Krylov's biography briefly the most important thing 5. Previous work

Ivan Andreevich Krylov was born in February 1769 in Moscow, into the family of a poor army officer. Having shown heroism and courage during the pacification of the Pugachev rebellion, Andrei Krylov did not receive any awards or ranks. After retiring, he entered the civil service and moved with his wife and two sons to Tver. The position of chairman of the magistrate did not bring any significant income, the family lived in poverty. Krylov Sr. died in 1778 with the rank of captain. The life of the widow and children (the eldest son Ivan was only 9 years old) became even poorer.

Ivan Andreevich Krylov did not have the opportunity to get a good education. From his father, he adopted a great love of reading, inheriting only a huge chest of books. The Krylovs' wealthy neighbors allowed Ivan to be present at the French lessons that were given to their children. Thus, Ivan Krylov learned French tolerably.

The future fabulist began work very early and learned the hardship of life in poverty. After the death of his father, Ivan was hired as a sub-office clerk in the provincial magistrate of Tver, where Krylov Sr. had previously worked. The meager allowance only made it possible not to die of hunger. After 5 years, Ivan Krylov’s mother, taking her children, went to St. Petersburg to seek a pension and get her eldest son a job. So Ivan Krylov received a new position, becoming a clerk in the treasury chamber.

Young Krylov, without receiving any systematic education, persistently engaged in self-education. He read a lot and taught himself to play various instruments. At the age of 15, Ivan even wrote a short comic opera, composing couplets for it and calling it “The Coffee House.” This was his first, albeit unsuccessful, but still debut in literature. The writing language was very rich, which Krylov owed to his love of hustling among the common people at fairs and various common entertainments. “Thanks to” poverty, Ivan Andreevich was well acquainted with the life and customs of ordinary people, which was very useful to him in the future.

Creation

Ivan Andreevich Krylov's move to St. Petersburg coincided with the appearance of a public theater in the city. The young man, who was drawn to art, immediately visited the newly opened theater. There he met some artists and from then on lived in the interests of this temple of art. Krylov did not want to seriously pursue a career in the new government service; all his interests were directed in a completely different direction. Therefore, the 18-year-old boy resigned and took up literary activity.

At first it was unsuccessful. Ivan Krylov wrote the tragedy “Philomela”, imitating the classics. There were some glimpses of the talent and free-thinking of the novice author, but in literary terms, Philomela was a very mediocre work. But the young writer had no intention of stopping.

The tragedy was followed by several comedies. “The Mad Family”, “The Pranksters”, “The Writer in the Hallway” and others also did not impress readers and critics with their talent. But the increase in skill in comparison with “Philomela” was still noticeable.

The first fables of Ivan Andreevich Krylov were published without a signature. They appeared in the magazine "Morning Hours" in 1788. Three works, called “The Shy Gambler,” “The Fate of the Gamblers,” and “The Newly Granted Donkey,” were almost unnoticed by readers and did not receive critical approval. There was a lot of sarcasm and causticity in them, but no skill.

In 1789, Ivan Krylov, together with Rachmanin, began publishing the magazine “Mail of Spirits”. He seeks to revive the strong satire that Novikov's magazines previously demonstrated. But the publication was not successful and ceased publication that same year. But this does not stop Krylov. After 3 years, he and a group of like-minded people create another magazine, calling it “Spectator”. A year later, the magazine “St. Petersburg Mercury” appeared. These publications published some of Krylov’s prose works, the most striking of which were the story “Kaib” and the article “A Eulogy to My Grandfather,” which was quite bold for its time, denouncing landowner tyranny.

It is not known for certain what caused Ivan Krylov’s temporary withdrawal from literary activity, and why he left St. Petersburg. Perhaps some kind of harassment began from the authorities, or maybe a literary failure pushed the writer to leave the city, but until 1806 Krylov almost abandoned writing. In 1806, Krylov returned to active literary activity.

