What is the name of a fet. Athanasius Fet - biography, information, personal life. Aesthetic views of Fet

It starts simply with Shakespearean passions. His father, a wealthy nobleman Afanasy Neofitovich Shenshin, a 45-year-old man of the hussar warehouse, a former captain, while undergoing treatment in Germany, fell head over heels in love with the 20-year-old mother of the future poet Charlotte Fet. This passion was not hindered either by the fact that the lady was married, or by the fact that she already had a daughter, or by the fact that the lady was pregnant with Athanasius...

The boy was born in December 1820. Fet's biography contains a period of happy childhood in the Oryol estate of his father in the village. Novoselki.

About the Shenshin-Fetov family

In fact, the biological father of Athanasius Fet is Johann-Peter-Karl-Wilhelm Fet, an assessor of the Darmstadt city court. The blood sister remained in Germany.

Two children of Charlotte Fet and Afanasy Shenshin (Anna and Vasily) died in infancy. The poet also had a half-sister, Lyuba, born in 1824.

Offended by the kidnapping of his wife, the German biological father disinherited Athanasius.

Status of an illegitimate son

The carefree childhood of the future poet in the Shenshin estate lasted up to 14 years, until the Orthodox (diocesan) authorities, who, as they say now, exercise legal supervision, discovered that the date of the parents' wedding (1822) was later than the date of the child's birth. This entailed significant legal consequences for Athanasius. Fet's biography contains information that the young man suffered deeply from his special status of "illegitimate".

The chronological table testifies to the rhythm of life imposed on him. Fet Afanasy Afanasyevich, on the one hand, was attracted by poetry, and on the other hand, by the duty of returning noble privileges to posterity.

Dates	Events
	In the village of Novoselki, a son, Athanasius, was born into the landowning family of the Shenshins.
	Education at the boarding house Krommera in the Finnish city of Verro
	Pension of Professor Pogodin
	Education at the Department of Literature of Moscow University
	Service in the cuirassier regiment in the Kherson province
	First poetry collection
	Second collection of poems
	Fet becomes a local nobleman and lives on the estate in Stepanovka
	The most productive period of creativity (in the village of Vorobyovka)
1883, 1885, 1888, 1891	Years of publication of cycles of the poet's best poems
	Death from an asthma attack

Too many milestones in his life - he honorably overcame restrictions in education, forced military service, marriage to an unloved woman, hermitage in the countryside - clearly were not included in his original plans. Such stages of life do not make a person happy... All this, unfortunately, affected the health of the poet. The years of Fet's life could cover a larger period of time.

Adversity changed the character of the poet

Perhaps this state of inner suffering was the reason for the birth in his soul of the lyrics of the highest level, the crystal clear style of poetry.

He could not bear his father's surname, he was not a Russian subject, and accordingly, he did not inherit the rights of the nobility. His surname was Fet, and the young man was considered a German subject. Everything that his brothers and sisters inherited by birth, he should have earned. This is how the vigilance of the spiritual fathers-clerks made the subsequent life of the poet unhappy. He entered the rights of the nobility only at the age of 50! Therefore, literary critics emphasize: Fet's dim, gloomy biography and his clear, watercolor poetic heritage are deeply contrasting. The severe psychological trauma inflicted by the inhumanity of the law determined the difficult character of this most talented person.

Education

Unlike the rest of the Shenshins, Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet received a good education. Diligence and a predisposition to the sciences did their job ... Being a German subject, he was forced to start studying at a Protestant German boarding school. However, he owes his knowledge to the teachers of this institution. Latin, classical philology. It was here that his first poems were written.

The beginning of creativity

The young man had a dream - to study at Moscow University. The boarding school of Professor Pogodin served as a stepping stone to this admission.

Since 1838, Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet has been a student of the literature department of the university he coveted. From here originates his long-term friendship with the future poet and critic Apollon Grigoriev. Here, in 1840, Fet wrote his first collection of poems, Lyrical Pantheon. In the works of the novice poet, imitation of Venediktov and Pushkin was felt. Fet's early lyrics are published by the journals Otechestvennye Zapiski and Moskvityanin. Fet yearns for recognition, thanks to which he hopes to regain the title of nobility. However, Fet's early lyrics do not bring success adequate to such a dream.

