SOURCE: “Russia's Doomsday Poet,” in Forum for Modern Language Studies, Vol. 9, No. 2, April, 1973, pp. 170-81.

In the following essay, Harvie examines Baratynsky's poems containing his criticism of science, technology, and the emerging capitalist-industrialist society.

Of Baratynsky's poem “The Last Poet” (“Posledny poet”) Belinsky said that it would have been a masterpiece but for the perverse equation of poetry with ignorance and the blaming of science for the degeneration of society.¹ Later apologists for Baratynsky have generally felt constrained to argue that all he really meant was that there was a certain charm about mystery which is removed by knowledge.² No such defence is necessary today. With the benefit of 130 years of hindsight it is clear that Baratynsky was right and Belinsky was wrong; indeed, he has some claim to be called Russia's Doomsday Poet.

At its best Baratynsky's work has the same kind of latent prophetic quality that...