Levan Beburishvili

Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University

Associate Professor

Philology

PhD in Philology

Tbilisi, Georgia

levan.beburishvili@tsu.ge

The paper is devoted to an analysis of the reception of classical lyric poetry in Galaktion Tabidze’s poetic treatise Conversation on Lyric Poetry and to the aesthetic and ideological functions that examples from ancient poetry perform within the author’s conceptual worldview. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate how Galaktion employs the history of ancient Greek poetry to substantiate the social and cognitive value of lyric poetry.

In his poetic treatise, Galaktion challenges the widespread view according to which lyric poetry is merely an expression of subjective experience and lacks the capacity to reflect social and historical reality in depth. In opposition to this understanding, the poet selects authors and genres from the history of ancient lyric poetry that clearly reveal its active social function. Particular attention is given in this context to Archilochus, Tyrtaeus, Solon, Simonides, Pindar, and the genre of the skolion.

The paper demonstrates that, for Galaktion, Archilochus represents the power and influence of lyric poetry; the works of Tyrtaeus exemplify patriotic and martial poetry; Solon embodies the synthesis of poetry and political thought; while Simonides and Pindar appear as poets of civic virtue and national heroism. Particular significance is attached to the ancient skolion dedicated to Harmodius and Aristogeiton, to which Galaktion devotes considerable attention in his poem. Analysis of the text reveals that this episode carries a multilayered political subtext associated with the idea of resistance to tyranny.

The study also considers why Galaktion leaves aside such representatives of monodic lyric poetry as Sappho, Alcaeus, and Anacreon. It becomes evident that the poet deliberately selects those authors whose works express social, political, and national ideals. Thus, his interpretation of ancient lyric poetry serves Galaktion’s principal objective: to demonstrate that lyric poetry is not a secondary literary form, but rather a universal literary genre.

The paper argues that Galaktion’s reception of classical poetry should not be understood merely as an expression of respect for the cultural heritage of antiquity. Rather, it constitutes an essential component of his aesthetic self-assertion and of his broader defense of lyric poetry.

Keywords: Georgian poetry; Galaktion Tabidze; classical literature