Russian Literature and Its Demons
- ISBN-10
- 1571817581
- ISBN-13
- 9781571817587
- Category
- Criticism
- Pages
- 530
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2000
- Publisher
- Berghahn Books
- Author
- Pamela Davidson
Description
Merezhkovsky's bold claim that "all Russian literature is, to a certain degree, a struggle with the temptation of demonism" is undoubtedly justified. And yet, despite its evident centrality to Russian culture, the unique and fascinating phenomenon of Russian literary demonism has so far received little critical attention. This substantial collection fills the gap. A comprehensive analytical introduction by the editor is follwed by a series of fourteen essays, written by eminent scholars in their fields. The first part explores the main shaping contexts of literary demonism: the Russian Orthodox and folk tradition, the demonization of historical figures, and views of art as intrinsically demonic. The second part traces the development of a literary tradition of demonism in the works of authors ranging from Pushkin and Lermontov, Gogol and Dostoevsky, through to the poets and prose writers of modernism (including Blok, Akhmatova, Bely, Sologub, Rozanov, Zamiatin), and through to the end of the 20th century.
Get the book
Similar books
-
A Short Guide to Writing about Literature
By Sylvan Barnet, William E. Cain, Reid Gilbert-John Northam , “ Ibsen's Search for the Hero , ” Ibsen , ed . ... Remains and the True Nature of Love ; the cocky stance of the “ greasy , seedy and potentially violent ” ghost , Screamin ' John McGee , in John Gray's Rock and Roll ) .
-
Encounters with Kenneth Burke
By William Howe RueckertIsn't Burke the critic like Whitman the poet , trying out the road ahead so that we may follow him ? If Whitman is our great democratic poet , then Burke is surely one of our great democratic critics , in the American grain , right from ...
-
Kenneth Burke and the Drama of Human Relations
By William H. RueckertBut when these WordPeople are gone , won't the life of words be gone ? TL . Unfortunately , yes . S. Then , what of us , the two voices in this dialogue ? When words go , won't we , too , be gone ? TL . Unfortunately , yes .
-
William Shakespeare's Hamlet
By William Shakespearehe title page to the 1603 Quarto of William Shakespeare's Hamlet (Q1) advertises that the play has been “acted . . . in the Cittie of London.”1 Andrew Gurr has recently suggested that City playing was forbidden in 1594; ...
-
Figuring Lacan: Criticism and the Cultural Unconscious
By Juliet Flower MacCannellFiguring Lacan: Criticism and the Cultural Unconscious
-
The Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton
By Gilbert Keith ChestertonIt was also a religion of human sacrifice , of hideous idols , of horrible shapes of death , of deities who were demons , and demons whose very names sound as ugly and unnatural as their natures . 64 THE ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS.
-
Bloom's How to Write about Emily Dickinson
By Anna PriddyDisappointed that Sue Dickinson was not moving as quickly with the project as she would have liked, Lavinia Dickinson gave another group of poems to another literary woman she knew, Mabel Loomis Todd. But, as Todd was Austin Dickinson's ...
-
H. L. Mencken
By Vincent O'Sullivan, Burton Rascoe, F. C. HendersonH. L. Mencken
-
A Guide to Critical Terms
By Stephen HallA Guide to Critical Terms
-
Läsa långsamt: essäer om litteratur och läsning
By Arne MelbergLäsa långsamt: essäer om litteratur och läsning