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In sharp opposition to the democratic literature of the townspeople in the second half of the seventeenth century stands the literature of the court and the aristocracy, which reflected the interests and aesthetic tastes of the upper strata of Russian society. It is here that the literary school of the Baroque was established and developed.

The Problem of the Baroque
in Russian Literature of the Second Half
of the Seventeenth Century

p The problem of the Baroque, which arose comparatively recently in literary scholarship, has provoked a lively polemic, in the course of which some concrete methods for resolving this problem have been proposed.

p The term itself was proposed by eighteenth century classicists to designate a type of vulgar, tasteless, “barbaric” art; initially it was used only in connection with architecture and the graphic arts. The term “Baroque” was introduced into literary scholarship in 1888 by Heinrich Wolfflin in his study Renaissance und Barock.  [331•1  He made the first attempts to define the 332 features of the Baroque, citing such things as its picturesque quality, depth and openness of form, and other such features of a purely formal nature. The contemporary French scholar Jean Rousset, in a work entitled La literature de I’age baroque en France (Paris, 1954) reduced the Baroque in literature to the expression of two characteristic motifs: inconstancy and decorativeness. L.V. Pumpyansky was the first to apply the term to Russian literature.  [332•1 

p In his Die slawische Barockwelt  [332•2  the Hungarian scholar A. Angyal gave a fuller treatment of the Baroque. His views were developed by A. A. Morozov, who was inclined to treat all the literature of the latter half of the seventeenth and first half of the eighteenth centuries> as part of the Baroque. He saw in this movement and expression of the national originality of Russian literature.  [332•3  Morozov’s position provoked strong criticism on the part of P. N. Berkov, D. S. Likhachev, and the Czech scholar S. Mathauserova.

p Berkov categorically denied the existence of a Russian Baroque and spoke of the necessity of viewing Russian syllabic poetry and drama of the late seventeenth century as manifestations of a new school of classicism.  [332•4  Mathauserova came to the conclusion that there were two Baroque schools present in Russian literature 333 of the late seventeenth century: a national Russian school and a Polish-Ukrainian school.   [333•1 

p D. S. Likhachev has suggested that one should speak only of the existence of the Russian Baroque, which initially was borrowed from Polish-Ukrainian literature and later acquired its own specific features.   [333•2 

p In the early 1960’s I.P. Eremin gave a thorough and detailed analysis of Russian Baroque features in the poetry of Simeon Polotsky. The observations and conclusions of this scholar do much to elucidate this problem.  [333•3 

p As Likhachev has noted, since there was no Renaissance in Russia, the Russian Baroque assumed certain of its functions and served to secularise literature and culture. The fundamental differences between the Russian and Western European Baroque should be viewed in terms of this significant factor. Thus Western European Baroque art as a whole was tragic in nature and represented a return to medieval forms of artistic depiction; the Russian Baroque, on the other hand, is life- affirming, and its medieval symbolism and didacticism are conjoined with rationalism. The Russian Baroque cultivated fantastical forms in the area of syllabic verse (poems in the form of stars and hearts, for example) and a refined, bookish, “poetic” style of speech in contrast to the vernacular, colloquial language and style of 334 democratic literature.  [334•1  The Baroque movement should be viewed as a sort of link between medieval literature and classicism.

The Russian Baroque was most clearly manifest in the syllabic poetry of the second half of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth century, and also in the court and school drama of this period.

The Rise and Development
of Russian Learned Poetry

p One of the most important occurrences in the history of seventeenth century Russian literature was the appearance and development of learned poetry. Questions concerning its origins and the reasons for its rise continue to interest scholars. Already in the nineteenth century two opposing viewpoints took hold. A. Sobolevsky believed that syllabic virshi (from the Latin versus) arose under the influence of Ukrainian and Polish poetry.  [334•2  L. Maikov expressed an opposing point of view. He asserted that “the first attempts at rhymed verse arose, so to speak, by themselves; in any case they were not imitations of Western European rhymed syllabic verse. "  [334•3  Important contributions to the study of the initial stage of development of Russian poetry have been made by such Soviet scholars as A. V. 335 Pozdneyev, L. M. Timofeyev and A. M. Panchencko.  [335•1 

p Learned poetry arose in the first third of the seventeenth century in connection with the growing role of the cities in the cultural life of the country, the desire of progressive members of Russian society to assimilate European culture, and also, according to A. M. Panchenko, the decline of folklore. Russian “ phraseological" verse (rechevoi stikh) is based on the declamatory verse of the skomorokhs (wandering minstrels) and on models of Ukrainian and Polish syllabic poetry.

