Ivan Krylov
Ivan Andreyevich Krylov () (
February 13,
1769 -
November 21,
1844) was the most famous Russian
fabulist. Some of Krylov's earlier fables are loosely based on
Aesop and
Jean de La Fontaine, but later fables are his own creation.
Ivan Krylov was born in
Moscow, but spent his early years in
Orenburg and
Tver. His father, a distinguished military officer, died in
1779. Young Krylov was left with no fortune, only to be brought up by the exertions of a heroic mother. In the course of a few years his mother removed to
St.Petersburg, in the hope of securing a government
pension. There, Krylov obtained a post in the
civil service, but he gave it up immediately after his mother's death in
1788. Already in
1783, he had sold to a bookseller a
comedy of his own composition, and by this means had procured for himself the works of
Molière,
Racine,
Boileau; probably under the influence of these writers, he produced
Philomela, which gave him access to the dramatic circle of
Knyazhnin.
Several attempts Krylov made to start a literary
magazine met with little success; but, together with his plays, they served to make the author known in society. For about four years (
1797-
1801) Krylov lived at the country seats of
Prince Sergey Galitzine, and when the prince was appointed
military governor of
Livonia he accompanied him as official secretary. Of the years which follow his resignation of this post little is known, the common opinion being that he wandered from town to town under the influence of a passion for card-playing. Before long he found his place as a fabulist, the first collection of his
Fables, 23 in number, appearing in
1809. From
1812 to
1841 he held a congenial appointment in the
Imperial Public Library first as assistant, and then as head of the Russian books department.
Honors were showered upon Krylov while he yet lived: the
Russian Academy of Sciences admitted him a member in
1811, and bestowed upon him its gold medal; in
1838 a great festival was held under imperial sanction to celebrate the jubilee of his first appearance as an author; and the
emperor assigned him a handsome pension. By the time he died, 77,000 copies of his fables had been sold in Russia, and his wisdom and humor gained popularity. His fables were often rooted in historic events, and are easily recognizable by their beauty of language and engaging story. Though he began as a translator and imitator of existing fables, Krylov soon showed himself a master of invention, who found abundant original material in his native land. To the Russian ear his verse is of matchless quality; while word and phrase are direct, simple and eminently idiomatic, color and cadence vary with the theme.
Krylov's
statue in the
Summer Garden (1854-55) is one of the finest monuments in
St.Petersburg. It is also the first monument to a poet erected in
Eastern Europe. All four sides of the pedestal represent scenes from Krylov's archetypal fables.