Then the active young man acts in accordance with "Plan B" - he receives a title of nobility after military service.

The poet serves in the army

He serves in the cuirassier regiment, which is stationed in the Kherson province.

At this time, the plot of his personal drama falls. An unknown, frankly poor young man has a serious feeling for Maria Lazich, the daughter of a small estate nobleman. Moreover, this feeling is mutual (and, as it turned out, for life.) However, the destructive complex that has developed in Athanasius "to return the nobility above all else" prevents marriage and the creation of a happy family ... Maria died untimely, while still young, leaving her lover memories and regrets .

Afanasy Fet, whose poetic original gift began to appear, calls the years of service impartially: "conclusion." The first resounding success was accompanied by his poems, published in 1850. The poet is recognized by the creative elite. He gets acquainted and becomes well received by Nekrasov, Druzhinin, Leo Tolstoy. His works are finally expected and loved. However, Afanasy Fet, a poet from God, is still going to his creative heights. A new collection of poetry, published in 1856, is only a milestone on this path.

Marriage, landowner status

He never served the title in the army, although he rose to the rank of captain (which corresponds to the modern rank of captain, and in order to return the title, according to the logic of a military career, Fet should have become a colonel).

However, by this time the life of Afanasy Afanasyevich had changed dramatically. Returning to civilian life, he married Botkina, the sister of a famous literary critic. This marriage was rather accomplished by him out of calculation than out of love. Thus, Fet Afanasy Afanasyevich became related to a wealthy merchant family and drew the line of his poverty. Fate becomes favorable to him. The royal decree recognizes his right to his father's inheritance, he is also given the surname Shenshin. The poet calls this event the most joyful in his life. He had been waiting for it for many years.

However, fans of his work are still interested in the question: “Why did the famous poet decide on a marriage of convenience?” No direct answer was found in his diaries. In any case, this is a matter of personal choice: to choose family life, secretly suffering from a failed marriage with a loved one ... Perhaps he was tired of fighting with a society that limited his rights, he decided, finally, to find peace, since he did not get happiness in love. Such a characteristic of Fet has a basis. However, he will remember his deceased beloved Maria Lazich until his death, dedicating poems to her.

Fet - active landowner

In 1860, with the capital of his wife, he buys the Stepanovka farm, where he has been farming almost non-stop for 17 years. On the farm, Fet the landowner owns two hundred souls. He is completely immersed in the organization and management of the economy. There is practically no time left for creativity. He becomes "a convinced and tenacious Russian agrarian." Afanasy Afanasyevich, devoting a lot of time and effort to a new cause for himself and distinguished not only by his poetic gift, but also by worldly wisdom, achieves respect in society. Evidence of recognition is the performance of his duties as a justice of the peace.

The efficient management of the Feta landowner contributed to the capitalization of the funds earned by him in agricultural production. He actually earned his wealth by his labor.

The most fruitful period of creativity

In 1877, the poet enters a new, most fruitful period of his work. His poetic style has been worked out, and the suffering soul longs to plunge into the ocean of pure poetry. The history of Fet goes back to its last highest stage, which brought him the glory of an incomparable lyricist. Precisely in order to isolate himself from the vain world and focus on high creativity, Afanasy Afanasyevich buys the Kursk village of Vorobyovka, where he spends the warm season. For the winter, the poet always returned to his Moscow mansion. The life of Afanasy Fet, starting from this milestone, is entirely devoted to poetry.

This period of creativity was the most productive. Fet's chronological table testifies to the dynamics of writing collections by him: 1883, 1885, 1888, 1891 ... It is noteworthy that all these collections of poems written over a decade are combined into a common cycle "Evening Lights".

Fet's poetry is unique

All the poetry of Afanasy Afanasyevich, presented in the author's collections, can be conditionally grouped into three main themes: nature, love, art. He devoted his poetic activity only to these subjects. Fet's lyrics are simple and bright, they are really written for all time. The reader who wants to find in his poems the associations found in his own life will surely find them: in the majestic landscape of the forest, the life-giving sound of rain, in the joyful portal of the rainbow. Composer Tchaikovsky compared his poetry with music. According to many critics, none of his colleagues achieved the richness of the poetic palette achieved by Afanasy Fet in describing nature. Muse Fet is special: simple and graceful, calmly gliding on her wings above the ground, captivating readers with her lightness and grace.

