Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet

Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet (Shenshin)
(1820–1892)

Distinguished Russian lyric poet, translator and memoirist.

Fet is often called an impressionist in poetry: he knew how to convey not the object itself, but the fleeting impression of it, scarcely perceptible moods and sensations. A classic example is the poem "A Whisper, Timid Breath…" in which there is not a single verb. Fet's poetry is extraordinarily melodic. Many of his verses became the basis for famous romances: "Do Not Wake Her at Dawn" by A. Varlamov, "I Will Say Nothing to You" by P. Tchaikovsky.

Connection to Russian Cosmism

Fet's connection to cosmism is not direct, but rather philosophical and poetic in nature: he did not create philosophical systems. However, in his lyric poetry he intuitively anticipated many themes that cosmists later developed.

There was also a personal connection: Fet highly valued the personality and ideas of Nikolai Fyodorov. A letter from him to the philosopher survives, dated 1887.

All-Unity and Pantheism. In Fet's verses, the boundary between the lyrical "I" and nature often blurs. The hero feels himself dissolved in the Universe, part of a single cosmic whole, merging with the stars, sea and earth. This is the poetic expression of the idea of all-unity, which is central to Vladimir Solovyov's philosophy.

Cosmic Consciousness. In Fet's "stellar" and "nocturnal" verses ("On a Haystack on a Southern Night…", "Among the Stars", "To Dimmed Stars"), the lyrical hero transcends earthly existence. His soul feels kinship not with mortal Earth, but with the entire Universe, with the "choir of heavenly bodies".

Influence on Philosophers. Fet and Vladimir Solovyov were bound by a lifelong friendship. Solovyov deeply valued the poet's metaphysical lyricism and devoted to it an article "On Lyrical Poetry" (1890). Solovyov himself became one of the main philosophical precursors of cosmism.

Interesting Fact

Fet suffered painfully throughout his life from his ambiguous position. He was the son of Orel landowner Afanasy Shenshin and Charlotte Fet, who came to him from Germany. His mother and father were married according to Orthodox rites only after the birth of their child. Therefore, in 1834, when the boy was 14 years old, the ecclesiastical consistory declared the record of his birth illegitimate. He was reregistered as the son of his mother's first husband, Darmstadt official Johann Fet. Together with the surname Shenshin, he lost his nobility and Russian citizenship. To regain his nobility, Fet served in the army for many years, but during that time, the military rank that conferred hereditary nobility was raised several times. It was not until 1873, when the poet was already 53 years old, that he regained his father's surname and his noble rights.