Hryhory Kvitka-Osnovyanenko

Hryhorij Fedorowytsch Kwitka - Osnowjanenko (Ukrainian Григорій Федорович Квітка - Основ'яненко; born November 29, 1778 in Osnowa, now a suburb of Kharkiv; † August 20, 1843 in Kharkiv ) was a Ukrainian writer, journalist and playwright.

Life

Hryhorij Kwitka was born in 1778 in the village Osnowa near the city of Kharkiv. The stage name " Osnowjanenko " he later adopted as a kind of homage to his birthplace, when he began his literary career. Kwitka ill at a young age and remained blind until his sixth year. At the age of 23 he joined the monastery at Kuriazh near Kharkiv, which he visited almost four years. The religiosity should retain a central role in his life and in his work. Established in 1812 in Kharkiv, a repertory theater group in which Kwitka participated as an actor, playwright and later as a historian. At the same time, Kwitka involved in many initiatives to promote the education of women.

From 1816 to 1821 he worked as an editor at " Ukrainskij Vestnik ", one of the first literary magazines in the Ukraine, where he also published short stories and poems. However Kwitka - Osnojanenko should make his literary talent only in the 30s of the 19th century abilities when he began to write short stories in the Ukrainian language.

Creation

Kwitkas literary work began relatively late, first in Russian and later in Ukrainian. His Malorossiskie anekdoty ( Little Russian anecdotes ) were written from 1820 to 1822 and published in 1822. As a member of the provincial upper class, which looked at the existing social and political conditions as unchangeable, Kwitka thematized in his works never social or political grievances, but he first saw the letter in Ukrainian language more than one way to pass the time. His first Ukrainian short story and the first history of modern Ukrainian literature " Saldats'kij patret: Latyns'ka pobrechen'ka po našomu rozkazana ( Portrait of a soldier: A Latin narrative in our language, 1833) is in the tradition of Ivan Kotljarewskyj in comic- satirical coloring kept. To some extent, are his other novels humorösen " Parchymove snidannia " ( Parchyms meeting, 1841), " Pidbrechach " ( The second matchmaker, 1843), and " Kupovanyj Rozum " ( Purchased Intelligence, 1842) to the same genre.

However, Much more important was his short story collection " Malorossiskie povesti " ( Little Russian short stories, 2 volumes, 1834, 1837), which " Marusia ", " Serdešna Oksana " ( unfortunate Oksana ), " ščyra liubov " ( Sincere Love), " Bozhi dity " ( Children of God), " Perekotypole " and other stories included. In this he moves out of his previous satirical context and showed that the Ukrainian language can also be used for serious issues. These stories had a great influence on the subsequent development of Ukrainian literature and Kwitka bestowed the title of " Father of Ukrainian prose ." With plots without any form of social conflicts and characters, which represent role models for modesty and religiosity are Kwitkas serious stories a typical example of the Ukrainian sentimentalism, which is based on both written as well as on oral traditions. His simple writing is the best example of the widespread belief to write to Ukrainian meant to look at a topic through the eyes of ordinary people.

Kwitkas enjoys unbroken popularity for his work as a dramatist. One can think here the comedies " Svatannia na Honcharivci " ( dating service in Honcharivka, 1836), " Šel'menko, volostnoj pysar " ( Šel'menko, the local scholar, 1831), and Šel'menko - denščyk ( Šel'menko the Orderly, 1837). He also wrote some comedies in Russian, such as " Priezžij iz stolicy, ili sumatocha v uezdnom gorodje " (1840 ), which some critics view as a precursor of Nikolai Gogol's Revizor. His most famous work on the Russian language is the novel "Pan Chaliavskji " (Mr. Chaliavskij, 1839).

The best-known works

• Конотопська відьмa ( Konotpc'ka Vid'ma ) ( 1833)
• Маруся ( Marusya ) ( 1832)
• Салдацкий патрет ( Saldackij patret ) ( 1833)
• Сватання на Гончарівці ( Svatannja na Hončapivci ) ( 1835)
• Сердешна Оксана ( Sepdešna Oksana ) ( 1841)
• Козир - дівка ( Kozyr - divka ) ( 1838)
• Ганнуся ( Hannucja ) ( 1839)