Brief biography of Afanasy Fet

Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet is a Russian poet of German origin, memoirist, translator, and since 1886 a corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Fet was born on December 5, 1820 in the Novoselki estate (Oryol province). The writer's father was a wealthy landowner of German origin named Fet. Afanasy's mother remarried Afanasy Shenshin, who became the official father of the writer and gave him his last name.

When the boy turned 14 years old, the legal illegality of this entry was discovered, and Afanasy was forced to take the surname Fet again, which was akin to shame for him. Subsequently, all his life he tried to regain his surname Shenshin. Fet received his education in a German private boarding school. Around 1835 he began to write poetry and show interest in literature. After graduating from school, he entered Moscow University, where for 6 years he studied at the verbal department of the Faculty of Philosophy.

In 1840, a collection of the poet’s poems, “Lyrical Pantheon,” appeared. At the beginning of his literary career, he was supported by his friend and colleague Apollo Grigoriev. In 1845, Fet entered the service and a year later received his first officer rank. A few years later, the writer’s second collection appeared, which received positive reviews from critics. At the same time, the poet’s beloved Maric Lazic, to whom many poems from the collection were dedicated, died. Among them, “The Talisman” and “Old Letters”.

Fet often visited St. Petersburg, where he communicated with Turgenev, Goncharov and other writers. There he also collaborated with the editors of the Sovremennik magazine. The third collection of poems appeared in 1856, edited by Turgenev. Soon the poet married Maria Botkina. After retiring, the writer settled in Moscow. In 1863, a two-volume collection of his poems appeared. In 1867 he was awarded the title of justice of the peace, and in 1873 he was finally able to return to his former surname and title of nobility. The writer died of a heart attack on November 21, 1892 in Moscow. He was buried in Kleymenovo, now Oryol region, the ancestral village of the Shenshins.

It begins simply with Shakespeare's passions. His father, a wealthy nobleman Afanasy Neofitovich Shenshin, a 45-year-old man of the hussar type, a former captain, while undergoing treatment in Germany, fell madly in love with the 20-year-old mother of the future poet, Charlotte Fet. This passion was not hindered by the fact that the lady was married, or that she already had a daughter, or that the lady was pregnant with Afanasy...

The boy was born in December 1820. Fet's biography contains a period of happy childhood on his father's Oryol estate in the village. Novoselki.

About the Shenshin-Fetov family

In fact, the biological father of Afanasy Feth is Johann-Peter-Karl-Wilhelm Feth, assessor of the Darmstadt city court. The blood sister remained in Germany.

Two children of Charlotte Fet and Afanasia Shenshina (Anna and Vasily) died in infancy. The poet had a half-sister, Lyuba, born in 1824.

Offended by the kidnapping of his wife, his biological German father deprived Afanasy of his inheritance.

Illegitimate son status

The carefree period of childhood of the future poet on the Shenshin estate lasted up to 14 years, until the Orthodox (diocesan) authorities, exercising, as they now say, legal supervision, discovered that the date of the parents’ wedding (1822) was later than the date of birth of the child. This entailed significant legal consequences for Afanasy. Fet's biography contains information that the young man suffered deeply from his special status as an “illegitimate.”

The chronological table testifies to the rhythm of life imposed on him. Fet Afanasy Afanasyevich, on the one hand, was attracted by poetry, and on the other, by the duty of returning noble privileges to his offspring.

Dates	Events
	In the village of Novoselki, a son, Afanasy, was born into the landowner family of the Shenshins.
	Studying at the Krommer boarding house in the Finnish city of Verro
	Professor Pogodin's boarding house
	Studying at the Department of Literature of Moscow University
	Service in the cuirassier regiment in the Kherson province
	First collection of poetry
	Second collection of poems
	Fet becomes a local nobleman and lives on an estate in Stepanovka
	The most productive period of creativity (in the village of Vorobyovka)
1883, 1885, 1888, 1891	Years of publication of cycles of the poet’s best poems
	Death from an asthma attack

Very many milestones of his life - with honor he overcame limitations in education, forced military service, marriage to an unloved woman, becoming a hermit in the village - were clearly not part of his original plans. Such stages of life do not make a person happy... All this, unfortunately, affected the poet’s health. The years of Fet's life could cover a larger period of time.

