Two Worlds (drama)
| Author | Apollon Maykov |
|---|---|
| Original title | Два мира [Dva mira] |
| Language | Russian |
| Subject | The Antiquity vs. Early Christianity clash |
| Genre | tragedy |
Publication date | 1882 |
| Publication place | Russian Empire |
Two Worlds (Dva Mira, Два ми′ра) is a tragedy in verse by Apollon Maykov first published (in its full form) in February 1882 issue of Russky Vestnik. This final part of the poet's cycle concerning the Paganism against Christianity conlfict received the Russian 1882 Pushkin Prize for literature and was hailed as his most prominent work to date.[1]
History
In 1857 Apollon Maykov published his 'lyrical drama' Three Deaths but never dropped its subject and continued to investigate the moral and the ethical aspects of the original clash between Antiquity and early Christianity. In 1863 he published a new work under the title "The Death of Lucius", proposed to become the second part of Three Deaths drama, but was still dissatisfied with the result. Later in the poet's archives a manuscript has been found called "Death of Lucius. Part 2", full of hand-written remarks. It proved to be the basis of the future Two Worlds tragedy. "Death of Lucius", radically re-worked, found its way into it, first as the second (in 1872) and then as the third part in 1882. That year it was published by Russky Vestnik and awarded the prestigious Pushkin Prize.[1]
The Two Worlds tragedy was widely discussed and reviewed, mostly favourably. Most critics agreed that with it the poet reached his artistic peak. "The poem of Maykov is so maturely conceived and meticulously exetuted a work, that we have to regard it as one of those gains our literature should be very proud of," Yakov Grot said on October 19, 1982, speaking at the Russian Academy of Science meeting.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "Two Worlds. Commentaries". az.lib.ru // A.N.Maykov’s Works in 2 Volumes. Vol.2, Moscow, Pravda. Retrieved 2012-03-01.