Compound Epic Poem in the Russian Literature of the Beginning of the XIX century

Iurii Bagrov

Saint Petersburg State University,

St.Petersburg State University of Film and Television

Compound Epic Poem in the Russian Literature of the Beginning of the XIX century

The term ‘compound poem’ itself was introduced by the Russian philologist Yuri Tynyanov in his work “Pushkin and His Contemporaries” in order to characterize the genre essence of Pushkin’s “Ruslan and Lyudmila” — the poem which combines the plot of the fairy poem and structural features of other typical epic genres of that period. Thereby the large epic form was revived in the Russian literature[1].

After Tynyanov we will consider a compound poem as a poem which combines typical features of different poetic genres of the earlier tradition. So we should note some basic points. Firstly the compound poem is not a particular literary form but a structural principal of combination possible in different poetic genres. Secondly it is not either a simple mixture of diverse features: the compound work is a system of interrelated elements which is perceived as an entity. It is always a part of authors intention. Finally we can consider this phenomenon only in particular literary context, in connection with the specific tradition[2].

So we may mark out main features of a compound genre. Firstly it is complexity which means a combination of constructive and significant elements of different genres. Secondly correlation with actual and recognizable tradition. Thirdly breaking the norm or the canon (otherwise we should consider a text as a pure genre). And finally functional shift. Text of a compound genre takes a function of another genre upon itself, substitutes for it in the system of literary genres[3].

The problem of genre is important for the period under review itself. By the beginning of the XIX century the strict hierarchy of genres has collapsed. As for lyric poetry, most researchers note the transition to the type of out-of-genre poem[4] and to the division by subject but not the form. The latter still very important for the romanticists loses its significance in the further evolution of literature. The rhymes may preserve the constructive features of typical romantic genres such as epistle or elegy, but they are not of the crucial importance and they may even be mixed or combined.

These features are sometimes used inertially, sometimes ironically, sometimes allusionally, but they don’t determine neither structure nor composition of the verse any more.

The same process in epic poetry is not covered and elucidated enough, and the phenomenon of the compound or combined poem seems to us to have acted an important part in it.

The system of epic genres has broken up earlier than that of lyrics. The crisis of the poetic epos and lack of the appropriate large form, which may be considered as a metagenre,[5] main aspiration of the époque, were important points of the literary discussions. As opposed to the lyric poetry combining the features of the foregoing genres was not inertial in epic poems. It was deliberate usage of traditional literary material. But the pure genres were out-of-date.

Creation of a new form was needed and the compound form striking with novelty but preserving the evident succession for the earlier literary heritage satisfied this requirement, though the advantages of this innovation were not obvious for the contemporaries. The first poem by Pushkin — ‘Ruslan and Lyudmila’ — caused heated argument. Many were of the opinion that the poem was ridiculous, mediocre and crossbred. On the other hand it caused imitations immediately and became popular.

The development of the compound poem continued in Pushkin’s ‘southern poems’ transforming the typical structure of tales by Byron[6]. This transformation determined at a later date the plot model of ‘Eugenie Onegin’[7].

Tynyanov mentions the compound genre only regarding works by Pushkin but we may suppose that this structural principal is used in poems by other authors. The most interesting example is ‘Daemon’ by Lermontov where the structural features of Byronic tale and mystery poems are combined with some dramatic effects[8] whence the new type of Russian philosophical poem originates[9].

It is also worth mentioning that the compound poem as an important means of the literary evolution is the phenomenon of the paramount literature so we can hardly find a sterling example of a compound form in mass literature though simple mixture of diverse features is very typical for this kind of fiction.

[1] Тынянов Ю.Н. Пушкин // Тынянов Ю.Н. Пушкин и его современники. М.: Наука, 1969. С. 137.

[2] Багров Ю. Д. Что такое «комбинированный жанр» // Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета. Серия 9. Филология. Востоковедение. Журналистика. 2012. Вып. 2. СПб.: Изд-во СПбГУ, 2012. С. 11.

[3] Ibid. С. 9 — 13.

[4] Гинзбург Л.Я. О лирике. М.;Л.: Советский писатель, 1964. С. 45.

[5] Лейдерман Н. Л. Жанровые системы литературных направлений и течений // Взаимодействие метода, стиля и жанра в советской литературе: Сб. научных трудов. Свердловск: Свердловский гос. пед. ин-т, 1988. С. 7.

[6] Багров Ю. Д. Трансформация жанровой модели восточных повестей Байрона в южных поэмах А. С. Пушкина // Materiály VIII Mezinárodní vědecko-praktická conference «Vznik moderne vědecké 2012». 27.09.12 — 05.10.12. Díl 12. Filologicke vědy. Praha: Education and Science, 2012. S. 26 — 28.

[7] Багров Ю. Д. Комбинированный жанр Евгения Онегина // Материали за VIII международна научна практична конференция «Научният потенциал света 2012». 17 — 25 септември 2012 г. Т. 11. Филологични науки. София: Бял ГРАД-БГ, 2012. С. 75 — 77.

[8] Багров Ю. Д. К вопросу о «комбинированном жанре» лермонтовского «Демона» // Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета. Серия 9. Филология. Востоковедение. Журналистика. 2011. Вып. 3. СПб.: Изд-во СПбГУ, 2011. С. 27.

[9] Пульхритудова Е. М. «Демон» как философская поэма // Творчество М. Ю. Лермонтова: 150 лет со дня рождения, 1814–1964. М.: Наука, 1964. С. 76–105.