Evgeny Shvarts
Encyclopedia
Evgeny Lvovich Shvarts ' onMouseout='HidePop("67437")' href="/topics/Kazan">Kazan
, Russian Empire
– January 15, 1958, Leningrad
, USSR) was a Soviet writer and playwright whose works include twenty-five plays and screenplays for three films (in collaboration with Nikolai Erdman
).
in 1896 into a physician's family. His father was Jewish, his mother Russian. At the end of the 1910s he studied law at Moscow State University
, but was drafted into the army in the spring of 1917. He served in the White
regiment of general Kornilov, and suffered shell-shock during the storming of Yekaterinodar
in 1918. As a result of this he lost several teeth and acquired a tremor of the hands that plagued him for the rest of his life.
In 1919 decided to devote his life to dramatic art and literature. From 1924 on he lived in Leningrad
and worked in Gosizdat under the guidance of Samuil Marshak
; during that time he also became close with members of the avant-garde literary group OBERIU
.
In 1929 Shvarts began writing plays, the best known of which are the modern retellings of fairy tales: «Golyi korol'» ("The Emperor's New Clothes") (1934), «Krasnaya Shapochka» ("Little Red Riding Hood") (1936), «Zolushka» ("Cinderella") (1938), «Snezhnaya Koroleva» ("The Snow Queen", after Hans Christian Andersen
) (1938), «Tyen'» ("The Shadow", after Hans Christian Andersen) (1940), «Drakon» ("The Dragon", an original) (1944), and «Obyknovennoye Chudo» ("An Ordinary Miracle") (1956). Most of these plays were subsequently turned into films, sometimes more than once.
in all forms. The plot is based on the attempt of the hero, Lancelot, to liberate people in a land suffering under Dragon's brutal rule. But his efforts meet with resistance, since most of the people have gotten used to the Dragon and considered his methods, though harsh, the only possible way; their souls become, in a way, crippled with this inability and unwillingness to resist. Says the Dragon in the play: "You see, the human soul is very resilient. Cut the body in half — and the man croaks. But tear the soul apart — and it only becomes more pliable, that's all. No, really, you couldn't pick a finer assortment of souls anywhere. Only in my town. Souls with no hands. Souls with no legs. Mute souls, deaf souls, chained souls, snitch souls, damned souls."
Lancelot killing the Dragon in a fight did not free the people; all that changed was the Burgomaster acceding to the position formerly occupied by the Dragon and demanding that Elsa, the same girl who was destined to be sacrificed to the Dragon, become his wife. When Lancelot returns to the town a year later, he realizes that his task is much more complex: "This is going to be a very meticulous job... We have to kill the dragon in each one of them."
and in 1978
.
From "The Dragon":
From "Cinderella":
From "The Snow Queen:
From "The Ordinary Miracle"
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
– January 15, 1958, Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, USSR) was a Soviet writer and playwright whose works include twenty-five plays and screenplays for three films (in collaboration with Nikolai Erdman
Nikolai Erdman
Nikolay Robertovich Erdman was a Soviet dramatist and screenwriter primarily remembered for his work with Vsevolod Meyerhold in the 1920s. His plays, notably The Suicide , form a link in Russian literary history between the satirical drama of Nikolai Gogol and the post-World War II Theatre of the...
).
Life
Shvarts was born in KazanKazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
in 1896 into a physician's family. His father was Jewish, his mother Russian. At the end of the 1910s he studied law at Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
, but was drafted into the army in the spring of 1917. He served in the White
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
regiment of general Kornilov, and suffered shell-shock during the storming of Yekaterinodar
Krasnodar
Krasnodar is a city in Southern Russia, located on the Kuban River about northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai . Population: -Name:...
in 1918. As a result of this he lost several teeth and acquired a tremor of the hands that plagued him for the rest of his life.