Adversity changed the poet's character

Perhaps this state of internal suffering was the reason for the birth in his soul of lyrics of the highest level, a crystal clear style of poetry.

He could not bear his father’s surname, was not a Russian subject, and, accordingly, did not inherit the rights of the nobility. His last name was Fet, and the young man was considered a German subject. Everything that his brothers and sisters received by birth, he should have earned. This is how the vigilance of the spiritual fathers-clerks made the poet’s subsequent life miserable. He entered the rights of the nobility only at the age of 50! Therefore, literary scholars emphasize: Fet’s dull, gloomy biography and his clear, watercolor poetic heritage are deeply contrasting. The severe psychological trauma caused by the inhumanity of the law determined the difficult character of this most talented person.

Education

Unlike the rest of the Shenshins, Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet received a good education. Hard work and a predisposition to science did their job... Being a German subject, he was forced to begin studying in a Protestant German boarding school. However, he owes his knowledge of Latin and classical philology to the teachers of this institution. It was here that his first poems were written.

The beginning of creativity

The young man had a dream - to study at Moscow University. Professor Pogodin's boarding school served as a stepping stone to this admission.

Since 1838, Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet has been a student in the literature department of the university he coveted. This is where his long-term friendship with the future poet and critic Apollon Grigoriev originates. Here, in 1840, Fet wrote his first collection of poems, “The Lyrical Pantheon.” In the works of the aspiring poet, one could feel the imitation of Venediktov and Pushkin. Fet's early lyrics are published in the magazines Otechestvennye zapiski and Moskvityanin. Fet longs for recognition, thanks to which he hopes to regain his noble title. However, Fet's early lyrics do not bring success adequate to such a dream.

Then the active young man acts in accordance with “plan B” - he receives a noble title after military service.

The poet serves in the army

He serves in the cuirassier regiment, which is stationed in the Kherson province.

At this time, the beginning of his personal drama began. An unknown, frankly poor young man has a serious feeling for Maria Lazic, the daughter of a small nobleman. Moreover, this feeling is mutual (and, as it turned out, for life.) However, the destructive complex that has developed in Athanasia “returning the nobility above all else” prevents marriage and the creation of a happy family... Maria died untimely, while still young, leaving her lover with memories and regrets .

Afanasy Fet, whose original poetic gift began to manifest itself, calls the years of service impartially: “conclusion.” The first resounding success accompanied his poems, published in 1850. The poet is recognized by the creative elite. He meets and becomes familiar with Nekrasov, Druzhinin, and Leo Tolstoy. His works are finally expected and loved. However, Afanasy Fet, a poet from God, is still moving towards his creative heights. A new collection of poetry, published in 1856, is only a milestone on this path.

Marriage, landowner status

He never earned the title in the army, although he rose to the rank of captain (which corresponds to the modern rank of captain, and to regain the title, according to the logic of his military career, Fet should have become a colonel).

However, by this time the life of Afanasy Afanasyevich had changed dramatically. Returning to civilian life, he married Botkina, the sister of a famous literary critic. This marriage was, rather, carried out by him out of calculation rather than out of love. Thus, Fet Afanasy Afanasyevich became close to a wealthy merchant family and drew the line of poverty. Fate becomes favorable to him. The royal decree recognizes his right to his father's inheritance, and he is also given the surname Shenshin. The poet calls this event the most joyful in his life. He had been waiting for this for many years.

