Besiki
Besarion Gabashvili (Georgian: ბესარიონ გაბაშვილი), commonly known by his penname Besiki (ბესიკი) (1750 – January 25, 1791) was a Georgian poet, politician and diplomat, known as an author of exquisite love songs and heroic odes as well as for his political and amorous adventures.
Life
He was born and raised in Tbilisi, Georgia's capital. His father, Zakaria, was a
Georgian Orthodox priest and a confessor of King Teimuraz II. Zakaria was excommunicated and banished in 1764, but
Besiki was allowed by King Erekle II to stay at the royal court where he received his
education and began his career of a minstrel, his early style being influenced by
Poetry
Due to Besiki’s turbulent life and permanent travels abroad, many of his manuscripts were irretrievably lost. He died unpublished, but hundreds of manuscript copies circulated for decades after his death; the titles and notes to many poems may be inventions of amateur copyists. [1]
Besiki's diverse poetic legacy is notable for its sheer musicality and spontaneity.[2] His finest poems – სევდის ბაღს შეველ ("I Entered a Garden of Melancholy"), მე მივხვდი მაგას შენსა ბრალებსა ("I Understood Your Accusations"), შაშვნი შავნი ("The Blackbirds") and, most of all, ტანო ტატანო ("Beauty's Stature") and დედოფალს ანაზედ ("On Queen Ana") – are dedicated to a passionate, sometimes explicitly erotic love with a tint of melancholy and an elegant tone.[3] His heroic poetry includes the poems ასპინძისათვის ("On the Battle of Aspindza") and რუხის ომი ("The Battle of Rukhi"), both of them dedicated to the Georgian military victories over the Turkish and Abkhaz-Circassian forces, respectively. In "On the Battle of Aspindza", Besiki praises the martial prowess of the Georgian army at the Battle of Aspindza (1770) and eulogizes military talents of Prince David Orbeliani, a Georgian vanguard commander and himself a poet of some talent.[4] At the same time, the poem is a graphic denunciation of the Russian commander Todtleben who had abandoned his Georgian allies just before the battle.[1] Besiki also mastered satirical poetry, რძალ-დედამთილიანი ("The Mother-in-Law and the Daughter-in-La"), and ჭაბუა ორბელიანზე ("On Chabua Orbeliani"), being noteworthy examples. [3] The poet made use of some new methods in versification, in the composition, and coined some new words, renovating and enriching Georgian poetry with fresh metaphors.[4] Besiki has left a remarkable trace in the history of Georgian literature. In particular, his poetry heavily influenced Georgian Romanticists of the early 19th century and resounded again in their works on several occasions.
References
- ^ a b c Rayfield, Donald (2000), The Literature of Georgia: A History: 2nd edition, pp. 124-6. Routledge, ISBN 0-7007-1163-5.
- ^ Mikaberidze, Alexander (2007). "Besiki (Bessarion Gabashvili)". Dictionary of Georgian National Biography. Retrieved on 2007-04-09.
- ^ a b Kveselava, M (2002), Anthology of Georgian Poetry, 181. The Minerva Group, Inc., ISBN 0898756723.
- ^ a b Baramidze, A.G., Gamezardashvili, D.M. (2001), Georgian Literature, p. 45. The Minerva Group, Inc., ISBN 0898755700.
See also
External links
- (Georgian) A collection of Besiki’s poems. Georgian eBooks. National Parliamentary Library of Georgia.
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