A Georgian Poetic Legend of Nature and Poetic Vision
A Poem Called a Legend
The Hermit is a poem by Ilia Chavchavadze, the Georgian writer and public figure. In translation its full title is given as The Hermit: A Legend, and the work belongs to Chavchavadze’s poetry. It was written in Georgian and later made available to English readers through translation.
The Legend Behind the Hermit
The poem has a legendary basis. Ilia Bakhtadze wrote a Russian-language article titled The Legend on The Hermit in order to acquaint readers with the legend that Chavchavadze used as the foundation of the work. Bakhtadze’s article treated that legend as the groundwork of the poem, indicating that The Hermit is a literary reworking of traditional legendary material rather than a wholly invented tale.
The Shepherdess and the Poet’s Enchantment
A contemporary review in the newspaper Kavkaz described The Hermit as a poem in which, through the character of a shepherdess, Chavchavadze presents a poet enthralled by the beauty of nature. In that reading, the shepherdess is the figure through whom the poem makes visible the poet’s absorption in the natural world. The review identifies the poem’s central interest as poetic enchantment with nature: the natural world is not merely a backdrop but the object of the poet’s imaginative response.
Marjory Wardrop’s English Translation
An English translation by Marjory Wardrop made The Hermit available to readers of English. Wardrop’s version is the translation through which the poem was known in English, and it is the text cited in accounts of Chavchavadze’s published works. Her rendering gave non-Georgian readers access to a poem whose meaning is tied both to a Georgian legend and to Chavchavadze’s poetic treatment of nature.
Excerpts and Stage Readings
The Hermit had a public life beyond the printed page. Actors at the Artsruni theatre read excerpts from the poem, and scenes from it were staged there. An advertisement announced readings from The Hermit and from Chavchavadze’s Is the Man a Human!? at a literary soiree, and the event took place as announced. Such performances show that the poem was received as a work suited to recitation and theatrical excerpting.
The second issue of Iveria Magazine, in early March 1883, contained Chavchavadze’s The Hermit and Domestic Survey. In 1889, the Changi collection of works published Chavchavadze’s works including excerpts from The Hermit. Bakhtadze’s article was published in 1889, six years after The Hermit appeared.
The Kavkaz Review and the Wardrop Edition
The Kavkaz review appeared on March 6, 1883, under the title The Hermit – a Poem by Ilia Chavchavadze. Marjory Wardrop’s English translation was published in London by Bernard Quaritch in 1895. In a publication of Wardrop translations, the text of The Hermit was published according to the London edition of 1895, then described as a rare book. That publication was prepared for publication, with a preface and notes, by Ia Popkhadze and edited by Dr. Guram Sharadze, and was intended as a gift to the Georgian reader in connection with the 150th anniversary celebrations of Chavchavadze’s birth.
Readings at the Artsruni Theatre
The Droeba advertisement of March 9, 1883, named Kate Kipiani, Nino Orbeliani, and Nodar Jorjadze as readers for March 13, when the soiree was held at the Artsruni theatre. On March 20, 1883, at a literary soiree held in the Artsruni theatre, live pieces were staged from Ilia’s poems, including scenes or episodes from Outlaw’s Life and The Hermit.