He writes quite talented translations of La Fontaine's fables "The Oak and the Cane", "The Picky Bride" and "The Old Man and the Three Young People". Translations with a flattering recommendation from Ivan Dmitriev are published by the capital’s magazine “Moscow Spectator”. Also in 1806, Ivan Krylov returned to St. Petersburg and staged the comedy “Fashion Shop”. Next year there will be another one – “A Lesson for Daughters”. Society, which experienced an upsurge of patriotic feelings in connection with the Napoleonic Wars, greets the productions with great enthusiasm. After all, they ridicule Frenchmania.

In 1809, the real creative rise of Ivan Krylov began. The first edition of his fables, consisting of 23 works (among which is the well-known “Elephant and Pug”), is extremely popular. Since then, Krylov has become a famous fabulist, whose new works are eagerly awaited by the public. Ivan Andreevich returns to public service. First, he took a prominent position in the Coinage Department, and after 2 years - in the Imperial Public Library, where he worked from 1812 to 1841.

During this period, Krylov also changed internally. Now he is complacent and reserved. Doesn't like to quarrel, is very calm, ironic and increasingly lazy. Since 1836, Ivan Krylov no longer writes anything. In 1838, the literary community solemnly celebrated the 50th anniversary of the fabulist’s creative activity. The writer died in November 1844.

More than 200 fables came from the pen of Ivan Andreevich Krylov. In some he denounced Russian reality, in others - human vices, and still others - simply poetic anecdotes. Over time, many apt Krylov expressions entered colloquial speech and enriched the Russian language. His fables are very popular and generally understandable. They are aimed at everyone, not just the highly educated intelligentsia. During the author's lifetime, almost 80 thousand copies of published collections of fables were sold. At that time - an unprecedented phenomenon. The popularity of Ivan Andreevich Krylov can be compared with the lifetime popularity of and.

Personal life

Legends circulated and jokes were made about Ivan Krylov’s absent-mindedness, careless sloppiness and incredible appetite. It was quite in his spirit to put a night cap in his coat pocket instead of a handkerchief, pull it out while in society and blow his nose. Ivan Andreevich was absolutely indifferent to his appearance. It would seem that such a person could not possibly enjoy the attention of the ladies. Nevertheless, information from his contemporaries has been preserved, claiming that Ivan Krylov’s personal life, although not stormy, was certainly not absent.

At the age of 22, he fell in love with the daughter of a priest from the Bryansk district, Anna. The girl reciprocated his feelings. But when the young people decided to get married, Anna’s relatives opposed this marriage. They were distantly related to and, moreover, wealthy. Therefore, they refused to marry their daughter to the poor rhymer. But Anna was so sad that her parents finally agreed to marry her to Ivan Krylov, which they telegraphed to him in St. Petersburg. But Krylov replied that he did not have the money to come to Bryansk, and asked to bring Anna to him. The girls' relatives were offended by the answer, and the marriage did not take place.

Contemporaries of Ivan Krylov wrote that eminent ladies were not indifferent to the sloppy and extravagant fabulist. Allegedly, he was loved by a ballerina who was the kept woman of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich. But the fabulist joked that he was unsuitable for marriage. They say that the empress herself was very sympathetic to the charming fat man. And this despite the fact that Ivan Andreevich dared to appear in front of her in a holey boot with a finger sticking out of it, and even sneeze when he kissed the empress’s hand.

Ivan Krylov never married. Officially, he has no children. But the fabulist’s contemporaries argued that Ivan Andreevich still had a common-law wife. It was his housekeeper Fenya. Krylov could not marry her, since society would condemn him. Nevertheless, Fenya gave birth to a girl, Sasha, who is considered Krylov’s illegitimate daughter. That this may be true is evidenced by the fact that after Feni’s death, Sasha remained to live with Krylov. And after her marriage, Krylov happily nursed her children and transferred all his property to the name of Alexandra’s husband. At the time of the death of Ivan Krylov, Sasha, her husband and two children were at his bedside.

