From the songs of love

Semen Nadson's poetic works had a tremendous success among readers, unlike anything seen before in Russian literature. His only book of poems was sold out within three months and then reprinted multiple times. The poet was honored with the Pushkin Prize of the Academy of Sciences. His voice proved to be remarkably resonant with the times, Nadson's verses, his 'love songs', were known by heart, and in the eyes of readers, these were pages of the poet's real biography, full of dramatic collisions (the early death of his parents, and then the death of his beloved, the poet's severe illness, his poetic triumph, and the slander from literary enemies). 'So many tears were shed over his poems, with what enthusiasm they were read, and with what reverence his name was pronounced!' - wrote Vladislav Khodasevich. Nadson passed away at the age of only 24, at the peak of his fame, becoming the ruler of the feelings of a whole generation of the 'timeless' era - an era that divided the Golden and Silver Ages in the history of Russian poetry.