Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko

George G. Grabowicz (Harvard University)
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Taras Shevchenko (1814–1861) is the Ukrainian national poet—and a national icon. He articulates a millenarian vision of national emancipation that is still broadly perceived as prophetic, i.e., fulfilling the teleology of national identity. As early as 1879, Mykhailo Drahomanov, the outstanding Ukrainian thinker of the nineteenth century, could argue that virtually every political or pre-political Ukrainian movement sought to claim Shevchenko as its patron. His cult was inevitable. It rested on the numinous cast of his poetry, the all but religious impact it had on his broad audience, and was a product of underlying collective values and the emerging politics of populism. A rethinking of Shevchenko's work, however, …

4442 words

Citation: Grabowicz, George G.. "Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 May 2018 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13029, accessed 28 March 2024.]

13029 Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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