Fables

• Dragonfly and Ant
• Swan, Crayfish and Pike
• A Crow and a fox
• Wolf and Lamb
• Monkey and Glasses
• Quartet
• Pig under the Oak
• Demyanova's ear
• Leaves and roots
• The picky bride

Russian writer, fabulist, academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1841). He published satirical magazines “Mail of Spirits” (1789) and others. He wrote tragedies and comedies, and opera librettos. In 1809 43 he created more than 200 fables, imbued with a democratic spirit, distinguished by satirical sharpness, bright and apt language. They exposed social and human vices. N.V. Gogol called I. Krylov’s fables “...the book of wisdom of the people themselves.”

Biography

Born on February 2 (February 14 n.s.) in Moscow in the family of a poor army captain, who received the rank of officer only after thirteen years of military service. In 1775, the father retired, and the family settled in Tver.

The future fabulist received a meager education, but, possessing exceptional abilities, reading a lot from childhood, persistently and persistently engaged in self-education, he became one of the most enlightened people of his time.

After the death of his father, the family was left without any means of subsistence, and Krylov had to work as a scribe in the Tver court from the age of ten. The mother was unable to obtain a pension after the death of her husband, and in 1782 it was decided to go to St. Petersburg to apply for a pension. In the capital, too, nothing was achieved, but a place was found for Krylov as a clerk in the Treasury Chamber. In addition, Petersburg opened up the opportunity for him to engage in literary work. During 1786 1788 Krylov wrote tragedies “Cleopatra” and “Philomela” and comedies “Mad Family”, “Pranksters”. The name of the young playwright soon becomes famous in theatrical and literary circles.

In 1789, Krylov began publishing the satirical magazine “Mail of Spirits,” which continued the traditions of Russian satirical journalism. Because of its radical direction, the magazine could only exist for eight months, but Krylov did not abandon his intention to renew it. In 1792, he created a new satirical magazine, The Spectator, which immediately became popular due to the topicality of its subject matter. The story "Kaib" allegorically presents the arbitrariness and deceitful liberalism of the totalitarian regime, in which the reader easily recognized contemporary Russia. In the summer of 1792, a search was carried out in the printing house, Krylov came under police surveillance, and publication of the magazine had to be stopped.

In 1791 1801, Krylov retired from journalism and wandered around the provinces: he visited Tambov, Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod, and Ukraine. He did not stop composing, but his works only occasionally appeared in print.

After the death of Catherine II, he managed to enter the service of Prince S. Golitsyn as a personal secretary and teacher of his children. Golitsyn’s home theater staged the play-acting tragedy “Trumph, or Podschipa,” written by Krylov in 1800, a witty and apt satire on Paul I and the royal court.

In 1801, Krylov completed the comedy "Pie", staged in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

In 1806 he returned to St. Petersburg, where he established new literary connections and wrote the comedies “Fashion Shop” (1806) and “A Lesson for Daughters” (1807). In 1809, the first book of Krylov’s fables was published, in which he acted not only as a moralist, but as an accuser of the “powerful” of this world who oppress the people. It was the fable that became the genre in which Krylov’s genius expressed itself unusually widely. Nine books, including more than 200 fables, make up Krylov’s fable heritage.

8 1812 became a librarian at the newly opened Public Library, where he served for 30 years, retiring in 1841. Krylov not only turned out to be a good collector of books, the number of which increased greatly during his time, but he worked a lot on compiling bibliographic indexes and a Slavic-Russian dictionary.

Most of which have original plots, while the rest go back to the works of La Fontaine and Aesop.

Readers from school know his works, but the author's real life seems mediocre and uninteresting. We decided to dispel this myth and collected 5 interesting facts about Ivan Krylov.

Studied the morals of the people in fist fights

“The most important science for kings: / To know the properties of their people / And the benefits of their land”

In his youth, Ivan Andreevich was fond of fist fights, from which, thanks to his strength, he often emerged victorious. This hobby developed not only his physical abilities; it is likely that it was then that he first paid attention to folk life and customs.

“He visited with particular pleasure public gatherings, shopping areas, swings and fist fights, where he jostled among the motley crowd, eagerly listening to the speeches of the common people.”, recalled a contemporary.