However, fans of his work are still interested in the question: “Why did the famous poet decide to marry for convenience?” No direct answer was found in his diaries. In any case, this is a matter of personal choice: to choose family life, secretly suffering from a failed marriage with a loved one... Perhaps he was tired of fighting a society that limited his rights, and decided to finally find peace, since he did not have happiness in love. This characterization of Fet has a basis. However, he will remember his deceased beloved Maria Lazic until his death, dedicating poems to her.

Fet is an active landowner

In 1860, with his wife’s capital, he bought the Stepanovka farm, where he farmed almost continuously for 17 years. Fet the landowner owns two hundred souls on the farm. He is completely immersed in organizing and running the household. There is practically no time left for creativity. He becomes a “convinced and tenacious Russian agrarian.” Afanasy Afanasyevich, devoting a lot of time and effort to a new business for himself and distinguished not only by his poetic gift, but also by his worldly wisdom, achieves respect in society. Evidence of recognition is his performance as a justice of the peace.

The efficient management of Feta the landowner contributed to the capitalization of the funds he earned in agricultural production. He actually earned his wealth through his labor.

The most fruitful period of creativity

In 1877, the poet entered a new, most fruitful period of his work. His poetic style has been developed, and his tormented soul longs to plunge into the ocean of pure poetry. Fet's history goes back to its last highest stage, which brought him the fame of an incomparable lyricist. It is in order to isolate himself from the busy world and focus on high creativity that Afanasy Afanasyevich buys the Kursk village of Vorobyovka, where he spends the warm season. For the winter, the poet always returned to his Moscow mansion. The life of Afanasy Fet, starting from this milestone, was entirely devoted to poetry.

This period of creativity turned out to be the most productive. Fet's chronological table shows the dynamics of his writing of collections: 1883, 1885, 1888, 1891... It is noteworthy that all these collections of poems, written over the course of a decade, are combined into the general cycle “Evening Lights”.

Fet's poetry is unique

All of Afanasy Afanasyevich’s poetry, presented in the author’s collections, can be roughly grouped into three main themes: nature, love, art. He devoted his poetic activity only to these subjects. Fet's lyrics are simple and bright, they are truly written for all times. A reader who wants to find in his poems associations encountered in his own life will certainly find them: in the majestic landscape of the forest, the life-giving sound of rain, in the joyful portal of the rainbow. Composer Tchaikovsky compared his poetry to music. According to many critics, the richness of the poetic palette achieved by Afanasy Fet in describing nature was not achieved by any of his colleagues. Fet's muse is special: simple and graceful, calmly gliding on her wings above the ground, captivating readers with her lightness and grace.

The poet developed a harmonious principle in his work, fundamentally dissociating himself from “mental weather,” anxiety, conflicts and injustice. The poet called his artistic style “the mind of the heart.”

Instead of a conclusion

The years of Fet's life are 1820-1892. A year before his death, his literary research was “highly” appreciated. Fet was granted the rank of chamberlain (a high rank of court rank, roughly equivalent to a major general).

However, the poet’s health was already failing... He had no time for palace careers... He died during an asthmatic attack. Fet Afanasy Afanasyevich was buried in the Oryol family estate, located in the village of Kleymenovo.

To summarize the above, it is worth mentioning the influence of Afanasy Afanasyevich’s work on the generation of symbolist poets: Balmont, Blok, Yesenin. He is undoubtedly the founder of the Russian school of pure art, fascinating with its sincerity.

Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet was born in the Novoselki estate in Mtsensk district in November 1820. The story of his birth is not entirely ordinary. His father, Afanasy Neofitovich Shenshin, a retired captain, belonged to an old noble family and was a wealthy landowner. While undergoing treatment in Germany, he married Charlotte Feth, whom he took to Russia from her husband and daughter. Two months later, Charlotte gave birth to a boy, named Afanasy and given the surname Shenshin. Fourteen years later, the spiritual authorities of Orel discovered that the child was born before the parents’ wedding, and Afanasy was deprived of the right to bear his father’s surname and deprived of his noble title. This event wounded the impressionable child, and he spent almost his entire life experiencing the ambiguity of his position. In addition, he had to earn his noble rights, which the church deprived him of. He graduated from the university, where he studied first at the Faculty of Law and then at the Faculty of Philology. At this time, in 1840, he published his first works as a separate book, which, however, did not have any success.

