Gavriil Derzhavin’s Felitsaˮ, J.F. Marmontel’s Belisariusˮ  and the Strategy of Literary Success in the Court of Catherine the Great

Occupation: Senior Researcher
Affiliation: A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Address: 25a Povarskaya St., Moscow, 121069, Russia

Journal name

Izvestiia Rossiiskoi akademii nauk. Seriia literatury i iazyka

Edition

Volume 81 Issue 1

Pages

74-81

Abstract

The article offers an analysis of literary contexts of G.R. Derzhavin's ode “Felitsa”, suggesting to recognize Marmontel’s “Bélisaire” (“Belisarius”) as a source for key ideological concerns. The work of a French encyclopédist was translated into Russian by Catherine II and a group of noblemen. Derzhavin, much like the author of “Belisarius”, built his text around the antithesis: he opposed the “vices” of aristocrats to the idealized image of the monarch. Thus, “Felitsa” belongs in the same category of texts as “Nakaz” (“Order”), “Velizer” (“Belisarius”), “Vsyakaya vsyachina” (“All sorts of things”), and especially “Sobesednik liubitelei rossiiskogo slova” (“Companion for the Lovers of Russian Letters”), which were authored or inspired by the Russian Empress and were addressing the nature of power and the way of things between the monarch and his/her subjects. The latter, the “Companion”, not only opened with “Felitsa”, but also offered new ideologemes of power and became instrumental in creating Derzhavin’s reputation as a poet.

Keywords

Catherine II, Gavriil Derzhavin, “Felitsa”, J.F. Marmontel, “Belisarius”

Received

25.08.2021

Publication date

11.03.2022

Number of characters

24073

Cite

GOST	Ivinskij A. Gavriil Derzhavin’s “Felitsaˮ, J.F. Marmontel’s “Belisariusˮ and the Strategy of Literary Success in the Court of Catherine the Great // Izvestiia Rossiiskoi akademii nauk. Seriia literatury i iazyka – 2022. – V. 81. – Issue 1 C. 74-81 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://izv-oifn.ru/S160578800018923-1-1 (circulation date: 04.05.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S160578800018923-1
MLA	Ivinskij, Alexander D "Gavriil Derzhavin’s “Felitsaˮ, J.F. Marmontel’s “Belisariusˮ and the Strategy of Literary Success in the Court of Catherine the Great." Izvestiia Rossiiskoi akademii nauk. Seriia literatury i iazyka 81.1 (2022):74-81. DOI: 10.31857/S160578800018923-1
APA	Ivinskij A. (2022). Gavriil Derzhavin’s “Felitsaˮ, J.F. Marmontel’s “Belisariusˮ and the Strategy of Literary Success in the Court of Catherine the Great. Izvestiia Rossiiskoi akademii nauk. Seriia literatury i iazyka 81(1), pp.74-81 DOI: 10.31857/S160578800018923-1

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