Wrote with errors and taught literature

“Being strong is good, being smart is twice as good”

Ivan Krylov’s education cannot be called consistent: he learned to read and write at home (his father was a passionate reader), and learned French from wealthy neighbors. Until the end of his days, he wrote with errors and mastered the rest of the sciences already in adulthood. The writer also knew Italian and also played the violin.

Despite the gaps in his education and difficulties with spelling, he turned out to be an excellent literature teacher.

Not afraid to criticize the powers that be

“Highness is good in breed and rank, / But what profit does it bring when the soul is low?”

Young Krylov was an unusually prolific author. Thanks largely to this, he entered into close relations with the theater committee, received a free ticket and an assignment to translate the libretto of the French opera L’Infante de Zamora. However, the future fabulist could not resist sharp satire addressed to the leading playwright of the time, Yakov Knyazhin, and his wife, the daughter of Alexander Sumarokov himself. Krylov brought them out under the names of Rhymestealer and Tarators in the comedy “Pranksters”. This episode quarreled Krylov with Knyazhin and closed the former’s path to drama.

He was active in publishing

“Envious people will look no matter what, / They will bark forever; / And you go your own way: / They bark and leave you alone.”

After dramaturgy, the writer became interested in publishing. He published his first magazine at the age of 20, it was called “Spirit Mail” and looked like correspondence between gnomes and the wizard Malikulmulk. In it, Ivan Andreevich continued his satirical exercises, including on Rhymestealer and Taratora. The magazine existed from January to August and closed due to lack of subscribers. A few years later, Krylov created the magazine “Spectator”, but later renamed it “St. Petersburg Mercury”.

Was a terrible slob

“And I’ll say: for me it’s better to drink. / Yes, understand the matter"

Despite his active work, Krylov was an extremely phlegmatic and slow person. After lunch, he was in the habit of sleeping for at least two hours. Friends knew this oddity of the fabulist and always left him an empty chair.

Moreover, often being in public, Ivan Andreevich still paid very little attention to his appearance; he did not like to change clothes or comb his hair. There is a well-known joke: while getting ready for a masquerade, Krylov asked a lady he knew how best he should dress in order to remain unrecognized. The answer was simple and elegant: “Wash yourself, comb your hair, and no one will recognize you.”

Called him "truly popular." And this really was so, because every literary character of Ivan Andreevich Krylov still teaches what is good, bright and eternal.

short biography

The future playwright was born on February 2, 1769 in a poor family. From an early age he served the landowner, so he did not have the opportunity to receive a decent education. But exceptional learning abilities He himself successfully developed himself, studying languages ​​and mathematics, literature and drawing.

Left without parents, he worked in St. Petersburg as a copyist of documents and at the same time wrote plays - tragedies and comedies. After gaining fame in literary circles, he worked for some time as a journalist. He traveled a lot and lived in the provinces, without ceasing to compose. After moving to Moscow, his first fables were published, which became proverbs and catchphrases. People began to call the writer himself "grandfather Krylov"- this name is firmly entrenched in his biography. The fabulist died on November 9, 1844.

Creativity, plots and heroes

Krylov was a successful playwright, wrote satires, pamphlets, and poetic stories. But his genius was revealed most clearly in his fables. Their stories are about topical topics and the authenticity of what is happening. Each piece makes fun of human vices - greed or laziness, stupidity or vanity. Despite the fact that most of Krylov’s characters are animals, the association with people is visible to everyone. These are lawless people and bureaucrats, officials and nobles, as well as ordinary poor people.

Inspiration and most famous works

Each of Krylov's fables is simple and understandable to people of all ages. It is a real learning lesson. Some of the most famous works include:

• "A Crow and a fox;
• "Quartet";
• "Swan, pike and crayfish";
• "Elephant and Moska";
• "Dragonfly and Ant".