Having received his education, Afanasy. Afanasyevich decided to become a military man, since the officer rank provided the opportunity to receive a noble title. But in 1858 A. Fet was forced to resign. He never won the rights of the nobility - at that time the nobility gave only the rank of colonel, and he was a captain of headquarters. But the years of military service can be considered the heyday of his poetic activity. In 1850, “Poems” by A. Fet was published in Moscow, which was greeted with delight by readers. In St. Petersburg he met Nekrasov, Panaev, Druzhinin, Goncharov, Yazykov. Later he became friends with Leo Tolstoy. This friendship was long and fruitful for both.

During the years of military service, Afanasy Fet experienced a tragic love for Maria Lazich, a fan of his poetry, a very talented and educated girl. She also fell in love with him, but they were both poor, and for this reason Fet did not dare to join his fate with his beloved girl. Soon Maria Lazic died. Until his death, the poet remembered his unhappy love; in many of his poems one can hear its unfading breath.

In 1856, a new book on this was published. After retiring, A. Fet bought land in Mtsensk district and decided to devote himself to agriculture. Soon he married M.P. Botkina. Fet lived in the village of Stepanovka for seventeen years, visiting Moscow only briefly. Here he received his highest decree that the surname Shenshin with all the rights associated with it had finally been approved for him.

In 1877, Afanasy Afanasyevich bought the village of Vorobyovka in the Kursk province, where he spent the rest of his life, only leaving for Moscow for the winter. These years, unlike the years lived in Stepanovka, were marked by his return to literature. The poet signed all his poems with the surname Fet: under this name he acquired poetic fame, and it was dear to him. During this period, A. Fet published a collection of his works under the title “Evening Lights” - there were four issues in total.

In January 1889, the fiftieth anniversary of A. A. Fet’s literary activity was solemnly celebrated in Moscow, and in 1892 the poet died, two days short of his 72nd birthday. He was buried in the village of Kleymenovo, the family estate of the Shenshins, 25 versts from Orel.

A. A. Fet lived a long and difficult life. His literary fate was also difficult. Of his creative heritage, modern readers know mainly poetry and much less prose, journalism, translations, memoirs, and letters. Without Afanasy Fet it is difficult to imagine the life of literary Moscow in the 19th century. Many famous people visited his house on Plyushchikha. For many years he was friends with A. Grigoriev and I. Turgenev. All of literary and musical Moscow attended Fet’s musical evenings.

A. Fet's poems are pure poetry in the sense that there is not a drop of prose. He did not sing about hot feelings, despair, delight, lofty thoughts, no, he wrote about the simplest things - about nature, about the simplest movements of the soul, even about momentary impressions. His poetry is joyful and bright, it is filled with light and peace. The poet even writes about his ruined love lightly and calmly, although his feeling is deep and fresh, as in the first minutes. Until the end of his life, Fet did not lose the ability to rejoice.

The beauty, naturalness, and sincerity of his poetry reach complete perfection; his verse is amazingly expressive, figurative, and musical. It is not for nothing that Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev, Rachmaninov, and other composers turned to his poetry. “This is not just a poet, but rather a poet-musician...” - Tchaikovsky said about him. Many romances were written based on Fet's poems, which quickly gained wide popularity.

Fet can be called a singer of Russian nature. The approach of spring and autumn withering, a fragrant summer night and a frosty day, a rye field stretching endlessly and without edge and a dense shady forest - he writes about all this in his poems. Fet's nature is always calm, quiet, as if frozen. And at the same time, it is surprisingly rich in sounds and colors, living its own life, hidden from the inattentive eye:

I came to you with greetings,

Tell me that the sun has risen

What is it with hot light

The sheets began to flutter;

Tell me that the forest woke up, woke up all over, every branch, every bird was roused

And full of thirst in spring...

