Lev Mey

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Lev Mey (Лев Александрович Мей) (1822-1862) - a Russian poet.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Criticism 3 Mey as translator 4 Original poetic style 5 Mey - dramatist 6 External links

[edit] Biography

Mey was a well-known Poet. He was born on 13 February, 1822, in Moscow; the son of russianized German- officer, wounded under Borodino and early dead; the mother of the poet was Russian. Mey studied in the Moscow nobiliary institute, from where he was transferred into the Tsarskoe Selo person. After finishing in the 1841 course, Mey entered into the office of Moscow governor general and served in it 10 years, without having made quarries. After joining at the end of the 40th it is annual to the "young editorial staff" of Mikhail Pogodin's "Moskovityanin", he became the active colleague of periodical and zavedyval in it by Russian and foreign literary division. In the beginning of the 50th is annual Mey obtained the place of the inspector of the 2-1 Moscow secondary school, but the intrigues of colleagues, who disliked this gentle poet for his attachment to the students, soon forced him to throw pedagogical activity and to move into Saint Petersburg. Here he only counted in the archeographic commission and returned to exceptionally literary activity, participating in the "Library for reading", "Domestic notes", the "Son of the fatherland", the "Russian word" of initial years, "Russian peace", "Svetoch", etc. Extremely disorderly and childishly extravagant, Mey lived a literary and Bohemian life. Even from face, and most of all of the friendly meetings of "young editorial staff" of "Moskovityanin" he carried out unhealthy predilection to the wine. In Petersburg it at the end of the 50th is annual it entered the circle, which was being grouped near the Count G.A. Kushelev-Bezborodko. In one of the meetings in the graph Kushelev, on which there were many aristocratic familiar of owner, Meya they requested to say any impromptu. The Straight-forward poet sourly above himself laughed by the quatrain: "graphs and the countess, happiness to you in everything, to me only in the countess, and besides in the large". Large bottles shook loose the Mey's health and now and then was led it to the perfect misery. He sat in the fierce frost in the not heated apartment and in order to be warmed, once cut into the firewood the expensive shkap of his wife. Disorderly life tore slightly his strong organism; he died on May 16, 1862.

[edit] Criticism

Mey belongs, regarding the Apollo Grigoryev, to the "literary phenomena, passed by criticism". And with the life, and after death, in it were little interested both criticism and public, in spite of the efforts of some friends (A.P. Milyukov in "Svetoch" 1860, No. 5, Apollon Grigoryev, Vl. R. Zotov, in the first volume of the Martynov's publication of the Mey's compositions) to elevate him in first-class poets. This indifference is understandable and it is lawful. Mey - outstanding virtuoso of verse, and only. His poetry does not have internal content; it is disturbed in no way and therefore it cannot disturb others. It does not have not the depth of mood, not ability to answer to the direct impressions of life. His entire purely external talent was concentrated on the ability to imitate and to be penetrated by strange feelings.

[edit] Mey as translator

This is why he in his remarkable translation activity did not have favorites and with the identical virtuosity translated Shiller and Heine, "Word about the regiment of Igor" and Anakreont, Adam Mickiewicz and Beranger. Even in purely quantitative sense the poetic creation Of meya is very poor. If we do not consider the not numerous school and album poems, extracted after death from its papers, but to take only that the fact that it returned itself in the press, then will be collected not more than ten two original poems. Everything else - arrangement and translations.

