Among Russian writers of the 19th century there are poets and prose writers whose work does not have such a value as a contribution to the Russian literature of titans like Pushkin, Gogol or Nekrasov. But without them, our literature would lose its multicolor and versatility, breadth and depth of reflection of the Russian world, thoroughness and completeness of the study of the complex soul of our people.
A special place among these masters of the word is occupied by the poet and novelist
Polonsky. Yakov Petrovich became a symbol of the relationship of the great Russian writers who lived at the beginning and at the end of the nineteenth century.
A native of Ryazan
My bonfire is shining in the fog
Sparks go out on the fly ...
The author of these lines from a song that has long been considered popular, was born in the very center of Russia, in the provincial Ryazan. The mother of the future poet, Natalia Yakovlevna, came from the old Kaftyrev family, and his father was an impoverished nobleman who served in the office of the Ryazan governor-general Pyotr Polonsky. Yakov Petrovich, born in early December 1819, was the eldest of their seven children.
When Yakov was 13 years old, his mother passed away, and his father, having received an appointment to a government post, left for Yerevan, leaving his children in the care of his wife's relatives. By that time, Yakov Petrovich Polonsky was already admitted to the First Men's Gymnasium of Ryazan, which was one of the centers of the cultural life of a provincial city.
Meeting with Zhukovsky
To rhyme in the years when the genius of Pushkin was at the zenith of fame was commonplace. Among those who were distinguished by a clear penchant for poetic creativity, while displaying extraordinary abilities, there was also a young schoolboy Polonsky. Yakov Petrovich, whose biography is full of significant meetings and acquaintances with the best writers of Russia of the 19th century, often recalled a meeting that had a great influence on his choice of the writing field.
In 1837, the future emperor Alexander II visited Ryazan. For the meeting of the Tsarevich in the walls of the gymnasium, Polonsky, on behalf of the director, wrote a poetic greeting in two verses, one of which was to be performed by the choir to the tune “God Save the Tsar!”, Which became the official anthem of the Russian Empire only 4 years before. In the evening, after a successful event with the participation of the heir to the throne, the director of the gymnasium hosted a reception at which the young poet met the author of the text of the new hymn, Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky.
The famous poet, mentor and close friend of the great Pushkin praised Polonsky's poems. The day after the departure of Alexander, Yakov Petrovich was even awarded a golden watch on behalf of the future tsar. The praise of Zhukovsky strengthened Polonsky in his desire to devote his life to literature.
University of Moscow
In 1838, he became a student at the law faculty of Moscow University. Contemporaries have always noted the amazing sociability, internal and external attractiveness, which distinguished Polonsky. Yakov Petrovich quickly made acquaintances among the most advanced figures of science, culture and art. Many Moscow acquaintances of university time became for him real friends for life. Among them are the poets Afanasy Fet and Apollon Grigoriev, historians Sergey Solovyov and Konstantin Cavelin, writers Alexei Pisemsky and Mikhail Pogodin, Decembrist Nikolai Orlov, philosopher and publicist Peter Chaadaev, great actor Mikhail Schepkin.
In those years, a close friendship was born between Polonsky and Ivan Turgenev, who appreciated each other's talents for many years. With the help of friends, the first publications of Polonsky took place - in the journal "Domestic Notes" (1840) and in the form of a poetic collection "Gammas" (1844).
Despite the fact that the first experiments of the young poet were positively received by critics, in particular Belinsky, his hopes of living through literary work turned out to be naive dreams. Student years Polonsky passed in poverty and need, he was forced to constantly look for private lessons and tutoring. Therefore, when the opportunity arose to get a place in the office of the Caucasian governor Count Vorontsov, Polonsky left Moscow, barely graduating from a university course.
On my way
Since 1844, he first lives in Odessa, then moves to Tiflis. At this time, he met with his brother Pushkin Lev Sergeyevich, collaborating in the newspaper "Transcaucasian Herald". His poetry collections are published - Sazandar (1849) and Several Poems (1851). In the verses of that time, a special coloring is felt, inspired by the poet’s acquaintance with the customs of the highlanders, with the history of the struggle of Russia for approval on the southern borders.
The real extraordinary abilities of Polonsky to the fine arts were noticed during his studies at the Ryazan gymnasium, therefore, inspired by the unique landscapes of the Caucasus and its environs, he is engaged in drawing and painting. This hobby accompanies the poet throughout his life.
In 1851, Yakov Petrovich went to the capital, St. Petersburg, where he expanded his circle of literary acquaintances and worked hard on new poems. In 1855, another collection was published, his poems readily publish the best literary magazines - Sovremennik and Domestic Notes, but the fees cannot provide even a modest existence. He becomes the home teacher of the son of St. Petersburg governor Smirnov. In 1857, the family of a high-ranking official went to Baden-Baden, and with them went abroad and Polonsky. Yakov Petrovich travels a lot in Europe, takes drawing lessons from French artists, gets acquainted with many Russian and foreign writers and artists - in particular, the famous Alexander Dumas.
Personal life
In 1858, Polonsky returned to Petersburg with his young wife, Elena Vasilyevna Ustyuzhskaya, whom he met in Paris. The next two years were for Yakov Petrovich one of the most tragic in life. First, he receives a serious injury, from the consequences of which he will not be able to get rid of until the end of his life, moving only with the help of crutches. Then Polonsky’s wife gets sick with typhus and dies a few months later, and their newborn son dies.
Despite personal dramas, the writer works surprisingly hard and fruitfully, in all genres - from small lyric poems, opera librettos to large prose books of artistic content - his most interesting experiences in memoirs and journalism have remained.
The second marriage in 1866, Polonsky combined with Josephine Antonovna Rulman, who became the mother of their three children. She discovered the abilities of the sculptor and actively participated in the artistic life of the Russian capital. Literary and creative evenings began to be held in the Polonsky house, in which the most famous writers and artists of that time took part. These evenings continued for some time after the death of the poet, which followed on October 30, 1898.
Heritage
The legacy of Yakov Petrovich is great and is assessed as unequal. The main property of Polonsky’s poetry is its subtle lyricism, originating in romanticism enriched by the genius of Pushkin. It was not by chance that he was considered a faithful successor to the traditions of the great poet; it was not for nothing that the poems of Yakov Petrovich were often used in their romances by the most famous composers - Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Rachmaninov and many others. At the same time, even loyal connoisseurs of the poetic gift of Polonsky believed that there were not so many top achievements in his work.
In the last third of the 19th century, Russian thinkers divided into two camps - “Westerners” and “Slavophiles”. One of those who did not seek to express a clear commitment to one of the parties was Polonsky. Yakov Petrovich (interesting facts about his theoretical disputes with Tolstoy are in the memoirs of contemporaries) expressed more conservative ideas regarding Russia's growth into European culture, while largely agreeing with his friend, an obvious “Westerner” Ivan Turgenev.
He lived the life of a Russian writer, full of labor and ideas, receiving a blessing from contemporaries of Pushkin and remaining an acting poet when the star of the Blok had already risen. Indicative in this sense are the metamorphoses of the external appearance that Polonsky underwent. Yakov Petrovich, whose photo at the end of the century is already technically perfect, appears in recent portraits as a real patriarch, realizing the significance of the path traveled.