Baratynsky, one of the outstanding poets of Russia, was an almost exact contemporary of Pushkin, and one of the group of poets sometimes referred to as the “Pushkin Pleiad”. He was indeed close to Pushkin and to other writers of the group particularly Anton Delvig; many of his poems are addressed to them, celebrating their friendship and lamenting their separation. But his own voice is a distinctive one, characteristically classical, deliberate and apparently impersonal in a way that recalls the poets of the preceding century. Pushkin said of him: “He's an original among us, for he thinks”; this might be misleading in that Baratynsky saw thought as hostile to human happiness, but it is true that his work, while deeply felt, is …
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Citation: France, Peter. "Evgeny Abramovich Baratynsky". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 November 2009 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12532, accessed 21 November 2024.]