Vasily Trediakovsky
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Main otherScript error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters".Template:Wikidata image Template:Expand Russian Vasily Kirillovich Trediakovsky (Template:Langx; 5 March [O.S. 22 February] 1703 – 17 August [O.S. 6 August] 1769) was a Russian poet, essayist and playwright who helped lay the foundations of classical Russian literature.[1]
Biography
The son of a poor priest, Trediakovsky became the first Russian commoner to receive a humanistic education abroad, at the Sorbonne in Paris (1727–1730) where he studied philosophy, linguistics and mathematics.[1] Soon after his return to Russia, he became acting secretary of the Academy of Sciences and de facto court poet.
In 1735, Trediakovsky published A New and Brief Way for Composing of Russian Verses (Script error: No such module "Lang".), a highly theoretical work for which he is best remembered.[1] It discussed for the first time in Russian literature such poetic genres as the sonnet, the rondeau, the madrigal, and the ode.
In 1740, Trediakovsky received a physical beating at the hands of the imperial minister Artemy Volynsky. Volynsky was arrested on charges of conspiracy and misconduct, but Trediakovsky became, "a subject of constant mockery", according to Elif Batuman: "His very propensity for receiving physical abuse became a popular comic premise."[2]
In 1748, his A Conversation on Orthography (Script error: No such module "Lang".) appeared, which was the first study of the phonetic structure of the Russian language. He continued his advocacy of poetic reform in On Ancient, Middle, and New Russian Poetry (Script error: No such module "Lang".) in 1752.
Trediakovsky was also a prolific translator of classical authors, medieval philosophers, and French literature. His translations frequently aroused the ire of the censors, and he fell into disfavour with his Academy superiors and conservative court circles. In 1759, he was dismissed from the Academy. His last major work was a translation of François Fénelon's Script error: No such module "Lang". (1766; Script error: No such module "Lang".), which he rendered in Russian hexameters. His works marked the transition from syllabic versification to metric verse, more suited to the sound of the Russian tongue.
See also
- Mikhail Lomonosov, who created the basis of the modern Russian literary language