to the St. Petersburg boarding house O. Zhakino. Only at the age of 16 Batyushkov was able to leave this educational institution. At this time, he actively begins to engage in literature, reads a lot in French, masters Latin perfectly in order to study classical texts in the original.
Independent life in the capital
Batyushkov Konstantin Nikolaevich decides to stay in the capital. At first, his uncle, M. N. Muravyov, helps him. He arranges a young man in 1802 in the Ministry of Public Education. Then, in 1804, the writer moved to serve in Muravyov's office at Moscow University, where he held the position of clerk.
During these years, Batyushkov became close to some of his colleagues, many of whom began to adjoin the Karamzin government and eventually founded the "Free Society of Lovers of Literature, Sciences and Arts." N. Gnedich and I. Pnin became his closest friends. Thanks to their influence, the future poet begins to try his hand at writing.
In 1805, Batyushkov's first poem, "Message to My Poems", was published in the journal "News of Russian Literature".
Civil uprising
In 1807, despite his father's protests, he enlisted in the Batyushkov militia. Poems in these years fade into the background for a young man. On February 22 of the same year, he was appointed hundredth in a police battalion and sent to Prussia. Since May, Batyushkov begins to take an active part in hostilities. Soon he gets seriously injured and goes to Riga for treatment. For his heroism he receives the Order of St. Anne, 3rd class.
While the treatment lasted, the writer fell in love with Emilia, the daughter of a local merchant. However, the love interest did not continue, as only two poems remained of his memory: “Memoirs of 1807” and “Recovery”.
By 1808, the writer was physically strong and was returned to the service. This time he ended up in the Guards Jaeger Regiment, which was sent to the war with Sweden. After returning from the campaign, he took a vacation and went to visit unmarried sisters who lived in the Novgorod province. At this time, the maternal "inheritance" began to appear - Batyushkov became more and more impressionable, sometimes it came to hallucinations. The writer himself believed that in ten years he would finally go crazy.
Return to the light
In December 1809, Muravyov invited his nephew to Moscow. Batyushkov returns to the world with great joy. The biography of the writer tells us that he had many friends among the people of art, whom he met in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Especially close at this time the writer got along with P. Vyazemsky and V. Pushkin.
But his acquaintance with V. Zhukovsky and N. Karamzin became fateful for him, the latter very soon realized how talented the young man was, and highly appreciated his work. In 1810, having received a resignation from the regiment, at the invitation of Karamzin, he went to rest in the fate of the Vyazemsky Batyushki. The poet's poems in these years are becoming more and more popular, this explains the desire of noble nobles to see him as a guest.
In 1813, the writer moved to St. Petersburg, where he got a job at the Public Library. He continues to meet new people and lead an active social life.
Unhappy love
In 1815 Batyushkov fell in love a second time. The biography says that this time his chosen one was a secular lady - Anna Furman. However, the writer quickly realized that the girl did not reciprocate, and was ready to marry only at the will of her guardians. The situation was aggravated by the fact that Konstantin Nikolaevich could not get a transfer to the guard. All this led to a severe nervous breakdown, which lasted several months.
A new blow for the writer was the death of his father in 1817, with whom he had always been on bad terms. Feelings of guilt and unsuccessful love prompted him to turn to religion, in which he saw the only way for a person to maintain his high moral and spiritual position.
During these difficult years, Batyushkov was greatly helped by Zhukovsky, who constantly supported the poet and urged him to continue writing. This helped, and Batyushkov again took up the pen. A year later, he returned to Moscow, where close friends and acquaintances were waiting for him.
Italy
In 1818, the Russian poet Batyushkov went to Odessa for treatment. Here he received a letter from A. Turgenev, who managed to secure a place for a friend in Naples on a diplomatic mission. Konstantin Nikolayevich dreamed of visiting Italy for many years, but the news did not please him. At this time, he experienced a strong disappointment in life, and the news only worsened the situation.
Despite these sentiments, in 1819 Batyushkov arrived in Italy. This country made a strong impression on him. He met many interesting people, including Russian artists who lived in Rome. But happiness did not last long, and soon the poet began to miss his homeland.
The writer's health did not improve, so in 1821 he went to Germany on the waters. His mental illness manifested itself more and more, Batyushkov began to suspect that some enemies were following him. The poet spent the winter of 1821 and all of 1822 in Dresden. At this time, he wrote the best, according to critics, poem - "The Testament of Melchizedek."
