Authors

Discussion

In 1850, the poet and literary critic N.A. Nekrasov (1821-1878) published an article titled “Russian Minor Poets” in his journal “Sovremennik.” The text begins with the attention-grabbing phrase, “There are no poems,” and describes the state of Russian poetry in that era. In this article, Nekrasov focused on the works of F.I. Tyutchev (1803-1873) as one of the “few brilliant phenomena” of Russian poetry. Tyutchev’s poems were published in 1836 in the same journal “Sovremennik,” organized by A.S. Pushkin (1799-1837). The poems were published under the general heading “Poems Sent from Germany,” with the signature “F.T.” However, the works did not receive significant attention, and the poet was almost forgotten in the literary world. Owing to Nekrasov’s article, Tyutchev returned to the forefront of Russian poetry. Researchers of Tyutchev’s biographies have largely overlooked Nekrasov’s articles. However, its importance in the history of Russian poetry seems to be underestimated.

This report explores why Nekrasov emphasized Tyutchev’s poems. Quoting Tyutchev’s poetic lines in his article, Nekrasov pays special attention to the poem “Autumn Evening.” He compares the impact of this poem about autumnal nature with “the feeling that seizes a man at the bedside of a young dying woman with whom he was in love.” This original interpretation recalls not only Pushkin’s poem “Autumn,” but also Nekrasov’s own poetry about women.

In the article “Russian Minor Poets,” the literary worlds of the three poets seem to intersect. With these points in mind, we can identify the beginning of the dispute between so-called “Pure Poetry” and “Civic Poetry” in the article. In this report, we aim to show: 1) the foundation of nineteenth-century Russian poetry laid by Pushkin, 2) the universality of Tyutchev’s poetry, 3) the keen insight of the poet-critic Nekrasov, and, finally, 4) the importance of the article “Russian Minor Poets” in the history of Russian poetry.