Bobrov: wandering from darkness to light

Abstract

Bobrov is an important literary figure of the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century in Russia, although his work was not always appreciated in his times. Bobrov’s poetry is rich with different topics and moods; in his early poetry he wrote about the creation of the world, but on personal level he was preoccupied with the problem of death. After he moved to Crimea he wrote a book-long poem Taurida (1798) or later Chersonida (1804), which is a detailed and admiring description of Crimea’s nature and people and also included interesting theological reflections. His last and longest work is the epic poem, The ancient night of the universe or the wandering blind man (1807–1809) which is an allegory of humanity searching for truth and, at the same time, a search for truth of each individual person. Bobrov shows that such truth can only be found in Christ.