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

Literary criticism

Theoretical Principles and Current Issues of the Biography Genre

The article is dedicated to the history of the biography genre and to its theoretical realization, as well as to the current theoretical issues of the genre.

«An Eye for Risk»: Thomas Cromwell in Hilary Mantel’s historical novels

The figure of Thomas Cromwell in the first two parts of Hilary Mantel’s trilogy is seen as the embodiment of the idea of efficient risk control. Cromwell’s evolution from the value system of the rising bourgeoisie towards old feudal ways is traced; Mantel’s mastery in psychological characterization analyzed.

Poetry and Theology: to the Formulation of the Problem

The article considers the concept of «theological text» in Russian literature in general and in poetry in particular. This concept is defined in the article. The importance of identifying and researching the «theological text» in Russian poetry is shown. Such methodological parameters are outlined which allow most effectively and adequately to reveal deep layers of the spiritual and aesthetic core of one literary piece as well as of the artistic world as a whole.

J.M. Coetzee, a South African: Autobiography «Childhood»

In the article, based on the autobiography «Childhood: Scenes from Provincial Life», the process of J.M. Coetzee’s personality shaping against the background of the South African social and political conflicts in the end of the 1940s – the beginning of the 1950s is examined.

OVER PAGES AUTOGRAPH "ODE BEETHOVEN" O. MANDELSHTAMA

The article uses the material of the autograph "Ode to Beethoven" to study the peculiarities of Mandelstam's work on the text of this poem. The motive composition of the final version and the cultural contexts that participate in the formation of the semantics of the poem are also taken into account.

THE LIGHT OF THE NEW LIGHT: THE SOURCES OF AMERICAN LITERATURE

The early period of American literature begins with exciting descriptions of the New World of Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and others. The first work written in America is Captain John Smith's fascinating report on the first years of life in the colony in Virginia and his relations with the aborigines. These works allow us to identify the most important cultural forces that formed the American literary tradition. For this reason they are the most comprehensive and reliable sources for penetrating the depths of American literature.

A. N. Radischev’s Personality and Creative Work in A. P. Skaftymov’s Perception

A. P. Skaftymov’s article «On the style of “The Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” by A. N. Radischev» is regarded as one of the most significant works about the book of this author. The methodological basis of the research and the specific character of A. P. Skaftymov’s attitude to the formal method in literary criticism are observed. The conclusions are drawn on how up-to-date the ideas of the scientist are for contemporary science.

 

Literary Play as the Key Note of I. Ilf and E. Petrov’s Style (the Play A Strong Feeling)

The article studies one of the leading stylistic key notes of I. Ilf and E. Petrov’s oeuvre – playing with ‘other’ texts. In the course of analyzing the vaudeville A Strong Feeling a system of allusions to A. P. Chekhov’s play The Wedding is identified (the plot, genre, system of characters, etc.). The study of the ‘quote element’ in the play A Strong Feeling helps to draw the conclusion on the stylistic unity of the co-authors’ creative manner.

The Work of J.-B. Almeida Garrett: the Portuguese Nation’s Self-identification Crisis and an Attempt to Overcome It

The present article analyzes J.-B. Almeida Garrett’s work as an attempt to create a Portuguese national myth. The author points out that the writer, criticizing the present he lives in, tries to revive the past by the means of the country’s history and national folklore where he finds irreproachable examples to be followed.

Dialog with a Reader in Victor Pelevin’s Prose Works: Author’s Strategies and Risks (the Collection «The Pineapple Water for the Beautiful Lady»)

The article is a literary analysis of the categories of «in-text author» and «in-text reade» as active components of the literary text poetics on the material of Victor Pelevin’s prose works. One of the main goals of this research focused on the reader problem is to get closer to the understanding of the modern Russian writer’s author’s strategy.

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