ნიკოლოზ ბარათაშვილი, „ვპოვე ტაძარი“
NIKOLOZ BARATASHVILI, “I FOUND A TEMPLE”

Summary/Abstract: It is known that the fiction, written by representatives of different nations, in its own way depicts the historical events and facts, reflects the general mood of the nation. This feature of literature was most clearly manifested in romanticism. This well-known truth was revealed with all clarity in the lyrics of Nikoloz Baratashvili, who is rightfully one of the most national Georgian poets. One of the brightest works by Nikoloz Baratashvili is the poem "I Found a Temple", which in literary criticism is perceived mainly as an example of love lyrics. However, some critics usually avoid discussing this poem. Such indifference shown to this masterpiece by this category of scientists, in our opinion, is a reaction to the pessimism shown at the end of the poem, since it is rather difficult to share the extreme skepticism of the genius creator (what is conveyed in the last stanza of the poem). The topic for discussion of the present article is the poem "I Found a Temple". The main attention is paid to the versatility of the poem; in the article it is noted that “I Found a Temple” echoes the concept of V. Solovyov, according to whom, “for romantics, everything historically valuable has acquired a three-dimensional character: 1. personal, 2. national, 3. universal” (Evnidze, 1983, p. 19). Accordingly, in the foreground of this poem there is a reader's acquaintance with the momentary bliss of the lyrical hero and a hint that a person has moments of complete happiness in life, what, unfortunately, is temporary, short-lived and he ultimately becomes a victim of loneliness. In the main part of the article, attention is shifted to the background of the poem and it is noticed that the spiritual mood of the lyric hero reflects the spiritual state of the entire Georgian people in the 30s of the last century, what was the result of the most difficult political events in the history of Georgia. In particular, the poem "I Found a Temple" expresses the disappointment of the Georgian people after the abolition of the Kartli-Kakhetian kingdom by Russia. More precisely, it is a response to the abolition of the autocephaly of the Georgian Apostolic Church by the Russian authorities in 1811. This opinion is one of the versions of the literary analysis of the poem, and how it will be perceived by Georgian literary critics is a question for the future.

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