Not often recalled poet Y.P. Polonsky (1819–1898) created many works not only in poetry, but also in prose. However, the main thing in his romantic work was a romance. The poet is alien to all loud, but not indifferent to the fate of the motherland. He himself most of all appreciated the "Bell".
Small homeland
In the quiet Ryazan, in a small provincial town, on the night of December 6 to 7, 1819, a baby was born, who two weeks later was called Yakov’s baptism. His aunts were at the ball at the Governor-General, but, having learned that their sister had successfully resolved in childbirth, left the ball to bring their congratulations. The Polonsky family was ancient, having left Poland to enter the service of Ivan the Terrible. The Polonskys had a coat of arms, on the azure background of which a star with six horns, a helmet with peacock feathers and a young month were depicted. The father of the future poet could not get a good education, but he learned to read and write, and the writing was beautiful. He was a petty official, and a large family demanded exorbitant expenses for him. Jacob was the eldest child, and besides him there were six more children. In the last birth, his mother, Natalya Yakovlevna, died. The child was seriously worried about her death, and it seemed to him that his mother was buried alive. As a child, Yakov Polonsky often had terrible dreams. He was scared. Imagination began to work, poetic images appeared. The older brother told the tales he had invented to the younger ones and began to write poetry secretly from everyone.
After gymnasium
Yakov Polonsky graduated from the Ryazan gymnasium in 1838. By this time, his father was completely broken by the death of his beloved wife and, after serving three years in the Caucasus, returned to his hometown. He did not interfere in the affairs of children. But Jacob had an event that he himself considered an important milestone in his life. In 1837, Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich visited Ryazan, accompanied by V.A. Zhukovsky. Young Jacob Polonsky presented one of his creations to the court of the future emperor. This meeting connected all the thoughts of a young man with literary activity. From 1838 to 1844, Yakov Polonsky studied at Moscow University. He is in dire poverty, because the family is completely ruined, and you can only rely on your own strength. It was necessary to rent housing in slums, to earn a living by tutoring and private lessons. There were days when there was nothing to dine. I had to do with tea and kalach.
During this period, he became closely acquainted with A. Grigoriev and A. Fet, who appreciated the talent of the young poet. Inspired, he prints in the "Notes of the Fatherland" in 1840 the poem "The Holy Gospel solemnly sounds." The circle of Moscow acquaintances is expanding. In the house of a descendant of the Decembrist,
Nikolai Orlov, Yakov Polonsky met with Professor T. Granovsky, philosopher P. Chaadaev. In the same place in 1942 he made friends with Ivan Turgenev for life, with whom he would maintain correspondence.
Gamma Collection
In 1844, Pyotr Yakovlevich Chaadaev actively collects by subscription money for the publication of the first book of the young poet. The lyrics of M. Lermontov left an imprint on her. But V. Belinsky as a whole gives a favorable review. The critic noted in verse "a pure element of poetry." N. Gogol rewrites for himself one of the poems. V.A. Zhukovsky gave the budding poet a watch, showing that he appreciates his talent. Lev Sergeyevich Pushkin presented him with a truly priceless gift - a briefcase belonging to his brilliant brother.
Odessa
After graduating from the university and moving to the south, the life and biography of Jacob Polonsky are filled with acquaintances with people of the Pushkin circle. Harmony and clarity characterize the second collection of the poet, “Poems of 1845”. However, V. Belinsky did not find in him a single successful work.
Caucasus
The desire to get new impressions leads Yakov Petrovich to Tiflis in 1846. He serves in the office of the governor M.S. Vorontsova and at the same time works in the newspaper "Transcaucasian Vestnik" as an assistant editor. In it, he is printed. He tries to work on the exotic Caucasian material in the traditional genre of ballads and poems. At the same time, he uses the less common difference in sizes. In 1849, the poet released the collection "Sandazar". But in 1851 he came to Russia, as he learns about his father’s serious illness.
Petersburg
So, the biography of Jacob Polonsky tells about his return to Russia, where he is warmly received by readers and writers. But he does not have material well-being. In 1857 he was forced to become a repeater. In this capacity, he accompanies the family of A.O. Smirnova-Rosset, possessing an extremely unstable and difficult character, to Switzerland. But 38 years is not the age when you can endure the whims of employers. A few months later, he resigned from this post and visited Geneva, Rome, Paris.
Poet in love
In the capital of France, a “fatal meeting” took place, as the poet called it, with his future wife. This girl, Elena Ustyuzhskaya, was young, and lovers had to wait for weddings for about a year. In 1858 they got married and went to Petersburg. His chosen one considered in the future husband inner nobility. Alas, marriage was short-lived.
Their happiness lasted only two years. At first, he was overshadowed by the fall of Yakov Petrovich from shaking. He severely injured his leg, which did not give him rest until the end of his life, and he was forced to use crutches. Then a six-month-old son dies, and a few months later his wife dies. Here is a short biography of Jacob Polonsky related to his first marriage. A longing poet will pour out from the depths of his soul the poem "The Seagull", "Madness of grief", "When would your love ...".
Second marriage
It is impossible to exist for literary fees, and Yakov Petrovich sets to work on a committee of foreign censorship. 6 years after the collapse of his first marriage, he falls in love with the beautiful Josephine Rühlmann.
This novel ends with a marriage in which two sons and a daughter are born. A literary and musical salon is being created at his home, in which the color of the intelligentsia of St. Petersburg is going to gather on Fridays: poets, prose writers, composers, painters, critics. Here the cultural life of the capital is seething. With this, a brief biography of Jacob Polonsky in our presentation is already approaching completion. In honor of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of literary activity, Polonsky was solemnly awarded a silver wreath, and the
Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov dedicated a poem to him.
Romances in the words of Polonsky
A romantic who tried to respond to socio-political issues, however, in our minds is associated with romance. Jacob Polonsky, whose poetry was loved by many Russian composers, is familiar to many, first of all, in the words "My bonfire is shining in the fog." Here is a list of romances in his words, far, far incomplete:
- Composer E.F. Headmaster:
Bird: “The air smells clean”;
Waltz “Ray of Hope”;
Prayer: “Our Father! Hear the son with a prayer ... ”
Meeting: "Yesterday we met ...";
Music: “And these wonderful sounds float and grow ...”;
Dissonance: "Let by the will of fate ...".
Duma: "The holy gospel solemnly sounds ...";
Loss: "When a premonition of separation ...".
"Outside the window in the shadows flickers."
By the way, for P. Tchaikovsky, Polonsky wrote the libretto of the opera Cherevichki. In addition to such a small number of romances mentioned in this article, one can turn to the works of I. Bunin , who put a line from the poem by Y. Polonsky in the title of one of his stories, namely, “In One Familiar Street”.
Polonsky died at the age of 78, was buried near Ryazan. And now he is reburied in the Ryazan Kremlin. All the poems of Polonsky Yakov Petrovich found a lively response from contemporaries and the next generation of symbolists, especially A. Blok.
In Soviet times, not a single (!) Work was published devoted to his life and work. Now in Ryazan, local historians are correcting this situation by issuing monographs, articles and books that return to us the undeservedly forgotten poet, who left a great creative legacy.