The poet developed a harmonious principle in his work, fundamentally dissociating himself from "spiritual bad weather", anxieties, conflicts and injustice. The poet called his artistic style "the mind of the heart."

Instead of a conclusion

The years of Fet's life are 1820-1892. A year before his death, his literary research was "highly" appreciated. Fet was granted the rank of chamberlain (a high rank of court rank, roughly equivalent to a major general).

However, the poet's health was already failing him ... He was not up to palace careers ... He died during an asthmatic attack. Fet Afanasy Afanasyevich was buried in the Oryol family estate, located in the village of Kleymenovo.

Summing up the above, we should mention the influence of the work of Afanasy Afanasyevich on the generation of symbolist poets: Balmont, Blok, Yesenin. He is undoubtedly the founder of the Russian school of pure art, which fascinates with its sincerity.

About once upon a question of the questionnaire of the daughter of Leo Tolstoy Tatyana “How long would you like to live?” Fet replied: "The least long." And yet the writer had a long and very eventful life - he not only wrote many lyrical works, critical articles and memoirs, but also devoted whole years to agriculture, and apple marshmallow from his estate was even supplied to the imperial table.

Non-hereditary nobleman: childhood and youth of Athanasius Fet

Afanasy Fet in childhood. Photo: pitzmann.ru

Afanasy Fet was born in 1820 in the village of Novoselki near the city of Mtsensk, Oryol province. Until the age of 14, he bore the surname of his father, the wealthy landowner Afanasy Shenshin. As it turned out later, Shenshin's marriage to Charlotte Fet was illegal in Russia, since they got married only after the birth of their son, which the Orthodox Church categorically did not accept. Because of this, the young man was deprived of the privileges of a hereditary nobleman. He began to bear the name of his mother's first husband, Johann Fet.

Athanasius was educated at home. Basically, he was taught literacy and the alphabet not by professional teachers, but by valets, cooks, courtyards, and seminarians. But Fet absorbed most of his knowledge from the surrounding nature, the peasant way of life and rural life. He liked to communicate for a long time with the maids, who shared news, told tales and legends.

At the age of 14, the boy was sent to the German boarding school Krummer in the Estonian city of Vyru. It was there that he fell in love with the poetry of Alexander Pushkin. In 1837, young Fet arrived in Moscow, where he continued his studies at the boarding school of Professor of World History Mikhail Pogodin.

In quiet moments of complete carelessness, I seemed to feel the underwater rotation of flower spirals, trying to bring the flower to the surface; but in the end it turned out that only spirals of stems were striving outward, on which there were no flowers. I drew some verses on my slate board and erased them again, finding them meaningless.
From the memoirs of Afanasy Fet

In 1838, Fet entered the law faculty of Moscow University, but soon switched to the historical and philological department. From the first year he wrote poems that interested classmates. The young man decided to show them to Professor Pogodin, and he to the writer Nikolai Gogol. Soon Pogodin gave a review of the famous classic: "Gogol said this is an undoubted talent". The works of Fet and his friends were approved - the translator Irinarkh Vvedensky and the poet Apollon Grigoriev, to whom Fet moved from Pogodin's house. He recalled that "the house of the Grigorievs was the true cradle of my mental self." The two poets supported each other in their work and life.

In 1840, Fet's first collection of poems, Lyrical Pantheon, was published. It was published under the initials "A. F." It included ballads and elegies, idylls and epitaphs. The collection was liked by critics: Vissarion Belinsky, Pyotr Kudryavtsev and the poet Yevgeny Baratynsky. A year later, Fet's poems were already regularly published by Pogodin's magazine "Moskvityanin", and later by the magazine "Domestic Notes". In the last year, 85 Fetov's poems were published.

The idea to return the title of nobility did not leave Afanasy Fet, and he decided to enter the military service: the officer rank gave the right to hereditary nobility. In 1845, he was accepted as a non-commissioned officer in the Order's cuirassier regiment in the Chersonese province. A year later, Fet was promoted to cornet.

