Description
Book SynopsisThis translation of Likhachev's Poetika Drevnerusskoy Literatury (The Poetics of Early Russian Literature), provides a description of the basic themes of early (tenth to seventeenth century) Russian literature. Likhachev compares literary narrative with narrative used in the representational arts. Furthermore, Likhachev stresses the genre-based character of medieval Russian literature and shows how choice of style in medieval times depended on a genre with its own specific etiquette and how innovation was discouraged. The text contrasts medieval abstraction and modern realism, as Likhachev shows how realisticness gradually breaks through in specific situationssuch as those of princely crimes. Likhachev draws contrasts in three different areas: the basic stock of symbols and comparisons used in early Russian literature with those used in modern literature, artistic time in folklore and early Russian literature, and artistic space in folklore and early Russian literature. Likhachev traces the gradual development into modern artistic time through a comparison of the chronicle, the first Russian play, the seventeenth century writer Avvakum, and three modern authors, Goncharov, Dostoevsky and Saltykov-Shchedrin. Finally, the text gives a justification for studying early literatures. This book will be invaluable for students of Russian, medieval and comparative literature.
Trade ReviewThe present translation is the first of this seminal work, which forms . . . a comprehensive analysis of the classification, problems, and complexities of the literature attributed to early Rusʹ and pre-modern Russia. . . .[The book] provides clear and in-depth consideration of the complexity of early Slavonic literary genres and their formation. . . .The Poetics of Early Russian Literature remains an invaluable resource for those interested in Russian history and literature and comparative medieval literature. . . .This study promotes a line of questioning that will be useful to students and scholars of Slavonic and broader medieval literature alike. * Modern Language Review *
It is important to praise Christopher M. Arden-Close’s translation, which reads very easily and maintains a balance between conversational and academic styles. . . .This work constitutes an invaluable resource to Russian studies students but will also be fascinating for any educated reader with a particular interest in medieval literature. * Slavic Review *
This is the most important work by Russia’s most significant twentieth-century interpreter of medieval culture. It delivers far more than its title promises. Likhachev’s book is not just an erudite analysis of a somewhat obscure (to anglophone readers) literature. Indeed, Likhachev’s innovation lay partly in his insistence on bringing literary approaches to the study of a broad range of cultural practices—verbal, representational, architectural—which had not normally been associated with ‘literariness’ at all. The result is a broad, subtle, and engaging vision of pre-Modern Russian culture as culture (rather than merely as devotional practice, which is how it tends to have been regarded). Part of Likhachev’s aim was to bring the study of Russia’s cultural past into productive dialogue with the study of other medieval cultures. His insights and methods have much that should interest and intrigue a wider audience. -- Simon Franklin, Clare College, Cambridge
Table of ContentsTable of Contents Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction to the English Translation Milena Rozhdestvenkaya Introduction to the Original Text. The Boundaries of Early Russian Literature Chapter 1. The Poetics of Literature as a System of the Whole Chapter 2. The Poetics of Artistic Generalization Chapter 3. The Poetics of Literary Methods Chapter 4. The Poetics of Artistic Time Chapter 5. The Poetics of Artistic Space Instead of a conclusion. Why Study the Poetics of Early Russian Literature? Glossary Bibliography Index About the translator
