Three Deaths (drama)

Three Deaths
Author Apollon Maykov
Original title Три смерти [Tri smerti]
Country Russian Empire
Language Russian
Subject Philosophy of death in the Ancient Rome
Genre lyrical drama
Publication date
 1857

Three Deaths (Tri smerti, Три смерти) is a lyrical drama by Apollon Maykov, part of his cycle of work dealing with the history of early Christianity. Its first version, called "The Choice of Death", finished in 1851, couldn't be published due to problems with censorship and first appeared in print severely cut, under the title Three Deaths in 1857, in the October (No.10) issue of Biblioteka Dlya Chtenyia. The final version of it appeared in the Complete A.N. Maykov (1893).[1]

Background

Three Deaths is part of the long series of poems dealing with the issue of the early Christianity and its conflict with ancient cultures of Ancient Greece and Rome. This concept was first mentioned by Maykov in the late 1830s. The first attempt to put it into realization came in the early 1840s with the poem "Olynthus and Esther" (1841, subtitled: "Scenes of Rome of the 5th century AD"). In the preface the author explained that he wanted to "show the antagonism of the two ideas" that clashed in the late Roman Empire and "just couldn't co-exist peacefully... sensuality and spirituality, the outer and inner life - they emerged as enemies, in direct opposition to each other and were doomed to fight till death." [1] The poem was criticized by Vissarion Belinsky who also expressed his opinions as to how this issue could be developed.[2]

Before starting the work, Maykov has done a lot of research work, using the major available historical documents dealing with the epoch when the events were taking place. "Studying philosophical ideas [of the time] gave birth to The Three Deaths, the play that has been written in the course of a long time. In fact, I started upon it several times, trying to improve one character of the other, depending which school of thought I was under the influence of - the Epicureanism or the Stoicism," he wrote in the autobiographical notes in the end of 1850.[3]

History

In the original version of the preface to the drama Maykov wrote:

It is obvious that the play represents three different views upon the meaning of life, belonging to people of the ancient world at the times when the latter was approaching its demise... I tried to present the true historical picture of the character of the epoch in general and human characters of its heroes... As for the factual correctness, that is something I was negligent about a lot, but then again, those who'd want the pure historical facts should go to Tacitus, not to my play, which is nothing more than a poetic representation of the spirit of the epoch.[1]

The drama was finished, apparently, in 1851. Its first version, entitled "Choice of Death" was much more radical than the final one, which was published in 1893. "Choice of Death" could be neither published nor produced on theatrical stage and was circulating in hand-written versions, regarded by readership as a strong artistic statement for individual freedoms in general, the freedom of speech in particular.[1]

In December 1854 Maykov's drama was staged in the house of the architect A.Stackensheider, featuring its author as Seneca, poet Vladimir Benediktov as Lucan and the art teacher N.O. Osipov as Lucius.[4] The play, under the title Three Deaths, was first published in the October 1857 issue of Biblioteka Dlya Chtenya.[1]

Reception

"Maykov has written a superb poem called Choice of Death which is something unheard in the modern history of our poetry," wrote Pyotr Pletnyov to Yakov Grot on September 29, 1851. In an October 31 letter he continued: "Maykov recited both of his new poems at my place, one being Choice of Death, another "Savonarola"... Except that now it is impossible to even think of the publication: our censorship behaves like a boa constrictor rushing instinctively to strangle whatever breaths still."[5] "There is no hope of seeing the new Maykov's poems in print, even if there is nothing in them but the fine poetical truth," Pletnyov wrote to Mikhail Pogodin on November 19. "It is nice to think and hard to believe that our times can still produce such works as A Family Affair and Choice of Death, wrote Grigory Danilevsky in a letter to Pogodin on December 26, 1851.[6]

Three Deaths were first published in the October 1857 issue of Biblioteka Dlya Chtenya. "With great pleasure did I read... the greatest poetic work of our times now am waiting for the Complete Works of our not just first but the only 'objective' poet," wrote the publicist P.L.Lavrov in the November 27, 1857, letter to Maykov.[7]

"In Three Deaths we see the peak of the whole Maykov's career," wrote in 1859 liberal critic Alexander Druzhinin.[8] Dmitry Pisarev called Three Deaths one of Maykov's best poems.[9] The drama was highly valued by Maxim Gorky who recommended it for the inclusion into the Anthology of the Russian Poetry published by the Grzhebin Publishing house.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Three Deaths (Tri smerti)". Commentaries. Works of A.N.Maykov in 2 volumes. Prada Publishers. Moscow. 1984. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
  2. ↑ The Complete V.G.Belinsky in 13 volumes. Moscow, 1953-1959, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, vol. IV, p.2223
  3. ↑ The Literary Yearly, 1975, p. 80
  4. ↑ E.A. Stackensneider. Diary and Notes. Moscow, Leningrad, 1934, p.44
  5. ↑ The correspondence between P.A. Pletnyov and Y.A. Grot. Vol. 3, 1896, p.559
  6. ↑ The Life and Works of M.P. Pogodin, book IX, saint Petersburg, 1897, p. 414
  7. ↑ The Literary Archive. Vol. 2, Moscow, Leningrad, 1840, p. 285
  8. ↑ The Works of A.V. Druzhinin in 8 volumes. Saint Petersburg, 1865-1867, Vol.VII, p.513.
  9. ↑ The Works of D.I.Pisarev in 4 volumes. Moscow, Leningrad, 1955-1956, vol. 1, p.196.

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