Author: Kirill Popov exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
Continuation. See Poets-Mollas Veli Vidadi and Panah Vagif.
Survival of the poetic heritage of the 18th century in folk poetry was largely provided by the fact that Vidadi and Vagif wrote, first, in the Azerbaijani language (although they certainly knew both Arabic and Farsi), and second, using not only classic forms of oriental poetry (ghazal ,mukhammas, etc.), but also a folk pair rhyme - goshma. However, it could also lead to a certain distortion of their heritage, as ashugs more likely would memorize and repeat the usual goshma than any other verse. Accordingly, we cannot judge the real relation of the different forms of creative works by Vidadi and Vagif.
However, any poetic works of the past which have come down to us are of great value both from an aesthetic and from a historical point of view. They can be used to judge the tastes and fashions of the society and the changes taking place in the process of development of Azerbaijani literature, and through it all - the psychology of the people, their way of thinking. And poetry, or, more broadly - art, in principle, not only gives us clues as to the typical features of the consciousness of those categories of people for whom it was intended, but also a unique opportunity to get in touch with the author as a specific person, to get acquainted with his unique individual character. We can talk to him about the most important and intimate things, despite the centuries that separate us from each other.
Of course, we should not look for the expression of individuality in each line. Art is largely built on archetypes, symbols and topoi, which are repeated almost unchanged by a variety of authors, sometimes even unrelated in terms of unity of place and time. However, the formality of art (especially noticeable in the historical past) does not preclude the freedom to choose particular means of expression and images, not being able to completely deprive the works of the identity of their author.
The creativity of Molla Veli Vidadi and Molla Panah Vagif provides rich opportunities for identifying personal traits of its authors, due to the fact that these poets were engaged in a conversation which turned into a friendly counterpoint in the style of minstrels. A prime example was two goshmas on cranes ("Row after row, rising to large clouds ..." by Vidadi and "Stop your wing flying..." by Vagif). Both poems contain a lot of repetitions - the same questions to the flock of cranes, the same images (a falcon waiting for cranes in flight, Baghdad to which they fly). However, the general mood of any poem is very different from another. If Vidadi looks at the birds flying away with sadness, worrying about their fate in the way, complaining of his own illness, Vagif admires the majestic flight of the flying cranes, wanting them to get rid of the dangers of a long road, and speaking of his own experiences, tells of his love for the beautiful woman from whom he is separated, but he is constantly trying to meet her.
This, of course, does not mean that all the verses by Vidadi are melancholic and sad, and all the poems by Vagif are optimistic and joyful. The creativity of each of them conveys a wide range of emotions, but some of them are more typical, and others less so. Only familiarity with all their surviving works truly opens the door to the world of Azerbaijani artistic expression of the 18th century.