Fet also perfectly conveys the “fragrant freshness of feelings” inspired by nature, its beauty and charm. His poems are imbued with a bright, joyful mood, the happiness of love. The poet unusually subtly reveals the various shades of human experiences. He knows how to capture and put into bright, living images even fleeting mental movements that are difficult to identify and convey in words:

Whisper, timid breathing,

The trill of a nightingale,

Silver and sway

Sleepy stream,

Night light, night shadows,

Endless shadows

A series of magical changes

Sweet face

There are purple roses in the smoky clouds,

The reflection of amber

And kisses and tears,

And dawn, dawn!..

Usually A. Fet in his poems dwells on one figure, on one turn of feelings, and at the same time his poetry cannot be called monotonous; on the contrary, it amazes with its diversity and multitude of themes. The special charm of his poems, in addition to the content, lies precisely in the nature of his mood in poetry. Fet's muse is light, airy, as if there is nothing earthly in it, although she tells us exactly about the earthly. There is almost no action in his poetry; each of his verses is a whole series of impressions, thoughts, joys and sorrows. Take at least such of them as “Your ray, flying far...,” “Motionless eyes, crazy eyes...”, “The sun’s ray between the linden trees...”, “I stretch out my hand to you in silence... " and others.

The poet sang beauty where he saw it, and he found it everywhere. He was an artist with an exceptionally developed sense of beauty; This is probably why the pictures of nature in his poems are so beautiful, which he reproduced as it is, without allowing any decorations of reality. In his poems we recognize a specific landscape - central Russia.

In all descriptions of nature, the poet is impeccably faithful to its smallest features, shades, and moods. It was thanks to this that such poetic masterpieces as “Whisper, timid breathing...”, “I came to you with greetings...”, “At dawn, don’t wake her up...”, “Dawn” were created. says goodbye to the earth..."

Fet's love lyrics are the most frank page of his poetry. The poet's heart is open, he does not spare it, and the drama of his poems is literally shocking, despite the fact that, as a rule, their main tonality is light, major.

The poems of A. A. Fet are loved in our country. Time has unconditionally confirmed the value of his poetry, showing that we, people of the 21st century, need it, because it speaks about the eternal and most intimate, and reveals the beauty of the world around us.

Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet(for the first 14 and last 19 years of his life he officially bore the surname Shenshin, November 23 (December 5), 1820, Novoselki estate, Mtsensk district, Oryol province - November 21 (December 3), 1892, Moscow) - Russian lyricist poet, translator, memoirist.

Surname Fet(more precisely, Fet, German Foeth), became for the poet, as he later recalled, “the name of all his sufferings and sorrows.” Son of an Oryol landowner Afanasy Ivanovich Shenshin and Caroline Charlotte Föth, brought by him from Germany, he was recorded at birth (probably for a bribe) as the legitimate son of his parents, although he was born a month after Charlotte arrived in Russia and a year before their marriage. When he was 14 years old, an “error” in the documents was discovered, and he was deprived of his surname, nobility and Russian citizenship and became “foreign subject Afanasy Fet” (thus, Charlotte’s first husband, the German Fet, began to be considered his father; who in reality was Afanasy's father is unknown). In 1873, he officially regained his surname Shenshin, but continued to sign his literary works and translations with the surname Fet (with an “e”).

Afanasy Afanasyevich was born on November 23, 1820 near the city of Mtsensk, Oryol province, in the village of Novoselki.

Until the age of 14, Fet lived and studied at home, and then in the city of Verro Livland province (now Võru, Estonia), in the German private boarding school Krümmer. In 1837, he was transported to Moscow, where Afanasy Afanasyevich studied at the boarding school of Professor Pogodin, a historian, writer, and journalist, where he entered to prepare for Moscow University. Soon Fet entered Moscow University, the Faculty of History and Philology. Almost all student time Afanasy Fet lived in the family of his university friend, the future literary critic Apollo Grigoriev, who had an influence on the development of his poetic gift.

