Jan Steen , 17th Century
Anacreontic poetry (from other Greek Ἀνακρέων - Anacreont ) is a lyrical genre, that is, originally performed to the sounds of lyre , poetry, singing the joy of a carefree life, sensual pleasures, all-encompassing fun [1] .
Content
General information
The genre was named after the ancient Greek lyricist Anacreont . The ease of content and form, the musicality of the poems provided the poet with popularity and a wide range of admirers. Imitation began in antiquity - at the time of Hellenism and the Roman Empire [2] .
The works of Anacreont are preserved only in fragments. For this reason, an example of anacreontic poetry was the work of followers, which fell into the late Greek collection "Anacreontica" ( lat. Anacreontea ) [3] .
It was first published in France by Henri Etienne in 1554 from a Latin translation and had the name "Odes of Anacreon" ( French Odes d'Anacréon ). The collection was based on two manuscripts of the 10th century, the origin of which remained unknown. The collection sometimes contains very elegant poems, in the style and spirit of Anacreont, nevertheless, overly emphasizing love or banquet joys. The subtle freshness of the original is often mixed with sugary, although sometimes recognized charming frivolity, not characteristic of Anacreont himself. This collection by Henri Etienne subsequently created fame for Anacreont and evoked repeated imitations in later literature.
To a large extent, it was thanks to the collection “Anacreontics” that the genre became popular in the European literature of the Renaissance and Enlightenment [3] . This was also facilitated by the then widespread enthusiasm for the philosophy of Epicurus .
Unlike the first followers of Anacreont, European authors for the most part do not adhere to the poetic size of the original, preserving only the theme and the spirit of his work [4] [5] .
In France, works within the framework of this tradition were created by Evarist Guys , Andre Chenier , Voltaire , Pierre Beranger , Guillaume Chollier ; in Italy, Louis-Victor Savioli ; in Germany - Johann Glame , Gotthold Lessing ; in England - Edmund Waller , John Gay .
The Imitation of the Ancients: Anacreont [6]
A.N. Maykov (1852)
On the day of the grape harvest
At the door of the open garden
We went to the holiday of Bacchus
And - Cupid's darling -
Old Man Anacreon
On hand carried with them.
There were many young men
Vigorous, bold, each with a sweetheart,
Everyone is brisk on the tongue;
But - the wine sparkled in the bowls -
We look - our beauties
The old man attracted everyone!
Decrepit, bald, all broken
Skull, covered with roses, -
How did they turn their heads?
And they sang to us in chorus
What we did not know how to love
As he once loved!
Anacreontic Poetry in Russia
The anacreontic tradition in Russian literature begins with Antiochus Cantemir , who published 55 poems of Anacreont in his own translation in 1736.
Around 1760, M. V. Lomonosov created the “Conversation with Anacreont” - a Russian arrangement of the five poems of Anacreont, each of which contains Lomonosov’s own poetic answer.
In 1804, G.R. Derzhavin published the collection Anacreontic Songs, where he placed the original poems, as well as transcriptions and translations from Anacreont, Sappho, and other Greek poets [7] .
Arrangements of Anacreont and imitation of varying degrees of liberty were created by many other Russian poets, for example, K. N. Batyushkov , A. A. Delvig , A. S. Pushkin , V. K. Trediakovsky , N. N. Yazykov [3] .
See also
- Anacreont
Notes
- ↑ Anacreontic // Poetry Dictionary. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia. Kvyatkovsky A.P., scientific. ed. I. Rodnyanskaya. 1966.
- ↑ Radzig S.I. History of ancient Greek literature. Textbook. - 5th ed. - M.: Higher School, 1982, 487 p.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Anacreontic poetry // History of Greek literature, ed. S.I. Sobolevsky and others, t. 1, M. - L., 1946
- ↑ Grenfell BP & Hunt AS The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Part II (London: The Egypt Exploration Fund, 1899) 49.
- ↑ West ML Greek Meter (Oxford: OUP, 1982) 31)
- ↑ Maykov A. N. Compositions in two volumes / Edited by F. Ya. Priyma. - M .: Pravda, 1984. - T. 1. - S. 128.
- ↑ Derzhavin G.R. Anacreontic songs / Edition prepared by G.P. Makogonenko, G.N. Ionin, E.N. Petrova. Repl. ed. G.P. Makogonenko. M .: Nauka, 1987.472 s.