From the history and textology of V.A. Zhukovsky's collection of letters. Letters to N.I. Gnedich. Article One

The article examines the personal and creative relationships of V.A. Zhukovsky and N.I .Gnedich as reflected in their epistolary heritage. The poets met in Moscow in the summer of 1810, but previously they heard a lot about each other from K.N. Batyushkov. The outcome of their originally longdistance acquaintance was the publication of a series of poems by N.I. Gnedich in Vestnik Evropy (Messenger of Europe) V.A. Zhukovsky edited. Since 1810 the personal and creative relationship poets became permanent. The common point of the poets was striving for epic. For V.A. Zhukovsky one of the first attempts in this direction was "Abaddon", a translation of F.G. Klopstock's Der Messias, submitted to N.I. Gnedich's approval and accompanied by a declaration of creative and friendly closeness in a letter in the second half of December 1814. A confirmation of the creative union was the next episode of the correspondence included in the context of a fierce dispute between N.I. Gnedich and A.S. Griboyedov on the pages of Syn otechestva (Son of the Fatherland) on the ballad genre and "Olga" by P.A. Katenin (letter of the beginning of 1816). In the second half of the 1810s - early 1820s the relationship between the two poets strengthened by a number of joint publishing and theater projects. In a note written in the beginning of 1817 (no later than March 9) V.A. Zhukovsky offered N.I. Gnedich to participate in Sobraniye obraztsovykh russkikh sochineniy i perevodov v stikhakh (Collection of Russian model essays and translations in verse) which he prepared together with A.F. Voeikov and A.I. Turgenev in 1816-1817. The answer to the friendly service of V.A. Zhukovsky was the active assistance of N.I. Gnedich in familiarizing the public with "Die Jungfrau von Orleans", a translation of Schiller's play, in preparation for its publishing and staging. V.A. Zhukovsky wrote about the refusal to publish any excerpts from the tragedy and the history of censorship in a number of notes and letters in 1820 and 1822. A letter dated June 30, 1820 reflected a difficult situation with the censorship of "A detailed report on the moon"; it also sheds light on the poet's role in editing the poem "Ruslan and Ludmila" published by N.I. Gnedich at the request of A.S. Pushkin. The context of this correspondence allows to state that the first published letter about sending letters of A.A. Perovsky was on September 24, 1820. The next block letters is connected by two themes: in March - June 1822, returning from a trip abroad, V.A. Zhukovsky requested N.I. Gnedich to publish translations of Schiller's "Die Jungfrau von Orleans" and Byron's "The Prisoner of Chillon". In the case of "Die Jungfrau von Orleans", V.A. Zhukovsky hoped not only to publish, but also stage it, which N.I. Gnedich, a known theater critic, translator, playwright, teacher, could significantly assist (note from March and April 1822). The poet described the censorship situation with the play in his letters in April - May 1822, giving instructions on the preparations for the publication of "The Prisoner of Chillon".

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