1840 - the first collection of his poems, “Lyrical Pantheon,” is published.
Fet was given his blessing for serious literary work by Gogol, who said: “This is an undoubted talent.” Fet's first collection of poems, “Lyrical Pantheon,” was published in 1840 and received the approval of Belinsky, which inspired him to further work. Since 1842, Fet’s poems regularly appear on the pages of the magazines “Moskvityanin” and “Otechestvennye zapiski”. “Of the poets living in Moscow, Mr. Fet is the most gifted,” writes Belinsky in 1843.

In 1844 Afanasy Afanasyevich finishes his studies at Moscow University and in 1845, a budding poet, becomes a cavalryman in the cuirassier regiment of the Military Order, since the first officer rank gave the right to receive hereditary nobility. In 1853 Fet transferred to the Uhlan Guards Regiment; during the Crimean campaign he was part of the troops guarding the Estonian coast. In 1858 he retired, like his father, as a headquarters captain. Afanasy Afanasyevich, however, was not able to achieve noble rights at that time: the qualification required for this increased as Fet was promoted.

1850 - the second collection of the poet’s poems was published in Moscow. In 1856, the third book was published in St. Petersburg, attracting the attention of poetry connoisseurs and lovers.

Meanwhile, his poetic fame grew. The success of the third book, “Poems by A. Fet,” published in Moscow in 1850, gave him access to the Sovremennik circle in St. Petersburg, where he met Turgenev and V.P. Botkin. Later Afanasy Fet met L.N. Tolstoy, who returned from Sevastopol. The Sovremennik circle jointly selected, edited and beautifully published a new collection of “Poems by A.A. Feta” (St. Petersburg, 1856). In 1863, it was republished by Soldatenkov in two volumes, and the 2nd volume included translations of Horace and others.

In 1857, Afanasy Afanasyevich married Marya Petrovna Botkina, sister of the doctor S.P. Botkin, in Paris. Literary successes prompted Feta leave military service and in 1858 the poet resigns with the rank of guards captain and settles in Moscow.

In 1860, Afanasy Afanasyevich bought the Stepanovka farm with 200 acres of land, in Mtsensk district, and energetically began to manage it, living there all the time and only visiting Moscow briefly in winter. For more than ten years (1867 - 1877) Fet was a justice of the peace and at that time wrote magazine articles in “Russian Bulletin” about rural order (“From the Village”), where he showed himself to be such a convinced and tenacious Russian “agrarian” that he soon received the nickname “serf owner” from the populist press. Afanasy Fet turned out to be an excellent owner; in 1877 he left Stepanovka and bought the Vorobyovka estate in Shchigrovsky district, Kursk province, near Korennaya Pustyn for 105,000 rubles. At the end of his life, Fet's fortune reached a level that can be called wealth. In 1873, the surname Shenshin was approved for Fet with all the rights associated with it. I.S. immediately responded to this. Turgenev: “Like Fet you had a name, like Shenshin you only have a surname.”

In 1881 Shenshin bought a house in Moscow and began to come to Vorobyovka in the spring and summer as a summer resident, renting out the farm to the manager. At this time of contentment and honor, Afanasy Afanasyevich with new energy began to write original and translated poetry, and memoirs. He published in Moscow: four collections of lyrical poems “Evening Lights” (1883, 1885, 1888, 1891) and translations of Horace (1883), Juvenal (1885), Catullus (1886), Tibullus (1886), Ovid (1887), Virgil (1888), Propertius (1889), Persia (1889) and Martial (1891); translation of both parts of Goethe's Faust (1882 and 1888); wrote a memoir, “The Early Years of My Life, Before 1848.” (posthumous edition, 1893) and “My Memoirs, 1848 - 1889.” (in two volumes, 1890); translation of the works of A. Schopenhauer: “On the Fourth Root of the Law of Sufficient Reason” and “On the Will in Nature” (1886) and “The World as Will and Idea” (2nd edition - 1888).

