CONTENTS
| Preface | [v] |
| Chapter I: Introduction | [1] |
| The Russian Language—Early folk literature: Folklore—Songs—Sagas—Layof Igor’s Raid—Annals—MongolianInvasion; its consequences—Correspondence between JohnIV. and Kúrbskiy—Religious splitting—Avvakúm’s Memoirs—Theeighteenth century—Peter I. and his contemporaries:Tretiakóvskiy—Lomonósoff—Sumarókoff—Thetimes of Catherine II: Derzhávin—Von Wízin—TheFreemasons: Nóvikoff—Radíscheff—Early nineteenth century:Karamzin and Zhukóvskiy—The Decembrists—Ryléeff. | |
| Chapter II: Pushkin; Lermontóff | [39] |
| Pushkin—Beauty of form—Pushkin and Schiller—Hisyouth; his exile; his later career and death—Fairytales: Ruslán and Ludmíla—His lyrics—“Byronism”—Drama—EvghéniyOnyeghin—Lermontóff—Pushkin orLermontóff? His life—The Caucasus—Poetry of nature—Influenceof Shelley—The Demon—Mtsýri—Love of Freedom—Pushkinand Lermontóff as prose-writers—Otherpoets and novelists of the same epoch. | |
| Chapter III: Gógol | [67] |
| Little Russia—Nights on a Farm near Dikánka and Mírgorod—Villagelife and humour—How Ivan Ivanovitchquarrelled with Ivan Nikíforytch—Historical novel: TarásBúlba—The Cloak—Drama: The Inspector-General—Itsinfluence—Dead Souls: Main types—Realism in theRussian novel. | |
| Chapter IV: Turguéneff; Tolstóy | [88] |
| Turguéneff—The Character of his art—A Sportsman’sNote-book—Pessimism in his early novels—His series ofnovels representing the leading types of Society: Rudin—Lavrétskiy—Helenand Insároff—Bazároff—Why Fathersand Sons was misunderstood—Hamlet and Don Quixote—VirginSoil—Movement towards the people—Tolstóy—Childhoodand Boyhood—During and after the CrimeanWar—Youth: in search of an ideal—Small stories—TheCossacks—Educational work—War and Peace—AnnaKarénina—Religious crisis—His interpretation of the Christianteaching—Main points of Christian ethics—Latestworks of art—Kreutzer Sonata—Resurrection. | |
| Chapter V: Gontcharóff; Dostoyévskiy; Nekrásoff | [151] |
| Gontcharóff—Oblomoff—The Russian malady of Oblomoffdom—Isit exclusively Russian? The Precipice—Dostoyévskiy—Hisfirst novel—General character of his work—Memoirsfrom a Dead House—Down-trodden andOffended—Crime and Punishment—The Brothers Karamázoff—Nekrasoff—Discussionsabout his talent—His loveof the people—Apotheosis of Woman—Other prose-writersof the same epoch—Serghéi Aksákoff—Dal—IvanPanaeff—Hvoschinskaya (V. Krestovskiy-pseudonyme)—Poetsof the same epoch—Koltsoff—Nikitin—Pleschéeff—Theadmirers of pure art: Tutcheff; A. Maykoff;Scherbina; A. Fet—A. K. Tolstóy—The Translators. | |
| Chapter VI: The Drama | [191] |
| Its origin—The Tsars Alexei and Peter I.—Sumarókoff—Pseudo-classicaltragedies: Knyazhnín; Ozeroff—Firstcomedies—The first years of the nineteenth century—Griboyedoff—TheMoscow stage in the fifties—Ostróvskiy:his first dramas—The Thunderstorm—Ostrovskiy’s laterdramas—Historical dramas: A. K. Tolstóy—Other dramaticwriters. | |
| Chapter VII: Folk-Novelists | [221] |
| Their position in Russian literature—The early folk-novelists—Grigórovitch—MárkoVovtchók—Danilévskiy—Intermediateperiod: Kókoreff; Písemskiy; Potyekhin—Ethnographicalresearches—The realistic school: Pomyalóvskiy—Ryeshetnikoff—Levítoff—GlebUspenskiy—Zlatovrátskiyand other folk-novelists: Naúmoff—Zasódimskiy—Sáloff—Nefédoff—Modernrealism: Maxim Gorkiy. | |
| Chapter VIII: Political Literature; Satire;Art-Criticism; Contemporary Novelists | [263] |
| Political Literature—Difficulties of censorship—Thecircles: Westerners and Slavophiles—Political literatureabroad: Herzen—Ogaryóff—Bakunin—Lavróff—Stepniak—TheContemporary and Tchernyshévskiy—Satire: Schedrin(Saltykoff)—Art-Criticism—Its importance in Russia—Byelinskiy—Dobrolúboff—Písareff—Mihailóvskiy—Tolstóy’sWhat is Art?—Contemporary Novelists:Oertel—Korolenko—Present drift of literature—Merezhovskiy—Boborykin—Potápenko—Tchehoff. | |
| Bibliographical Notes | [319] |
| Index | [321] |
PART I
Introduction: The Russian Language