The author gave his creations a unique hidden meaning, revealing important questions for a person about good and evil, deception and flattery, stupidity and stubbornness. The author's creativity was inspired by a variety of social events: the actions of the tsarist government and the events of the Patriotic War, violence against serfs and political innovations.

Krylov as a person: social circle, interests, interesting facts

Contemporaries characterized Krylov's personal qualities in different ways. Some sincerely they called him funny and mysterious at the same time, others were not ashamed of the sincere message that he was simply a glutton and a slob.

Rumor has it that the writer really loved to eat properly and didn’t take too much care of his own appearance. But one thing is absolutely certain: the real Ivan Andreevich was known to few people. He I practically did not communicate even with close relatives. However, the writer’s social circle often included rich people and famous personalities. Krylov surprised those around him with his unpredictability.

Once, for example, he bet that he would learn ancient Greek. He succeeded in this. The fabulist was also known as a unique eccentric - people even made up jokes about his playful and funny antics. An interesting oddity of Krylov was his passion for fires: he rushed to every disaster. He also loved excitement: cockfights, fist fights, card games. He loved to play the violin, although he did not have outstanding musical abilities.

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Ivan Andreevich was born on February 2, 1769 in Moscow into a military family that did not have high incomes. When Ivan turned 6 years old, his father Andrei Prokhorovich was transferred for service to Tver, where the family continued to exist in poverty, and soon lost its breadwinner.

Due to the move and low income, Ivan Andreevich was unable to complete the education he began in Moscow. However, this did not prevent him from gaining considerable knowledge and becoming one of the most enlightened people of his time. This became possible thanks to the young man’s strong desire for reading, languages ​​and sciences, which the future publicist and poet mastered through self-education.

Earlier creativity. Dramaturgy

Another “school of life” of Ivan Krylov, whose biography is very multifaceted, was the common people. The future writer enjoyed attending various folk festivals and entertainments, and often took part in street battles. It was there, in the crowd of ordinary people, that Ivan Andreevich drew pearls of folk wisdom and sparkling peasant humor, succinct colloquial expressions that would eventually form the basis of his famous fables.

In 1782, the family moved to St. Petersburg in search of a better life. In the capital, Ivan Andreevich Krylov began government service. However, such activities did not satisfy the young man’s ambitions. Having been carried away by the then fashionable theatrical trends, in particular under the influence of the play “The Miller” by A.O. Ablesimova, Krylov manifests himself in writing dramatic works: tragedies, comedies, opera librettos.

Contemporary critics, although they did not show high praise for the author, still approved of his attempts and encouraged him to continue his work. According to Krylov’s friend and biographer M.E. Lobanova, I.A. himself Dmitrievsky, a famous actor of that time, saw in Krylov the talent of a playwright. With the writing of the satirical comedy “Pranksters”, even the brief content of which makes it clear that Ya.B. was ridiculed in the play. Prince, considered the leading playwright of the time, the author quarrels not only with the “master” himself, but also finds himself in the field of grievances and criticism from the theater management.

Publishing activities

Failures in the field of drama did not cool, but, on the contrary, strengthened the satirical notes in the talent of the future fabulist Krylov. He takes on the publishing of the monthly satirical magazine “Mail of Spirits”. After eight months, however, the magazine ceases to exist. After retiring in 1792, the publicist and poet acquired a printing house, where he began publishing the Spectator magazine, which began to enjoy greater success than Spirit Mail.

But after a search it was closed, and the publisher himself devoted several years to travel.

Last years

In Krylov’s brief biography it is worth mentioning the period associated with S.F. Golitsyn. In 1797, Krylov entered the prince's service as a home teacher and personal secretary. During this period, the author does not stop creating dramatic and poetic works. And in 1805 he sent a collection of fables for consideration to the famous critic I.I. Dmitriev. The latter appreciated the author’s work and said that this was his true calling. Thus, a brilliant fabulist entered the history of Russian literature, who devoted the last years of his life to writing and publishing works of this genre, working as a librarian. He has written more than two hundred fables for children, studied in different classes, as well as original and translated satirical works for adults.

Chronological table

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