On January 28 and 29, 1889, the anniversary of Fet’s 50-year literary activity was solemnly celebrated in Moscow; soon after that he was granted the title of chamberlain by the Highest. Afanasy Afanasyevich died on November 21, 1892 in Moscow, two days shy of 72 years old. He was buried in the Shenshin family estate, the village of Kleimenov, in Mtsensk district, 25 versts from Orel.

Creation Feta characterized by the desire to escape from everyday reality into the “bright kingdom of dreams.” The main content of his poetry is love and nature. His poems are distinguished by the subtlety of their poetic mood and great artistic skill.

Fet is expressive and accurate when depicting pictures of nature in different seasons, in each of which he finds a unique charm. Even in pictures of fading nature, the poet sees beauty that gives rise to bright, life-affirming feelings. This is felt in such poems as, “The leaves trembled, flying around...” and others. Fet’s nature is inhabited by living creatures, not only traditional for poetry (nightingale, eagle, swan), but also, perhaps, for the first time in the lyrical landscape (lapwing, sandpiper). The accuracy and concreteness of landscapes is largely due to the achievements of Russian realistic prose (Turgenev and L. Tolstoy, first of all). Poeticization of the beauties of nature is one of Feta-lyricist’s services to Russian literature. Poetry Feta about nature have long become textbooks.

Another, no less significant merit Feta- an image of deep love feeling. His love lyrics are characterized by tragedy and deep psychologism. At the same time, Fet’s images of the hero and heroine lack social and everyday definition. It is not without reason that the style of his love poems is so characterized by the technique when a portrait or psychological detail appears as part of the whole. “The parting running to the left,” “children’s tears,” “features not made by hands,” “the curves of a close soul,” “the torment of a sinless soul,” “an instant image” are signs of the heroine.

Biography and episodes of life Afanasia Fet. When born and died Afanasy Fet, memorable places and dates of important events of his life. Poet quotes, Photo and video.

Years of life of Afanasy Fet:

born December 5, 1820, died November 21, 1892

Epitaph

"Quiet waves are whispering,
The shore whispers to another,
The full moon is swaying
Heed the kisses of the night.
In the sky, in the grass and in the water
I can hear the night whispering,
Silently rushing everywhere:
“Honey, come on a date...”
Poem by Alexander Blok dedicated to the memory of Afanasy Fet

Biography

The famous Russian poet Afanasy Fet became a prominent representative of pure poetry, making love and nature the main themes of his work. Almost his entire life, Fet tried to regain his title of nobleman and the right to inheritance. It all started with the fact that the mother of the future poet, Charlotte-Elizabeth Becker, while pregnant with him, began a stormy affair with the landowner Afanasy Shenshin when he was on vacation in Darmstadt. Pregnancy did not stop the lovers; they secretly moved to Russia. Here, on the estate of her beloved, Charlotte gives birth, and the child is recorded as the son of Afanasy Neofitovich Shenshin. But Charlotte Becker’s wedding to Shenshin took place only two years later - after she converted to Orthodoxy.

At the age of fourteen, Afanasy receives the first blow of fate when it is discovered that he was born out of wedlock. As a result, he is deprived of nobility, Russian citizenship, surname and, at the same time, position in society. Wanting to restore justice and win his right to inheritance, Fet decides to join the cuirassier regiment. According to the laws existing at that time, after just six months of service one could receive an officer rank, and with it, return the much-desired nobility. However, failures continue to haunt young Fet: in Russia a decree is issued according to which only senior officers who have served for at least 15 years can receive the title of nobility.

