Afanasy Fet

Afanasy Fet is considered to be one of the greatest Russian lyric poets. Of unclear origin, Fet was thought to be the illegitimate son of Charlotte Foeth (née Becker), daughter of German Jewish poet Johann Peter Karl Wilhelm Foeth, and the Russian nobleman Afanasy Shenshin. Fet was disinherited from the Shenshin estate, a fact that haunted him even after he was recognized as a member of the nobility and allowed to carry their surname. He was praised by Russian literati, including Leo Tolstoy, Nikolai Nekrasov, and Ivan Turgenev, and worked with the latter two on the prominent journal Sovremennik. His poetry was noteworthy for its musicality, sensuality, and overwhelming melancholy. In his later years, he translated literature from Latin, German, and English.