ℬ Lesia Ukrainka ℬ Famous people of Ukraine and the world

Good afternoon, dear readers!Today we will talk about the biography of Lesia Ukrainka, a famous Ukrainian writer, playwright, translator, and cultural activist. Her real name was Larysa Petrivna Kosach-Kvitka. She was born on February 25, 1871, in the city of Zvyagel (Novohrad-Volynskyi) in Volyn.

Contents

Childhood and family

Lesya Ukrainka was born in the family of Petro Kosach, an educated progressive lawyer, a member of the Old Community, and Olha Kosach, a famous writer under the pseudonym Olena Pchilka. Lesia had four sisters and two brothers. She was the second child in the family. From childhood, she received a good education at home from her parents and private teachers. She studied Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, French, German, Latin, Greek, Italian, and English, as well as history, geography, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, music, drawing, and embroidery. She was also a keen sportswoman, loving to ride horses, play chess and tennis. She was a very intelligent, curious, sociable and energetic girl who loved to read, write, sing, dance, play theater and listen to folk songs. At the age of six, she wrote her first poem, “Hope”. At the age of nine, she began publishing her poetry in the Zorya magazine under the pseudonym Lesia Ukrainka. At the age of ten, she suffered a tragedy: after catching a cold, she developed tuberculosis of the bones and joints, which caused her suffering and premature death.

Education

Lesia Ukrainka did not attend school, but was educated at home by her parents and private teachers. She also studied many subjects on her own, reading books from her father’s library. She was interested in literature, history, philosophy, art, science, and politics. She knew many languages and translated works from foreign literatures. She also wrote her own works that reflected her talent, erudition, patriotism, and civic engagement. She was self-taught and achieved a high level of education and culture.

Career

Lesia Ukrainka began her career as a writer at the age of nine, when she published her first poem, “Hope,” in the Zorya magazine. Since then, she has created many works of various genres: poetry, drama, prose, journalism, and translations. She was one of the most prominent representatives of Ukrainian literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, introducing new ideas, forms, images, and motifs. She was also an active cultural activist who contributed to the development of the Ukrainian language, literature, folk art, education, press, theater, music, the women’s movement, and national revival. She collaborated with many prominent figures of Ukrainian culture, such as Ivan Franko, Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi, Mykhailo Drahomanov, Mykhailo Starytskyi, Mykola Lysenko, Mykola Sadovskyi, Olha Kobylianska, etc.

In 1893, she published her first collection of poetry, On the Wings of Songs, which contained poems written from 1884 to 1892. In this collection, she expressed her patriotic, civic, philosophical, and aesthetic views, as well as her feelings for her lover, Serhiy Merzhynskyi, whom she met in 1890. Serhii was a revolutionary, lawyer, publicist, and poet who shared Lesia’s ideals. They planned to marry, but their relationship was cut short by Serhii’s death from tuberculosis in 1902. This tragedy deeply affected Lesia, who dedicated her poem “One Word” to him. In 1896, she co-founded the literary circle “Pleiades,” which included such writers as Ivan Franko, Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi, Mykhailo Drahomanov, Mykhailo Starytskyi, and others. They discussed topical issues of Ukrainian literature, culture, politics, and society, and published their works in the literary and scientific journals Literary and Scientific Bulletin, Zorya, Life and Word, and others. Lesya Ukrainka was one of the most active members of the circle, expressing her criticisms, suggestions, encouragement, and admiration for the works of her colleagues.
In 1901, she wrote her first dramatic poem, Cassandra, which was dedicated to the theme of ancient mythology and history. In this work, she portrayed the image of the prophetess Cassandra, who was cursed by the god Apollo and could not convince people of her predictions. Lesya Ukrainka used this image to express her personal fate, her struggle with illness, her disagreement with social injustice, and her faith in the future of Ukraine. This poem was one of Lesia Ukrainka’s highest achievements in the genre of dramatic poetry.

