Shaul Tchernichovsky
Encyclopedia
Shaul Tchernichovsky was a Russian-born Hebrew
poet. He is considered one of the great Hebrew poets, identified with nature poetry, and as a poet greatly influenced by the culture of ancient Greece
.
(now part of Ukraine
). He started at a reformed religious primary school. At age 10 he changed to a Russian school.
He published his first poems in Odessa
where he studied from 1890 to 1892. The first poem he published was "In My Dream".
From 1899 to 1906 he studied medicine
at the University of Heidelberg, finishing his medical studies in Lausanne. From then on, he mingled his activities as a doctor
with his activities as a poet. After completing his studies he returned to Ukraine to practice in Kharkov and in Kiev
. In the First World War he served as an army doctor in Minsk
and in Saint Petersburg
.
From 1925 to 1932 he was one of the editors of the newspaper Hatekufa. He also edited the section on medicine in the Hebrew encyclopedia
Eshkol
.
From 1929 to 1930 he spent time in America. In 1931 he immigrated to the Land of Israel and settled there permanently. Besides being a poet, Tchernichovsky was known as an excellent translator. His translation of Homer
's Iliad
and Odyssey
particularly earned recognition. He also translated Sophocles, Horace, Shakespeare, Molière, Pushkin, Goethe, Heine, Byron, Shelley, the Kalevala, the Gilgamesh Cycle, the Icelandic Edda, etc.
Tchernichovsky served as doctor of the Herzliya Hebrew High School
in Tel Aviv
. In his later years he served as doctor for the Tel Aviv schools. He was active in writers' organizations and a member of the Committee of the Hebrew Language. He was also the editor of the Hebrew terminology manual for medicine and the natural sciences.
He was a friend of the distinguished Klausner family of Jerusalem, including the child who would grow up to become the novelist Amos Oz
, to whom he was "Uncle Shaul."
Shaul Tchernichovsky died in Jerusalem on 14 October 1943.
for literature
, in 1940 (jointly with Zelda Mishkovsky) and in 1942 (jointly with Haim Hazaz
).
After his death, the Tel Aviv municipality dedicated a prize for exemplary translation in his name. A school in Tel Aviv is named after him, as is the center for the Hebrew Writers Association in Israel
. Many other towns in Israel have also named streets and schools after him.
In 2011, Shaul Tchernichovsky was chosen to be one of four great Israeli poets whose portraits would be on Israeli currency (together with Leah Goldberg
, Rachel Bluwstein
, and Nathan Alterman
).
. Saul comes to the witch of Endor
, who dramatically describes Saul's condition at the end of his life. Tchernichovsky particularly identified with the character of Saul, perhaps due to his own name. He further describes in the poem the tragic fall of Saul and his sons on Mount Gilboa
. In contrast, in the poem "Before a Statue of Apollo", the poet proves his affinity for Greek culture, identifying with the beauty it represents, even bowing down to it.
Tchernichovsky is the Hebrew poet who is identified more than any other Hebrew poet with the sonnet
. He introduced the crown of sonnets
into the Hebrew language as a "sonnet" built of fifteen sonnets in which the final sonnet consists of the first lines of the other fourteen sonnets. Each of his crowns of sonnets concerns a particular topic, such as "On Blood" or "To the Sun".
Even with his yen for world culture, Tchernichovsky is identified with the fate of his people. In response to the Holocaust he wrote the poems "The Slain of Tirmonye" and "Ballads of Worms" that brought into expression his heart's murmurings concerning the tragic fate of the Jewish people.
Toward the end of his life he composed some poems that are centered on images from his childhood point of view. These poems, which can properly be termed idyll
s, are regarded by many as his most splendid poetic works. Some even believe that Tchernichovsky's idylls serve as an example and a model for all of the idylls that have been written in the Hebrew language.
Many of his poems have been set to music by the best Hebrew popular composers, such as Yoel Angel and Nahum Nardi. Singer-songwriters have also set his lyrics to music, as Shlomo Artzi
did for They Say There Is a Land (omrim yeshna eretz, אומרים ישנה ארץ), which is also well known in the settings of Angel and of Miki Gavrielov. Oh My Land My Birthplace (hoy artzi moladeti) is better known in the setting by Naomi Shemer
, as arranged by Gil Aldema. Shalosh atonot (Three Jenny-asses) also became a popular song.
