Poetry
Felitsa
Фелица
Gavrila Derzhavin · 1783
Synopsis
A Tatar murza, settled in Moscow and come to Saint Petersburg on business, addresses Felitsa, the wise princess of the Kirghiz-Kaisak horde, and asks her how to live with distinction and in truth. He contrasts the virtues of the sovereign, who goes on foot, eats simply and does not play cards, with his own failings: sleeping until noon, smoking, feasting, going hunting, reading the tales of Polkan and Bova. These failings are those of the grandees whom the author said he had observed at court.
Context
The name comes from an edifying tale that the empress had written in 1781 for her grandson Alexander, and the full title presents the ode as translated from the Arabic. The author, who feared the grudge of the great, did not want to publish it. Osip Kozodavlev, adviser to the directorate of the Academy of Sciences, had Princess Dashkova, who had just taken its helm, read it; the ode appeared unsigned in May 1783, in the first issue of her journal. The empress sent the poet a gold snuffbox set with diamonds with five hundred ducats, then received him.
Who it is for
Twenty-six strophes of ten lines, to be read in an annotated edition: the allusions to the courtiers of the day can only be understood with notes.
Prizes and reception
The ode brought its author literary renown and the empress's favour; it opened his career in the high offices of the state.
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