Rulers, Russia and the Eighteenth-Century Epic

Abstract

THE SLAVONIC AND EAST EUROPEAN REVIEW Volume 83, Number 2 April 2005 Rulers, Russia and the Eighteenth-Century Epic ED WEEDA DYNAMICS and diversity are of great importance for the viability of literary genres in any modern, that is post-medieval, genre system. Innovation of the genre can take place under the influence of the transfer of aesthetic and philosophical values from one culture to another.But apartfromthese externalstimulithereare otheroperators that can effect changes in the conception and realization of a genre. Against the backgroundof a rapidlymodernizing society, of changing perceptions of historical development and of a growing national consciousness, questionsabout the function of literarytexts, the notion of the ideal rulerand apt methods of representationwill inevitablylead to diversity within the boundaries of the genre. It is remarkable, therefore, that A. N. Sokolov, in his study on the Russian epic, characterizes the eighteenth-century Russian epic as a static and uniformgenre.' One goal of thisstudyis to show thattheposition taken by Sokolov cannot be upheld. A second goal is to show how the changing historical context in which the poems appeared influenced Ed Weeda is a scholar of the Russian eighteenth-century epic and Russian emigre literature. He lives in Dordrecht, Holland. 1 A. N. Sokolov, Ocherki po istoriirusskoi poemyXVIII ipervoi poloviny XIX veka,Moscow, I955 (hereafter, Ocherki); G. A. Gukovskii, Russkaialiteratura XVIII veka,Moscow, 1939; D. D. Blagoi, Istoriiarusskoiliteratugy XVIII veka,Moscow, I955 (hereafter, Istoriia),E. HogemannLedwohn , Studien zur Geschichteder russischenVerserzdhlung in der zweiten Hdafte des I9. _Jahrhunderts, Munich, 1973. All share Sokolov's view on the genre. Sokolov's sketch has for many years been the only study on eighteenth-century Russian epic poetry. In I970 P. Thiergen published his study on the source texts used by Kheraskov to compose his Rossiiada:P. Thiergen, Studienzu M1M. Cheraskovs Versepos Ross4yada, Bonn, 1970 (hereafter, Studien).In my dissertation, Diversitatund Kontinuitdt. Die Entwicklungdes russischen historischen Versepos im i8. Jahrhundert, Oldenburg, I999, I attempted to present a coherent historical overview of eighteenth-century Russian epic poetry, based on theoretical and poetical texts by Russian authors. 176 RULERS, RUSSIA AND THE I8TH-CENTURY EPIC thecharacteristics of thetexts.To thisend,epics,completedaswellas uncompleted,and theoreticalwritingson the subjectby eighteenthcenturyRussianauthorshavebeenstudied .Firstthetheoretical texts will be examined,afterwhichwe will continuewith an analysisof eighteenth-century Russianepics to see if the varietyof concepts returns inavarietyofpoeticaltexts.Whereas theformaldifferentiations will be discussedin the firstpart, the descriptionof the functional differences andthemethodsthatwereusedto realizethisdiversity of thegenrewillbeconcentrated inthesecondpartofthearticle. Concepts ofthe epic ineighteenth-century poetics In I705 Feofan Prokopovich,the rector of the Kiev academy, completedthemanuscript ofhisDearte poetica,2 inwhichhepresentsa design for a modern, secular genre system, and a prescriptive characterization ofthevariousgenres.Prokopovich definestheepicas a long, solemnand complexliterarytext, with a themetakenfrom nationalhistory, writteninaloftystyle.Together withtragedy,theepic belonged to the higher genres, requiringexcellent skillsfrom the author.The highpositionof the epicin Prokopovich's genresystem, however, not only resultsfrom the high valuationof the abovementionedcategories , butalsocanbe explainedby hisorientation on Renaissance andBaroque literary theory.Prokopovich wasacquainted withcontemporary poeticsinPoland,havingstudiedthereataCatholic (Uniate)college,andhisknowledge wasconsolidated duringhisstayin RomefromI700to I703. UndertheinfluenceofHumanism andNeoAristotelianism theepicfloweredduringtheRenaissance andBaroque style periods,and the completionof an epic became a matterof nationalimportance forthewriters ofthistime.3 In Prokopovich's conceptionof the genre,onlya topictakenfrom nationalhistorywas acceptableas a themefor an epic. The use of versifiedlanguageshouldmarkthetextas a literaryrepresentation of historicalevents. The freedom to accentuatedetails of the event distinguished the poet fromthe historian,who wasexpectedto obey the rule of brevity.Finally,the modificationof historicalfacts also indicatedtheliterariness of a text.Poetswereto referto an idealized situationratherthan to historicaltruth. It was not the accurate descriptionof the uniquehistoricalevent that mattered,it was the poet'staskto unveilthe universaltruthsthatwere conveyedby the eventandto demonstrate the sublimecharacterof the actionsandof theheroeswhoperformed them.Inordertomakethemtheexemplary 2 F. Prokopovich, 'De arte poetica' (hereafter, 'De arte poetica'), in Sochineniia, Moscow and Leningrad, I96I, pp. 228-455. 3See H. Kortum, Charles Perrault undNicolasBoileau,Berlin, I966, p. 136. ED WEEDA 177 heroeshighergenresrequired,historicalpersonswere to be depicted as the ideal representatives of their social or professional class. The rhetoricalcategory of inventioand the aesthetic category of the sublime were both used to support the exemplary function, a combination of didactic and persuasiveelements, which Prokopovichhad in mind for the epic. AleksandrPetrovich Sumarokov'sepistles on Russian language and poetry (I 747) supplyus with a clearaccount of the author'sideas about the epic and its position in the genre...