In 1902, she published her second collection of poetry, Reviews, which contained poems written from 1892 to 1902. In this collection, she continued to develop her main themes: love, patriotism, freedom, struggle, suffering, and hope. She also reflected her impressions of her travels, meetings, reading, and observations. She wrote poems in different languages: Ukrainian, Russian, French, Italian, and Greek. She also translated works from foreign literatures, such as Homer, Shakespeare, Goethe, Dante, Byron, Heine, Mickiewicz, Pushkin, Lermontov, Nekrasov, Tyutchev, Shevchenko, and others.
In 1906, she married Klyment Kvitka, a Ukrainian poet, translator, journalist, and revolutionary whom she had met in 1903. They lived together in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Yalta, Kakhovka, Surami, Kutaisi, and Tbilisi. They supported each other in their work, translations, and social activities. They also participated in the revolutionary movement, fought against tsarism, were arrested, convicted, and released. They had many friends among Ukrainian writers, artists, musicians, actors, politicians, and public figures.

In 1911, she wrote her most famous dramatic poem, The Forest Song, which was inspired by Ukrainian folklore, mythology, history, and nature. In this work, she depicted a love story between a man and a forest nymph, which symbolized the spirit of a people striving for freedom, beauty, and creativity. This poem was one of the highest examples of Ukrainian literature that combined realism, romanticism, modernism, and nationalism. This poem has been filmed many times, staged on stage, and translated into many languages.

In 1913, she wrote her last dramatic poem, The Stone Lord, which was dedicated to the theme of Ukrainian history, culture, and religion. In this work, she portrayed the image of Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl, who built a stone castle in Halych and defended his land from enemies. Lesya Ukrainka used this image to express her respect for Ukraine’s ancient past, her hope for its future, and her criticism of the current state of affairs. This poem was one of the deepest and boldest works of Lesya Ukrainka, who showed her skill, erudition, patriotism, and civic responsibility.
Achievements: Lesya Ukrainka was one of the most prominent writers of Ukrainian literature, who created many masterpieces of various genres. She was also one of the most active cultural figures who contributed to the development of the Ukrainian language, literature, folk art, education, press, theater, music, women’s movement and national revival.

Some of her most important achievements include the following:

She wrote more than 2700 works, including poetry, drama, prose, journalism, translations, letters, diaries, and autobiography.
She was the first Ukrainian writer to create a dramatic poem as a new genre that combined elements of poetry, drama, music, choreography, and scenery.
She was the first Ukrainian writer to use the themes of ancient mythology and history to express her ideas and feelings.
She was the first Ukrainian writer to translate complete works from Greek, Latin, Italian, French, English, Polish, and Russian into Ukrainian.
She was one of the most popular and influential writers of Ukrainian literature, who had many readers, fans, imitators, critics, researchers, translators, publishers, actors, directors, composers, and artists who were engaged in her work.
She was one of the most prominent figures in Ukrainian culture, participating in many public organizations, initiatives, and actions aimed at raising the level of education, culture, consciousness, and identity of the Ukrainian people.
She was one of the most prominent women in Ukrainian history who fought for equal rights, opportunities, and conditions for women in society, who supported the women’s movement, who was an example of strength, courage, will, talent, beauty, and love for many generations of women.

Conclusion

In this article, we have described the biography of Lesia Ukrainka, a famous Ukrainian writer, playwright, translator, and cultural activist. We looked at her childhood, family, education, career, and achievements. We saw that she was an outstanding, talented, courageous, and influential personality who made a significant contribution to the development of Ukrainian literature and culture. We hope you found this article useful and educational. In order to finish our story, we would like to quote a few quotes from Lesya Ukrainka that reflect her views on life:

“Life is a struggle, not peace. Peace is death.”
“Do not be afraid of the darkness, do not be afraid of anything, for you are not alone in the world, for you are not alone.”
“To love is not only happiness, but also duty, and strength, and greatness.”
“Let the light of the soul burn in us, let it burn, even though we are burning!”
“Freedom is not something that is given, but something that is taken.”