"I had a dream; It was so cheerful ⋯": An unknown poem by V.A. Zhukovsky

Abstract

The aim of this article is to publish the text of the previously unknown poem by V.A. Zhukovsky "I had a dream ⋯", whose autograph draft is stored in the Russian State Library (Fund 104. Box 1. Item 6), as well as to study the poetics of this poem and the history of its creation. The poem is addressed to the eldest daughter of Emperor Nicholas I - Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, and the first part of the article contains an overview of the history of her relations with Zhukovsky. These relations began from the birth of the Grand Duchess, which the poet welcomed with the poem "From Grandmother to Granddaughter". As a mentor of the royal children Zhukovsky took part in their education. Maria was his favorite student: her lively character, quick mind and curiosity combined with restlessness differed her from her elder brother (Grand Prince Alexander Nikolaevich). By the mid-1830s, friendly relations were established between the poet and his student. Lots of Zhukovsky's creative undertakings of this time were connected with Maria Nikolaevna: "Letters from Sweden", "Borodino Anniversary" are addressed to her, the translation of "Undine" is dedicated to her. Zhukovsky's relations with Maria Nikolaevna organically embedded in the poetic mythology of the royal family; each member of the family was allotted in a mythopoetic way. Zhukovsky gave Maria Nikolaevna the role of a "heavenly baby", Undine. Zhukovsky not only prefaced this poem with a dedication addressed to Maria Nikolaevna, but also filled it with numerous allusions to the features of her appearance and her restless but good nature, which the contemporaries of the Grand Duchess knew well about. In the second part of the article the circumstances of writing the poem "I had a dream ⋯" are reconstructed. The features of the handwriting (the text is written with a typewriter for writing, which Zhukovsky began to use because of his eye disease) and the content indicate that the poem should be dated by the beginning of August, 1851, when Zhukovsky, who then lived in Baden-Baden, after a long time met with Maria Nikolaevna, who arrived in this resort town in July. Probably his poem was dedicated to the birthday of Maria Nikolaevna on 9 (18) Aug. Perhaps the poem was to be learned by the children of Grand Duchess Maria, Eugenia and Eugene (the text of the poem consists of their lines). A poem contains the home names of the Grand Duchess' family, and at the same time allusions to the usual mythopoetic motifs of the "philosophy of Lalla Rookh". These motifs, reduced to the household level, correspond to his poetry of the Pavlovo cycle, related to the times when the relationship between Zhukovsky and Maria Nikolaevna was just beginning. The article concludes with the publication of the reconstructed text of the poem "I had a dream ⋯", accompanied with the actual review, facsimiles of manuscripts and the transcription of the draft.