Panteleimon Kulish’s Dramaturgy: Historical and Spiritual-Philosophical Features

Abstract

The paper explores the ground of the ideas, plots, and schemes of conflicts in ideological dramas by P. Kulish. The two of them are conditionally symbolic while the other three are based on real historical material. The libretto of the musical performance “A Woman from the Farmstead, or Singing Praise to the Bride in front of the Wedding Guests” and multifaceted drama “Herod’s Trouble” show combination of biblical, i. e. international, elements, while the latter also contains traditional folklore features of the Ukrainian Nativity Play. The other group of works makes up the trilogy, although P. Kulish interprets the selected topics in different ways and every time uses special literary techniques. The tragedy “Baida, Prince Vyshnevetskyi” depicts the conflict between the real historical figure, who was the founder of the regular Cossack army and folklore character, and representative of the Cossack poor, therefore between the knightly and lumpen forces. The heroes of the drama “Petro Sahaidachnyi” are prominent figures of the Ukrainian authorities, church, and culture of the 17th century, so the main conflict is determined by the concern for the development of cultural life; it unfolds in intellectual and philosophical sphere. The characters reflect on the problems of confrontation, combination of faith and science, possibility of spiritual or political struggle, etc. The ‘Old Ruthenian’ drama “Tsar Nalyvai” (the action takes place in the hot 1596) is the most dynamic; it has the most elaborate intrigue, but here the focus is rather on the deep symbolic language than on revealing the emotional or intellectual world of the characters. There are also some common features in all the dramas by Kulish. The author interpreted historical events estimated as the most important in a way of ideological conflict, combining historical phenomena and figures with symbolic (biblical and folklore) images and details.