[edit] Original poetic style

But meanwhile to write Mey began early and into 18 years already placed in the "Lighthouse" the fragment from the poem "Gvanagani". Almost all original poems Of meya are written in the "people" style. This is - that archaeological- picturesque imitation, which both in the old and in young "Moskovityanin" was considered the quintessence of national character. Mey took from the people life only well dressed and spectacular, showing off by the extremely fanciful neologisms ("from the white from the hands vypadchivyy, from the white breast evasive" and the like.) - but in this conditional genre it reached, in the details, large perfection. Imitative only on the detail, it did not maintain its poems as a whole. Thus, the wonderfully initiated "owner", who depicts the languor of young wife with the old husband, is damaged with the end, where he is converted by the house into the preacher of conjugal faithfulness. In the genuine folk song old husband, who took to himself young wife, sympathy does not use. Best of the original Mey's poems in the people style: "Mermaid", "on the fungi", "as in all- that of people bright prazdnichek". The arrangements adjoin the poems of this kind: "Why were transferred champions in holy Russia", "Song about the boyar Yevpatiy Kolovrat", "Song about princess Ulyana Andreyevna Vyazemskaya", "Aleksandr Nevskiy", "Magi" and the transfer "Words about the regiment of Igor". Their overall deficiency - protracted length and the absence of simplicity. From Mey's poems with the non-Russian subjects noteworthy: "Go away from me, satan" - number of the pictures, which tempting diavol develops before the Christ: hot Palestine, Egypt, Persiya, India, the sullen- powerful north, complete of the bliss of Ellada, emperor Rome in the epoch of Tiveriy, Capri. This - the best part of Mey's poetic heritage. Here he was completely in his sphere, sketching the separate details, not revered by the unity of the moods, which are not needed the uniting thought. In the number of poet-translators Mey indisputably occupies paramount place. Is especially well transmitted "song by song".

[edit] Mey - dramatist

Mey - dramatist, has the same advantages and disadvantages as Mey - poet; excellent, with its entire artificial archaicness and dandyism, language, the excellent details also of no ensemble. All three historical dramas Of meya: "Tsarist bride" (1849), "Servilius" (1854) and "Pskovityanka" (1860) they end extremely unnaturally and give not one one-piece type. Motions in them it is small, and it still stays by the longest and completely excess monologues, in which the characters are exchanged views, by stories about the events, which do not refer direct to the subject of play and so forth most of all harms the dramas Of meya the bias, with which it began the matter. Thus, in weakest of its dramas - "Servilius", that sketches Rome with Neron, it was set as a goal to show the victory of Christianity above the Roman society and to make this with the disturbance of any likelihood. The transformation of main heroine during several days from the girl, who grew in the strict- Roman traditions, and besides in the highly-moral family, into the ardent Christian, on top of that into the nun (is erroneous and historically: monasticism appears into II - III v.), decisively by anything not justified it is complete unexpected contingency both for its fiance and for the reader. The same white threads of preconceived thought deprive vitality of "Tsarist bride" and "Pskovityanka". The loyal disciple of Pogodin's views to the Russian history, Mey sketched to himself entire Old-Russian into some only stately outlines. If villains fall in it, then acting it is exclusive under the effect of the jealousy. Idealization stretches even to Malyuta Skuratov. In particular, Ivan the Terrible is damaged with tendentious admiration before all Old-Russian. But Mey, these are - sentimental lover and sovereign, entire dedicated itself to welfare of the people. On the whole, nevertheless, both dramas Of meya occupy visible place in the Russian historical drama. To the number of best places of best of dramas Meya, "Pskovityanka", belongs the scene of Pskov meeting. Is not deprived of conditional beauty the story of the mother of "Pskovityanka" about how it was encountered and joined with Ioann, the story became the favorite debyut monologue of our tragic actresses. Mey's "complete works" is published in 1887 by Martynov, with the large opening chapter of Vl. Zotov and the bibliography of the Mey's compositions, comprised by N.V. Bykov. Here entered the fiction experiences of Mey, literary interest not representing. From them it is possible to isolate only "batyu" - characteristic story about how its fortress widowed and grown poor lady not only it fed, but also on the sleds it transported from Petersburg into the Kostroma province, and as then this lady, at its own, however, proposal "bathy", it sold it for 100 rub. In 1911 of composition Meya are given as the application to the "field". - sr. Protopopov is the "forgotten poet" (in the "northern herald", 1888 g, No. 1); S. Maximov, in "Russian of thought" (1887, No. 7); Yak Is polonskiy, in "Russian herald" (1896, No. 9); B. sadovskiy, in "Russian thought" (1908, No. 7); Polyanskaya, in the "Russian old times" (1911); Vengerov "sources".

Text incorporated from Russian biographic slovar

[edit] External links

• Lev Mey. Poems