In 1919 decided to devote his life to dramatic art and literature. From 1924 on he lived in Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
and worked in Gosizdat under the guidance of Samuil Marshak
Samuil Marshak
Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak was a Russian and Soviet writer, translator and children's poet. Among his Russian translations are William Shakespeare's sonnets, poems by William Blake and Robert Burns, and Rudyard Kipling's stories. Maxim Gorky proclaimed Marshak to be "the founder of [Russia's ]...
; during that time he also became close with members of the avant-garde literary group OBERIU
Oberiu
OBERIU was a short-lived avant-garde collective of Russian Futurist writers, musicians, and artists in the 1920s and 1930s...
.
In 1929 Shvarts began writing plays, the best known of which are the modern retellings of fairy tales: «Golyi korol'» ("The Emperor's New Clothes") (1934), «Krasnaya Shapochka» ("Little Red Riding Hood") (1936), «Zolushka» ("Cinderella") (1938), «Snezhnaya Koroleva» ("The Snow Queen", after Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
) (1938), «Tyen'» ("The Shadow", after Hans Christian Andersen) (1940), «Drakon» ("The Dragon", an original) (1944), and «Obyknovennoye Chudo» ("An Ordinary Miracle") (1956). Most of these plays were subsequently turned into films, sometimes more than once.
The Dragon
This play, the most "grown-up" of Shvarts' plays, is a political satire aimed at totalitarianismTotalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible...
in all forms. The plot is based on the attempt of the hero, Lancelot, to liberate people in a land suffering under Dragon's brutal rule. But his efforts meet with resistance, since most of the people have gotten used to the Dragon and considered his methods, though harsh, the only possible way; their souls become, in a way, crippled with this inability and unwillingness to resist. Says the Dragon in the play: "You see, the human soul is very resilient. Cut the body in half — and the man croaks. But tear the soul apart — and it only becomes more pliable, that's all. No, really, you couldn't pick a finer assortment of souls anywhere. Only in my town. Souls with no hands. Souls with no legs. Mute souls, deaf souls, chained souls, snitch souls, damned souls."
Lancelot killing the Dragon in a fight did not free the people; all that changed was the Burgomaster acceding to the position formerly occupied by the Dragon and demanding that Elsa, the same girl who was destined to be sacrificed to the Dragon, become his wife. When Lancelot returns to the town a year later, he realizes that his task is much more complex: "This is going to be a very meticulous job... We have to kill the dragon in each one of them."
The Ordinary Miracle
This is a romantic and philosophical parable on love and relationship between the creator and his creation. This play was made into films in 1964An Ordinary Miracle (1964 film)
An Ordinary Miracle is a Soviet 1964 lyrical comedy film, a love story directed by Erast Garin based on a play by Yevgeni Shvarts.King's palace was filmed in Vorontsov's Palace.- Cast :* Aleksei Konsovsky* Nina Zorskaya * Oleg Vidov as The Bear...
and in 1978
An Ordinary Miracle (1978 film)
An Ordinary Miracle is a Soviet 1978 musical film, a love story by Mark Zakharov based on a play by Yevgeni Shvarts. This is the second screen version of the play; the first one was filmed in 1964 by Erast Garin....
.
Famous Quotations
From "The Emperor's New Clothes":- Lady of the Court: "Yesterday I was so anxious, my husband fainted."
From "The Dragon":
- Heinrich: "It's not my fault, I was taught that way."
- Lancelot: "Everyone was, but why did you have to be first in class?"
From "Cinderella":
- Cinderella: "It's bad for your health not to go to the ball when you deserve it."
- Young Page: "I'm not a wizard yet, I'm still in training."
From "The Snow Queen:
- Female head of the gang of robbers: "Children should be spoiled, only then do they grow into true robbers."
From "The Ordinary Miracle"
- King: "Why? Why? Because I'm a foolish despot, that's why!"
External links
- Read The Dragon. (A filmed version, To Kill a Dragon, was produced in 1988.) Biography