Russian poet Apollon Grigoryev: biography, creativity

19 century is not without reason called the golden age of Russian poetry. At this time, many great artists of the word created, including Apollon Grigoriev. His biography, outlined in this article, will give you a general idea of this talented person. Apollon Aleksandrovich Grigoriev (years of life - 1822-1864) is known as a Russian poet, translator, theatrical and literary critic, memoirist.

The Origin of AA Grigoriev

Apollo Alexandrovich was born in Moscow on July 20, 1822. His grandfather was a peasant who came to Moscow to work from a remote province. For zealous work in bureaucratic positions, this person received the nobility. As for the father of Apollon Grigoriev, he disobeyed the will of his parents and connected his life with the daughter of a serf coachman. Only a year after the birth of his son, the parents of Apollo were married, so the future poet was considered an illegitimate child. Apollon Grigoriev managed to get a personal nobility only in 1850, when he was in the rank of titular counselor. Thus, the noble title was restored.

Period of study, clerical work

The future poet received a home education. This allowed him to enroll immediately at Moscow University, bypassing the gymnasium. Here, at the Faculty of Law, he listened to the lectures of MP Pogodin, TN Granovsky, SP Shevyrev, and others. Our classmates were Ya. P. Polonsky and AA Fet. Together with them he organized a literary circle in which young poets read their works to each other. In 1842, Apollon Alexandrovich graduated from the university. After that, he worked in the library, and then became secretary of the Council. However, Grigoriev was not given clerical work - he was inaccurate in making protocols, he forgot to register them when issuing books.

First publications

Since 1843, Apollon Grigoriev began to publish. His poems were very active in the period from 1843 to 1845. This was facilitated by an unrequited feeling for AF Korsh. Many themes of Grigoriev's lyrics are explained precisely by this love drama - spontaneity and unbridled feelings, fatal passion, love-struggle. To this period is the poem "Comet", where the chaos of love feelings is compared with the poet's cosmic processes. These same moods are also present in the first prose work of Apollo Alexandrovich, executed in the form of a diary. The work is called "Leaflets from the manuscript of the wandering sophist" (written in 1844, published in 1917).

Years of life in St. Petersburg

Weighed down by debts, devastated after a disappointment in love, Grigoriev decided to start a new life. He secretly went to Petersburg, in which he had no acquaintances. Grigoriev served in the Senate and in the Deanery Administration from 1844 to 1845, but then decided to leave the service in order to devote his time to literary work. Grigoriev wrote both dramas, poetry, prose, and theatrical and literary criticism. In the years 1844-1846. Apollo Alexandrovich cooperated with the "Repertoire and the Pantheon". In this journal, he became a writer. He published critical articles on the theater, reviews of performances, as well as many poems and dramas in the poems "Two Egoism" (in 1845). At the same time, his trilogy appeared, the first part of which was "The Man of the Future", the second part - "My acquaintance with Vitalin" and the final one - "Ophelia". Apollon Grigoryev also was engaged in translations (in 1846 appeared "Antigone Sophocles", "School of Molière husbands" and other works).

Returning to Moscow

Grigoriev had a broad nature, which forced him to change his convictions, to rush from extreme to extreme, to seek out new ideals and attachments. In 1847, disappointed in St. Petersburg, he returned to Moscow. Here he began to cooperate with the newspaper "Moscow City leaf". Among the works of this period, it is necessary to note 4 articles by Grigoriev "Gogol and his last book", created in 1847.

Marriage

In the same year, Apollon Alexandrovich bound himself by marriage. The wife of Apollon Grigoriev was sister AF Korsh. However, soon because of her frivolous behavior, the marriage was dissolved. Grigoriev again began a period of mental anguish and disappointment. Many works of this period of the poet's life probably would not have been created, except for the wife of Apollon Grigoriev and her frivolous behavior. At this time, Apollon Alexandrovich published a poetic cycle called "The Diary of Love and Prayer." In 1879 this cycle was published in full, after Apollon Grigoriev died. The poems in it are dedicated to a beautiful stranger and unrequited love for her.

Teaching activities, Grigoriev-critic

In the period from 1848 to 1857, Apollon Alexandrovich was a teacher. He led the law in several educational institutions. At the same time, he collaborated with magazines and created new works. In 1850, Grigoriev approached the editorial board of the Moskvityanin. He organized the "young editors" together with AN Ostrovsky. In fact, it was the criticism department of the Moskvityanin.

