Masters Comps

Nikolai Karamzin

1766-1826

Ya vas liubil... (I loved you)

1829 I loved you: it may be that love has not completely died in my soul; but let it not trouble you any more; I do not wish to sadden you in any way... I loved you silently, hopelessly, tormented now by diffidence and now by jealousy; I loved you so truly, so tenderly as God may grant you to be loved by another.

Elegiia (Bezumnykh dnei ugasshee vesel'e)

1830

Poetu (To a Poet)

1830

Silentium

1830 "Mysl' izrechennaia est' lozh'" Be silent, hide yourself, conceal your feelings and your dreams. Contemplate them with admiration and be silent. How will the heart express itself? How will another understand you? A thought that is spoken is a lie. Know how to live within yourself: there is a whole world in your soul of mysterious and enchanted thoughts; daylight and noise without will drive them away. Listen to their singing, and be silent. "Vnimai ikh pen'iu i molchi"

Zaniski iz podpol'ia (Notes from the Underground)

1864, Dostoevsky rejects socialist utopianism Part 1: the undergournd man desires pain (constant toothache) and paranoia (incapable of looking coworkers in the eye); war proves that people do things without purpose; he's in a state of inactivity and spitefulness; harshly criticizes determinism (2x2=4); humanity won't create Chern.'s Crystal Palace bc anyone at any time can act against what's good in order to state his/her existence Part 2: 1. officer moves him out of his position, UM decides to bump into him to get revenge, officer doesn't notice 2. goodbye party for Zverkov changed from 5 to 6 o'clock, no one tells UG, he arrives early, gets in argument, declares he hates society; they go to brothel without him, UM goes there to confront Z and sleeps with Lisa 3. wakes up and tells Lisa her position in society, gives her his address and leaves; fears she will actually come to his dilapidated apartment; she comes and he curses her then cries saying he was seeking power over her and desired to humiliate her; he's poor and embarrassed, they embrace; but he "can't be good" and throws her out with a five ruble note; tries to catch her but never hears from her again; his spite for society and inability to act makes unable to act better than society

Ivan Turgenev

1818-1883

Anton Chekhov

1860-1904

Otsy i deti (Fathers and Sons)

1862, Turgenev Growing divide between Liberals (1830s-40s) and growing Nihilist movement; both sought social change, in contrast with Slavophiles who wanted to return to roots Character Duality & Psychological Insight Characters: Nikolai Petrovich and Pavel Kirsanov (fathers, brothers) Arkady and Bazarov (sons, Nihilists) Love Interests: Fenitchka and Nikolai (servant, has his child, eventually marry); Anna Sergeievna Odintsova and Bazarov (wealthy widow, loves him, which challenges nihilist ideal to reject established order); Katia Sergeevna and Arkady (younger sister of Anna, poor and shy) Plot: Arkady comes home from school with his friend Bazarov (nihilist), who debates with Pavel Kirsanov (liberal). Pavel catches Bazarov kissing Fenichrka; they duel and Bazarov takes care of Pavel after wounding him, so he's a gentleman. Bazarov's nihilism falls apart in face of unrequited love of Odintsova. In her study, she tells him she's "unhappy" and doesn't want to "go on." He professes love and she rejects him. Katia and Fenitchka end happily married to their loves and Bazarov dies of typhus. His parents visit his grave, only through human love does he transcend death, refuting nihilist "insignificant principle" that life is insignificant and nothing remains after death.

Chto delat'? (What is to be Done?)