Well-known metropolitan author and "agronomist-master to the point of desperation"

Friedrich Mobius. Portrait of Maria Fet (detail). 1858. State Literary Museum, Moscow

In 1850, bypassing all the censorship committees, Fet released a second collection of poems, which was praised on the pages of major Russian magazines. By this time, he was transferred to the rank of lieutenant and quartered closer to the capital. In the Baltic port, Afanasy Fet participated in the Crimean campaign, whose troops guarded the Estonian coast.

IN last years Life Fet received public recognition. In 1884, for the translation of Horace's works, he became the first recipient of the full Pushkin Prize of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. Two years later, the poet was elected its corresponding member. In 1888, Athanasius Fet was personally introduced to Emperor Alexander III and awarded the court title of chamberlain.

While still in Stepanovka, Fet began to write the book “My Memoirs”, where he talked about his life as a landowner. The memoirs cover the period from 1848 to 1889. The book was published in two volumes in 1890.

On December 3, 1892, Fet asked his wife to call a doctor, and in the meantime he dictated to his secretary: “I don’t understand the conscious increase in inevitable suffering. Volunteering towards the inevitable" and signed "Fet (Shenshin)". The writer died of a heart attack, but it is known that at first he tried to commit suicide by rushing after a steel stiletto. Afanasy Fet was buried in the village of Kleymenovo, the Shenshin family estate.

I was offended to see how indifferently the sad news was received even by those whom it most of all should have touched. How selfish we are! He was strong man, fought all his life and achieved everything he wanted: he won a name, wealth, literary celebrity and a place in high society, even at court. He appreciated all this and enjoyed everything, but I am sure that his poems were dearest to him in the world and that he knew that their charm is incomparable, the very heights of poetry. The further, the more others will understand it.
From a letter from Nikolai Strakhov to Sofya Tolstoy, 1892

Already after the death of the writer, in 1893, the last volume of memoirs "The Early Years of My Life" was published. Fet also did not have time to release the volume that completes the cycle of poems “Evening Lights”. The works for this poetic book were included in the two-volume "Lyric Poems", which was published in 1894 by Nikolai Strakhov and Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov.

In memory of Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet (1820-1892)

Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet is a famous Russian poet with German roots,lyricist,translator, author of memoirs. Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg

In the Oryol province, not far from the city of Mtsensk, in the 19th century, the Novoselki estate was located, where on December 5, 1820, in the house of a wealthy landowner Shenshin, a young woman, Charlotte-Elizabeth Bekker Fet, gave birth to a boy, Athanasius.

Charlotte Elisabeth was a Lutheran, lived in Germany and was married to Johann-Peter-Karl-Wilhelm Feth, an assessor at the Darmstadt city court. They got married in 1818, the girl Caroline-Charlotte-Dahlia-Ernestine was born in the family. And in 1820, Charlotte-Elizaveta Becker Fet left her little daughter and husband and left for Russia with Afanasy Neofitovich Shenshin, being seven months pregnant.

In the pastures of the dumb I love in the crackling frost
In the light of the sun, the brilliance of the sun is prickly,
Forests under hats or in gray hoarfrost
Yes, the river is sonorous under dark blue ice.
How they like to find thoughtful eyes
Winded ditches, winded mountains,
Sleepy blades of grass among the bare fields,
Where the hill is bizarre, like some kind of mausoleum,
Sculpted at midnight - or clouds of distant whirlwinds
On white shores and mirror polynyas.

Afanasy Neofitovich was a retired captain. During a trip abroad, he fell in love with the Lutheran Charlotte Elizabeth and married her. But since the Orthodox wedding ceremony was not performed, this marriage was considered legal only in Germany, and in Russia it was declared invalid. In 1822, the woman converted to Orthodoxy, becoming called Elizabeth Petrovna Fet, and soon they married the landowner Shenshin.

When the boy was 14 years old, the Oryol provincial authorities discovered that Athanasius was registered with the surname Shenshin earlier than his mother.
I got married to my stepfather. In this regard, the guy was deprived of his surname and title of nobility. This hurt the teenager so deeply, because in an instant he turned from a rich heir into a nameless person, and then he suffered all his life because of his dual position.

