Inscription in V.A. Zhukovskys creative system and beyond it in thebooks of his library

A multitude of inscriptions to a statue, a portrait, in an album is a small-size lyrical genre, popularin Russian poetry. It is enough to recall "Nadpis' na illuminatsiyu" by М. Lomonosov, "K monumentuPetra Velikogo" by G. Derzhavin, "Nadpis' na statuyu Kupidona" by N. Karamzin, classical Puhkin's"K portretu Zhukovskogo", "Na statuyu, igrayushchego v babki", "Tsarskosel'skaya statuya", manyverse epitaphs to observe the thematic scope of inscription and its historical perspective.This genre is also widespread in Zhukovsky's poetical heritage. Over 20 works of this genre andtheir range, varying from a serious inscription "K portretu Gete" ("To Goethe's Portrait") to a humorous"Na smert' chizhika", the chronological frames of which are 1806-1843, is an evidence of theirspecial role in the poet's creative system. A curious phenomenon of these experiments is "Pevets vostane russkih voinov" (The Bard in the Russian warriors' camp), a poetic wreath of inscriptions toportraits of heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812.But inscription exists not only within the poet's creative system. It has its own unique image as agift inscription on a book, which reflects Zhukovsky's poetic thought: "Posol dushi, vnimaemiydushoyu" (The soul's ambassador which is perceived by a soul).For the first time the article deals with the system of inscriptions in the poet's library which comprisesover 150 gift inscriptions. 46 out of this number belong to Russian authors, 63 to foreign ones;26 inscriptions are included in the same scope of presenters and reflect the multitude of human andcreative contacts. Thus, for instance, 5 are made by Professor of Ancient Classical Philology, Elocution,Aesthetics and History of Arts of Derbt University Carl Simon Morgenschtern (1770-1852); 4 −by a writer and publicist А.S. Sturdza (1791-1854), 3 − by a famous German natural philosophythinker and traveller Alexander von Gumboldt (1769-1859). 10 book inscriptions have not beenattributed.The absolute majority of inscriptions are quite neutral; there is no ground to speak of their contentsand poetics. We can only state the fact of acquaintance, the distance in relations. It should not be forgottenthat for many Zhukovsky was not only a poet but also an official: the Heir's mentor, "His Excellence".This characteristic trait divides all the inscriptions into two obvious groups: gifts to a friendpoetand gifts to the Heir's mentor, an official.The gift inscriptions give a good view of literary world of 1810-1840s. Among the presenters wecan find, in fact, all the prominent figures of the Russian historical-literary process of those times:I.A. Krylov, I.I. Kozlov, А.А. Delvig, N.I. Gnedich, Е.А. Baratynskiy, V.I. Panaev, N.I. Grech,F.V. Bulgarin, N.F. Grammatin, М.N. Zagoskin, I.T. Kalashnikov, Е.P. Rostopchina, V.A. Sologub,N.M. Yazykov, S.P. Shevyrev etc. Unfortunately, the books presented by Pushkin and Gogol have notbeen found yet, although it is well known that they existed. Similarly large is the scope of inscriptionsmade by European authors of Romanticism - from L. Tick and A. Manzoni to the almost unknown toRussians German Karl Shnaaze and Italian Valeriano Luiggi Brera.The article gives a detailed description of four gift inscriptions on Zhukovsky's books: a memberof the Arzamas society and Decembrist, a prominent Russian economist Nicholas Turgenev, a FrenchGeneral Anri Zhomini, a French writer and translator Charlotte Moro de la Meltier and an Italianwriter Alessandro Manzoni. They are analysed as an expression of the representative nature of thisgenre, as a source of personal and creative contacts of Zhukovsky and the prominent figures of Russianand European culture.

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