Ivan Kotlyarevsky, "Aeneid": history of writing and summary

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The modern Ukrainian language might 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, the Aeneid attracted readers not only with this, but also with a fun, exciting plot and bright, well-written characters.

Ivan Kotlyarevsky: short biography

Ivan Petrovich Kotlyarevsky was born in Poltava, in the family of a clerical official, in September 1769.

When the young man turned eleven, he was sent to study at the theological seminary. After studying, Ivan Kotlyarevsky, in order to earn his living, gave private lessons to the offspring of the local petty nobility. A little later, he got a job in the Poltava office and worked there for about four years.

During the Russian-Turkish war, Kotlyarevsky actively participated in the siege of Izmail and was even awarded an honorary order. Afterthe end of the war, he retired and returned to Poltava.

When Ivan Petrovich was over thirty, he got a job as a caretaker in one of the Poltava educational institutions for children from impoverished noble families who were unable to pay for their studies in gymnasiums worthy of their position.

During the French-Russian war of 1812, Kotlyarevsky actively participated in the defense of Poltava, obtaining permission to organize a Cossack regiment with the help of 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 decent repertoire, he took up writing himself. So two plays came out from under his pen: "Natalka-Poltavka" and "Moskal-Charivnik".

At the age of 69, Kotlyarevsky died. Buried in Poltava.

History of writing "Aeneid"

Even during military service, Ivan Petrovich had the idea to write a poem about the Cossacks. Knowing classical literature well, and also having the talent to rhyme perfectly, I decided to create my own composition based on the plot of the Aeneid by the ancient Roman poet Virgil.

Virgil's Aeneid had already been translated into Russian in a rather free style by the Russian writer Nikolai Osipov a few years earlier, which inspired Kotlyarevsky. However, Ivan Petrovich turned the main character Aeneas into a Cossack, and wrote the poem itself in ordinary colloquial speech, which no one had done before him in Ukrainian literature.

In 1798, the first three parts of the poem were published in St. Petersburg.

"Aeneid" by Kotlyarevskyinstantly gained popularity: not only its plot, but also the spicy humor, with which the poet generously provided 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 differ in style and humor from the first ones, they feel a certain “growing up” of Kotlyarevsky.

"Aeneid": a summary of the first, second and third parts

In the first part, the brave Cossack Aeneas, after the destruction of his native Troy, on the advice of his mother, the goddess Venus (his late father once helped her win a dispute with other goddesses), sets off with the Trojans to new lands to establish his kingdom there.

However, Juno, who hates the family of Aeneas (she was among the goddesses who lost to Venus), tries to do all sorts of mischief to the hero. But Venus, having complained to her father Zeus, finds out that Aeneas is destined for a great fate - he will become the founder of a great kingdom.

Meanwhile, Aeneas and his companions arrive in Carthage, where Queen Dido falls in love with the brave Cossack. In her arms, the hero forgets about everything: both the sad past and the great future. Then Zeus sends Mercury to him, who forces Aeneas to leave his beloved. Dido, unable to bear such a betrayal, commits suicide.

In Part 2, Juno tricks the Trojan women into burning ships while the men are feasting in Sicily. However, the gods send rain at the request of Aeneas, andsome of the ships remain intact. Soon, in a dream, his late father Anchises comes to Aeneas and asked to visit him in hell.

In the third part, Aeneas, after a long search and with the help of the Sibyl, finds his way to hell. Having seen enough of the horrors of the underworld and met the souls of the dead fellow countrymen there, as well as Dido and his father, the hero sets off again with expensive gifts and favorable prophecies.

Summary of the fourth, fifth and sixth parts of the Aeneid (written much later)

In the fourth part, Aeneas sails to the island of King Latinus. 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 ex-fiance - King Turn - with the assistance of the ubiquitous Juno, starts a war against Latina. Meanwhile, the insidious goddess turns Latina's wife against the Trojans by cunning, and they all prepare for war.