Final years and death
In 1822, Batyushkov began to lose his mind (the biography confirms this). He returns to his homeland. For some time he lives in St. Petersburg, and then goes on a trip to the Caucasus and Crimea. During the trip, he tried to commit suicide several times.
In 1824, thanks to the financial assistance of Alexander I, the poet was placed in a private psychiatric hospital in Saxony. Here he spent 4 years, but the treatment did not bring any benefit. Therefore, his relatives decided to transport him to Moscow. At home, Batyushkov Konstantin Nikolayevich felt better, acute attacks practically disappeared, and the disease receded for a short time.
In 1833, the writer was transferred to the house of his nephew, who lived in Vologda. Here Batyushkov spent the rest of his days. The poet died on July 7, 1855.
Konstantin Batyushkov: interesting facts
Here are some interesting moments from the writer's life:
- Pushkin called the poet his teacher and bowed before his work, especially highlighting the early period.
- The main principle of Batyushkov when writing a work was: "Live as you write, and write as you live."
- In 1822, the poet wrote his last work, he was only 35 years old.
- Batyushkov lived the last 22 years of his life, completely losing his mind.
Features of creativity
Konstantin Batyushkov did a lot for Russian literature and poetic language. Poems about love, usually sad and sad, that is why they were so popular among contemporaries. The poet succeeded in transforming his native language, making it more flexible and harmonious. Belinsky believed that it was only thanks to the works of Batyushkov and Zhukovsky that Pushkin managed to achieve such lightness and grace in his poetry.
The main advantage of Konstantin Nikolaevich's poems lies in the perfection of their form, the purity and correctness of the language, and the always sustained artistic style. Batyushkov worked long and hard on every word, often correcting what was written. At the same time, he tried to maintain sincerity, avoiding any artificiality and tension.
Crucial moment
Batyushkov Konstantin Nikolayevich often turned to the past in his works. Nature poems were usually interspersed with ancient mythological traditions. His early work is usually called Epicurean (or Anacreontic). The poet tried to reproduce the light and elegant style of the ancient writers, but believed that the Russian language was still too rough for this. Although critics acknowledged that in this area he achieved significant success.
But the cheerful Epicurean poetry did not attract Batyushkov for long. After the war of 1812, in which the poet participated, his worldview changed a lot. He considered the French Enlightenment to be the cause of Napoleonic deeds. And he considered the trials that befell Russia to be the accomplishment of her historical mission. At this time, his poems change greatly. There is no more lightness and carelessness in them, they talk about reality - the war, the soul of the Russian soldier, the strength of the people's character. best poem This period is considered to be the "Crossing the Rhine".
Let's answer the question of in which direction of poetry Konstantin Batyushkov became famous, as it is asked most often. As already mentioned, this is an Anacreontic (or Epicurean) lyric. Its distinctive features are lightness, carelessness, joy, chanting of life and enjoying it.
Prose
Batyushkov was known not only as a poet, his prose was also highly appreciated by his contemporaries. According to them, the main advantage of his works was a pure, figurative and vivid language. However, the writer turned to prose much later than his literary career began. This happened after a creative break, so religious and philosophical issues are often raised in these works. Batyushkov paid great attention to the theoretical problems of literature (“Something about a poet and poetry”, “Speech about the influence of light poetry on language”).
Now we see that the significance of the writer's works for the development of Russian literature cannot be overestimated.
Biography
Born May 18, 1787 in Vologda. He came from an ancient noble family, father - Nikolai Lvovich Batyushkov (1753-1817). He spent the years of his childhood in the family estate - the village of Danilovskoye. At the age of seven, he lost his mother, who suffered from mental illness, which was inherited by Batyushkov and his older sister Alexandra.
In 1797 he was sent to the St. Petersburg guesthouse Zhakino, from where in 1801 he moved to the Tripoli guesthouse. In the sixteenth year of his life (1802), Batyushkov left the boarding school and began reading Russian and French literature. At the same time, he became close friends with his uncle, the famous Mikhail Nikitich Muravyov. Under his influence, he studied the literature of the ancient classical world and became an admirer of Tibull and Horace, whom he imitated in his first works. In addition, under the influence of Muravyov Batyushkov developed a literary taste and aesthetic flair.
