The Continuation of the Romantic Thought in the Scholarship of Alexander Veselovsky and Mykhailo Drahomanov

Abstract

Although comparative literary studies has its roots in the Enlightenment, Romanticism is considered to be its cradle. In Eastern Europe this fi eld began to develop only in the era of positivism, but it was infl uenced by the work of scholars who, on the one hand, continued their romantic interest in comparative studies, and, on the other, embraced the emerging positivist theories. The article discusses the infl uence of Romanticism on the scholarship of Alexander Veselovsky and Mykhailo Drahomanov, pioneers of comparative literary research in Eastern Europe. It argues that, despite their rootedness in positivism, the work of both Veselovsky and Drahomanov draws a lot from romantic inspirations.