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

Literary criticism

“Ode to Salmon” and “Herring Praise”: On Metaphysical Roots of Still Life in the Works of N. Zabolotsky

The article considers the problem of realization of the sacred sense in verbal and pictorial still lifes. The affinity of the creative method of the 16th–17th century Dutch painters and that of N. Zabolotsky of the Columns period is shown, this method being based on a special spiritual and aesthetic feeling of the world. With the help of this method, a kind of spiritual and semantic metathesis is carried out: the profane becomes sacred, and the sacred is profaned, but the primary meanings shine through the outer shell of the work.

The Problem of Cyclization in Love Lyrics of Mandelstam (In the Poems Dedicated to Olga Vaksel)

The article gives an overview of the uncollected love cycles of O. Mandelstam. The emphasis is placed on such problems of studying them as determining the addressee and the composition, analyzing their artistic integrity. A more detailed analysis of the semantic structure of the cycle dedicated to Olga Vaksel is given.

E. Zola and F. Sologub: To the Issue of the Sources of Collisions and Techniques in the Novel by F. Sologub The Petty Demon

The object the article is to study the parallels between E. Zola’s novel La Curee and F. Sologub’s novel The Petty Demon. In the author’s opinion the similiarity of the plot collisions and techniques of depicting a person’s unity with the ‘environment’, which characterize the two novels’ poetics, is indicative of the unquestionable impact of the naturalist writer’s creative experience on Sologub’s seeking.

“Breaking Heart to the Time of Laughter”: Sentimental and Comic Image of the Blacks in American Literature and Culture of the 18th – the Beginning of the 20th Century

The paper considers the bipolar racial model representing African Americans in tragic and / or comic modality in American literature and culture (18th – the beginning of the 20th century). This model was formed in the 18th – beginning 19th century, continued to exist in American abolitionist writings, minstrelsy and plantation novel during the 19th century; having been absorbed by the Black American literary tradition, it underwent a considerable change especially in the Harlem Renaissance period.

N. V. Gogol and I. A. Krylov in 1830–1835

The article studies the history of N. V. Gogol and I. A. Krylov’s acquaintance in St. Petersburg. Based on a wide range of literary sources it is attempted to identify their relationship in 1830–1835.

P. I. Bartenev and P. V. Annenkov Working on the Materials for A. S. Pushkin’s Biography

The article discusses how Pushkin studies emerged in 1851–1855, their Moscow and St. Petersburg schools, P. I. Bartenev and P. V. Annenkov’s work on the materials for A. S. Pushkin’s biography. The article reveals the underpinning of the two Pushkin scholars’ creative ‘competition’ (Bartenev was ahead of Annenkov in publishing his scientific work and making O. S. Pavlischeva’s information about the poet public) in writing an ‘exemplary biography’ of Pushkin.

Ethnocultural Peculiarity of Chronotopos in the Novels by G. Yakhina Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes and by A. Ganieva Bride and Groom

The article shows the peculiarity of chronotopos in the novels by G. Yakhina Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes and by A. Ganieva Bride and Groom. The author studies the historic realia being represented and the modern ones being fixed in their unique ethnic context, national self-identification being transformed to personal, as well as the ways of expressing author’s national identity.

Genre Refinements as a Noticeable Trend in the Russian Literature of Recent Years

The article deals with an up-to-date issue of the modern stage of the Russian literature development – genre contaminations, modifications and specification. In the author’s opinion they form a part of title complex and perform the function of plotline formation; they help clarify the author’s standpoint and effectuate a specific genre expectation. The authors identify the main trends of modern genre specifications and provide specific examples.

Novelistic Prose by Zakhar Prilepin as a ‘Self-Guide of Psychological Situations’

The article considers the problem of auto-psychologism in the oeuvre of Zakhar Prilepin, some psychological features that the writer shares with his characters are identified. The research uses the material of the early novels by Prilepin The Pathologies, Sankya, Sin, which introduce the first stage of the author’s creative development.

“…in France I Felt as Though at a Second, Quite Unexpected Home”: To the Question of the Worldview Geography of A. I. Solzhenitsyn

The article is written on the occasion of A. I. Solzhenitsyn’s 100th anniversary. It presents the writer’s view on France of the 1970s, on the French, their mass media, French history. It is noted that Solzhenitsyn’s special attitude to France had been determined by reasons of his worldview.

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