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.
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