Поэтика «Истории французской литературы» Гюстава Лансона

Abstract

The article is dedicated to “History of French Literature” (1894) of Gustave Lanson (1857–1934), professor of Fine Arts and literary critic. This work became the foundation of the history of literature as an independent philological discipline. For the first time Lanson’s book is considered as a “literary work” from the point of view of the peculiarities of the poetics. The analysis of artistic features is preceded by a brief sketch of the life of Gustave Lanson, a scientist and teacher. The concept of “History of French literature”, principles of material organization, features of storytelling technique are considered in the context of historical and literary works of his contemporaries (Dom Antoine Rivet de La Grange, Désiré Nizard, Eugène Géruzez, Ernest Renan) and methodological principles, the basis of the author’s historical and literary research and teaching of the history of literature. Analysis of the poetry of Lanson’s book, its composition, paratext, storytelling registers, the style that combines precise analysis and lyricism, the ways of recreating the individual creative appearance of French writers in space and time, makes it possible to see in this fundamental study the features of a historical novel about French literature with its character reflecting the features of the national culture, its appearance, embodied in genre forms, her heroes and their creators, French writers from the first medieval poets up to the authors of the XIX century.