thought. Classicism in literature was dead, having weighed like an
incubus upon the fancy and fresh life of many generations. England
and Germany were at the head of the new movement, which was at a
later period to be joined to France. The influence was to extend
to Russia, and may be said to date from the reign of Alexander I.
It was headed by Zhukovski, who was rather a fluent translator
than an original poet. He has given excellent versions of Schiller,
Goethe, Moore, and Byron, and has better enriched the literature
of his country in this way than by his original productions. He
had, however, some lyric fire of his own; the ode entitled _The
Poet in the Camp of the Russian Warriors_, written in the memorable
year 1812, did something to stimulate the national feelings, and
procure for the poet a good appointment at court.

In Alexander Pushkin, the Russians were destined to find their
greatest poet. His first work, _Rouslan and Lioudmilla_, was a tale
of half-mythical times, in which the influence of Byron was clearly
visible, but the author had never allowed himself to become a mere
copyist. The same may be said of _The Prisoner of the Caucasus_,
in which Pushkin had an opportunity of describing the romantic
scenery of that wild country, which was then entirely new ground.
In the _Fountain of Bakchiserai_ he chose an episode in the history
of the Khans of the Crimea, which he has handled very poetically.
The _Gipsies_ is a wild oriental tale of passion and vengeance. The
poet, who had been spending some time amid the Steppes of Bessarabia,
has left us wonderful pictures of the wandering tribes and their
savage life. Many Russians consider the _Evgenie Oniegin_ of Pushkin
to be his best effort. It is a powerfully written love-story, full
of sketches of modern life, interspersed with satire and pathos.

A criticism of Pushkin would necessarily be imperfect, which left
out of all consideration his drama on the subject of _Boris Godunov_.
Here he has used Shakespeare as his model. Up to this time the
traditions of the Russian stage--such as they were--were wholly
French. The piece is undoubtedly very clever, and conceived with
true dramatic power.

Since Pushkin's attempt, the historical drama based upon the English,
has been very successfully cultivated. A fine trilogy has been
composed by Count A. Tolstoi (whose premature death all Russia
deplored), on the three subjects, _The Death of Ivan the Terrible_
(1866), _