A History of Russian Literature

Synopsis

Russia Possesses One Of The Richest And Most Admired Literatures Of Europe, Reaching Back To The Eleventh Century. This Volume Provides A Comprehensive Account Of Russian Writing From Its Earliest Origins In The Monastic Works Of Kiev Up To The Present Day, Still Rife With The Creative Experiments Of Post-soviet Literary Life. Part I. The Medieval Period; Introduction: Defining The Medieval; 1. Institutions And Contexts: Writing And Authorship,1100-1400; A New Language For A New People: Old Church Slavonic; Monastic Writing: Translation, Open Boundaries, And Selectivity The Limits Of The Literary System: Rhetoric, Compilation, And Genrethe Meaning Of Readership; Scribal Culture And The Author Function; Literary Identity: Collective Writing And Singularity; Case Study: The Voyage Of Afanasy Nikitin: Self And Other; 2. Holy Rus:́ Landmarks In Medieval Literature; Founding Stories: The Primary Chronicle; Case Study: The Bylina And Russia's Magical Kingdom; The Sermon: Ilarion And The Chosen People Of Kiev; The Prayer: Daniil Zatochnik; Hagiography As Life-writing; Saints Alive; Hagiographic Collections; Founders And Holy Fathers: The Example Of St. Feodosy Miracle Workers, The Virgin, And Holy Foolscase Study: The Holy Fool In The Modern Tradition; Ilarion Redux: The Fifteenth-century Elaboration Of Hagiography; Keyword: Word-weaving; 3. Local Narratives; Unhappy Families: The Trauma Of Invasion; The Lay Of Igor's Campaign And The Princely Image; Case Study: National Identity, Medievalism, And The Discovery Of The Lay Of Igor's Campaign; Narratives Of Invasion; Catastrophic Narratives: Defending Holy Russia; From Grand Prince To Tsar, 1200-1565: Elevation Through Charisma; Vladimir Monomakh; Alexander Nevsky; Dmitry Donskoi Ivan The Terrible: Tsardom And The Absolutist Icenter And Periphery And The Localism Of The Tale Of Petr And Fevronia; Conclusion; Part Ii: The Seventeenth Century; Introduction: The Problem Of Transition And A New Approach; 1. Paradise Lost: National Narratives; Narratives From The Time Of Troubles To The Schism (1613-82); Visions Of Salvation; Case Study: Dukhovnye Stikhi (poetic Songs Or Spiritual Rhymes); Literature Of The Schism (raskol); Case Study: The Life Of Archpriest Avvakum 2. Cultural Interface: Printing, Humanist Learning, And Orthodox Resistance In The Second Half Of The Seventeenth Century3. Court Theater; Keyword: Baroque; 4. Poets; New Expressions And Techniques; Paradise Regained: Simeon Polotsky's Poetic Garden; Friendship; Mortality; 5. Prose; Popular Fiction For A Disrupted Age: Social Satire Or Literary Fantasy?; Petrine Novellas And Fantasy Fiction; Conclusion; Part Iii: The Eighteenth Century; Introduction: The Innovation Of The Eighteenth Century; 1. Defining Classicism: The Canons Of Taste; Keyword: Russian Classicism Andrew Kahn, Mark Lipovetsky, Irina Reyfman, Stephanie Sandler. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 771-910) And Index. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.