The modern Ukrainian language would probably not exist if it were not for Ivan Kotlyarevsky, who wrote the amazing humorous poem "Aeneid". Thanks to this work, the living language of the Ukrainian people was finally transferred to the book pages. However, not only this attracted the readers of Aeneid, but also a fun exciting plot and bright, well-written characters.
Ivan Kotlyarevsky: a brief biography
Ivan Petrovich Kotlyarevsky was born in Poltava, in the family of a clerical official, in September 1769.
When the young man was eleven, he was sent to study at a theological seminary. After studying, Ivan Kotlyarevsky, in order to earn a living, gave private lessons to the offspring of the local petty nobility. A little later he got a place in the Poltava office and worked there for about four years.
During the Russian-Turkish war, Kotlyarevsky actively participated in the siege of Ishmael and was even awarded an honorary order. After the war he retired and returned to Poltava.
When Ivan Petrovich was over thirty, he got a caretaker's place in one of the Poltava educational institutions for children from impoverished noble families who were unable to pay for their studies in high schools worthy of their status.
During the French-Russian war of 1812, Kotlyarevsky actively participated in the defense of Poltava, obtaining permission to organize a Cossack regiment by local youth.
After the war he became interested in theater. In 1816 he began to direct the free theater of Poltava. Due to the lack of a worthy repertoire, he himself took up writing. So two plays came out from under his pen: “Natalka-Poltavka” and “Moskal-Charivnik”.
At the age of 69, Kotlyarevsky passed away. He was buried in Poltava.
History of the writing of the Aeneid
Even during military service, Ivan Petrovich had the idea to write a poem about the Cossacks. Knowing quite well classical literature, and also possessing the talent to rhyme beautifully, I decided to create my own composition Kotlyarevsky based on the plot of the Aeneids of the ancient Roman poet Virgil.
Virgil’s “Aeneid” a few years earlier was already translated into Russian in a fairly loose style by Russian writer Nikolai Osipov, which inspired Kotlyarevsky. However, Ivan Petrovich turned the main character Aeneas into a Cossack, and wrote the poem itself in the usual colloquial speech, which no one had done before in Ukrainian literature.
In 1798, the first three parts of the poem were published in St. Petersburg.
The “Aeneid” of Kotlyarevsky instantly gained popularity: not only its plot, but also the piquant humor with which the poet generously supplied his work attracted readers. In addition, written in Ukrainian, it was exotic for the Russian-speaking population of the country.
The entire poem was published only after the death of the poet, in 1842. It is noteworthy that the last three parts are different in style and humor from the first, they feel a certain "growing up" Kotlyarevsky.
"Aeneid": a summary of the first, second and third parts
In the first part, the brave Cossack Aeneas, after the destruction of her native Troy, on the advice of her mother, the goddess Venus (his late father once helped her win a dispute with other goddesses) goes with the Trojans to new lands to establish his kingdom there.
However, Juno, who hates the Aeneas family (she was among the losers of
Venus goddesses), is trying to repair the hero with all kinds of dirty tricks. But Venus, having complained to
Father Zeus, finds out that Aeneas has a great destiny - he will become the founder of a great kingdom.
Meanwhile, Aeneas and his companions arrive in Carthage, where the Queen of Dido falls in love with a brave Cossack. In her arms, the hero forgets everything: the sad past and the great future. Then Zeus sends Mercury to him, which forces Aeneas to leave his beloved. Dido, not enduring such a betrayal, commits suicide.
In the second part, Juno cunningly forces Trojan women to burn ships while men feast in Sicily. However, the gods send rain at the request of Aeneas, and some of the ships remain intact. Soon in a dream, his late father Ankhiz came to Aeneas and asked to visit him in hell.
In the third part, Aeneas, after a long search and with the help of Sibyl, finds the way to hell. Having seen the horrors of the underworld and met there the souls of the dead compatriots, as well as Dido and his father, the hero with expensive gifts and favorable prophecies sets off again.
Summary of the fourth, fifth and sixth parts of the Aeneid (written much later)
In the fourth part, Aeneas comes to the island of King Latina. Here he makes friends with him, and he plans to pass off his beautiful daughter Lavinia as a pleasant new neighbor. However, the girl’s former groom - King Thurn - with the assistance of the ubiquitous Juno, begins a war against Latina. Meanwhile, the cunning goddess cunningly sets up Latina's wife against the Trojans, and they are all preparing for war.
