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Thefirstfewdecades of the 19th century saw an explosion of talent that propelled Russian literature to new heights. The advances of this period, which is known as the Golden Age of Poetry, are most vividly seen in the work of Aleksandr Pushkin. Pushkin knew the Western European literary movements of his time. He was educated in the tradition of 18th-century classicism, which set down strict rules for literary form and style. He later absorbed and then moved beyond romanticism, a movement that emphasized individual creativity and the imagination. At the same time, Pushkin captured the vitality of native Russian traditions, creating an expressive and natural literary language. Although his life was brief he left examples of nearly every literary genre of his day: lyric poetry, narrative poetry, the novel, the short story, the drama, the critical essay, and even the personal letter.
Pushkin’smostrenowned work, the novel in verse Evgeny Onegin (1823-1831; Eugene Onegin), has a simple plot: It traces the unrequited love of a naive provincial girl, Tatiana, for a jaded sophisticate, Eugene. A memorable narrator provides ironic, witty, and wise commentary, not only on the love story itself, but also on Russian society, the nature of poetry, the Russian landscape, the narrator’s own biography, and his personal search for meaning in life. The novel is composed in a 14-line stanza form that gives order and structure to a work filled with digressions. For most Russians, however, it is Pushkin’s lyric poetry that conveys his true genius. The lyrics—complex and meticulously crafted to seem effortless, simple, and natural—continue to hold a central place in Russian culture.
Pushkin’spoetrydidnot appear out of nowhere, however. His predecessors included Vasily Zhukovsky, a representative of early romanticism who wrote original poetry and also translated or adapted Western verse into a precise and melodious Russian idiom. A number of Pushkin’s contemporaries were major poets, but only Evgeny Baratynsky, who produced mainly philosophical poetry, comes near to rivaling Pushkin. Mikhail Lermontov, who died in 1841, is considered the last of the Golden Age poets. The rebellious heroes and exotic settings of Lermontov’s lyric and narrative verse represent the peak of Russian romanticism. The best-known of his long poems, Demon (written 1829-1839; published 1841; The Demon), tells of a fallen angel’s love for a Georgian princess and is set within the dramatic scenery of the Caucasus Mountains.
Thepoetsofstaturein the decades that followed the Golden Age saw their efforts overshadowed by Russian novelists, who began to produce outstanding works in the 1830s (for more information, see the Prose Fiction section of this article). Fyodor Tiutchev, generally considered Russia’s greatest nature poet, was Pushkin’s contemporary but received recognition only in 1850, when a collection of his earlier poems was published. Tiutchev also wrote philosophical and love poetry. Many critics consider his short lyric poetry finer than Pushkin’s, and most rank him, with Pushkin and Lermontov, as one of the three greatest Russian poets of the 19th century. Afanasy Fet produced melodious love lyrics and nature and philosophical poetry. While Fet and Tiutchev were regarded as pure poets, several so-called civic poets sought to express contemporary political and social ideas in poetry. The most notable representative of this trend was Nikolay Nekrasov, who was an influential editor and publisher as well as a prolific poet. Much of his poetry focuses on peasant life and expresses great compassion for the tribulations of the common people. These poems are often cast in the form of folk songs and employ racy, vigorous language.
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