From that time on, he bore the surname Fet, as the son of a foreigner unknown to him. Athanasius took this as a shame, and he had an obsession,which became decisive in his life path, - return the lost surname.

Athanasius received an excellent education. A capable boy was easy to learn. In 1837 he graduated from a private German boarding school in Verro, Estonia. Even then, Fet began to write poetry, showed interest in literature and classical philology. After school, in order to prepare for entering the university, he studied at the boarding house of Professor Pogodin, a writer, historian and journalist. In 1838, Afanasy Fet entered the law department, and then - the philosophical faculty of Moscow University, where he studied at the historical and philological (verbal) department.

wonderful picture,
How are you related to me?
white plain,
Full moon,

the light of the heavens above,
And shining snow
And distant sleigh
Lonely run.

At the university, Athanasius became close to the student Apollon Grigoriev, who was also fond of poetry. Together they began to attend a circle of students who were intensively engaged in philosophy and literature. With the participation of Grigoriev, Fet released his first collection of poems "Lyrical Pantheon". The creativity of the young student earned Belinsky's approval. And Gogol spoke of him as "an undoubted talent." This became a kind of "blessing" and inspired Afanasy Fet to further work. In 1842, his poems were published in many publications, including the popular journals Otechestvennye Zapiski and Moskvityanin. In 1844, Fet graduated from the university.

Spruce covered the path with my sleeve.
Wind. In the forest alone
Noisy, and creepy, and sad, and fun -
I do not understand anything.

Wind. All around is buzzing and swaying,
Leaves swirl at your feet.
Chu, there is suddenly heard in the distance
Subtly calling horn.

Sweet call to me herald copper!
Dead sheets to me!
It seems that the poor wanderer came from afar
You warmly greet.

After graduating from the university, Fet entered the army, he needed this in order to regain his title of nobility. He ended up in one of the southern regiments, from there he was sent to the Lancers Guards Regiment. And in 1854 he was transferred to the Baltic regiment (he later described this period of service in his memoirs "My Memoirs").

In 1858, Fet finished his service as a captain and settled in Moscow.

In 1850, the second book of poems was published.Feta, which was already positively criticized in the Sovremennik magazine, some even admired his work. After this collection, the author was received among famous Russian writers, which included Druzhinin, Nekrasov, Botkin, Turgenev. Literary earnings improved the financial situation of Fet, and he went to travel abroad.

In the poems of Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet, three main lines were clearly traced - love, art, nature. The following collections of his poems were published in 1856 (under the editorship of I. S. Turgenev) and in 1863 (immediately a two-volume collected works).

Despite the fact that Fet was a refined lyricist, he managed to perfectly manage economic affairs, buy and sell estates, making a fortune.

In 1860, Afanasy Fet bought the Stepanovka farm, became the owner, lived there all the time, only briefly appearing in Moscow in winter.

In 1877, Fet bought the Vorobyovka estate in the Kursk province. At 18
8 1 he bought a house in Moscow, he came to Vorobyovka only for the summer summer period. He again took up creativity, wrote memoirs, translated, released another lyrical collection of poems "Evening Lights".

Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet left a significant mark on Russian literature. In the first verses, Fet sang the beauty of nature, wrote a lot about love. Even then, a characteristic feature appeared in his work - Fet spoke about important and eternal concepts in hints, knew how to convey the subtlest shades of mood, awakening pure and bright emotions in readers.

After the tragic deathsweetheartMaria Lazich Fet dedicated the poem "Talisman" to her. It is assumed that all subsequent poems by Fet about love are dedicated to her. In 1850 a second collection of his poems was published. It aroused the interest of critics, who did not skimp on positive reviews. Then Fet was recognized as one of the best contemporary poets.

