Derjavine, poète russe

Anguélina Vatchéva : Derjavine, the Russian poet. G. R. Derjavine (1743-1816), who played a public role under four sovereigns, was a leading figure in Russian literary life. This article studies mainly his contribution to poetry as the last great representative of classicism, who drew on the inheritance of both Lomonossov and Soumarokov. It emphasizes the originality of his odes, in particular the most famous, Felitza (1763), in which the Russian national tradition is combined with a modern opening onto Western culture. Deijavine is thus seen as a great philosopher poet, half-way between Lomonossov' s lyrical meditation and the generation of 19th century romantics, and particularly famous for his anacreontic poetry. At the end of his life, he played a conciliatory role in the literary quarrel between the Neoclassicists and the Sentimentalists.Vatcheva Anguélina. Derjavine, poète russe. In: Dix-huitième Siècle, n°27, 1995. L'Antiquité. pp. 467-479