Tatiana Smoliarova is an associate professor in the Slavic Languages and Literatures Department at the University of Toronto.

Three Metaphors for Life is a fascinating, well-researched and well-written study of the late Derzhavin which brings new insight into his place in Russian literature, politics, philosophy and society. What’s more, it carefully connects Derzhavin to the intellectual, philosophical, poetic and scientific currents of his time, demonstrating that he is not merely an essential figure in the Russian enlightenment, but has significant contributions to make as a European intellectual. Smoliarova is a seasoned scholar, with bona fides in comparative European intellectual history and literature. Her bibliography is deep and current, and her voice is authoritative and truly erudite. With command of languages and specialized literature from Russia, England, France, and Germany, Smoliarova writes clearly and vividly, expressing and tracing coherent connections across European borders that shed light on the Russian empire and the experience of living in the years before the war with Napoleon. This translation lucidly introduces Smoliarova to an English-language audience. What's more, Ron Meyers ably handles the difficult task of rendering scholarly prose and classical Russian poetry in English."

• Preface In Search of a Metaphor: In Place of an IntroductionPart 1. Magic Lantern (Projection)Chapter 1. A Text in PerformanceShadows OnlyPregnant MomentsAn Attempt in the Dramatic FieldChapter 2. Lanterns and LanternistsLaterna MagicaCitizen RobertsonThe FantasmagoriaPart 2. Rainbow (Refraction)Chapter 1. Unweaving the RainbowThe Meteorological CycleFrom Allegory to . . . AllegoryMagic Made Simple or Do-It-YourselfAddison and His PleasuresChapter 2. The Limits of ImitationApelles and His LinesCamera ObscuraThe Child of ThaumasPart 3. Garden of Memory (Reflection)Chapter 1. The Keys to ZvankaBeatus, My BrotherEssay on ManThe Art of MemoryA Peculiar Vision: Approaches to the TextChapter 2. Nine ViewsPleasures of the ImaginationChoral VisionFifteen Stanzas of SolitudeChapter 3. The Poet’s HouseThe Bard Lived ThereZvanka’s EchoPindar, Derzhavin, and the 1920s: In Place of a ConclusionNotesReferences

Tatiana Smoliarova is an associate professor in the Slavic Languages and Literatures Department at the University of Toronto.

Three Metaphors for Life is a fascinating, well-researched and well-written study of the late Derzhavin which brings new insight into his place in Russian literature, politics, philosophy and society. What’s more, it carefully connects Derzhavin to the intellectual, philosophical, poetic and scientific currents of his time, demonstrating that he is not merely an essential figure in the Russian enlightenment, but has significant contributions to make as a European intellectual. Smoliarova is a seasoned scholar, with bona fides in comparative European intellectual history and literature. Her bibliography is deep and current, and her voice is authoritative and truly erudite. With command of languages and specialized literature from Russia, England, France, and Germany, Smoliarova writes clearly and vividly, expressing and tracing coherent connections across European borders that shed light on the Russian empire and the experience of living in the years before the war with Napoleon. This translation lucidly introduces Smoliarova to an English-language audience. What's more, Ron Meyers ably handles the difficult task of rendering scholarly prose and classical Russian poetry in English."

• Preface In Search of a Metaphor: In Place of an IntroductionPart 1. Magic Lantern (Projection)Chapter 1. A Text in PerformanceShadows OnlyPregnant MomentsAn Attempt in the Dramatic FieldChapter 2. Lanterns and LanternistsLaterna MagicaCitizen RobertsonThe FantasmagoriaPart 2. Rainbow (Refraction)Chapter 1. Unweaving the RainbowThe Meteorological CycleFrom Allegory to . . . AllegoryMagic Made Simple or Do-It-YourselfAddison and His PleasuresChapter 2. The Limits of ImitationApelles and His LinesCamera ObscuraThe Child of ThaumasPart 3. Garden of Memory (Reflection)Chapter 1. The Keys to ZvankaBeatus, My BrotherEssay on ManThe Art of MemoryA Peculiar Vision: Approaches to the TextChapter 2. Nine ViewsPleasures of the ImaginationChoral VisionFifteen Stanzas of SolitudeChapter 3. The Poet’s HouseThe Bard Lived ThereZvanka’s EchoPindar, Derzhavin, and the 1920s: In Place of a ConclusionNotesReferences

Tatiana Smoliarova is an associate professor in the Slavic Languages and Literatures Department at the University of Toronto.

Three Metaphors for Life is a fascinating, well-researched and well-written study of the late Derzhavin which brings new insight into his place in Russian literature, politics, philosophy and society. What’s more, it carefully connects Derzhavin to the intellectual, philosophical, poetic and scientific currents of his time, demonstrating that he is not merely an essential figure in the Russian enlightenment, but has significant contributions to make as a European intellectual. Smoliarova is a seasoned scholar, with bona fides in comparative European intellectual history and literature. Her bibliography is deep and current, and her voice is authoritative and truly erudite. With command of languages and specialized literature from Russia, England, France, and Germany, Smoliarova writes clearly and vividly, expressing and tracing coherent connections across European borders that shed light on the Russian empire and the experience of living in the years before the war with Napoleon. This translation lucidly introduces Smoliarova to an English-language audience. What's more, Ron Meyers ably handles the difficult task of rendering scholarly prose and classical Russian poetry in English."

• Preface In Search of a Metaphor: In Place of an IntroductionPart 1. Magic Lantern (Projection)Chapter 1. A Text in PerformanceShadows OnlyPregnant MomentsAn Attempt in the Dramatic FieldChapter 2. Lanterns and LanternistsLaterna MagicaCitizen RobertsonThe FantasmagoriaPart 2. Rainbow (Refraction)Chapter 1. Unweaving the RainbowThe Meteorological CycleFrom Allegory to . . . AllegoryMagic Made Simple or Do-It-YourselfAddison and His PleasuresChapter 2. The Limits of ImitationApelles and His LinesCamera ObscuraThe Child of ThaumasPart 3. Garden of Memory (Reflection)Chapter 1. The Keys to ZvankaBeatus, My BrotherEssay on ManThe Art of MemoryA Peculiar Vision: Approaches to the TextChapter 2. Nine ViewsPleasures of the ImaginationChoral VisionFifteen Stanzas of SolitudeChapter 3. The Poet’s HouseThe Bard Lived ThereZvanka’s EchoPindar, Derzhavin, and the 1920s: In Place of a ConclusionNotesReferences