A Survey of Russian Literature, with SelectionsHapgood, Isabel Florence
History
A Survey of Russian Literature, with Selections
Hapgood, Isabel Florence
Russian literature -- History and criticism
Ippolit Feodorovitch Bogdanovitch (1743-1803), who was developed under
the immediate supervision and patronage of Kheraskoff, belonged, by
education and his comprehension of elegance and of poetry, to a later
epoch--on the borderland between pseudo-classicism and the succeeding
period, which was ruled by sentimentalism. His well-known poem,
"Dushenka" ("Dear Little Soul"), was the first light epic Russian poem,
with simple, intelligible language, and with a jesting treatment of a
gay, playful subject. This subject Bogdanovitch borrowed from La
Fontaine's novel, "The Loves of Psyche and Cupid," which, in turn, was
borrowed from Apuleius.
The third writer of this group, Ivan Ivanovitch Khemnitzer (1745-1784),
the son of a German physician, was unknown during his lifetime; enjoyed
no literary fame, and cared for none, regarding his capacities and
productions as unworthy of notice. In 1779, at the instigation of his
friends, he published a collection of his "Fables and Tales." At this
time there existed not a single tolerable specimen of the fable in
Russian; but by the time literary criticism did justice to Khemnitzer's
work, Karamzin, and Dmitrieff had become the favorites of the public,
and Khemnitzer's productions circulated chiefly among the lower classes,
for whom his Fables are still published. His works certainly aided
Dmitrieff and Kryloff in handling this new branch of poetical literature
in Russia. His "The Metaphysician" still remains one of the greatest
favorites among Russian fables for cultivated readers of all classes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account