The night shone. The garden was full of moonlight. lay
Beams at our feet in a living room with no lights.
The piano was all open, and the strings in it were trembling,
Like our hearts for your song.
You sang until dawn, exhausted in tears,
That you are alone - love, that there is no other love,
And so I wanted to live, so that, without dropping a sound,
Love you, hug and cry over you.
And many years have passed, languid and boring,
And in the silence of the night I hear your voice again,
And blows, as then, in these sonorous sighs,
That you are alone - all life, that you are alone - love.
That there are no insults of fate and hearts of burning flour,
And life has no end, and there is no other goal,
As soon as you believe in sobbing sounds,
Love you, hug and cry over you!

Afanasy Fet remained a staunch conservative and monarchist until the end of his life. In 1856 he published a third collection of poems. Fet sang beauty, considering it the only goal of creativity.

In 1863the poet published a two-volume collection of poems, and then a twenty-year break came in his work.

Only after the surname of his stepfather and the privileges of a hereditary nobleman was returned to the poet, he took up creativity with renewed vigor.

Towards the end of his life, Afanasy Fet's poems became more philosophical. The poet wrote about the unity of man and the universe, about the highest reality, about eternity. In the period from 1883 to 1891 Fet wrote more than three hundred poems, they were included in the collection "Evening Lights". The poet published four editions of the collection, and the fifth came out after his death. With a thoughtful smile on his forehead.

Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet(the first 14 and last 19 years of his life he officially bore the surname Shenshin, November 23 (December 5), 1820, the Novoselki estate, Mtsensk district, Oryol province - November 21 (December 3), 1892, Moscow) - Russian lyric poet, translator, memoirist.

Surname Fet(more precisely, Fet, German Foeth), became for the poet, as he later recalled, "the name of all his sufferings and sorrows." Son of the Oryol landowner Afanasy Ivanovich Shenshin and Caroline Charlotte Föth, who he brought from Germany, he was recorded at birth (probably for a bribe) as the legitimate son of his parents, although he was born a month after Charlotte's arrival in Russia and a year before their marriage. When he was 14 years old, a “mistake” in the documents was discovered, and he was deprived of his surname, nobility and Russian citizenship and became a “foreign subject Afanasy Fet” (thus, Charlotte’s first husband, the German Fet, was considered his father; who really was Afanasy's father is unknown). In 1873, he officially regained the surname Shenshin, but continued to sign literary works and translations with the surname Fet (through "e").

Afanasy Afanasyevich was born on November 23, 1820, near the town of Mtsensk, Oryol province, in the village of Novoselki.

Until the age of 14, Fet lived and studied at home, and then in the city of Verro, Livonia province (now Võru, Estonia), in the German private boarding house of Krummer. In 1837, he was transferred to Moscow, where Afanasy Afanasyevich studies at the boarding school of Professor Pogodin, a historian, writer, and journalist, in which he entered Moscow University for training. Soon Fet entered the Moscow University, the Faculty of History and Philology. Almost all student time Athanasius Fet lived in the family of his friend at the university, the future literary critic Apollon Grigoriev, who had an influence on the development of his poetic gift.

1840 - the first collection of his poems "Lyrical Pantheon" is published.
The blessing for serious literary work was given to Fet by Gogol, who said: "This is an undoubted talent." Fet's first collection of poems, Lyrical Pantheon, was published in 1840 and received Belinsky's approval, which inspired him to further work. Since 1842, Fet's poems have regularly appeared on the pages of the Moskvityanin and Otechestvennye Zapiski magazines. “Of all the poets living in Moscow, Mr. Fet is the most gifted,” writes Belinsky in 1843.

In 1844 Afanasy Afanasyevich graduates from Moscow University and in 1845, a promising poet, becomes a cavalryman of the cuirassier regiment of the Military Order, since the first officer rank gave the right to receive hereditary nobility. In 1853 Fet moved to the Lancers Guards Regiment; in the Crimean campaign was part of the troops guarding the Estonian coast. In 1858 he retired, like his father, as a staff captain. Afanasy Afanasyevich, however, did not manage to achieve noble rights then: the qualification required for this increased as Fet rose in the service.

1850 - the second collection of the poet's poems was published in Moscow. In 1856, the third book, which attracted the attention of connoisseurs and lovers of poetry, was published in St. Petersburg.