1863, Chernyshevskii social commentary with proposed solution to society's ills Chern. comments throughout the book that he isn't a writer, even allows the reader time to think and draws a black line in the middle of the page (unique for time) His theory: changing a person's environment, changes their actions Plot: Man commits suicide on bridge and Vera Pavlovna receives a suicide not from him and separates from her lover. Preface: Chern. criticizes himself (not great writer) and reader (only wants action to start a story) tells the end of the novel and says the book is for a select few, (intelligentsia) VP's Life with Her Family: lives with father and mother, who's abusive; VP tells Mikhail Storeshnikov that she won't marry him First Love and Legal Marriage: VP's mom Marya hires Dmitry Lopukhov as a tutor for her son Fedya, invites him to VP's bday party; they talk about social ills and ridding Russia of poverty; talk about determinism; they decide to get married; Marya is "eulogized" due to her environment she couldn't have acted any other way than she did Marriage and Second Love: have separate rooms, Vera opens seamstress' shop; everyone has same wages; money saved is divided equally or left for parties; women move in together and buy groceries as a group; Kirsanov is in love with VP; Dmitry encourages him to visit her and coldly accepts the situation bc what's best for her is best for him; VP writes him a letter to end the marriage and he commits suicide; Rakhmetov, the extraordinary man, the ideal, is a strong worker, even sleeps on nails to prove he is worthy to help create a perfect society; he gives VP the suicide note and criticizes her for giving the seamstress shop away Second Marriage: now married to Kirsanov, have child named Mitya; goes to watch his work as doctor bc she wants to learn; FOURTH DREAM: sees 3 goddesses that develop into a 4th: Astarte, Aphrodite, Virgin Mary, then VP herself; represent progression of woman in male-dom. society; she also sees perfect society with crystal and steel buildings and water irrigation systems and constantly warm food; the really old and children work inside and the young work outside; a new woman Polina writes to VP to ask her to help her open her own shop New Characters and Concl.: about Polina Change of Scene: lady in mourning (Chern.'s wife) meets again with her husband who's been imprisoned; suggests revolution is coming soon

Fedor Sologub

1863-1927

Ledi Makbet Mtsenskogo uezda (Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District)

1865, Leskov Themes: subordinate role of women in 19th-century society, adultery, provincial life, and the planning of murder by a woman Characters: The Ismailov family: Boris, the father of Zinovy, the husband of Katerina for the past five years. Boris and Zinovy are merchants. Katerina is bored. Plot: A dam bursts at a mill owned by Boris, and Zinovy leaves town to oversee its repair. Katerina flirts somewhat innocently with Sergei, a newly arrived farmhand and womanizer. Sergei comes into Katerina's room and moves to kiss her roughly. She protests, but then gives in; implied sexual encounter. After a week of the continued affair, Boris catches Sergei and accused him of adultery; Boris whips him and locks Sergei in a cellar. Boris threatens to beat Katerina when she asks for Sergei's release. Katerina poisons Boris, and he's buried without his son and without suspicion. She then takes charge of the estate. Katerina has a strange dream about a cat. Sergei worries over Zinovy's return and desires to marry her. Katerina again dreams of the cat, which this time has Boris' head. Zinovy returns and confronts Katerina about her affair. Finally she calls Sergei in, kisses him in front of her husband, some violence occurs, and the two of them strangle Zinovy, who dies, and Sergei buries him deep in the walls of the cellar where he was imprisoned. Zinovy's disappearance is a mystery, and no trouble comes to Sergei or Katerina. She gets pregnant. Boris' young nephew Fyodor shows up with his mother, preventing Katerina from inheriting the estate. Sergei complains about their misfortune. Fyodor falls ill, and Katerina and Sergei suffocate the boy, but a crowd returning from church storms the house, one of its members having spied the act through the shutters of Fyodor's room. Sergei, hearing the windows clattering from the crowd's fists, thinks the ghosts of his murder victims have come back to haunt him, and breaks down. Sergei admits to the crime publicly and tells of where Zinovy is buried. Katerina indifferently admits that she helped with the murders. The two are exiled to Siberia. During their journey there, Katerina gives birth in a prison hospital, and the child is sent to be raised by Fyodor's mother and becomes heir to the Ismailov estate. Katerina continues to be obsessed with Sergei, who increasingly wants nothing to do with her. Fiona and "little Sonya," two members of the prison convoy with Katerina and Sergei, are introduced, the former being known for being sexually prolific, the latter the opposite. Katerina catches Sergei being intimate with Fiona. Sergei then pursues little Sonya, who won't sleep with him unless he gives her a pair of stockings. Sergei then complains to Katerina about his ankle-cuffs. She readily gives him her last pair of new stockings to ease his pain, which he then gives to Sonya for sexual favors. Katerina sees Sonya wearing her stockings, and spits in Sergei's eyes, and shoves him. He promises revenge, and later breaks into her cell with another man, giving her fifty lashes with a rope, while Sonya giggles in the background. Katerina, broken, lets Fiona console her, and realizes that she is no better than Fiona, which is her last straw: after that she is emotionless. On the road in the prison convoy, Sergei and Sonya mock Katerina. Sonya offers her stockings to her for sale. Katerina tackles Sonya overboard after seeing the faces of Boris, Zinovy, and Fyodor in the water. The two women appear briefly at the surface, still alive, but Katerina grabs Sonya, and they both drown.

