Vasily Kirillovich Trediakovsky (russian: Васи́лий Кири́ллович Тредиако́вский ; in

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

– in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

) was a Russian poet, essayist and playwright who helped lay the foundations of classical

Russian literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia and its émigrés and to Russian-language literature. The roots of Russian literature can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were composed. By the ...

. Trediakovsky was a Russian literary theoretician and poet whose writings contributed to the classical foundations of Russian literature. The son of a poor priest, Trediakovsky became the first Russian commoner to receive a

humanistic Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

education abroad, at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

(1727–30) where he studied philosophy, linguistics and mathematics. Soon after his return to Russia he became acting secretary of the

Academy of Sciences An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unit ...

and ''de facto'' court poet. In 1735 Trediakovsky published ''Новый и краткий способ к сложенью российских стихов'' (''"A new and brief way for composing of Russian verses"''), a highly theoretical work for which he is best remembered. It discussed for the first time in Russian literature such poetic genres as the

sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's inventio ...

, the rondeau, the

madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th c.) and early Baroque (1600–1750) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the number ...

, and the

ode An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...

. In 1748 appeared his ''Разговор об орфографии'' ("A Conversation on Orthography"), the first study of the phonetic structure of the

Russian language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living E ...

. He continued his advocacy of poetic reform in ''О древней, средней и новой российской поезии'' (1752; "On Ancient, Middle, and New Russian Poetry"). Trediakovsky was also a prolific translator of classical authors,

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

philosophers, and

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than F ...

. His translations frequently aroused the ire of the censors, and he fell into disfavour with his Academy superiors and conservative court circles. In 1759 he was dismissed from the Academy. His last major work was a translation of

François Fénelon François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon (), more commonly known as François Fénelon (6 August 1651 – 7 January 1715), was a French Catholic archbishop, theologian, poet and writer. Today, he is remembered mostly as the author of '' The ...

's ''Les aventures de Telemaque'' (1766; Tilemakhida), which he rendered in Russian

hexameter Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...

s. His works marked the transition from syllabic versification to metric verse, more suited to the sound of the Russian tongue. In 1740, Trediakovsky received a physical beating at the hand of the imperial minister

Artemy Volynsky Artemy Petrovich Volynsky (russian: Арте́мий Петро́вич Волы́нский; 1689–1740) was a Russian statesman and diplomat. His career started as a soldier but was rapidly upgraded to ambassador to Safavid Iran, and later as ...

. Volynsky was arrested on charges of conspiracy and misconduct, but Trediakovsky became, "a subject of constant mockery", according to

Elif Batuman Elif Batuman (born 1977) is an American author, academic, and journalist. She is the author of three books: a memoir, ''The Possessed'', and the novels ''The Idiot,'' which was a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and '' Either/Or'' ...

: "His very propensity for receiving physical abuse became a popular comic premise."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trediakovsky, Vasily 1703 births 1769 deaths University of Paris alumni Russian male poets Full members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Orthographers 18th-century translators from the Russian Empire 18th-century poets from the Russian Empire

See also

References