In St. Petersburg, Batyushkov met representatives of the then literary world. He became especially close with, N. A. Lvov, A. N. Olenin,. In 1805, his poem "Message to My Poems" was published in the Novosti Literature magazine, Batyushkov's first appearance in print. Having entered the department of the Ministry of Public Education, Batyushkov became close to some of his colleagues, who adjoined the Karamzin direction and founded the "Free Society of Literature Lovers".
In 1805, his poem "Message to My Poems" was published in the Novosti Literature magazine, Batyushkov's first appearance in print.
In 1807 Batyushkov enrolled in the people's militia (militia) and took part in the Prussian campaign. In the battle of Heilsberg, he was wounded and had to go to Riga for treatment. The following year, 1808, Batyushkov took part in the war with Sweden, after which he retired and went to his relatives, in the village of Khantonovo, Novgorod province. In the countryside, he soon began to get bored and rushed to the city: his impressionability became almost painful, he was more and more possessed by spleen and a premonition of future madness.
At the very end of 1809, Batyushkov arrived in Moscow and soon, thanks to his talent, bright mind and kind heart, he found good friends in the best areas of the then Moscow society. Of the writers there, he became closest to V. L. Pushkin, and. The years 1810 and 1811 passed for Batyushkov partly in Moscow, where he had a pleasant time, partly in Khantonov, where he was moping. Finally, having received a resignation from military service, at the beginning of 1812 he went to St. Petersburg and, with the help of Olenin, entered the service of the Public Library; his life settled down quite well, although he was constantly disturbed by the thought of the fate of his family and himself: an early promotion could not be expected, and economic affairs were going from bad to worse.
Meanwhile, Napoleon's army entered the borders of Russia and began to approach Moscow. Batyushkov again entered military service and, as an adjutant to General Raevsky, together with the Russian army, made the campaign of 1813-1814, which ended with the capture of Paris.
Staying abroad had a great influence on Batyushkov, who first became acquainted with German literature there and fell in love with it. Paris and its monuments, libraries and museums, too, did not pass without a trace for his impressionable nature; but he soon felt a strong homesickness and, having visited England and Sweden, returned to St. Petersburg. A year later, he finally quit military service, went to Moscow, then to St. Petersburg, where he entered Arzamas and took an active part in the activities of this society.
In 1816-1817 Batyushkov prepared for publication his book "Experiments in Poetry and Prose", which Gnedich then published. The book was well received by critics and readers.
In 1818, Batyushkov achieved his long-desired goal: he was appointed to serve in the Neapolitan Russian mission. A trip to Italy was always Batyushkov's favorite dream, but, having gone there, he almost immediately felt unbearable boredom, melancholy and melancholy. By 1821, hypochondria had taken such proportions that he had to leave the service and Italy.
In 1822, a mental disorder expressed itself quite definitely, and since then Batyushkov suffered for 34 years, almost never regaining consciousness, and finally died of typhus on July 7, 1855 in Vologda; buried in the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery, five miles from Vologda. Back in 1815, Batyushkov wrote the following words about himself to Zhukovsky: “From birth, I had in my soul black spot which grew, grew with the years and almost blackened the whole soul ”; the poor poet did not foresee that the spot would not stop growing and so soon completely darken his soul.
Addresses in St. Petersburg
Summer 1812 - Balabin's tenement house (18 Bolshaya Sadovaya Street);
spring 1813 - Batashov's house (Vladimirskaya st., 4);
May - July 1813 - the house of Sievers (Pochtamtskaya st., 10);
the end of 1814 - February 1815 - the house of E. F. Muravyova (25 Fontanka River Embankment);
August - November 1817 - the house of E. F. Muravyova (25 Fontanka River Embankment);
1818 - the house of E. F. Muravyova (25 Fontanka River Embankment);
spring 1822 - hotel "Demut" (emb. river Moika, 40);
May - June 1823 - the house of E. F. Muravyova (25 Fontanka River Embankment);
November 1823 - May 1824 - Imsen apartment building (Ekaterininsky Canal Embankment, 15).
Creation
Batyushkov is considered the immediate predecessor, and not by chance - combining the literary discoveries of classicism and sentimentalism, he was one of the founders of the new, "modern" Russian poetry.