Nikolai Nekrasov

1821-1878

Fedor Dostoevsky

1821-1881

Poet

1827 Apollo summons the poet to the holy sacrifice. Before he was immersed in worldly cares (his lyre is silent; his soul is sleeping; he is insignificant). But when the divine word touches his hearing, his soul starts like a roused eagle. He forgoes the world and flees to deserted seas and spacious forests.

Nikolai Chernyshevskii

1828-1889

Lev Tolstoy

1828-1910

Presstuplenie i nakazanie

1866, Dostoevsky Plot: Raskolnikov murders aged pawnbroker and her sister; falls ill and becomes paranoid that everyone knows he killed them; meets Sonya Semyonovna prostitute and falls in love with her (god's love and redemptive power for fallen ppl) sent to Siberia for the murder R. as "super-human": mentions Napolean, transcend moral boundary kill money lender, use her money to do good Themes: salvation through suffering, Christian existentialism Symbols in Dreams: horse being beaten, has to sacrifice itself, (Sonya sacrifices body for her family); Cross (sonya carries the cross, shes a savior) ; St. Petersburg = symbolic of his mental state

Bednaia Liza

1792 Nikolai Karamzin Frame Narrative Setting: idyll, village Characters: Liza, Erast, Liza's Mother Plot: Liza (kind peasant) sleeps with Erast; he tells her that he must join the army, but really leaves her for a woman with money; Liza commits suicide (drowns); Erast also dies young and the narrator speculates that they are now together in heaven Themes: death, love, innocence, sex, money

Aleksandr Pushkin

1799-1837

Fedor Ivanovich Tituchev

1803-1873

Nikolai Gogol'

1809-1852

Mikhail Lermontov

1814-1841

Vol'nost'. Oda.

1817

Povesti Belikana (Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin)

1831, Pushkin 1. Editor's Forward 2. The Shot - Silvio and a Count were in a duel, years later at the count's wedding they duel again, the wife fears for her husband's life, so Silvio fires his shot into a portrait above the count's head, leaving a bullet hole on top of another from the last time they dueled 3. The Snowstorm - Marya and Vladimir decide to elope, but he gets caught in a snowstorm, they don't marry and he dies, Marya later inherits her parents' fortune and has suitors, one loves her but can't marry her because he's already married... to her! turns out they married while she was waiting in the snowstorm for Vladimir 4. The Undertaker - Adrian the undertaker is sullen, he moves into new house, attends a neighbor's party and someone toasts to his corpses, next day he finds out that someone's wife has died, he's preparing her body when "guests" come to his house, they are all dead, he gets scared and falls on the bones, and wakes up = nightmare 5. The Postmaster - Belkin lived with postmaster named Samson and his daughter Dunya, later returns and Dunya is gone, she left with a Hussar and when dad went to find her, he was kicked out, dad dies and later woman comes to visit him, weeps on his grave, it's his daughter (read in Kelly's class) 6. Mistress into Maid - Aleksei and Liza (dressed as peasant) meet in the woods and exchange letters, his father decides he'll marry Liza even though he's in love with the "peasant girl," Aleksei finds out that they are the same girl and Belkin declares that details of the wedding are unnecessary Short Footnote by Pushkin

Nikolai Leskov

1831-1895

Prorok

1832, Lermontov References Pushkin's work of same name. Similar theme of poet as prophet to the world, capable of speaking truth but unable to explain it properly or be understood. God gave him the gift of truth, but others reject it, "throwing stones at him." He avoids society and finds comfort in nature. When he returns to society, he is ridiculed and an outcast. He says his clothes are ragged and everyone despises him.

