Literary criticism

The article discusses the Chinese loanwords that appear in the novel Blue Lard by Vladimir Sorokin. The novel contains an allegory of the Russian language of the future. Most of the neologisms created by Sorokin in Blue Lard come from foreign words, including an abundance of Chinese loanwords. The author of the article analyzes the Chinese loanwords from the point of view of phonetics and semantics, points out the mistakes in pronunciation in the novel, when Sorokin uses Chinese words or expressions.

A literary critic Andrei Nemzer was one of the fi rst to draw attention to the work of Alexei Slapovsky, a writer inextricably linked with Saratov. Responses to his works have been published in newspapers and “thick” journals since the early 1990s. The list of the main characters of literature, which Nemzer compiled annually, is not complete without the name of the prose writer, and the mass of reviews is ostentatiously apologetic.

There is evidence of Yesenin’s acquaintance with What is to be done? by Chernyshevsky, which happened during the adolescent years of the future poet, while he was studying at the Spas-Klepikovskaya second-class teacher’s school in 1909–1912. From the novel by a 19th century writer individual plot twists (the “living corpse” line), some stylistic fi ndings and the author’s judgments (about the mystery, the liar, Hamlet) seem to have migrated to the story of the 20th century poet, of course, in a veiled and transformed form.

The article deals with the study of the sound features of Chekhov’s creative legacy, and in particular, with the analysis and interpretation of the place and role of the sound detail of the spinning top in the play by A. P. Chekhov The Three Sisters, which has not been previously conducted by researchers. The analysis involves stage readings of the drama by major Russian and European directors of the 20–21st centuries – K. S. Stanislavsky, Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, A. V. Efros, P. Stein, E. Nyakroshus, P. N. Fomenko, L. A.

The article presents an analytical review of D. A. Stolypin’s unpublished letters to A. A. Fet, dated back to 1889–1892. The article considers the relationship between the authors, defi nes the reasons for their bonding and further friendly communication. Discussing the issues of agricultural development in Russia is central in Stolypin’s letters to Fet, both correspondents having dedicated opinion articles to these questions.

The article provides the retrospect review of the works by professor T. M. Akimova (Saratov State University). It highlights the researcher’s interest in the poetic character of the folklore and literature genres both on a standalone basis and in their interaction. The existence of this interest is defi ned as the focus of T. N.

The article addresses the reception of J.-B. Moliere’s comedy “The Misanthrope” (1666) by the Russian literary critics of the 20th century, refl ected in monographs, academic publications, textbook, articles and the scientifi c apparatus to the complete works of the great French playwright. The reason of this persistent interest to this play is determined by two essential factors: its ambiguity and its infl uence on A. S. Griboyedov’s comedy “Woe from Wit”.

The article discusses the place of Saratov-based plot in Yu. N. Chumakov’s letters addressed to the author of the article. The subject of discussion in the correspondence is the defense of Yu. N. Chumakov’s dissertation at Saratov University in 1970 and its role in his scientifi c biography. The defense of the dissertation with Yu. M. Lotman as the fi rst opponent became the key event of the Saratov plot and its climax.

The article deals with the concepts of auto-document (ego-document), the combination of the artistic and documentary, “personal geography”, which are relevant for the current stage of the literary process. The main purpose of this study is to show, using the example of the latest works of Russian prose, the importance of geographical addresses (understood as spatial landmarks) for the movement of the plot, as well as being a meaning-generating component not only of documentary, but also of artistic texts themselves.

The article deals with the images of eccentric characters in the short stories “Jerry and Molly and Sam” (1972), “Fat” (1971), “They Are Not Your Husband” (1973), “Neighbors” (1971), “The Idea” (1972) written by an outstanding American writer of the second half of the 20th century R. Carver. The definitions of the concepts of “eccentricity” and “grotesque” are given, the fundamental difference between “eccentric” and the related concepts of “jester” and “rogue” is highlighted, examples of the interpretation of “eccentricity” in the previous literary tradition are given.