p The first attempts to write literary verse occurred during the period of Polish intervention in Russia, when the emotional, publicistic element was gaining a stronger foothold in literature. We find many instances of rhymed narrative in Avraamy Palitsyn’s Tale. The Chronicle Book ascribed’to Katyrev of Rostov ends with rhymed virshi. As L. I. Timofeyev remarks, in these works the verse is wholly based on the expressive means of speech without resorting to any elements of musicality. But the phraseological structure of the verse made it possible to convey something of man’s inner state, his individual experiences. There was no rhythmic ordering here; the number of syllables varied from line to line without any feeling for alternation, and the rhymes employed were for the most part verbal, masculine, feminine, dactylic and hyperdactylic. This so-called “pre-syllabic” verse began to acquire greater and greater popularity in connection with the general process of differentiation of the human personality.

p Already during the first third of the seventeenth 336 century syllabic verse began to appear alongside presyllabic verse. They gained a firm hold primarily in the epistolary genre. In 1622, for example, Prince S. I. Shakhovskoi concluded his “Epistle to a Certain Friend, Being of Great Value, on the Holy Scriptures" with 36 rhymed lines of varying syllabic length.

p Priest Ivan Nasedka ended his polemic tract “Exposition on Luther" with syllabic verses. Prince I. A. Khvorostinin wrote his “Many Reproaches" in verse form. At the end of his life he wrote a thousandline poetic tract polemicising with heretics entitled “A Foreword Set Forth in Two-Line Concordance in Acrostic Form.”

p In the first half of the seventeenth century there appeared epistolary anthologies written in syllabic verse. One such anthology includes poems by editors of the Court Printers that vary widely in their thematics.  [336•1  Literary syllabic songs were written in the early 1650’s by poets of the Nikonian school. One of those who stands out is Herman, who displayed exceptional virtuosity in writing acrostics which could be read from left to right, right to left, top to bottom and vice versa. Syllabic verse began to be used in the depiction of coats-of-arms, in the Royal List of Ranks of 1672, in icon inscriptions and in lubki.

Simeon Polotsky and his disciples Silvestr Medvedev and Karion Istomin played an important role in the development of syllabic poetry.

Simeon Polotsky (1629-1680)

p A Byelorussian by nationality, Simeon Polotsky received a well-rounded liberal education in the KievMogilyansky Academy. In 1656 he took monastic vows and became a teacher at the “fraternal school" in his home town of Polotsk. In 1661 the town was temporarily occupied by Polish troops. Polotsky moved to Moscow in 1664. Here he taught Latin to scribes of 337 the Privy Section, for which a special school was established in the Spassky Monastery. In 1667 Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich entrusted Polotsky with the task of educating his children.

p Polotsky participated actively in the struggle against the Old Believers. At the church council of 1666 he presented a theological tract entitled “The Governing Staff”. On three different occasions he was requested by the tsar to visit and admonish Awakum.

p Simeon Polotsky was committed to the spread of learning. He actively participated in the disputes between adherents of the Greek and Latin schools, taking the side of the latter since the defenders of the Greek system of education sought to place learning under the control of the church. Polotsky believed that in the development of education the schools should play the major role, and he appealed to the tsar to build schools and to “court” teachers. He worked out a project for the establishment of Russia’s first institute of higher learning, an academy. Not long before his death he wrote a tentative charter for such an academy. In it he made provisions for the study of a broad range of sciences, both civic and religious.

p Polotsky placed great store in the development of printing. “Nothing can bring greater honour than printing,” he said. At his initiative, and after his personal petition to Tsar Fedor Alekseyevich, a “Superior” printing press was opened in the Kremlin in 1678.

p One of Simeon Polotsky’s favourite activities was “rhyme-making”, i.e., the writing of poetry. Many literary historians have been attracted by his works.  [337•1 

p Polotsky’s first works were written during his tenure at the Kiev-Mogilyansky Academy; he continued to write poetry during his stay in Polotsk, but his art 338 reached its apex during his Moscow period.