In the fifth part, Venus persuades the blacksmith god Vulcan to make a magnificent weapon for Aeneas. To win the war, the Trojans ask for help from the neighboring people. Juno warns Turnus of the timing of Aeneas' attack. And two Trojan warriors - Niz and Euryalus - secretly sneak into the enemy camp and kill many opponents, while dying themselves. Soon the Trojans succeed in putting Turnn to flight.

In the last part of the poem, Zeus learns about the tricks of all the gods and forbids them to interfere in the fate of Aeneas. However, Juno, having come to her husband Zeus, gave him a drink and put him to sleep. And then, with the help of cunning, she saved Turn from death. Aeneas negotiates with Turnus and Latino aboutfair duel, which should determine the outcome of the war. Juno is trying with all her might to destroy Aeneas, but Zeus catches her and forbids her to interfere, adding that after death Aeneas will be with them on Olympus. Aeneas honestly defeats Turnus and after some hesitation kills him.

Aeneid characters

The main character of the poem is the son of Venus and the king of Troy Anchises - Aeneas. He is a brave Cossack, a brave, resolute and skillful warrior, but human weaknesses are not alien to him. So, Aeneas is not averse to drinking and hanging out with friends.

He also has a passion for feminine beauty. Having started an affair with Queen Dido, Aeneas forgets about everything. But later he easily throws her on the orders of the gods. Despite all his shortcomings, when necessary, Aeneas is able to show both diplomacy and resourcefulness. It is around this hero that the entire poem "Aeneid" is built.

The rest of the characters in the poem are not so bright. Thus, the image of Dido embodies a classical woman.

She is smart, cheerful and hardworking, but being a widow, she dreams of a strong male shoulder. Having captured the heart of Aeneas, the queen began to behave like a wife in comedies: she was jealous and quarreled with him.

Kings Latin and Turn have opposite characters. The first is greedy and cowardly, trying to avoid war with all his might. The second, on the contrary, is bold, pompous and arrogant. This pomposity makes him easy to use by Juno.

The character of Latina's wife, Queen Amata, is of particular interest. A woman to match Turnu is just as proud and pompous. Butshe is incredibly smart and cunning. However, like Dido, when she falls in love, she starts doing stupid things.

Notable are the characters of two Trojan Cossacks - Niza and Euryalus. By sacrificing 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 characters-gods. The first of their host is the supreme goddess of Olympus, Juno, the main opponent of Aeneas.

She hates the main character with all her heart, dreaming of his lime. To achieve her goal, Juno is ready for anything and does not even stop at her husband's direct ban. However, despite all her tricks, the prophecy about Aeneas comes true.

Another heroine-goddess of the Aeneid is Venus. Being rather dissolute, the goddess at the same time behaves like a real caring mother. She goes to great lengths to help her Aeneas: she opposes Juno, seduces Vulcan, and even occasionally argues with Zeus.

Zeus in the "Aeneid" is depicted as a traditional boss - he likes to drink and relax. Despite all his warnings, the goddesses rarely listen to him, trying to get their way with roundabout ways, through bribes and connections.

Translation of the Aeneid into Russian

Today there is a lot of controversy 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, in fact, it was written in Ukrainian (Little Russian, as they said then), however, since he did not yet have a separate alphabet, the author used Russian letters.

And here is a full-fledged translation of Kotlyarevsky's Aeneid into Russian by I. Brazhnin.

By the way, do not confuse the work of Osipov and the one written by Kotlyarevsky. "Aeneid" for each of the authors is a separate, independent work. However, when writing, both Osipov and Kotlyarevsky used Virgil's poem as a primary source.

Years have passed, many words, phenomena, things and events mentioned in the Aeneid have lost their relevance, or even completely sunk into oblivion, so modern readers do not understand everything from what Kotlyarevsky described in his poem. "Aeneid" now seems to them just a cheerful poem with old curses. But at the same time, even today she remains beloved by all Ukrainians, and not only by them.