Meanwhile, his poetic fame grew. The success of the second book, Poems by A. Fet, published in Moscow in 1850, opened him access to the Sovremennik circle in St. Petersburg, where he met Turgenev and V.P. Botkin. Later, Afanasy Fet met L.N. Tolstoy, who returned from Sevastopol. The Sovremennik circle selected, edited and beautifully printed a new collection of Poems by A.A. Feta” (St. Petersburg, 1856). In 1863 it was republished by Soldatenkov in two volumes, with the second volume including translations by Horace et al.

In 1857, Afanasy Afanasyevich married in Paris Marya Petrovna Botkina, the sister of the doctor S.P. Botkin. Literary successes prompted Feta leave military service and in 1858 the poet retires with the rank of guards headquarters captain, settles in Moscow.

In 1860, Afanasy Afanasyevich bought the Stepanovka farm with 200 acres of land, in the Mtsensk district, and energetically began to manage, living there all the time and only briefly visiting Moscow in winter. For more than ten years (1867 - 1877) Fet he was a justice of the peace and at that time wrote journal articles about rural conditions (“From the Village”) in Russkiy Vestnik, where he showed himself to be such a convinced and tenacious Russian “agrarian” that he soon received the nickname “feudal lord” from the populist press. Afanasy Fet turned out to be an excellent owner, in 1877 he left Stepanovka and bought the Vorobyovka estate in the Shchigrovsky district, Kursk province, near the Root Hermitage for 105,000 rubles. At the end of his life, Fet's fortune reached a value that can be called wealth. In 1873, the surname Shenshin with all the rights associated with it was approved for Fet. I.S. immediately reacted to this. Turgenev: "As Fet you had a name, as Shenshin you have only a surname."

In 1881 Shenshin I bought a house in Moscow and began to come to Vorobyovka for the spring and summer already as a summer resident, having handed over the farm to the manager. At this time of contentment and honor, Afanasy Afanasyevich set to work with new energy on original and translated poetry, and on memoirs. He published in Moscow: four collections of lyric poems "Evening Lights" (1883, 1885, 1888, 1891) and translations of Horace (1883), Juvenal (1885), Catullus (1886), Tibullus (1886), Ovid (1887), Virgil (1888), Propertia (1889), Persia (1889) and Martial (1891); translation of both parts of Goethe's Faust (1882 and 1888); wrote memoirs "The Early Years of My Life, Before 1848" (posthumous publication, 1893) and “My Memories, 1848-1889” (in two volumes, 1890); translation of the works of A. Schopenhauer: “on the fourth root of the law of sufficient reason” and “on the will in nature” (1886) and “The World as Will and Representation” (2nd edition - 1888).

On January 28 and 29, 1889, the anniversary of the 50-year literary activity of Fet was solemnly celebrated in Moscow; shortly after that, he was granted the title of chamberlain by the Highest. Afanasy Afanasyevich died on November 21, 1892 in Moscow, two days before the age of 72. He was buried in the family estate of the Shenshins, the village of Kleimenov, in the Mtsensk district, 25 versts from Orel.

Creation Feta characterized by the desire to escape from everyday reality in the "bright realm of dreams." The main content of his poetry is love and nature. His poems are distinguished by the subtlety of the poetic mood and great artistic skill.

Fet is expressive and accurate in depicting pictures of nature at different times of the year, in each of which he finds a unique charm. Even in the pictures of fading nature, the poet sees the beauty that gives rise to bright, life-affirming feelings. This is felt in such poems as, “The sheets trembled, flying around ...”, etc. Fet’s nature is inhabited by living creatures, and not only traditional for poetry (nightingale, eagle, swan), but also, perhaps, for the first time falling into the lyrical landscape (lapwing, sandpiper). The accuracy, concreteness of landscapes is largely due to the achievements of Russian realistic prose (Turgenev and L. Tolstoy in the first place). The poeticization of the beauties of nature is one of the merits of the Feta-lyricist before Russian literature. Poetry Feta about nature have long become a textbook.

Another, no less significant merit Feta- an image of a deep love feeling. His love lyrics are characterized by tragedy and deep psychologism. At the same time, the appearances of the hero and heroine are deprived of social and everyday certainty by Fet. It is not for nothing that the style of his love poems is so characteristic of a technique when a portrait or psychological detail acts as part of the whole. “Parting to the left”, “children's tears”, “miraculous features”, “bends of a close soul”, “torment of a sinless soul”, “instant image” are signs of the heroine.

