Maykov Apollon Nikolaevich - a famous Russian poet. He lived in the 19th century (1821-1897). The creative heritage of this poet is of interest in our time, which speaks of his undoubted talent.
Origin of A. N. Maikov
It should be said that Apollon Maykov was not the only talented representative of his family name. The ancient family of the poet was rich in talented people. In the 15th century, the famous Russian theologian Neil Sorsky lived, and during the time of Catherine the poet Vasily Maikov created.
The father of our hero was an academician of painting. The remaining members of his family also belonged to the creative intelligentsia. His mother is a translator and poetess, brother Valerian is a publicist and literary critic, and Leonid, another brother of Apollo, is a publisher and historian of literature.
Childhood and years of youth, the first book of poems
Apollon Nikolaevich spent his childhood on an estate belonging to his father. It was located near the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The Maykov family moved to St. Petersburg in 1834. Apollo as a child was fond of both literature and painting. However, myopia prevented him from following in the footsteps of his father. In the first prose experiments of Maykov, Gogol’s influence is visible. Then he became interested in the poetry of Apollo Mikov. His biography of this period was also noted by his studies at St. Petersburg University, at the Faculty of Law. Upon graduation, Apollon Nikolaevich published the first book of his poems. This important event happened in 1842.
A trip abroad, new poems
In the same year, Apollo Maykov went abroad. Here he stayed for about two years. Maykov listened to lectures by famous scientists in Paris. While in Rome, he took part in the revelry of Russian artists, wrote poetry, made sketches, went horseback riding in the Roman valley. The result of the impressions was Maikov's poem series "Essays in Rome" (published in 1847). It was during his life in Italy in the poet's work that the first scrapping was indicated. Apollon Maikov broke with anthological poetry and began to strive for the so-called poetry of thought and feeling. Maikova is no longer interested in old times. He decided to turn to the present. As a result, portraits of the inhabitants of Rome appeared (Lorenzo, "Capuchin", "The Pauper").
Homecoming
Returning to his homeland, the poet began to work in the Rumyantsev Museum as an assistant librarian. In the second half of the 1840s, his circle of contacts included Nekrasov, Grigorovich, Turgenev, Belinsky. Apollon Maykov was at that time influenced by a natural school. The poet was published a lot in the "Domestic Notes". In Nekrasov's Petersburg Collection in 1846, his poem Mashenka appeared. A little earlier, another poem was created, "Two Fates", which tells the story of a "superfluous" person.
Connection with Petrashevists and the editors of Moskvityanin
Apollo Nikolaevich in those years was ideologically close to Westernism. He got involved in the Petrashevsky movement through his brother Valerian. However, he was soon oppressed by their constant criticism of the government. Maikov saw utopianism in the Petrashevsky movement, "a lot of egoism", "a lot of nonsense" and "little love."
Surviving the crisis, Apollon Nikolayevich got to the editorial office of Moskvityanin. Here he unexpectedly found not only participation, but also support for his views. Maikov denied the principles of civilization in Western Europe. This thought went through his entire collection “1854”, which accurately reflected Maykov’s worldview at that time. Another cross-cutting theme of the book was the historical mission of the Russian state, which blocked the path to the West from the hordes of Batu and thereby prevented the death of European civilization (Clermont Cathedral, etc.). Then Maykov became a convinced monarchist. He believed in the greatness of Nicholas I.
Creativity of the 1850s
As happens with every real poet, the work of Maykov in the 1850s is much wider than ideological attitudes. He created works on a social theme (the idyll "Little Fool", the cycle "Worldly Thoughts"), poems of an ideological and political nature. At the same time, Maikov wrote poems that continued the anthological and aesthetic principles of his early poetry. We are talking about such cycles as "Cameos" and "Fantasy". At the end of 1850 cycles of "Home", "In the wild", "In the rain", "Spring", "Haymaking" appeared. In these works, Maykov’s former harmonic view of nature is still felt. However, now he manifests himself in sketches of rural landscapes of Russia.
"Autumn"
In 1856 he created one of the most famous poems of Apollo Mikes. “Autumn,” he called him. From a young age, the poet was fond of hunting, but often found himself thinking that he was much more pleased with the usual walk in the forest without greyhound dogs and a gun. He really loved to rake the leaves with his foot, to hear the crackle of twigs ... However, in the autumn, the forest is deprived of mystery and mystery, since it “tied the last flower”, “the last nut was ripped”. And this world creates in the poet hitherto unknown feelings ...
Sea expedition
The Italian theme reappeared in the work of Apollon Nikolaevich in 1859. This was due to the fact that he, along with other researchers, made a sea expedition, visiting the islands of the Greek archipelago. The ship on which the voyage was carried out did not enter Greece. He had to linger in Naples. Therefore, instead of one cycle, as Maikov Apollon Nikolaevich was planning, it turned out two. "Neapolitan album" was created according to Italian impressions. This is a kind of story in poems, the theme of which is the life of the people in Naples. As a result of studying the culture and history of Greece, “New Greek songs” appeared (“The Swallow Rushed”, “Lullaby”, etc.).
One of his most famous poems is "Lullaby ...". Apollo Maykov created this work in 1860. More than 20 composers at one time wrote music for him. Among them are A. Chesnokov, A. Arensky, V. Rebikov, P. Tchaikovsky.
last years of life
In the last 25 years of life, Maykov was interested in the eternal questions of being. He reflected on the development of civilizations. The fate of our country, its past and present, its role in history also occupied an important place in Maykov’s thoughts at that time. In the 1880s, Apollon Nikolaevich also created a number of poems characterized by deep religiosity and the idea that religious humility is a distinctive feature of the Russian person ("Eternal night is approaching ...", "Leave, leave! ..", etc.).
Finally
Merezhkovsky in his book "Eternal Companions" wrote that Maikov Apollo is a poet whose life path was bright and even. There was no persecution, no enemies, no passions, no struggle in him. There were poems, books, travels, family joys, fame. Indeed, his biography was of little poetry: he did not die on a scaffold or in a duel, was not persecuted, he was not tormented by passion. At Apollo Maykov, everything external went inside. His real biography, true fate was his path from the Romans and Greeks to Russian reality, the history of peoples, the poetry of the Bible and the eternal questions of life.