p Polotsky’s syllabic verse was written under the direct influence of Ukrainian and Polish verse. But the possibility of writing in Russian using eleven and thirteen syllable lines with obligatory paired feminine rhymes was the result of a long period of development of the Russian literary language’s expressive means. Polotsky’s syllabic verse was closely connected with the refined, bookish “Slavonic language" which he consciously used in opposition to colloquial Russian.

p Polotsky did not look upon his poetic works as a form of amusement or diversion. He ascribed great educational significance to them. The poet’s high calling, as Polotsky saw it, lay in his ability to attract the “hearts and ears" of men. The powerful weapon of poetry should be used to spread enlightenment, high culture and true moral concepts. Moreover virshi should serve as a model for all those writing in “the Slavonic literary language".

p Simeon Polotsky was Russia’s first court poet, the creator of solemn panegyric verses which were the prototype of the panegyric ode.

p At the centre of these panegyric verses stands the figure of the ideal enlightened monarch. He is the personification and symbol of the Russian state, the living embodiment of its political power and glory. In The Russian Eagle, (1667) for example, the poet lists all the positive qualities which a tsar should possess: he should dedicate his life to the good of the state and of his subjects, he should be concerned about their “civic wants" and their education; he is stern and merciful, and at the same time fulfils all the provisions of the law.

p Polotsky’s panegyric verses are like a “complex verbal architectural construct, a verbal pageant”.  [338•1  The poet attempts to make his verse more graphic by means of painting, graphics and architecture.

p As Eremin has remarked in his studies of Polotsky, the poet selected primarily rare things, “curiosities”, for his verses, but viewed them only as “signs”, as “hyeroglyphs” of the truth. He constantly translates 339 concrete images into the language of abstract concepts, of logical abstractions. Polotsky’s chimerical metaphors, similes and precious allegories are all fashioned on this basis.

p In his panegyric verses Polotsky introduces the names of gods and heroes of antiquity: “golden Phoebus”, “Zeus’ bosom”, “the Eagle-Zeus”. These figures exist side by side with those from Christian mythology and have a purely poetic role to play as instruments of hyperbole. Striving for greater expressiveness, Polotsky writes “concrete verse" in the form of hearts, stars and labyrinths.

p The peculiar features of Polotsky’s style were a typical manifestation of the Baroque in literature. He collected all his panegyric verses (800 poems in all, dealing with various aspects of court life) in a collection which he called Rhymologian (1679-1680).

p Besides panegyric verses Polotsky wrote poems on the most varied themes. In The Multi-Coloured Garden (1677-1678) he brought together 2,957 verses written in various genres (“likenesses”, “images”, “sayings”, “discourses”, “epitaphs”, “image signings”, “tales”, “exposes” etc.). The collection is put together like an encyclopedic poetic reference work: the verses are arranged according to topics in alphabetical order. All of them, whether secular or religious, are moralistic and didactic in nature. The poet regards himself as the guardian and preserver of the loftiest religious and moral values and tries to inculcate these values in his readers.

p In his verses Polotsky poses moral questions, attempting to create abstract, generalised images .of maidenhood (“The Maiden”), widows (“Widowhood”) and so on, and raising questions concerning marriage, virtue, honour, and the like. At the same time the poet also deals with social and political issues. In the poem “Citizenship”, for example, he declares that every man, including rulers, should strictly observe the law. Work is the foundation of society, and man’s primary responsibility is to work for the good of society. Polotsky was the first to deal with a theme that came to occupy a prominent place in Russian classicism: the ideal, enlightened monarch in contrast to the cruel, self-willed, 340 unmerciful and unjust tyrant.

p In the poem “Virtue” Polotsky raises the philosophical question of the meaning of life. True bUss for the poet lies not in the pursuit of fame, rank and honour, but in the opportunity to engage in the activities one loves.

p A significant portion of Polotsky’s verse is devoted to satirical exposes. The majority of his satirical works are of a moral, abstract nature. The poem “The Ignoramus”, for example, criticises ignorance in general; “Sorcery” singles out old “crones” and “wizards” for criticism.

p Polotsky’s two best satirical works are “Merchants” and “Monk”. In the former the poet lists the eight mortal “sins of the merchant’s rank”. These sins—deceit, falsehood, false oaths, theft, extortion—graphically reflect the real social practices of the merchant class. The poem, however, lacks any concrete satirical embodiment of the vices described. The poet merely lists the sins in order to conclude with words of admonition urging the “cruel sons of darkness to give up their ways of darkness" that they might escape the torments of hell.

