FIRST GALICIAN RECEPTION OF SHEVCHENKO’S POETRY (1840–1850’s)

The author examines the first reception of Shevchenko's poetry in Galicia in the 1840s and 1850s, finding out that Galician writers, including the publishers of «The Dniester mermaid» («Rusalka Dnistrova»), read Shevchenko's poetry in the almanac «Swallow» («Lastivka»). In her opinion, M. Shashkevych was more influenced by I. Kotlyarevsky's «Aeneid» and M. Maksymovуch's collection of Ukrainian songs than from Shevchenko's poetry, though he copied «Bewitched» («Prychynna») from the almanac «Swallow» («Lastivka»). This fact makes it possible to count M. Shashkevуch among the first implicit readers of Shevchenko in Galicia. Such reaction to Shevchenko's work can be explained by the fact that none of the three members of the «Russian Trinity» read the first Kobzar (1840). Y. Holovatsky has received «Chigirinskij kobzar and Gajdamaki. Dve pojemy na malorusskom jazyke Shevchenka» (St. Petersburg, 1844) in 1846 from K. Zap. He has received poems «Trizna» and «Hamalia» as well. This is evidenced not only by K. Zap's letter with the list of books he had to bring to Lviv, but also by the Y. Holovatsky’s memories, which have not been mentioned in Shevchenko's literature before. Y. Holovatsky refused to mention Shevchenko and his works in publications and lectures due to the coward in his house in connection with the report on reading the poem «Haydamaky». His brother Ivan intended to include Shevchenko's poetry in his anthology «The wreath for Ruthenians to Obzhynky» («Vinok Rusynam na obzhynky»), the first and second parts of which were published in 1846 and 1847 in Vienna, but he did not implement this plan. So, the first acquaintance with the poetry of Shevchenko in Galicia was mediated by an almanac «Swallow» («Lastivka»), the first implicit reader of Shevchenko in Galicia was M. Shashkevуch. «Kobzar» (1840) never reached Galicia, but information about «Kobzar» (1844), «Trizna», «Hamalia» and forbidden Shevchenko’s poem «Caucasus» («Kavkaz») circulated in the Galician intellectual environment. The first readers of Shevchenko in Galicia were a few people. The wider audience (mostly seminarists) became acquainted with Shevchenko's poetry following the «Kobzar» (1860).