Poet Gnedich Nikolai Ivanovich: biography, creativity and interesting facts

Gnedich Nikolai Ivanovich is a poet and publicist who lived in our country at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. The most famous for its translation into Russian of the Homeric Iliad, this version eventually became the reference one. The life, fate and work of the poet will be discussed in detail in this article.

Gnedich Nikolai Ivanovich: biography. Childhood

The future writer was born in Poltava on February 2, 1784. His parents came from ancient noble families, almost impoverished by that time. Little Nikolai lost his mother early, and then he almost lost his life - smallpox was a terrible disease in those days. It was the illness that disfigured Gnedich's face and deprived him of his eyes.

In 1793 the boy was sent to study at the Poltava Theological Seminary. Five years later it was decided to transfer the school together with the pupils to Novomirgorod from Poltava. But Ivan Petrovich, the father of Gnedich, took his son from the school and sent him to the Kharkov Collegium. In those years, this institution was considered the most prestigious Ukrainian school. Collegium future poet graduated in 1800, and then moved to a permanent residence in Moscow.

Here, together with his long-time friend Alexei Yunoshevsky, he was accepted as a boarder at the Moscow State University Gymnasium. But within a few months, the young man was transferred to the Faculty of Philosophy, which he brilliantly graduated in 1802.

First publications

In the university years Gnedich Nikolai Ivanovich approached the members of the Friendly Literary Society, which included A. Turgenev, A. Merzlyakov, A. Kaisarov. The poet also had a friendship with the playwright N. Sandunov. In these years, the young man is fond of tyrannical ideas, read by F. Schiller.

The 1802nd is commemorated for Gnedich as a joyous event - for the first time his translation is published. It was the tragedy "Abyufar", written by the Frenchman J. Ducis. At the same time, the original work of the writer - the story "Moritz, or the Victim of Vengeance" is published. And a year later there are two translations of Schiller - the novel "Don Corrado de Gerera" and the tragedy "The Conspiracy of Fiesco."

But money, despite the fact that it began to print, still not enough, so plans to continue studying have to leave. In 1802, the poet moved to St. Petersburg. Here he is arranged by an official in the department of public education. This place Gnedich will occupy until 1817.

All his free time, the writer pays for his studies in theater and literature. In this area, he achieved considerable success, and also brought together an acquaintance with Pushkin, Krylov, Zhukovsky, Derzhavin and several future Decembrists.

Service

Gnedich Nikolai Ivanovich quickly gained fame as an excellent poet and translator. This glory opened before him the homes of many high-ranking and notable people of Petersburg, among them Olenin and Stroganov. Thanks to the patronage of these people, the writer in 1811 became a member of the Russian Academy, and then appointed to the post of librarian of the Imperial Public Library, where he was in charge of the department of Greek literature.

Soon Gnedich Nikolai Ivanovich became close friends with Olenin. They were united by a common interest in the theater and the ancient world. This greatly changed the material and official position of the poet.

Most of all these years the writer pays time to work in the library. By 1819, he compiled a catalog of all the books that were in his department, and recorded them in a special sheet. In addition, Gnedich often made presentations at library meetings.

Collection of books

In his life, Gnedich NI was naive and simple-minded. The biography of the writer says that his only passion was literature and books. The first helped him to obtain the title of academician and the rank of state councilor. As for the books, Gnedich collected in his personal collection about 1250 rare, and sometimes unique volumes. After the death of the poet, they all retired to the Poltava Gymnasium by testament. After the revolution, the books got to the Poltava library, and then some of them were transported to Kharkov.

In 1826, Gnedich was awarded the title of corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Throughout his life he was engaged in translating works of Voltaire, Schiller, Shakespeare.

Disease and death

Gnedich Nikolai Ivanovich is a fine poet, appreciated by his contemporaries. But not everything in his life was so rosy. Diseases that began in childhood, did not leave him. The writer traveled several times to the Caucasus, famous for its mineral waters. But it only helped for a while. And in 1830 the ailments exacerbated with renewed vigor, besides, they added a sore throat. Treatment in Moscow with artificial mineral waters had no effect. Despite his state of health, in 1832 the poet managed to prepare and publish a collection of poems.

In 1833, the writer falls ill with the flu. The weakened organism does not withstand a new disease, and on February 3, 1833, the poet dies at the age of 49. This concludes with a brief biography. Gnedich Nikolai was buried in St. Petersburg on the Tikhvin Cemetery. In the last way he was accompanied by Pushkin, Krylov, Vyazemsky, Olenin, Pletnev and other prominent literary figures of the time.

Creation

At the heart of the writer's lyrics was always the idea of a nationality. Gnedich Nikolai Ivanovich strove to portray the ideal of a harmonious and working man. His hero was always full of passions and freedom-loving. This is the reason for such a huge interest of the poet to Shakespeare, Ossian and ancient art in general.

Homeric characters seemed Gnedich embodiment of the heroic people and patriarchal equality. The most famous of his works were "Fishermen", in which the writer combined Russian folklore with Homeric stylistics. No wonder this idyll is considered the best original creation of Gnedich. Even Pushkin, in a note to his "Eugene Onegin," quoted lines from this work, in particular the description of the white Petersburg nights.

Among the writings of the writer is the following:

• "Beauty of Ossian".
• "Dormitory".
• "Peruvian to the Spaniard."
• "To friend".
• "On the grave of the mother."

The Iliad

In 1807, Gnedich Nikolay Ivanovich took up the translation of the Iliad. The verses were written with a hexameter, which was close to the original. In addition, it was the first Russian verse translation of Homer. The work lasted more than 20 years, and in 1829 the full version of the translation was published. Labor had a huge socio-cultural and poetic significance. Pushkin called it "a great feat."

The very idea of translation came to Gnedich in his distant childhood, when he first read the work of Homer. Before him, many well-known writers were involved, including Lomonosov and Trediakovsky. But no one attempt was successful. This state of affairs gave Gnedich's translation even more weight and significance.

Interesting Facts

Gnedich Nikolai Ivanovich lived a rather amazing life. A brief biography of the writer can be composed only of interesting events that happened to him:

• Olenin at one time introduced Gnedich as a famous and excellent interpreter in the salons of Grand Duchess Catherine and Empress Maria Feodorovna. The acquaintance with the reigning person became decisive for the poet. Thanks to her help, the writer was given a lifetime pension, so that he could devote his entire time to translating the Iliad.
• Gnedich was the first who began to publish the poems of a young and unknown Pushkin.
• The writer was awarded two orders for his literary activities - Vladimir IV degree and Anna II degree.

Today, not every schoolchild knows who Nikolai Gnedich was and what contribution he made to Russian literature. Nevertheless, his name was preserved in the centuries, and the translation of the Iliad is still considered unsurpassed.