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
poet. He is considered one of the great Hebrew poets, identified with nature poetry, and as a poet greatly influenced by the culture of ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
.
Life
Shaul Tchernichovsky was born on 20 August 1875 in the village of Mikhaelovka, CrimeaCrimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
(now part of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
). He started at a reformed religious primary school. At age 10 he changed to a Russian school.
He published his first poems in Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
where he studied from 1890 to 1892. The first poem he published was "In My Dream".
From 1899 to 1906 he studied medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
at the University of Heidelberg, finishing his medical studies in Lausanne. From then on, he mingled his activities as a doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
with his activities as a poet. After completing his studies he returned to Ukraine to practice in Kharkov and in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. In the First World War he served as an army doctor in Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
and in Saint Petersburg
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...
.
From 1925 to 1932 he was one of the editors of the newspaper Hatekufa. He also edited the section on medicine in the Hebrew encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
Eshkol
Encyclopaedia Judaica
The Encyclopaedia Judaica is a 26-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people and their faith, Judaism. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, language, scripture, and religious teachings...
.
From 1929 to 1930 he spent time in America. In 1931 he immigrated to the Land of Israel and settled there permanently. Besides being a poet, Tchernichovsky was known as an excellent translator. His translation of Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
and Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
particularly earned recognition. He also translated Sophocles, Horace, Shakespeare, Molière, Pushkin, Goethe, Heine, Byron, Shelley, the Kalevala, the Gilgamesh Cycle, the Icelandic Edda, etc.
Tchernichovsky served as doctor of the Herzliya Hebrew High School
Herzliya Hebrew High School
The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium , originally known as HaGymnasia HaIvrit is a historic high school in Tel Aviv, Israel.-History:...
in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. In his later years he served as doctor for the Tel Aviv schools. He was active in writers' organizations and a member of the Committee of the Hebrew Language. He was also the editor of the Hebrew terminology manual for medicine and the natural sciences.
He was a friend of the distinguished Klausner family of Jerusalem, including the child who would grow up to become the novelist Amos Oz
Amos Oz
Amos Oz is an Israeli writer, novelist, and journalist. He is also a professor of literature at Ben-Gurion University in Be'er Sheva....
, to whom he was "Uncle Shaul."
Shaul Tchernichovsky died in Jerusalem on 14 October 1943.
Awards and honours
Tchernichovsky was twice awarded the Bialik PrizeBialik Prize
The Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel for significant accomplishments in Hebrew literature. The prize is named in memory of Hayyim Nahman Bialik. There are two separate prizes, one specifically for "Literature", which is in the field of fiction,...
for literature
Hebrew literature
Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews...
, in 1940 (jointly with Zelda Mishkovsky) and in 1942 (jointly with Haim Hazaz
Haim Hazaz
Haim Hazaz was an Israeli novelist.- Life :Hazaz was born in a small village in Ukraine, Russian Empire in 1898. He lived in a number of major European cities, including Kiev, Kharkiv, Moscow, Constantinople, Paris and Berlin before emigrating to the then British Mandate of Palestine in 1931....
).
After his death, the Tel Aviv municipality dedicated a prize for exemplary translation in his name. A school in Tel Aviv is named after him, as is the center for the Hebrew Writers Association in Israel
Hebrew Writers Association in Israel
The Hebrew Writers Association in Israel is a professional association of writers and poets, who write in the Hebrew language in Israel....
. Many other towns in Israel have also named streets and schools after him.
In 2011, Shaul Tchernichovsky was chosen to be one of four great Israeli poets whose portraits would be on Israeli currency (together with Leah Goldberg
Leah Goldberg
Leah Goldberg was a prolific Hebrew poet, author, playwright, literary translator, and comparative literary researcher. Her writings are considered classics of Israeli literature and remain very popular among Hebrew speaking Israelis.-Biography:...
, Rachel Bluwstein
Rachel Bluwstein
Sela was a Hebrew poet who immigrated to Palestine in 1909. She is known by her first name, Rachel, or as Rachel the poetess .-Biography:...