The poems of the first period of the poet's literary activity are imbued with epicureanism: the man in his lyrics passionately loves earthly life; the main themes in Batyushkov's poetry are friendship and love. Rejecting moralism and mannerisms of sentimentalism, he finds new ways of expressing feelings and emotions in verse, extremely bright and vital:
Slender camp, entwined around
Hops yellow crown,
And flaming cheeks
Roses bright purple
And the mouth in which melts
purple grapes -
Everything in frantic seduces!
Fire and poison pours in the heart!
In response to the events of the Patriotic War of 1811, Batyushkov created samples of civil poetry, the patriotic mood of which is combined with a description of the author's deeply individual experiences:
... while on the field of honor
For the ancient city of my fathers
I will not bear the victim of revenge
And life and love for the motherland;
While with a wounded hero,
Who knows the way to glory
Three times I will not put my chest
Before enemies in close formation -
My friend, until then I will
All are alien to muses and charities,
Wreaths, with the hand of love retinue,
And noisy joy in wine!
In the post-war period, Batyushkov's poetry gravitates towards romanticism. The subject of one of his most famous poems, "The Dying Tass" (1817), is the tragic fate of the Italian poet Torquato Tasso
Do you remember how many tears I shed as a baby!
Alas! since then the prey of evil fate,
I learned all the sorrows, all the poverty of being.
Fortune pitted abysses
Opened under me, and the thunder did not stop!
Driven from country to country, driven from country to country,
I searched in vain for shelter on earth:
Everywhere her finger is irresistible!
Konstantin Nikolayevich Batyushkov was born on May 18 (29), 1787, in Vologda. He came from an old noble family, was the fifth child in a large family.
Having lost his mother early, he soon enrolled in one of the St. Petersburg boarding schools.
Konstantin did a lot of self-education. Under the influence of his uncle, M. N. Muravyov, he learned Latin, became interested in the works of Horace, Tibullus.
In service
In 1802, the young man, under the patronage of his uncle, was appointed to serve in the Ministry of Public Education. In 1804-1805. served as a clerk in the office of M. N. Muravyov. During his service, he continued to be drawn to literature. He became close friends with I. P. Pnin and N. I. Gnedich, who founded the Free Society of Lovers of Literature.
In 1807, Konstantin Nikolaevich, contrary to the opinion of his father, became a member of the people's militia. In the spring of this year, he took part in hostilities, for courage he was awarded Anna III degree.
In 1809 he moved to Moscow, where he met with P.A. Vyazemsky, V.A. Zhukovsky and N. M. Karamzin.
At the very beginning of 1812, Batyushkov moved to St. Petersburg and entered the service of the public library. He regularly met and communicated with I. A. Krylov.
Studying a brief biography of Batyushkov, you should know that in July 1813 he became an adjutant to General N. N. Raevsky, the hero of the Patriotic War, and reached Paris.
Literary activity
The first attempt at writing took place in 1805. Konstantin Nikolayevich's poem "Message to My Poems" was published in the journal "News of Russian Literature".
During the military campaign of 1807, Batyushkov undertook the translation of Tass' Jerusalem Liberated.
The main merit of Batyushkov is his deep work on Russian poetic speech. Thanks to him, the Russian poem filled with strength, began to sound harmoniously and at the same time passionately. V. G. Belinsky believed that it was the works of Batyushkov and Zhukovsky that paved the way for the disclosure of the mighty talent of A. S. Pushkin.
The creativity of Batyushkov himself was rather peculiar. From his youth, carried away by the works of ancient Greek thinkers, he involuntarily created images that were not entirely clear to the domestic reader. The first poems of the poet are permeated with Epicureanism. They surprisingly combine mythologism and the life of an ordinary Russian village.
Batyushkov wrote such prose articles as "Evening at Kantemir", "On the writings of Muravyov" and "On the character of Lomonosov".
In October 1817, his collected works "Experiments in verse and prose" were published.
last years of life
Batyushkov Konstantin Nikolaevich suffered from severe nervous breakdown. This disease was passed on to him by inheritance. The first seizure occurred in 1815. After that, his condition only worsened.
In 1833, he was dismissed and placed in his hometown, in the house of his own nephew. There he lived for another 22 years.
Batyushkov passed away on July 7 (19), 1855. The cause of death was typhus. The poet was buried in the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery, which is located 5 miles from Vologda.
Everyone knows the Vologda poet Konstantin Nikolayevich Batyushkov. His biography is bright and tragic. The poet, whose creative finds were brought to perfection by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, was a pioneer in the development of the melodiousness of the Russian language. He was the first to notice in him, "somewhat severe and stubborn", a remarkable "strength and expressiveness". Batyushkov's creative achievements were recognized as classic even during his lifetime by the entire contemporary Russian poetic world, and first of all by Karamzin and Zhukovsky.
