G. R. Derzhavin

The article deals with the transformation of Pushkin and Derzhavin myth in two poems by A. M. Gorodnizky; an attempt is made to explain the author’s individual interpretation of the myth (controversial to that established in the mass cultural consciousness) by means of analyzing the autobiographical and autopsychological components of the works under investigation. It is also undertaken to enter those poems in the wider context of the bard’s reflections on the Russian history problems, presented in poetic and memoir texts.

The article is dedicated to the poetics of a historic work by V. Sosnora Derzhavin before Derzhavin. The main focus is on the potential of the genre foundation (a cycle of essays) and composition meaning. Those are viewed as ways of creating a subjective author’s image of a historic figure – a poet and a statesman.

The paper considers the peculiarities of I. A. Kovanko’s odes written at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. The reminiscences from G. R. Derzhavin’s and M. V. Lomonosov’s poetry are revealed. The article focuses on the influence of classicism and sentimentalism on Kovanko’s work and the synthesis of heterogeneous elements that trace back to the 18th century poets.

The relevance and novelty of this article lie in the analysis of creative self-identifi cation in the book by V. Khodasevich “Derzhavin” (1931), which is an access to the author’s thought. This study is based on the methods of the Russian psychoanalyst Ya. M. Kogan, set forth in the book “Identifi cation and its role in artistic creativity” (1926). This work has never been considered in literary criticism from this perspective. The works of modern scientists are also taken into account: D. P. Bak, K. A. Krylov, V. I. Tyupa, E. V. Kharitonova, M. A.