In the fifth part, Venus persuades the god-smith Vulcan to make a magnificent weapon for Jeneus. To win the war, the Trojans ask for help from the neighboring people. Juno warns Thurn about the start time of the Aeneas attack. And two Trojan soldiers - Bottom and Euryal - sneak secretly into the enemy camp and kill many opponents, while dying themselves. Soon the Trojans manage to flee Thurn.
In the last part of the poem, Zeus finds out about the tricks of all the gods and forbids them to interfere in the fate of Aeneas. However, Juno, having come to the husband Zeus, gave her a drink and put him to sleep. And then, with the help of cunning, she saved from Turn's death. Aeneas negotiates with Thurn and Latin an honest duel, which should determine the outcome of the war. Juno is doing his best to destroy Aeneas, but Zeus catches her and forbids her to intervene, adding that after her death Aeneas will be with them on Olympus. Aeneas honestly defeats Thurn and, after some hesitation, kills him.
Aeneid characters
The protagonist of the poem is the son of Venus and the king of Troy Ankhiz - Aeneas. He is a brave Cossack, a brave, decisive and skillful warrior, but human weaknesses are not alien to him. So, Aeneas is not averse to having a drink and taking a walk with friends.
He is also an avid woman. Having twisted an affair with Queen Dido, Aeneas forgets everything. But later, with ease, throws her on the orders of the gods. Despite all its shortcomings, when necessary, Aeneas is able to show both diplomacy and resourcefulness. It is around this hero that the entire Aeneid poem is built.
The rest of the characters in the poem are not so bright. So, the classic woman is embodied in the image of Dido.
She is smart, cheerful and hardworking, but, remaining a widow, dreams of a strong male shoulder. Having seized the heart of Aeneas, the queen began to behave like a spouse in comedies: she was jealous and cursed with him.
Kings Latin and Thurn possess opposite characters. The first is greedy and cowardly, trying to avoid war by all means. The second, on the contrary, is bold, pompous and arrogant. Because of this pomp, he can easily be used by Juno.
Of particular interest is the character of the wife of Latina - Queen Amata. The woman to match Turnu is just as proud and pompous. But at the same time she is incredibly smart and cunning. However, like Dido, falling in love, begins to do stupid things.
Notable are the characters of two Cossack Trojans - Niza and Euryale. Having sacrificed their lives, they destroyed many enemies.
It is possible that when creating these images Kotlyarevsky used his memories of the Russian-Turkish war.
"Aeneid" is unthinkable without the main heroes of the gods. The first of their host is the supreme goddess Olympus Juno - the main opponent of Aeneas.
She hates the protagonist with all her heart, dreaming of his lime. To achieve her goal, Juno is ready for anything and does not even stop before her husband’s direct ban. However, despite all her tricks, the prophecy about Aeneas comes true.
Another Aeneid goddess is Venus. Being pretty slutty, the goddess at the same time behaves like a real caring mother. She does everything to help her Aeneas: she opposes Juno, seduces Vulcan and even sometimes argues with Zeus.
Zeus in "Aeneid" is depicted as a traditional boss - likes to drink and relax. Despite all his warnings, goddesses rarely listen to him, trying to get their way around by means of bribes and connections.
Translation of "Aeneids" in Russian
Today there is a lot of debate about the language in which Kotlyarevsky's Aeneid was written. So, some mistakenly believe that Ivan Petrovich first wrote his poem in Russian, and later made a translation. “Aeneid,” however, was actually written in Ukrainian (Little Russian, as they said then), however, since he did not yet have a separate alphabet, the author used the letters of Russian.
But the full translation of the "Aeneids" by Kotlyarevsky into Russian was made by I. Brazhnin.
By the way, do not confuse the work of Osipov and the one written by Kotlyarevsky. “Aeneid” in each of the authors is a separate, independent composition. However, when writing, both Osipov and Kotlyarevsky used Virgil's poem as the primary source.
Years passed, many words, phenomena, things and events mentioned in the "Aeneid" lost their relevance, or even completely sunk into oblivion, therefore, modern readers are not clear from what Kotlyarevsky described in his poem. "Aeneid" now seems to them just a merry poem with ancient curses. But at the same time, she still remains beloved by all Ukrainians, and not only them.