Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin (Гаври́ла Рома́нович Держа́вин, July 14, 1743 – July 20, 1816) was the greatest Russian poet before Alexander Pushkin. Although his works are traditionally assigned to the literary Classicism, his best verse is full of antitheses and conflicting sounds in the way reminiscent of John Donne and other Metaphysical poets. Portrait of Gavrila Derzhavin, as painted in 1811 by Vladimir Borovikovsky. ... July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... // Events February 14 - Henry Pelham becomes British Prime Minister February 21 - - The premiere in London of George Frideric Handels oratorio, Samson. ... July 20 is the 201st day (202nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 164 days remaining. ... 1816 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Aleksandr Pushkin was a Russian poet and a founder of modern Russian literature Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin (Russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Пу́шкин) (June 6 (May 26, O.S.), 1799 - February 10 (January 29, O.S.), 1837), Russian author, whom many consider the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. ... Classicism door in Olomouc, The Czech Republic. ... John Donne John Donne (pronounced Dun; 1572 – March 31, 1631) was a Jacobean metaphysical poet. ... The metaphysical poets were a loose group of British lyric poets of the 17th century, who shared an interest in metaphysical concerns and a common way of investigating them. ...

Life

Born and educated in Kazan, he rose from the ranks as a common soldier to the highest offices of state under Catherine the Great. He was the governor of Olonets (1784) and Tambov (1785), personal secretary to the Empress (1791), President of the College of Commerce (1794), and Minister of Justice (1802). He retired in 1803 and spent the rest of his life in the country estate at Zvanka near Novgorod, writing idylls and anacreontic verse. He was buried in the Khutyn Monastery near Zvanka, reburied by the Soviets in the Novgorod Kremlin and then reinterred at Khutyn. Kazan (Tatar Qazan, Казан; Russian Казань) is the capital city of Tatarstan and one of Russias largest cities. ... Catherine II of Russia Catherine II the Great (2 May 1729 — 6 November [O.S. 17 November] 1796), born Sophie Augusta Fredericka of Anhalt-Zerbst, — sometimes referred to as an epitome of the enlightened despot — reigned as Empress of Russia for more than three decades, from June 28, 1762 until... Komunalnaya Ulitsa, Tambov Tambov (Тамбо́в) is a city in Russia, administrative center of Tambov Oblast. ... A secretary is an office/administrative support position. ... The Justice Minister is a cabinet position in a government. ... Velikiy Novgorod (Russian: ) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the M10(E95) federal highway connecting Moscow and St. ... Anacreon (born ca. ... Khutyn Monastery of Saviours Transfiguration and of St. ... Kremlin (Кремль) is the Russian word for citadel or castle and refers to any major fortified central complex found in historical Russian cities. ...

Works

Derzhavin is best remembered for his odes, dedicated to the Empress and other courtiers. He paid little attention to the prevailing system of genres, and many a time would fill an ode with elegiac, humorous or satiric contents. In his grand ode to the Empress, for instance, he mentions searching for fleas in his wife's hair and compares his own poetry with lemonade. Ode is a form of stately and elaborate lyrical verse. ... A genre is a division of a particular form of art according to criteria particular to that form. ...

Unlike other Classicist poets, Derzhavin found delight in the carefully chosen details, like a colour of wallpaper in his bedroom or a poetical inventary of his daily meal. He believed that the French was a language of harmony, the Russian was a language of conflict. Although he relished harmonious alliterations, sometimes he would deliberately instrument his verse to the effect of cacophony. Alliteration is a stylistic device, or literary technique, in which successive words (more strictly, stressed syllables) begin with the same consonant sound or letter. ... The band Cacophony Cacophony - Sounding badly, antonym to harmony. ...

Derzhavin's major odes were the impeccable "On the Death of Prince Meschersky" (1779); the playful "Ode to Felicia" (1784); the lofty "God" (1785), which was translated into all languages of Europe; "Waterfall" (1794), occasioned by the death of Prince Potemkin, and "Bullfinch" (1800), a poignant elegy on the death of his friend Suvorov. His Serene Highness Prince Potemkin of Tauride Knyaz Grigori Alexandrovich Potyomkin (Potemkin) (Russian: Григо́рий Алекса́ндрович Потёмкин) (September 13, 1739 (NS: September 24) – October 5, 1791 (NS: October 16)) was a Russian general-field marshal, statesman, and favorite of Catherine II the Great. ... Monument to Suvorov as youthful Mars, the Roman god of war (1801). ...

In the 19th century, Nikolai Nekrasov professed to follow Derzhavin rather than Pushkin, and Derzhavin's line of broken rhythms was continued by Marina Tsvetaeva in the 20th century. Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov (November 28, 1821 - January 8, 1878 {O.S.: December 28, 1877}) was a Russian poet, best remembered as the long standing publisher of Современник (The Contemporary) (from 1846 until July 1866, when the journal was shut down by the government in connection with the arrest of its... Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva (Russian: ) (October 9, 1892 – August 31, 1941) was a Russian poet and writer. ...

Memorable lines

• Gde stol byl yastv, tam grob stoit (English: Where used to be a table full of viands, a coffin now stands)

• Ya tsar, - ya rab, - ya cherv, - ya bog (English: I'm a czar - I'm a slave - I'm a worm - I'm a God)

Lines found at Derzhavin's table after his death

14-year-old Pushkin reciting his poem before old Derzhavin in the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum (1911 painting by Ilya Repin).

• The current of Time's river
• Will carry off all human deeds
• And sink into oblivion
• All peoples, kingdoms and their kings.

• And if there's something that remains
• Through sounds of horn and lyre,
• It too will disappear into the maw of time
• And not avoid the common pyre... <lines broken>

Image File history File links Pushkin_derzhavin. ... Image File history File links Pushkin_derzhavin. ... Pushkin may refer to: People Aleksandr Pushkin - a famous Russian poet Apollo Mussin-Pushkin - chemist and plant collector Aleksei Musin-Pushkin - statesman, historian, art collector Other Pushkin, a town in Russia Pushkin Square - square in Moscow Pushkin Museum - fine arts museum in Moscow This is a disambiguation page — a navigational... Imperial Lyceum in Tsarskoe Selo near Saint Petersburg was founded by the Emperor Alexander I with the object of educating youths of the best families, who should afterwards occupy important posts in the Imperial service. ... Ilyá Yefímovich Répin (Илья́ Ефи́мович Ре́пин) (August 5, 1844 (Julian calendar: July 24) – September 29, 1930) was a leading Russian painter and sculptor of the Peredvizhniki artistic school. ...

Further reading

• Y. K. Grot. Life of Derzhavin. SPb, 1883 - great biography by a first-rank scholar
• V. F. Khodasevich. Derzhavin. Berlin, 1931 - a literary masterpiece in its own right.

Yakov Karlovich Grot, R Яков Карлович Грот (1812-1893), was a nineteenth-century Russian philologist of Swedish extraction who worked at the University of Helsingfors. ... Vladislav Khodasevich and Nina Berberova in Sorrento in 1925 Vladislav Felitsianovich Khodasevich (Russian: Ходасевич Владислав Фелицианович) (1886-1939) was an influential Russian poet and literary critic who presided over the Berlin circle of Russian emigre litterateurs. ...

See also

Let the sound of victory sound! Grom pobedy, razdavajsya! (Гром победы, раздавайся!, English: Let the thunder of victory sound) was an unofficial Russian national anthem in the late 18th—early 19th century. ...

External links

• Works by Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin at Project Gutenberg
• Illustrated timeline