Osen' (Otryvok)

1833 "What doesn't enter then my drowsy mind?" -Derzhavin 1. October has come. Leaves fall, the road is becoming frozen, ice has formed on my pond 2. This is my season. I don't like spring/thaw; I like winter better than spring 3. Winter is fun, but eventually even bears get tired of it. 4. Oh, fair summer! I would be fond of you were it not for the heat, the mosquitoes, the dust, the flies! 5. The days of late autumn are his favorite, even though no one really loves her. 6. Autumn pleases him as a consumptive girl may please you. She's here today, but tomorrow she's gone. 7. Your beauty with its message of farewell delights me! 8. Every autumn I blossom anew; the Russian cold is good for my health. 9. They bring me the horse, it carries me through the frozen valley. The short day fades away. I read in front of the fireplace. 10. I forget the world, and poetry awakens within me, and an invisible throng of guests comes toward me. 11. Thoughts seethe in my mind, fingers cry our for a pen, the pen--for paper; so a ship slumbers motionless, hands leap forward, the sails are filled, she moves and cleaves the waves 12. It sails. Where then should we sail? . . .

Evgenii Onegin

1833, Pushkin "a novel in verse" iambic tetrameter Characters: narrator (comments on upper-class, art, society), Onegin (first superfluous man), Lensky, Tatiana, Olga Plot: 1. Eugene inherits uncle's estate, 2. Tatiana (who gets her ideas from French novels) falls in love with Eugene and writes him a love letter, 3. he denies her when she approaches him directly, 4. Eugene attends Tatiana's nameday celebration but flirts with her sister Olga, 5. Lensky challenges him to a duel and dies in the duel, Eugene flees, 6. Tatiana visits his empty mansion and finds that he is just a compilation of famous figures in books: there is no real Onegin, 7. later Eugene and Tatiana meet in Moscow and she's married, role reversal: he writes her a love letter, she doesn't respond, he approaches her and she rejects him as he once rejected her Themes: superfluous man, books (Tatiana reads, Lensky writes poetry, Onegin knows a little bit from lots of different books)

Mednyi vsadnik (The Bronze Horseman)

1833, Pushkin Setting: St. Petersburg flood in 1824 Characters: Yevgenii, The Bronze Horseman statue of Peter the Great Plot: Yevgeny's fiancée died in the flood of 1824, he blames the statue for her death, the statue appears to break free and chase him down, he then respects the statue but ends up dead, he's buried where he's found on a little island near a tiny, abandoned house Symbols: state vs. common man, statue vs. Yevgeny Bronze Horseman = arm pointing to future, represents state, which wants expansion to the West, increase of military power, Europeanization Yevgeny = common man, (malen'kii chelovek) who has simple needs and wants safety

Pora, moi drug, pora

1834 It's time, my friend, it's time! The heart begs for peace; The days fly past and every hour carries off A fragment of life, but you and I together Make plans together to live, yet suddenly we shall die. There's no happiness in the world, only peace and free will I have long been dreaming of an enviable fate Long have I, a weary slave, planned to flee To a distant home of work and pure delight.

Pikovaia Dama (The Queen of Spades)

1834, Pushkin Characters: German, Liza, Grafiniia, Plot: German hears that countess knows unbeatable sequence of cards, courts Lizaveta to get access to the countess, he scares her to death before she can reveal the sequence of cards to him, her ghost appears and tells him to marry Lizaveta in exchange for the card combo "three, seven, and ace," he thinks he has won a game but the queen of spades appears and he loses, he goes crazy and is confined to an asylum where he mutters "three, seven, and ace" over and over to himself, Lizaveta gets married and lives happily ever after Themes: gambling (Pushkin was also a gambler); numbers (3 and 7), supernatural/fantastic,

Nevskii Prospekt

1835, Gogol Characters: Nevsky Prospekt is almost living, Piskariov (artist), and Pirogov (officer) Plot: Piskariov notices dark-haired woman, who works in a brothel, he sleeps to dream about her, takes opium, he finally decides to win her over, she is drunk and laughs at him; he goes home and commits suicide. Pirogov = superfluous man, infatuated by blonde, she is married, he tries to kiss her and husband throws him out; he forgets the event entirely Gogol ends by saying Nevsky is worst at night "when the devil himself is abroad...kindling street lamps to show everything in a false light."

Revizor (The Inspector General)

1836, Gogol Play Based on an anecdote sent by Pushkin, "No use blaming the mirror if your face is crooked." Setting: provincial town Plot: Mayor and officials learn government inspector is coming. They get things in order. Mayor's friends think they've found inspector general, but he's really a clerk named Khlestakov. They treat him like a king. He leaves for a day, and the postmaster, Shpekin, reads a letter which satirizes everyone in the town. The real inspector comes and the women scream and everyone freezes in place; the postmaster pauses in the shape of a question mark for almost a minute and a half.

