Creative work of Edmund John Millington Synge in literary and critical perception of Korney Chukovsky

Abstract

The article considers the specifics of Korney Chukovsky’s perception of dramatic art of Edmund John Millington Synge (1871–1909), one of the greatest personalities of national revival of Ireland. Synge, who created his works in English, not only revived legends of his nation, but also expanded the idea of the Irish national originality, having offered his own vision of the image of an Irish of his time. Korney Chukovsky is the author of one of the first translations of Synge’s dramatic art into Russian (a comedy "The Playboy of the Western World") and of the introductory article to its publication in 1923. The article "Synge and His "Playboy"" reflects the Russian writer’s understanding of the moral and aesthetic questions of the play. According to Korney Chukovsky, tSynge's complex art method was formed under the influence of the ideas of revival of the national drama theatre. This direction in perception of Synge’s heritage was determinative in Russian literature and, in general, reflected the nature of the attitude of Russian cultural consciousness to the Irish playwright’s creative work.