conflict

The article studies the poetic cycle Autumn by B. Pasternak, which concludes his book of poems Themes and Variations (1916–1922). The imagery system of the cycle and its plot, reflecting the relationships between the lyrical hero and his beloved, are analyzed. The role of spiritual conflict generators as important cycle-formative elements is noted. The intertextual connections with the Bible and W. Shakespeare’s play Hamlet are highlighted.

The article regards the correlation of two approaches of A. P. Skaftymov to the interpretation of A. P. Chekhov’s plays – the historic and the existential; the «polyglottism» of the scientist’s works is researched; the link of his ideas with the emergent existential philosophy is revealed.

This article offers a new view of the storyline and dramatic conflict in Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin’s dramatic satire Shadows. According to the author’s hypothesis, the driving force of the plot is an off-stage character Schalimov whom literary critics have often considered as an ‘ideal’, quixotic character. In the article Schalimov is analyzed from the point of view of political intrigues in which the characters of the play are involved. The author of the article also offers his idea of the reasons behind Saltykov-Shchedrin’s sudden loss of interest to this play.

In the article the proverbs and sayings applying to the categories of harmony and discord are analyzed. The basic semantic focuses related to these categories are singled out. The collection Proverbs of the Russian People by V. I. Dal has served as the main source of proverbs and sayings.

The author of the article singles out the main problem of Bulgakov’s tragedy which is a distinctive feature of his plays as well as of epic compositions and of his personal world-view. The author claims that the main profound conflict in Bulgakov’s works turns to be the collision of fortune and fate generally presented in the world literature from Ancient Greeks to our days. The researcher emphasizes some special traits of Bulgakov’s stories of 1930s such as deceptiveness of fortune, prediction of the denouement in action.