The Polemics of V.K. Trediakovsky and A.P. Sumarokov About the Sonnet

Abstract

The article investigates the early period of the sonnet form in Russia, covering the period from 1732 to 1759. It examines the ideas of two prominent poets of the time, Vasily Trediakovsky and Aleksandr Sumarokov, regarding the sonnet. Trediakovsky appears as the true unventor of the sonnet form in Russia: in 1732, he translated the famous “penitential”-sonnet of Jacques Vallée, Sieur Des Barreaux, “Grand Dieu, tes jugements sont remplis d’équité…” into 13-syllable lines. Trediakovsky translated this poem again in 1735 and 1752 with various variants of trochaic verses. In his “Epistle on Poetry” of 1747, Sumarokov displayed a different conception of the sonnet as a salon and playful poetry. In 1755, he published in the “Monthly Review” six sonnets in alexandrines, demonstrating his understanding of this form. Younger poets followed Sumarokov’s recommendations and imitated his sonnets. Trediakovsky had to accept defeat, and in 1759, wrote a sonnet in alexandrines. Apparently, Trediakovsky’s conception of the sonnet as a genre for elevated subject matter nonetheless influenced Sumarokov. In his late sonnets, written in 1769 and 1774, Sumarokov treated religious and philosophical subjects.

Keywords

• vasilii k. trediakovsky
• aleksandr p. sumarokov
• italian and french sonnet types in russia
• the reform of russian verse
• russian poetry of the 18th century
• poetics.