As a critic, Apollon Grigoriev at this time becomes the main figure in the theatrical circles. He preached naturalness and realism in acting and dramaturgy. Apollon Grigoriev appreciated many plays and plays. He wrote Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm" primarily as a work of art. The main advantage of the play was that the critic considered the author's ability to poetically and authentically depict Russian national life. Grigoriev noted the charm of the provincial way of life and the beauty of Russian nature, and the tragedy of the events depicted in the work practically did not touch.

Apollon Grigoriev is known as the author of the phrase "Pushkin is our everything". Alexander Sergeevich's work, of course, he put very highly. His reasoning is very interesting, in particular, what Apollo Grigoriev said about Eugene Onegin. The critic believed that the spleen of Eugene is connected with his natural innate criticism, which is characteristic of Russian common sense. Apollo Aleksandrovich said that society is not to blame for the disappointment and melancholy that engulfed Onegin. He noted that they do not stem from skepticism and bitterness, as in Childe Harold, but from Evgeny's talent.

In 1856 the Moskvityanin was closed. After that, Apollon Alexandrovich was invited to other magazines, such as "Contemporary" and "Russian conversation." However, he was ready to accept the proposal only under the condition of personal leadership of the critical department. Therefore, the negotiations ended only with the publication of poems, articles and translations of Grigoriev.

New love

In the years 1852-57. Grigoryev Apollon Aleksandrovich again experienced unrequited love, this time to L. Ya. Wizard. In 1857 appeared the poetic cycle "Struggle", which included the most famous poems by Grigoryev "The Gypsy Hungarian" and "Oh, say at least you are with me ...". AA Blok named these works as pearls of Russian lyrics.

Trip to Europe

Apollon Grigoriev, becoming a home teacher and tutor of Prince I. Yu. Trubetskoy, went to Europe (Italy, France). In the period from 1857 to 1858 he lived in Florence and Paris, visited museums. Returning home, Grigoriev continued to publish, since 1861, actively cooperating with the magazines "Epoch" and "Time", headed by FM and MM Dostoyevsky. M. Dostoevsky advised Apollo Aleksandrovich to create memoirs on the development of the modern generation, which was carried out by Apollon Grigoriev. His creativity includes "My literary and moral wanderings" - the result of understanding the proposed topic.

Philosophical and aesthetic views of Grigoriev

The philosophical and aesthetic views of Grigoriev were formed under the influence of Slavophilism (Khomyakov) and romanticism (Emerson, Schelling, Carlyle). He recognized the decisive importance of the religious and national-patriarchal principles in the life of the people. However, in his work this was combined with criticism of the absolutism of the communal beginning, Puritan judgments about literature. Apollo Aleksandrovich also defended the idea of the national unity of pre- and post-Petrine periods. He believed that both Westernism and Slavophilism are characterized by the limitation of historical life by the framework of schemes, abstract theorizing. Nevertheless, according to Grigoriev, the communal ideal of the Slavophiles is incomparably better than the Westernization program, which recognizes with its ideal uniformity (uniform humanity, barracks).

The outlook of Grigoriev is most fully reflected in the theory of organic criticism created by him. The very concept of organic criticism corresponds to the understanding of the organic nature of art, in which the various organic principles of life are synthetically embodied. In his opinion, art is a part of life, its ideal expression, and not just a copy of reality.

Features of poetic creativity

The poetic creativity of Grigoriev developed under the influence of Lermontov. Apollo Alexandrovich himself called himself the last romanticist. The motives for the disharmony of the world and the desperate suffering are the main motives in his work. They often spill into the elements of hysterical fun, binge. Many poems by Grigoriev (especially the cycle about the city) because of acute social orientation was difficult to publish. This was possible only in the Russian press abroad. In general, the poetic heritage of the author of interest to us is very uneven, but his best creations are distinguished by brightness and extraordinary emotionality.

last years of life

Apollon Grigoriev for his life was an atheist and mystic, Slavophile and Mason, an enemy polemicist and a good comrade, a drunken drunkard and a moral man. In the end, all these extremes broke him. Apollo Grigoryev was entangled in debt. In 1861 he had to stay in a debt prison. After that, he tried the last time to change his life, for which he went to Orenburg. Here Grigoriev was a teacher in the cadet corps. However, this trip only aggravated the state of the poet. In addition, once again there was a break with his wife, MF Dubrovskaya. Apollo Aleksandrovich was increasingly looking for oblivion in wine. Returning from Orenburg, he worked, but with interruptions. Grigoriev avoided rapprochement with literary parties, he wanted to serve only art.

The death of AA Grigoriev

In 1864, Apollo Aleksandrovich had to stay twice in the debt prison. Completely devastated by emotional experiences, Apollon Grigoriev died in apoplexy in St. Petersburg. His biography ends on September 25, 1864.