Childhood
The poet's life dates are 05/18/1787 - 07/07/1855. He belonged to the old noble family of the Batyushkovs, in which there were generals, public figures, scientists.
What can Batyushkov's biography tell about the poet's childhood? Interesting facts will come later, but for now it is worth noting that the child suffered from the death of his beloved mother. Alexandra Grigorievna Batyushkova (nee Berdyaeva) died eight years after the birth of Kostya. Were the years spent in the family estate in the village of Danilovsky (modern Vologda Oblast) happy? Unlikely. Konstantin's father, Nikolai Lvovich Batyushkov, a bilious and nervous man, did not pay due attention to children. He had an excellent education and was tormented by the fact that he was unclaimed in the service due to a disgraced relative participating in a palace conspiracy.
Study, self-education
However, by the will of his father, Konstantin Batyushkov studied in expensive, but non-specialized St. Petersburg boarding schools. The biography of his youth is marked by a strong-willed and far-sighted act. He, despite the protests of his father, gave up schooling in boarding schools and zealously set about self-education.
This period (from 16 to 19 years old) is marked by the transformation of a young man into a person of humanitarian competence. Konstantin's benefactor and benefactor was his influential uncle Mikhail Nikitich Muravyov, senator and poet, trustee of Moscow University. It was he who managed to instill in his nephew respect for ancient poetry. Thanks to him, Batyushkov, having studied Latin, became an admirer of Horace and Tibull, which became the basis of his future work. He began to seek endless corrections from the Russian language of classical melodiousness.
Also, thanks to the patronage of his uncle, eighteen-year-old Konstantin began to serve as a clerk at the Ministry of Education. In 1805, his poem was published for the first time in the journal News of Russian Literature. He meets Petersburg poets - Derzhavin, Kapnist, Lvov, Olenin.
First wound and recovery
In 1807, the benefactor and the first adviser of Konstantin, his uncle, died. Perhaps, if he were alive, only he alone would have persuaded his nephew not to expose his fragile nervous system hardships and hardships of military service. But in March 1807, Konstantin Batyushkov volunteered for the Prussian campaign. He is wounded in the bloody battle of Heilsberg. He is sent for treatment first to Riga, and then released to the family estate. While in Riga, young Batyushkov falls in love with the merchant's daughter Emilia. This passion inspired the poet to write the poems "Memories of 1807" and "Recovery".
War with Sweden. mental trauma
Having recovered, Konstantin Batyushkov in 1808 again sent as part of the Jaeger Guards Regiment to the war with Sweden. He was a courageous officer. Death, blood, loss of friends - all this was hard for Konstantin Nikolayevich. His soul did not harden in the war. After the war, the officer came to rest in the estate to the sisters Alexandra and Varvara. They noted with alarm that the war had left a heavy imprint on the unstable psyche of his brother. He became overly impressionable. He had occasional hallucinations. In letters to Gnedich, his friend in the service in the ministry, the poet writes directly that he is afraid that in ten years he will completely go crazy.
However, friends tried to distract the poet from painful thoughts. And they partially succeed. In 1809 Batyushkov Konstantin Nikolayevich plunged into the Petersburg salon and literary life. A short biography will not describe all the events that happened in the life of the poet. This time is marked by personal acquaintances with Karamzin, Zhukovsky, Vyazemsky. Ekaterina Fedorovna Muravyova (the widow of a senator who once helped Batyushkov) brought her cousin together with them.
In 1810 Batyushkov retired from military service. In 1812, with the help of friends Gnedich and Olenin, he got a job as an assistant curator of manuscripts in the St. Petersburg Public Library.
War with Napoleonic France
At the beginning of the Patriotic War with France, a retired officer Batyushkov Konstantin Nikolayevich tried to get into the active army. He performs a noble deed: the poet accompanies the widow of his benefactor E. F. Muravyova to Nizhny Novgorod. Only from March 29, 1813, he serves as an adjutant in the Rylsky Infantry Regiment. For courage in the battle of Leipzig, the officer is awarded the 2nd degree. Impressed by this battle, Batyushkov writes the poem “The Shadow of a Friend” in honor of the deceased comrade I. A. Petin.