Geroi nashego vremeni (A Hero of Our Time)

1840, Lermontov Characters: nameless narrator, Pechorin, Maksim Maksimych (served with Pechorin in Caucasus), Bela, Grushnitsky (Pechorin kills him), Princess Mary, Vera (former love of Pechorin; affair with her) 1. Preface: Pechorin as symbol of Russia's ill 2. Bela: Pechorin meets Bela at wedding, saves her from Kazbich who wanted her and her brother Azamat; she and Pechorin and Maksim Maksimych live in forest, Kazbich rides off with Bela, Pechorin shoots him Mary at a health spa and decides to make her fall in love with him by first getting her to hate him, despite the fact that Grushnitsky likes her; finally asks her to dance "saving" her from a drunk officer; an old love Vera comes along and is still in love with him and mad at him for toying with Mary; Pechorin challenges Grushnitsky to a duel, he doesn't load his gun the first time and kills Grushnitsky the second time. Vera maybe told her husband she loves Pechorin and he leaves her, so she tells Pechorin to marry Mary for her. He tries to catch up to her, but fails and cries. 7. The Fatalist: Pechorin and Lieutenant Vulich bet on if fate is predetermined. Vulich fires a gun that wasn't loaded, but the second shot was loaded (killed a pig). Pechorin loses the bet. Vulich is killed by Cossacks for shooting their pig; the Cossacks bullet misses Pechorin, who thinks about fate and says he's not keen on metaphysical discussions.

Vykhozhu odin ia na dorogu

1841, Lermontov Describes himself wandering on the highway, marveling at sky above. longs for peace and freedom, symbolized by nature. End of the poem, wishes to be put in a sleep where he's not dead but becomes a part of nature where day and night flows over him and rustling leaves bend down and comfort his soul.

Mertvye Dushi (Dead Souls)

1842, Gogol Novel, satirical called epic poem in prose Organized like Dante's Inferno (supposed to be in 3 parts, but Gogol burned the second part.) Setting: small town Characters: Chichikov; comes to town to purchase dead souls in order to elevate his social standing. Sobakevich: strong, silent, economical man, square and bearlike; Mailov: silly sentimentalist with pursed lips; Madame Korobochka: stupid widow; Nozdryov: cheat and bully with manners of hearty, good fellow

Zapiski Okhotnika (Sketches from a Hunter's Album)

1852, Turgenev Collection of short stories published one by one in The Contemporary, reject tyranny and the abuse and injustice of peasant life Narrator: uncommitted observer Khor and Kalinych: District Doctor: narrator has a fever, doctor tells him about how he fell in love with a dying girl Baliff: Baliff (Sofron)

Innokentii Annenskii

1855-1909 •born in Omsk, moved to St. Petersburg •taught Greek and Latin •influential but not really symbolist - he was his own sort •influenced by Greek and Latin works •worldview: world is decaying and pale in comparison to some other greater world

Poet i grazhdanin

1856, Nekrasov poem written as dialogue between poet and citizen citizen tells the poet he writes beautiful rhymes, but says "you're no Pushkin," he tells the poet to make his heart a treasure trove of universal love; Who is a citizen? poet claims he has quiet worth, citizen claims he is the country's own worthy son, not a leader Citizen: The poet, at least, laments in gloom; The citizen's obedient neck Submits in silence the yoke. . . . Most blessed is the prattling poet! Woe is the silent citizen! Poet is sad that muse has abandoned him, poem ends what is left? crown of thorns

Konstantin Bal'mont

1867-1942 •he tried to commit suicide and failed, so he became tragic and symbolist •Was romantic, turned to symbolism •mainly translated works but often added his own ideas •wrote over 7,000 poems

Zinaida Gippius

1869-1945 •Considered the most intellectual poet of the time, used philosophical ideas •Leaned toward lyricism and abstractism •Poetry shows longing for miracles but with power and allure of death •Always has a hint of anxiety

Aleksandr Kuprin

1870-1938

Ivan Bunin

1870-1953

Leonid Andreev

1871-1919

Valerii Briusov

1873-1924 •First symbolist! •Organized poems into cycles •Introduced urban themes •Took on taboo subjects •Used precise and controlled lines •Used dreams as insight