p The satire “Monk” is built on the opposition between the ideal and reality. At first the poet describes what a real monk should be like, and then launches into satire, giving a vivid picture of the drunkenness, gluttony and depravity of monks:

p Not only laymen work to fill their bellies,
But monks too eat and drink their fill.
Having chosen to lead a life of fasting
They strive thereto that they might eat and drink.

p From drinking too much wine they use foul language,
They ba’k, they slander, they put honourable men
to shame;
Ravenous wolves often wear sheep’s clothing,
They work to fill their bellies, and perish in spirit.

p Polotsky hastens to point out that his satire is not aimed at all monks, only the “unseemly” ones, whom 341 he satirises “with a lament”. The satire has a moral and didactic purpose: to help improve men’s moral standards. In conclusion the poet addressed the “unseemly” monks, calling on them to desist from their “evil ways".

p What distinguishes Polotsky’s satire from the democratic satirical tale is the moralistic didactic tone, the desire to do away with society’s vices and by the same token to strengthen its foundations. In the tales the satire is keener and more concrete.

p Another of Polotsky’s poetic works which should be mentioned is his versification of the Psalms in 1678. It was published in 1680 and set to music by choirmaster Vasily Titov, who laid the foundations for choral chamber music. The rhymed Psalter was one of Polotsky’s most popular works.

p Thus the setting for Polotsky’s creative activities was the panegyric and didactic poetry of the Baroque with its abstractions and polysemantic symbolism, allegory, contrasts and hyperboles and didactic moral tone. Polotsky’s language is exclusively literary, underscoring the poetry’s isolation from the prose of life.

Polotsky made extensive use of rhetorical questions, exclamations and inversions. Closely bound up with the traditions of the archaic literary language, Polotsky’s verses paved the way for the development of classicist poetry.

Silvestr Medvedev
(1641-1691)

p The poets Silvestr Medvedev and Karion Istomin were Simeon Polotsky’s disciples and followers. Medvedev, a “man of great intelligence and learned wit”, as he was characterised by his contemporaries, was an editor of the Court Publishers. He began to publish his poetry only after the death of his mentor Simeon Polotsky. He penned the “Epitaph” to Simeon Polotsky, panegyric verses to Tsar Fedor Alekseyevich (“Nuptial Greetings" and “Lament and Consolation”, the latter on the death of the tsar) and Tsarevna Sofia (“Inscription to a Portrait of Tsarevna Sofia”), whom the poet 342 supported, as a result of which he was executed on the orders of Peter I.

As a poet Medvedev borrowed a good deal from the panegyric verses of his mentor, but in contrast to Simeon Polotsky he avoided allegorical and mythological images.

Karion Istomin
(?—1717)

p The more talented and productive of Polotsky’s two disciples was Karion Istomin. He began writing poetry in 1681, when he penned panegyric verses to Tsarevna Sofia. In extolling this “most pure and goodly maiden" the poet speaks of the importance of wisdom in governing the state and in people’s personal lives.

p Like Polotsky, Istomin used poetry as a tool of enlightenment. In 1682 he dedicated a collection of verse (16 poems in all) to Tsarevna Sofia, asking her to establish a school in Moscow where the “free” sciences—historical, pedagogical and didactical—could be taught. The collection Admonition (Vrazumlenie) (1683) contained words of admonition addressed to the eleven-year-old Peter.

p Istomin’s book Polis, which describes twelve sciences, is written in verse. He often wrote acrostic poems, and also used verse for pedagogical purposes: in 1694 he composed a Small ABC and two years later a Large ABC for teaching the tsarevich Aleksei Petrovich; for each letter he wrote a short didactic poem.

p Thanks to the activities of Simeon Polotsky and his closest pupils syllabic verse became a widespread phenomenon in literature. A new poetic genre, the lyric, made its appearance, clearly testifying to the growing differentiation in the human personality. The principles of syllabic versification worked out in the second half of the seventeenth century were further developed in the works of syllabist poets of the early eighteenth century, Petr Buslayev and Feofan Prokopovich.

But syllabic verse did not totally supplant “ pre-syllabic" verse, which in fact outlived it and was 343 canonised in the rayoshnik— rhymed, syllabically mixed verse that appeared later in folk poetry. Syllabic verse, on the other hand, was replaced by syllabo-tonic or syllabic-accentual verse as elaborated by V. K. Trediakovsky and M. V. Lomonosov.