Fet Afanasy Afanasievich (1820-1892) - Russian poet, memoirist and translator.

Birth and family

Childhood

A child born in 1820 was baptized in the same year according to the Orthodox rite and recorded in the name of his stepfather - Shenshin Afanasy Afanasievich.

When the boy was 14 years old, the Oryol provincial authorities discovered that Athanasius was recorded under the surname Shenshin before his mother married his stepfather. In this regard, the guy was deprived of his surname and title of nobility. This hurt the teenager so deeply, because in an instant he turned from a rich heir into a nameless person, and then he suffered all his life because of his dual position.

From that time on, he bore the surname Fet, as the son of a foreigner unknown to him. Athanasius took this as a shame, and he had an obsession that became decisive in his future life path - to return the lost surname.

Training and service

Until the age of 14, Athanasius studied at home. Then he was assigned to the Estonian city of Verro in the German boarding school Krommer.

At the age of 17, the parents moved the guy to Moscow, where he began to prepare for entering the university at the Pogodin boarding house (a famous historian, journalist, professor and writer at that time).

In 1838, Athanasius became a law student at the university. Then he decided to continue his studies at the historical and philological (verbal), transferred and studied until 1844.

After graduating from the university, Fet entered the army, he needed this in order to regain his title of nobility. He ended up in one of the southern regiments, from there he was sent to the Lancers Guards Regiment. And in 1854 he was transferred to the Baltic regiment (it was this period of service that he later described in his memoirs “My Memoirs”).

In 1858, Fet finished his service as a captain, like his stepfather, and settled in Moscow.

Creation

Even while studying at a boarding school, Athanasius wrote his first poems and began to be interested in classical philology.

When Fet was studying at the university in Moscow, he had a friend Apollon Grigoriev, who helped Athanasius to release the first poetry collection called "Lyric Pantheon". This book did not bring success among readers to the author, but journalists drew attention to the young talent, Belinsky spoke especially well about Athanasius.

Since 1842, Fet's poetry began to be published in the newspapers Otechestvennye Zapiski and Moskvityanin.

In 1850, the second book with his poems was published, which was already positively criticized in the Sovremennik magazine, some even admired Fet's work. After this collection, the author was received among famous Russian writers, which included Druzhinin, Nekrasov, Botkin, Turgenev. Literary earnings improved the financial situation of Fet, and he went to travel abroad.

The poet was a romantic, in his poems three main lines were clearly traced - love, art and nature. The following collections of his poems were published in 1856 (under the editorship of Turgenev I.S.) and in 1863 (immediately a two-volume collected works).

Despite the fact that Fet was such a refined lyricist, he managed to perfectly manage economic affairs, buy and sell estates, and slowly make a fortune.

In 1860, Athanasius bought the Stepanovka farm, began to manage, lived there without a break, only briefly appearing in Moscow in winter.

In 1877 he bought the Vorobyovka estate in the Kursk province. In 1881, Athanasius bought a house in Moscow, he came to Vorobyovka only for summer holidays. Now he is again engaged in creativity, wrote memoirs, made translations and released another lyrical collection of poems "Evening Lights".

The most popular poems by Athanasius Fet:

"I came to you with greetings";
"Mother! Look out the window";
“How brightly the full moon silvered this roof”;
“I still love, I still yearn”;
"Wonderful picture";
“At dawn, don’t wake her up”;
“Whisper, timid breathing…”;
"Storm";
"Death";
"I won't tell you anything."

Personal life

In 1857, Fet married Maria Petrovna Botkina, the sister of a famous critic. Her brother Sergei Petrovich Botkin is a famous physician, after whom the Moscow hospital is named. Nephew Yevgeny Sergeevich Botkin was shot along with the royal family of Emperor Nicholas II in 1918.

Despite the fact that in 1873 Afanasy Afanasievich was returned the title of nobility and the surname Shenshin, he continued to sign himself Fet.

Children in the marriage of Fet A.A. and Botkina M.P. did not have.