Specimens of the Russian poets, vol. 2 (of 2)

📝 简介

"Specimens of the Russian poets, vol. 2 (of 2)" by John Bowring is a literary anthology of translated poetry written in the early 19th century. It presents English renderings of major Russian poets alongside introductory reflections, aiming to showcase the rise of Russian verse, its national character, and its mingling of folk song, religious awe, and patriotic fervor. The opening of the anthology begins with a dedication to the Russian emperor and a substantial introduction in which Bowring defends translation, considers the social power of literature, contrasts freedom with despotism, and highlights German influence and the value of national songs; he notes the volume was completed during his confinement in Boulogne. The selections then start with Lomonossov’s stately odes—biblical grandeur from Job and meditations on sun and aurora—followed by Derzhavin’s moral pieces on luxury, fragility, and vanity. Dmitriev contributes historical-patriotic poems: a shamanic lament over Yermak’s Siberian conquest, a rousing vision of Moscow’s salvation under Pozharsky, an encomium to the Volga, and brief love lyrics. Zhukovsky’s section ranges from a martial camp song glorifying Russian heroes of 1812 to a supernatural ballad of divination and ominous dream (Catherine/Svætlana), plus a philosophical colloquy and an elegy for a bard. The excerpt closes as Karamzin’s “Raïssa” opens on a stormy night with a betrayed lover’s desperate lament by the sea. (This is an automatically generated summary.)