(1769-1816) dramatist
Vladislav Aleksandrovich Ozerov was born and raised in Russia. He graduated at the top of his class from a military school and, once in military service, participated in several campaigns. Ozerov’s literary tastes were hugely influenced by 17th- and 18th-century French literature, which he read in great quantities. As a consequence, he wrote his first poems in French.
Ozerov’s first works were odes and fables, which, while they showed the extent of his familiarity with the French traditions, were not considered unduly remarkable. His first tragedy, Death of Oleg Drevlianskii, staged in St. Petersburg in 1798, did not bring its author any considerable recognition, either. Great success, however, followed his second tragedy, Oedipus in Athens. Oze-rov did not read Greek, so he borrowed his Oedipus not from the classical dramatist Sophocles, but from the French playwright Dussie. This altered the entire tone of tragedy, forgoing all the antique solemnity. Ozerov’s Oedipus is not a severe, fate-driven king but a weak, sensitive, forgiving old man.
Ozerov’s most acclaimed tragedy was Fingal. His interpretation of the plot, borrowed from the poems of Ossian, concentrated on the contradiction between the vicious, plotting character of Swaran and the pure, sincere love of Fingal and Moina. The tragedy was deeply touching and evoked storms of emotion among audiences.
Ozerov’s fame reached its zenith in 1807, when his tragedy Dmitrii Donskoi was staged. The work with its patriotic themes roused the loyalties of its Russian audiences, who were feeling particularly nationalistic due to the war with Napoleon. The elements of a touching love story combined with lofty heroism never failed to produce a thunderstorm of applause.
Historically speaking, Ozerov is mainly known as the dramatist who brought the elements of sentimentality into Russian tragedy, while strictly following the formal canons of pseudo-classical drama.