Brat'ia Karamazovy

1880, Dostoevsky Characters: Fedor Karamazov, Dmitri (eldest, money and women, loves Grushenka like his father, accused of killing father), Ivan (middle son, rationalist, atheist, goes insane), Alesha (youngest, believes in God) Smerdiakov (rumored to be illegitimate son of Fedor, lackey and cook, epileptic, actual murderer) Grushenka (local Jezebel loved by Fedor and Dmitri); Katerina Ivanovna (Dmitri's fiancée, Ivan falls in love with her); Zosima (monk or starets, ability to heal, something of a celebrity); Iliusha (local schoolboy, whose father is insulted by Dmitri, falls ill and dies, last chapter is his funeral, we're all "responsible for each other") Plot: intro fam, at monastery Zosima acts as mediator btwn Fedor and Dmitri, dispute over his inheritance; Dmitri assaults dad and threatens to kill him; Ivan rejects God bc of the suffering of innocent children "The Grand Inquisitor" chastises Jesus for giving ppl free will; Zosima found faith in the middle of a duel, he dies and his body decays so some stop believing in his holiness; Dmitri tries to get money to pay off Katia so he can marry Grushenka; arrested for his father's murder; Dmitri almost killed servant Grigory when he hits him over the head with a pestle, Smerdiakov was also in the yeard but incapacitated due to an eplileptic fit; Ivan goes mad, meets 3x with Smerdiakov who finally confesses to the murder, justifying himself bc in a "world w/out God" everything is permitted; Smerdiakov kills himself after the meeting; trial: Katia testifies against Dmitri using a letter he wrote while drunk, Ivan tells of S's confession and his madness takes over, Dmitri is called guilty; create escape plan but Dmitri is ready to accept his fate; Iliusha's funeral and Aliosha tells the other schoolboys to be kind, love life and remember each other and Iliusha

Aleksandr Blok

1880-1921 1. Pre-marriage period held ideas of прекрасная дама and divine feminism - religion, dawn, light 2. 1905/1906 became disquiet with expectation of betrayal and Прекрасная дама becomes Незнакомка, gypsy, or prostitute 3. Later female turns to Russia with historical destiny and apocalyptic strains •First believed, then was disenchanted by Revolution

Творчество

1895, Briusov ◦4 ft trochee; feminine and masculine alternating rhyme ◦Looking at reflections on the wall to see what is real -> Plato ◦He is describing a dream* ◦Purple hands are creating sounds ◾play with sound crucial here: в звонко-звучной тишине, звуки реют полусонно, звуки ластятся ◦interesting imagery of purple hands, a naked moon, transparent kiosks, secrets of created creatures

Сонет к форме

1895, Briusov ◦Sonnet in 5 ft. iamb ◦Riddled with contrasts ◦describing images of changing imagination ◾they live eternally in carefully crafted lines ◾compared to gems - diamonds ◦hopes that his dreams find the perfect characteristics and find light

"Я в этот мир пришел, чтоб видеть солнце..." (1903)

Bal'mont ◦5ft, then 3ft, then 2ft iamb; feminine and masculine rhyme alternating ◦super egocentric, focus on self and his purpose in life ◾he is here to see the sun and beauty of nature ◾here to "sing" •nobody better at "singing" than him ◦connection to nature is crucial in this poem, here to see and experience it

Chaika (The Seagull)

1896, Chekhov Characters: ingenue Nina, fading leading lady Irina Arkadina, her son the experimental playwright Konstantin Treplyov, and the famous middlebrow story writer Trigorin Setting: country estate owned by Sorin, Arkadina's bro. Plot: watch a play written by Konstantin Treplyov about Nina, young girl who's the soul of the world; schoolteacher Medvedenko loves Masha, who loves Konstantin, who is dating Nina; Konstantin shoots a seagull and gives it to Nina; Trigorin (writer and Arkadina's lover sees the seagull as the subject of a story; Konstantin upset that Nina doesn't want to be with him and (offstage) shoots himself in the head and misses, Nina professes her love to Trigorin and they later kiss and plan to meet in Moscow 2 years later. . . playing lotto when Nina compares herself to the seagull, tells Konstantin that Trigorin left her, her child died and she tours with a second-rate theatre troupe; Konstantin asks her to stay, but she leaves; lotto game--gunshot off-stage--Konstantin Treplyov killed himself Shakespeare's Hamlet

