“The Caucasus” is a poem in Ukrainian by T. G. Shevchenko (1814-1861). The poem has been translated into many languages, at least 74 translations exist [1] .
Content
- 1 History of creation and general characteristics
- 2 Study and evaluation
- 3 Impact
- 4 Translators
- 5 See also
- 6 notes
- 7 Literature
History of creation and general characteristics
Dated November 18, 1845. Written in c. Viewer of the Pereyaslavsky district of the Poltava province . Dedicated to Shevchenko's friend, Jacob de Balmen , who died in the Caucasian War (1829-1864) in July of that year. A year before his death, de Balmen acted as an illustrator of the manuscript " Kobzar " [2] , and also created the drawing "The Hundredth and Last Conquest of the Caucasus." [3]
The epigraph to the poem is a quote from the prophet Jeremiah (9.1): "Who will give my head water, And comb my source of tears, And I cry day and night, for the beaten."
Using the image of Prometheus as a starting point, the poem sets forth a sarcastic reflection on the theme of imperial politics towards the peoples of the Caucasus. Shevchenko opposes the cynical reduction of God to the role of a strategic patron of despotism. [four]
Study and Evaluation
Ukrainian literary critic I.M. Dziuba (b.1931) draws a parallel between Shevchenko’s position and the words embedded by Lermontov (1814-1841) in the mouth of a Circassian addressing a captured Russian officer (Izmail Bay, ed. 1843) [5]
For what with an envious hand
Did you outrage our share?
Because we are poor and free
And we won’t give up our steppe
For the gold of fancy luxury;
For what we worship
What despise you coolly!
Don’t be afraid, speak bolder:
Why did you hate us
How rude
Ordinary people offended you?
Dziuba, on the other hand, compares the “Caucasus” with the poem “At the Monument to Dante” and the ode “To Italy” by Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837) [6] , the poem “William Tell” (1804) by Schiller , as well as with the ballad “Robber” of the Canadian poetess Indian origin Pauline Johnson (Tekahionvake, 1861-1913) [7] . According to the scientist, “there are few examples in the history of world literature so that a poetic work does not lose its political urgency and moral acuteness for a century and a half, sounds as if born of pain for the current state of humanity” [8] .
“With the inconceivability of his other contemporaries, Shevchenko rejected all socially-obligatory criteria from the arsenal of uninvited civilization, state expediency, patriotism, national and religious mission - and, introducing the“ human dimension ”, he left one criterion: human freedom and human life” (ibid., [9] ).
Academician K. S. Gamsakhurdia (1891-1975), a classic of Georgian literature, praised the poem [10] .
Impact
The poem inspired A. Ya. Sokol (1870-1939) to create the monument "Uninhibited Prometheus", which became the symbol of the city of Kamenskoye (formerly Dneprodzerzhinsk).
Translators
- Gulia, Dmitry Iosifovich (1874-1960)
- Zenkevich, Mikhail Alexandrovich (1886-1973)
- Antokolsky, Pavel Grigoryevich (1896-1978)
- Hungry (Epstein), Mikhail Semenovich (1903-1949)
- Blaginina, Elena Alexandrovna (1903-1989)
See also
- Britaev, Elbyzdyko Tsopanovich (1881-1923), the historical drama "Khazbi" (1907).
Notes
- ↑ "Caucasus" by the peoples of the Caucasus | Central mіsі bіblіoteka im. T. G. Shevchenko for children (Unavailable link) . Date of treatment February 8, 2014. Archived February 23, 2014.
- ↑ Dziuba 130 (according to web publication [1] )
- ↑ Balmen J.P. A story. - Kharkov, 1983: 11; Dziuba, 100.
- ↑ Dziuba, 141.
- ↑ Dziuba, 128-9.
- ↑ Dziuba, 133-4.
- ↑ Dziuba, 152-3.
- ↑ Dziuba, 129-30.
- ↑ Dziuba, 147.
- ↑ Dziuba, 149.
Literature
- Dziuba, Ivan Mikhailovich. “We only hurt our eyes ...” “The Caucasus” by Taras Shevchenko against the backdrop of a lasting past (On the 150th anniversary of the writing of the poem: November 18, 1845) // “Friendship of Peoples” 1996, No. 1