Fet made his first attempts at poetry at a young age, when he was in Krümmer's German boarding school. When the poet was about 20 years old, “Lyrical Pantheon”, the first collection of poems by Afanasy Fet, was published. This is followed by publications in such magazines as Otechestvennye zapiski, Moskvityanin. In 1846, the writer received his first officer rank. Fet's second collection of works received praise from critics, but the joy of success was overshadowed by the death of his beloved Maria Lazic. The Russian poet dedicates a number of poems and the poem “Talisman” to his deceased beloved.

Together with his regiment, Fet was stationed near St. Petersburg, where he met Goncharov, Nekrasov, and Turgenev. It was under the editorship of the latter that Fet’s third collection was published. Tired of trying to regain his nobility, the poet resigns. Together with his wife Maria Petrovna, the sister of the then famous critic Botkin, he moved to Moscow.

Many years later, when a two-volume collection of Fet’s poetic works was released, the title of nobleman was returned to him, and at the same time the surname Shenshin. But the poet decides not to change his literary pseudonym and signs his poems with the surname Fet until his death.

The official date of Fet's death is November 21, 1892. Although the cause of Afanasy Fet's death was named as a heart attack, biographers suggest that he could have committed suicide. Fet's funeral took place in the village of Kleimenov. The ashes of the famous Russian poet still rest here, on the Shenshin family estate.

Life line

December 5, 1820 Date of birth of Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet (Shenshin).
1835 Admission to the German private boarding school Krümmer in Verro (Estonia).
1837 Admission to Moscow University.
1840 Publication of Fet’s collection of poems “Lyrical Pantheon”.
1845 Enlistment in the cuirassier regiment of the Military Order.
1850 Release of the second collection of poetry by Afanasy Fet.
1853 Moving to St. Petersburg for work.
1857 Marriage to Maria Botkina.
1857 Resignation with the rank of guards captain and move to Moscow.
1867 Appointment to the position of magistrate judge.
November 21, 1892 Date of death of Fet.

Memorable places

1. The village of Novoselki in the Oryol region, where Afanasy Fet was born.
2. The city of Võru in Estonia, where the young poet studied.
3. Moscow State University, where Fet studied.
4. Baltic port, where Fet served.
5. The village of Kleymenovo, where Afanasy Fet is buried.
6. Fet's estate-museum in 1st Vorobyovka, Kursk region.
7. Monument to Fet in Orel (near the writer’s house on Saltykov-Shchedrin Street).

Episodes of life

For his original style of presentation, Afanasy Fet was nicknamed a representative of pure poetry and, of course, one of the best poets of the lyrical genre. It is interesting that in one of his most revealing poems - “Whisper, timid breathing ...” - not a single verb is used. At the same time, such a seemingly static description perfectly reflects the movement of time.

Afanasy Fet's first love is associated with the name of the young, well-educated aristocrat Maria Lazic. For some time, the lovers maintained a relationship that did not go beyond light flirting, but Fet, despite obvious sentiments towards Maria, decided never to marry her. Soon their union broke up, and shortly after that, Lazic tragically died due to a fire. Her last words were addressed to Afanasy. The poet himself experienced the loss for a long time and painfully. Until the end of his life, he regretted that their marriage never took place.

Covenant

“The soul is trembling, ready to flare up purer,
Although the spring day has long faded
And under the moon in life's cemetery
Both the night and one’s own shadow are scary.”

Documentary film about Afanasy Fet

Condolences

“...This painful illness dragged on with almost no improvement. Ostroumov said that at 72 years old it is difficult to expect recovery, but Marya Petrovna and I kept hoping. I remember that P.P. Botkin, visiting the patient several times, told Marya Petrovna that it would be necessary to give communion to Afanasy Afanasyevich. But Marya Petrovna said resolutely every time: “For God’s sake, don’t tell him this; he will get angry and feel worse; he does not believe in rituals; I already take this sin upon myself and will pray about it myself.”
Ekaterina Kudryavtseva, secretary of Afanasy Fet

“...It was heartbreaking to see how every hour my dear Afanasy Afanasyevich was moving further and further away from us. “I’m going out like a lamp,” he said.”
Maria Shenshin, wife