Theatrical plans of young Dmitry Bludov (based on unpublished letters of 1802-1804 to Vasily Zhukovsky)

The article examines the early stage of Bludov's correspondence with Zhukovsky, which lasted for several decades of their lives. Unpublished letters of 1801-1804 make it possible to clarify many of the unknown facts of their biographies. One of the most interesting topics of this correspondence is connected with Bludov's plans dedicated to the theater. At the age of seventeen, Bludov turned to composing comedies under the influence of his cousin V.A. Ozerov, who became famous in 1804 after staging his first tragedy. Among those who supported Bludov was an experienced actor and playwright I.A. Dmitrevsky. By 1803, Bludov had written two plays, one of which (Midnight) did not survive. The letters demonstrate his fascination with another dramatic idea: this is a comedy The Sensitive - he dedicated one of his letters to Zhukovsky to its detailed description. The article publishes Bludov's letters related to this comedy. Bludov was inspired by an anti-Sentimentalist plan directed against a new literary trend. In his letter to Zhukovsky, he expressed great respect for Karamzin as a converter of literary language, intending even to dedicate The Sensitive to him. However, the comedy inevitably touched Karamzin, of which Zhukovsky disapproved. The Sensitive has a number of creative moments that bring Bludov's comedy close to A.A. Shakhovskoy's The New Sterne, staged in 1805. Shakhovskoy, like Bludov, did not touch Karamzin in his comedy, preferring to employ expressions and images of epigones of Sentimentalism, but it was a strong satirical attack against the entire Karamzin movement and its ideas. The Sensitive and The New Sterne attacked the same sentimentalist writer, V.V. Izmailov, with his book A Journey to Midday Russia. Bludov was inspired to create The Sensitive by the first edition of Izmailov's book in 1802, while Shakhovskoy by the second edition in 1805. In both comedies, the plot was connected with the love story of the antagonist, who was a ridiculous loser in The New Sterne and a successful representative of secular society in The Sensitive. Bludov's plan cannot be understood without taking into account the attitude to Karamzin of the members of the Friendly Literary Society that met in Moscow in 1801. Bludov was not a member of it, but was well acquainted with all its members. Bludov shared the opposition to the “empty Karamzi-nism” (A.S. Kaysarov) trend in Russian literature. Bludov asks ironic questions about Karamzin in his letters up to the end of 1804. when Zhukovsky introduced him to the writer. Karamzin made an indelible impression on Bludov. Letters to Zhukovsky allow us to date this meeting, previously mistakenly attributed to 1805, to November 1804. Bludov could not help but appreciate the determination with which Zhukovsky refused to support the plan of The Sensitive.

Keywords

Authors

References