GENRE OF THEATRICAL REVIEW IN THE WORK OF N. V. GOGOL

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to consider the ideological, thematic and genre features of the theater review in the works of Nikolay V. Gogol, as well as to identify the writer’s views on the development of the theater in the mid-1830s. Based on the analysis of the texts «Petersburg Notes for 1836» and «The Petersburg stage in 1835/36», the patterns of development of the Gogol’s aesthetic concept are determined. The writer perceives the theater as the center of the cultural life of St. Petersburg society, sees in theatrical art a huge potential for moral improvement and social transformation.In the discussions about the repertoire of the St. Petersburg stage, the ideas of the sacralization of art and the poet’s mission are manifested. N. Gogol attaches special importance to the genre of comedy – «spiritual», based on intellectual humor and satire.Gogol’s theatrical review is distinguished by such features as mosaic composition, essayization. Genre synthesis (review, writer’s notes, essays, etc.) and the widespread use of artistic visual and expressive means are noted as the most important features of Gogol’s criticism and journalistic works.The research contributes to the study of theater journalism and Gogol’s activities as a theater critic.