Izvestiya of Saratov University.
ISSN 1817-7115 (Print)
ISSN 2541-898X (Online)


Literary criticism

Specific Nature of the Fact of a Literary Work in the View of A. T. Tvardovsky as an Editor

The author analyzes the letters of A. T. Tvardovsky-editor from the point of view of his review of the factual basis of a work of fiction. The peculiarity of a literary fact, its image-bearing nature, requirements to it, factual mistakes pointed out by the editor, are regarded in the article.

The Intertextual and Mythological Codes of O. Paz’s Poem Piedra de Sol

The article is dedicated to one of the major poems of Octavio Paz – Piedra de Sol (1957). By interpreting the intertextual and mythological codes of the text, the author shows how elements of the Aztec culture enter in correlation with images and themes common to French poets from G. de Nerval to the Surrealists.

Letters in the Plot and Composition of the Novel by B. L. Pasternak Doctor Zhivago

The article substantiates the conclusion that the correspondence of the characters in Pasternak’s novel is a plot-motivated complex multilayered system of written communication based on the family idea, expanded by a system of inter-textual links.

Short-sightedness as a Gift of Creative Vision in the Novel by A. Remizov With Trimmed Eyes

The article analyzes different functions of the short-sightedness motive in the autobiographical book by A. Remizov. The role of this motive in the writer’s philosophy is specially focused on.

K. D. Balmont’s Sonnets of Sun, Honey and Moon: the Title Poetics and the Book Structure

The article analyzes the title poetics and the structure of the poetry book by K. D. Balmont Sonnets of Sun, Honey and Moon (1917) as a book of sonnets, a book of symbols, a ‘chamber’ book.

Cardinal de Retz and Niccolo Machiavelli’s Ideas (Based on Memoir)

The author considers how Nicollo Machiavelli’s ideas influenced Cardinal de Retz as the hero and the creator of the Memoirs (published in 1717). The author reveals the discrepancy between the memoir-writer’s proclaimed anti-Machiavellianism and his adoption of the ideas of the treatise Sovereign (1532). This discrepancy manifests itself on the level of the judgments and evaluations of the narrator, figures of speech, concept of the autobiographic hero.

The Motive of Divine Intercession in Old Russian Military Novels of the XVth Century

The article analyzes the forms of divine intercession as well as the means of their integration in the text of the military novels; the functions of divine intervention are indicated, both within and without the plot.

The Motive of a Person’s Self-Destruction in V. Rasputin’s Stories of the 1990–2000s

The motive of a person’s self-destruction is analyzed in the article on the material of V. Rasputin’s late short stories. These works show the signs of the anthropological crisis which is perceived by the writer not just as a threat of a distant future but as a danger hanging over humankind in the here and now.

‘The Science of Destruction’: Revolution in the Novel August 1914 by A. I. Solzhenitsyn

The author studies Solzhenitsyn’s understanding of the ways and logic of the development of the Russian revolution expressed in the novel August 1914, the writer’s interpretation of its key stages and important episodes, and the principles of depicting the types of revolutionaries.

Yu. G. Oksman and O. E. Mandelstam: the Fate of the Generation

The article shows how the fates of Yu. G. Oksman and O. E. Mandelstam intercross, it also dwells on Oksman’s part in preparing the American version of the poet’s collected works. This topic is revealed in the context of the ХХth century history of national culture. Epistolary, memoir and biography sources are used widely. Oksman’s part in the process of reuniting different Russian literature branches is specially highlighted.

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