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Petros Duryan
Biography
1851-1872
An Ephemeral, Transitory and Gifted Life
by Ruth Bedevian
Bedros Dourian (alternate spelling: Petros Duryan, Petros
Tourian, Bedros Tourian), an Armenian poet, playwright and actor,
was born to a poverty stricken family whose father was a struggling
blacksmith in Istanbul. A romantic poet with keen sensitivity, he
amassed a beloved following of admirers during his brief time on
earth. He died of Tuberculosis at the tender age of 21. He left,
however, a rich legacy of drama and poetry that has captured the
hearts of his people ever since. A true patriot, his historical
plays were inspired by a yearning for national liberation. His Armenian
School teacher was Hagop Baronian, the famous satirist. Educated
in French, Dourian was well read in Hugo, Lamartine, and de Musset
and brought a lyrical and sentimental quality to his native language
of Armenian poetry. Spontaneous, eloquent and richly endowed with
imagery and metaphors, his poems reveal natural artistic brilliance,
and paved the way with innovation from the old style of writing.
Critics have credited Dourian with originating the modern lyric
tradition in verse. His poetry has been translated into Russian,
French, English, German and Italian. Even in translation his poetry
touches the soul of the reader.
The Armenian theater was his love and despite his father’s
opposition, he pursued an active theatrical life, writing plays
and performing on the stage. Given the poverty of his family, the
financial advantage that acting afforded him may well have been
a factor in defying his father’s wishes. He quickly gained
recognition and sustained popularity through his plays. Some of
his theatrical works include “Black Lands” (1868), “Artashes,
the Peacekeeper” (1969), “Fall of the House of Arshakids”
(1870), “Capture of Ani, the Capital of Armenia” (1871),
and “Theatre or Outcasts” (1871). “Theatre or
Outcasts (or Wretched People)” takes on the issue of social
injustice and moral decay. In the play two lovers commit suicide
on stage. Had Dourian lived a longer life, he would have had opportunity
to develop a more sophisticated theatrical repertoire. History remembers
Dourian more for his verse than his dramas, although his drama initially
brought him fame during his lifetime.
Knowing that he would die young, he rode the roller coaster of
emotion, complaining to the Almighty in one poem and beseeching
forgiveness in another. Unrealized dreams and an anxiety to live
to contribute to his nation caused him deep pain and sorrow, which
are reflected in his writing.
The following poem, Little Lake, is an allusion to the fact that
apparently Tourian who was in love with an actress, overheard her
scornfully saying, “Oh him? He is trembling and so pale—he
might even die one of those days!” (which, sadly, he did).
Sources:
Kevork B. Bardarkjian, A Reference Guide to Modern Armenian Literature
1500 -1920 Wayne State University Press, 1999
E. Jrbashian “Petros Durian” (an article from Armenian
Encyclopedia)
by Ruth Bedevian |