, and Nathan Alterman
Nathan Alterman
Nathan Alterman was an Israeli poet, playwright, journalist, and translator who – though never holding any elected office – was highly influential in Socialist Zionist politics, both before and after the establishment of the State of Israel.-Biography:...
).
Works
In the poetry of Tchernichovsky there is a blend of the influences of Jewish cultural heritage and world cultural heritage. He writes on Hebrew subjects as in "In Endor", a poem about King SaulSaul the King
According to the Bible, Saul was the first king of the united Kingdom of Israel. He was anointed by the prophet Samuel and reigned from Gibeah. He commited suicide to avoid arrest in the battle against the Philistines at Mount Gilboa, during which three of his sons were also killed...
. Saul comes to the witch of Endor
Witch of Endor
The Witch of Endor, sometimes called the Medium of Endor, was a woman who called up the ghost of the recently deceased prophet Samuel, at the demand of King Saul of the Kingdom of Israel in the First Book of Samuel, chapter...
, who dramatically describes Saul's condition at the end of his life. Tchernichovsky particularly identified with the character of Saul, perhaps due to his own name. He further describes in the poem the tragic fall of Saul and his sons on Mount Gilboa
Gilboa (ridge)
Mount Gilboa is a ridge above the Jezreel Valley in northern Israel. The formation extends from southeast to northwest, bordering the highlands of the West Bank and the Beit She'an valley. The Green Line between Israel and the West Bank runs south and west of the ridge...
. In contrast, in the poem "Before a Statue of Apollo", the poet proves his affinity for Greek culture, identifying with the beauty it represents, even bowing down to it.
Tchernichovsky is the Hebrew poet who is identified more than any other Hebrew poet with the sonnet
Sonnet
A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...
. He introduced the crown of sonnets
Crown of sonnets
A crown of sonnets or sonnet corona is a sequence of sonnets, usually addressed to some one person, and/or concerned with a single theme....
into the Hebrew language as a "sonnet" built of fifteen sonnets in which the final sonnet consists of the first lines of the other fourteen sonnets. Each of his crowns of sonnets concerns a particular topic, such as "On Blood" or "To the Sun".
Even with his yen for world culture, Tchernichovsky is identified with the fate of his people. In response to the Holocaust he wrote the poems "The Slain of Tirmonye" and "Ballads of Worms" that brought into expression his heart's murmurings concerning the tragic fate of the Jewish people.
Toward the end of his life he composed some poems that are centered on images from his childhood point of view. These poems, which can properly be termed idyll
Idyll
An idyll or idyl is a short poem, descriptive of rustic life, written in the style of Theocritus' short pastoral poems, the Idylls....
s, are regarded by many as his most splendid poetic works. Some even believe that Tchernichovsky's idylls serve as an example and a model for all of the idylls that have been written in the Hebrew language.
Many of his poems have been set to music by the best Hebrew popular composers, such as Yoel Angel and Nahum Nardi. Singer-songwriters have also set his lyrics to music, as Shlomo Artzi
Shlomo Artzi
Shlomo Artzi is an Israeli folk rock singer-songwriter, and composer.He was born on November 26, 1949, in Moshav Alonei Abba. In the course of his career, he has sold over 1.5 million albums, making him one of Israel's most successful male singers....
did for They Say There Is a Land (omrim yeshna eretz, אומרים ישנה ארץ), which is also well known in the settings of Angel and of Miki Gavrielov. Oh My Land My Birthplace (hoy artzi moladeti) is better known in the setting by Naomi Shemer
Naomi Shemer
Naomi Shemer was a leading Israeli songwriter hailed as the "first lady of Israeli song and poetry."-Biography:Naomi Sapir was born on Kvutzat Kinneret, a kibbutz her parents had helped found, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. In the 1950s she served in the Israeli Defense Force's Nahal...
, as arranged by Gil Aldema. Shalosh atonot (Three Jenny-asses) also became a popular song.
Further reading
- The Modern Hebrew Poem ItselfThe Modern Hebrew Poem ItselfThe Modern Hebrew Poem Itself is an anthology of modern Hebrew poetry, presented in the original language, with a transliteration into Roman script, a literal translation into English, and commentaries and explanations....
(2003), ISBN 0-8143-2485-1