Abai Kunanbayev (!)

(1845-1904)

Abai Kunanbayev is a great Kazakh poet. He was the founder of critical realism in Kazakh literature, the creator of Kazakh culture and art. Abai was born in 1845 in the Shyngiz Mountains of Semirechye. His father was a representative of Kazakh feudals, very influential, cruel and willfull. Two women – his grandmother Zere, very clever, just and hearty, and his mother, kind and witty, - brought up Abai. Then he studied at Russian school, read many Russian books by Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy and others. He began to write poems very early. At the same time he studied Russian culture, visited a public library in Semipalatinsk. His friendship and work with progressive Russian intellectuals had great importance for developing Abai’s democratic ideas. Abai wrote wonderful books about the life of Kazakh people and made translations from Russian into Kazakh. Unusual poetic talent, intellect, humanism, justice and love for people made Abai very popular. Abai’s poetry reflects people’s life, nature, seasons.

His poems became favourite among Kazakh people. The role of Abai Kunanbaev is also great in strengthening the friendship between Russian and Kazakh people. The main thing was to study Russian science he said. ’For this aim we should know Russian language and culture’. That’s why Abai made translations of great Russian writers – Krylov, Pushkin, Lermontov.

During his last years of life Abai began to write prose. He created ‘Words of Edification’. There are 45 of them. He wrote much about work, science, knowledge, culture, about Kazakh and Russian language. But in all words we can feel his love for people and concern about their fate.

Abai’s creative work raised Kazakh culture and literature to a new historical level. He called people to active development, progress, and enlightenment. Deep knowledge of Kazakh reality, culture of native people, his study of Oriental and Russian classics and through it European one, cherished his creative work and made his heritage very important in Kazakh literature.

• Answer the questions:

1. When was Abai born?

2. What can you tell about his parents?

1. Where did he get his education?

2. What made Abai popular among people?

3. What is “Words of Edification” famous for?

4. What kind of literature did he write?

5. What did he call people for?

6. What is Abai’s role in Kazakh literature?

10. What Russian poets did he read?

Abai Kunanbayev (2)

(1845-1904)

Abai is a great poet-enlightener, a bard, a founder of Kazakh literature. Abai was born in the Shyngiz mountains of Semipalatinsk region, in the family of a rich feudal lord. Abai finished a medresse (a religious school). He studied at a Russian school unauthorized. He started writing poetry at school. Abai's father took him back to the village where Abai became a judge.

Abai translated works by Pushkin, Lermontov, Goethe, Tolstoi, Saltykov-Schedrin and by other poets and writers into Kazakh.

Abai's works urge people to labour and struggle for reorganization of life. A lot of his poems are dedicated to new attitude to the family, to parent's duty, to education of young generation. Abai described nature, life and traditions of simple people poetically. The most famous work by Abai is "Words of Edification”.

• Answer the following questions:

1. Where and when was Abai born?

2. What kind of school did he finish?

3. Whose work did he translate into Kazakh?

4. What did Abai describe in his poems?

5. What is his most famous work?

• Match the columns:

1. enlightener самовольно

1. feudal lord назидание

2. unauthorized просвещение

3. generation просветитель

4. dedicate феодал

5. education поколение

• Express the same idea using the words above.

1. He studied at Russian school without his parent’s permission.

2. A lot of his poems are devoted to the education of young people.

3. Abai is a great educator.

Abai: “Words of Edification”

Word 3 (1891)

Great wise men noticed that every lazy-bones is a coward and weak-willed, is always boastful, is a stupid, and a stupid is always ignorant and dishonorable. Dishonorable people become greedy, dull and unsociable people who are needed to none.

• Answer the questions:

1. How do wise men characterize lazy-bones?

2. What adjectives are used to describe bad human qualities?

3. Find antonyms to the following adjectives:

lazy- bone boastful dishonorable

coward stupid greedy

weak-willed ignorant dull