Nikoloz Baratashvili
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Nikoloz Baratashvili (Georgian: ნიკოლოზ ბარათაშვილი) (4 December 1817-21 October 1844) was a Georgian poet, whose works are considered to be the high point of Georgian romanticism. In the opinion of Ilia Chavchavadze, the works of Nikoloz Baratashvili mark the introduction of Europeanism into the Georgian literature.
[edit] Biography
Nikoloz (Tato-ტატო) Baratashvili was born on 4 December 1817 in Tbilisi, to the family of impoverished aristocrat who was a loyal servant of the emperor. His mother, Efemia, the sister of Grigol Orbeliani, was the granddaughter of Erekle II.
He was taught by Solomon Dodashvili, who influenced him greatly, in a Tbilisi gymnasium from 1827-1835. Because his family had little money, he was unable to fulfill his desire to continue his education in Russia. Due to a bodily defect, he also was unable to march in the front-line forces, as he wished to do. With the threat of poverty looming over his family, he was forced to start working as an ordinary clerk.
Baratashvili also had a dramatic private life, including intense involvement with Ekaterine Chavchavadze (ეკატერინე ჭავჭავაძე). All this left deep marks on the poet’s soul, as is reflected in his private letters. On 21 October 1844, at the age of 27, Baratashvili died with of malaria.
Baratashvili’s re-interment in 1893 in Tbilisi (from Ganja) took the form of a national celebration. Since 1938 his ashes have lain in the Mtastminda (მთაწმინდა) pantheon.
[edit] Works
A key insight into the weltanschauung of N. Baratashvili can be found in his poem “Fate of Georgia” (1839). This poem is based on a real historical event: the ruining of Tbilisi by Aga-Mohamed Khan in 1795. However, national problems considered in this work are viewed with a modern approach; the poem considers not only Georgia’s past, but also its future in the aftermath of the failed revolt of 1832. In this poem, Erekle II, a realist politician, realizes Georgia should join with Russia, and that this event is inevitable. Another character, Solomon Leonidze, thinks that this will result in the loss of Georgia’s national identity. The sympathies of the poet and reader both fall on Solomon’s side, but the objectively rational decision of the king prevails.
During his short creative life (1833-45) N. Baratashvili developed difficult concepts of art and ideas. Even in his earlier poem “Dusk on Mtatsminda” (1833-36) the reader can feel a romantic aspiration to be freed of earthly burdens and joined with secret natural forces. His most significant works are the poems “The Evil Spirit” (1843), “Thought on the Riverside of Mtkvari”(ფიქრი მტკვრის პირას) (1837), and “Merani” (მერანი) (1842), in which the omnipotent mind, inspired by faith, calls for the poem’s lyrical hero to knowingly sacrifice himself in the name of his brethren. The tragic optimism of “Merani” is a striking manifestation of the romantic spirit: active, life-asserting, and full of revolutionary aspirations. “Merani” is a prominent work of Georgian romanticism both from an ethical-philosophical view, and from an artistic-aesthetic point of view.
