VOYNA GIMNAZISTOV S CHERTYAMI ZA OSVOBOZHDENIE K[ESSLERA] IZ ADA (“THE WAR OF SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH DEVILS FOR THE LIBERATION OF K[ESSLER] FROM HELL”): ABOUT THE GYMNASIUM POEM BY KONSTANTIN A. IVANOV

Abstract

The article analyzes the gymnasium poem Voyna gimnazistov s chertyami za osvobozhdenie K[esslera] iz ada (“The war of school students with devils for the liberation of K[essler] from hell”) by Konstantin A. Ivanov (1958–1919). It was preserved in two manuscripts in the personal archives of Il’ya A. Shlyapkin (RNL) and Vasiliy G. Druzhinin (RGALI), who were classmates of Ivanov. They were graduates of the Third St. Petersburg Classical Gymnasium. Konstantin Ivanov became a famous teacher, he also taught history and geography to the children of Emperor Nicholas II. He was an author of gymnasium textbooks, tutorial and essays on Russian and medieval foreign history. Another undoubted talent of Konstantin A. Ivanov is his poetic talent. The translation of Goethe’s Faust, published only in 2005 through the efforts of his heirs was the peak of his talent. The gymnasium poem was dedicated to the teacher of the Latin language of the 3rd St. Petersburg gymnasium Ernest E. Kessler. It was distributed in the lists, had a great success among students and teachers of the gymnasium. On the one hand, it is presented as a literary intellectual game based on imitations of 18th - 19th century Russian poetry, world classics, allusions to works of ancient literature and ancient myths, and on the other hand, as a playful work reflecting the everyday life of boarding-school pupils. The text of the poem is published in the appendix.

Keywords: pedagogy, gymnasium poem, imitations, ancient literature, Russian poetry, Konstantin Ivanov, Ernest Kessler