His work reflects the evolution of the poet's personality, from romanticism to match the Enlightenment to the greatness of the spirit of a Christian thinker. His poetry about the war (the poems "On the ruins of a castle in Sweden", "Shadow of a friend", "Crossing the Rhine") is close in spirit to a simple Russian soldier, it is realistic. Sincerely, without embellishing reality, Batyushkov writes. The biography and work of the poet, described in the article, are becoming more and more interesting. K. Batyushkov begins to write a lot.
Non-reciprocal love
In 1814, after a military campaign, Batyushkov returned to St. Petersburg. Here he will be disappointed: the beautiful Anna Furman, a pupil of the Olenins' house, does not reciprocate his feelings. Rather, she says "yes" only at the request of her guardians. But the scrupulous Konstantin Nikolaevich cannot accept such an ersatz love and, offended, refuses such a marriage.
He's awaiting a transfer to the Guards, but the bureaucracy is endless. Without waiting for an answer, in 1816 Batyushkov resigned. However, the years 1816-1817 are exceptionally fruitful for the poet in terms of creativity. He actively participates in the life of the literary society "Arzamas".
The period of revelation in creativity
In 1817, his collected works "Experiments in verse and prose" were published.
Batiushkov endlessly corrected his rhymes, achieving faceted words. The biography of this man's work began with his professional study of ancient languages. And he managed to find in Russian poetics the echoes of the rhymes of the Latin language and ancient Greek!
Batyushkov became the inventor of that poetic Russian language, which Alexander Sergeevich admired: "the syllable ... trembles", "the harmony is charming." Batyushkov is a poet who found a treasure, but could not use it. His life is clearly divided at the age of thirty into “before and after” by a black streak of paranoid schizophrenia, manifested in persecution mania. This disease was hereditary in his family on the mother's side. She also suffered from the eldest of his four sisters - Alexandra.
Progressive paranoid schizophrenia
In 1817, Konstantin Batyushkov plunged into spiritual anguish. The biography says that there was a difficult relationship with his father (Nikolai Lvovich), which ended in complete discord. And in 1817 the parent dies. This was the impetus for the poet's conversion to deep religiosity. Zhukovsky supports him morally during this period. Another friend, A. I. Turgenev, secured a diplomatic post for the poet in Italy, where Batyushkov resides from 1819 to 1921.
A strong psychological breakdown of the poet occurred in 1821. He was provoked by a boorish attack (libelous verses "B..ov from Rome") against him in the magazine "Son of the Fatherland". It was after this that stable signs of paranoid schizophrenia began to appear in his health.
Batyushkov Konstantin Nikolaevich spent the winter of 1821-1822 in Dresden, periodically falling into madness. The biography of his work will be interrupted here. Batyushkov's swan song is the poem "The Testament of Melchizedek."
The poor life of a sick man
The further life of the poet can be called the destruction of personality, progressive madness. at first, Muravyov's widow tried to take care of him. However, this soon became impossible: the attacks of persecution mania intensified. The following year, Emperor Alexander I appropriated his treatment in a Saxon psychiatric institution. However, four years of treatment had no effect. Upon arrival in Moscow, Konstantin, whom we are considering, feels better. Once he was visited by Alexander Pushkin. Shocked by the miserable appearance of Konstantin Nikolaevich, a follower of his melodic rhymes writes a poem "God forbid I go crazy."
The last 22 years of the existence of a mentally ill person passed at the house of his guardian, nephew G. A. Grevens. Here Batyushkov died during a typhus epidemic. The poet was buried at the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery in Vologda.
Conclusion
The work of Batyushkov in Russian literature occupies a significant place between Zhukovsky and the era of Pushkin. Later, Alexander Sergeevich would call K. Batyushkov his teacher.
Batyushkov developed the genres of "light poetry". In his opinion, its flexibility and smoothness can beautify Russian speech. Among the best elegies of the poet should be called "My genius" and "Tavrida".
By the way, Batyushkov also left behind several articles, the most famous - "Evening at Kantemir", "Walk to the Academy of Arts".
But the main lesson from Konstantin Nikolaevich, which was adopted by the author of "Eugene Onegin", was the creative need to first "survive with the soul" the plot of the future work, before taking up the pen.
Batyushkov Konstantin Nikolayevich lived such a life. A short biography, unfortunately, cannot cover all the details of his difficult fate.