Dama s sobachkoi (The Lady with the Dog)

1899, Chekhov Characters: Dmitri Gurov Setting: Yalta Plot: Gurov frequently has affairs, easily bored, hears about a woman in the area with a dog, she sits near him while dining, finds out her name is Anna Sergeevna Von Diteras, spend time together, kiss, Anna regrets her marriage; she leaves Yalta without crying and saying they'll never meet again; he goes home to family but can't forget Anna; goes to St. Petes to find her; talks to her at the theater and she admits she loves him; begins to visit him in Moscow; final meeting in the story they embrace in front of a mirror, he sees his gray hair and realizes he's in love, so they decide to leave their former lives and plan a future together

Tri sestry

1900, Chekhov Characters: Prozorov family: Olga (teacher), Masha (married to Fedor Ilych Kulygin, teacher, she thinks he's stupid), Irina (wants to move to Moscow and meet true love), Aleksei (in love with Natasha Ivanovna) Background: refined women who grew up in Moscow, past 11 years have been living in provincial town Plot: sisters dream of returning to Moscow represents happiness and perfection; play begins at Irina's name-day party, where Andrei tells Natasha he loves her; 21 months later . . . they are married with a child, Masha is having an affair with Vershinin, lieutenant commander; Solyony (captain) kills Baron Teuzenbach in a duel (shot heard offstage); death announced and characters don't know how to react Themes: decay of privileged class' search for meaning in modern world

Предчуствую тебя. Года проходят мимо...

1901, Blok ◦fluctuating 5 and 6 ft. iambs; alternating feminine and masculine rhyme ◦Narrator terrified that woman will change and betray him ◦fluctuating iambs mimic the change he fears ◦has prophetic element, as she does change and leave him ◦Ты is capitalized, making the reader question if it is religious or about a woman

Vishnevyi sad (The Cherry Orchard)

1901, Chekhov Chekhov's last play, intended as comedy; Stanislavsky directed as a tragedy, dual nature of the play Setting: Ranevskaia country home and orchard Plot: Ranevskaia (son died 5 years ago) and her daughter, Anya return from Paris; the estate is in financial ruin, Lopakhin suggests destroying orchard to save estate; Ranevskaia holds a party on the day the estate is being auctioned: Lopakhin bought the estate to save the family; Ranevskaia is returning to Paris to be with former lover, Lophakin finally agrees to propose to Varya, but they just talk about the weather, he is called away and both are disappointed; they shut up the house and accidentally leave Firs (old servant) to die, listening to sound of the orchard being chopped down Themes: effect of social change (emancipation of serfs in 1861 by Aleksandr II) nobility got poorer without cheap labor of serfs

Я - изысканность русской медлительной речи

1903, Bal'mont ◦5 and 3ft anapest; feminine 5ft stanzas and 3ft masculine couplets ◦He gives the poem power - the poem in the narrator ◦He is refinement of russian speech and splashing and crashing sea ◾mostly nature images of description ◦Poem is egocentric and powerful, it is the reason for everything

Пауки (Spiders)

1903, Gippius ◦4ft iamb; feminine and masculine alternating rhyme ◦Tierre's presentation of circles and lines as spiders create a web around her ◦Stuck in a circle of web in a cell ◦Appeal to senses of smell, touch, sight ◦Monotonous rhyme and stanzas ◦Cell is allegory for world and web is fate - we are all stuck

Она (She)

1905, Gippius ◦5ft iamb with extra syllable; dactylic and feminine rhyme alternating ◦Masculine narrator describing a female entity ◾assume it is a woman until last line reveals it's a soul ◦Dark, terrifying, repulsive, prickly, cold, heavy, deaf soul (она) ◦Narrator is dying from his nearness to the soul (it's suffocating) but he can never part from it

Незнакомка

1906, Blok ◦4ft iamb; feminine and masculine alternating ◦quintessential transition poem ◦narrator drunk in an unsavory bar with other drunks ◾everything he says is in a cloud of vagueness and hazy images ◦sees the truth in everyone through his inebriation ◦waits for незнакомка - image of woman changes from innocent religious one ◾she smells of perfume and fog ◦he begins by describing her realistically, but it takes on hallucinatory tone ◾he sees a beautiful mystical world through her veil ◦state of sobriety allows him to reach a higher being ◾alcohol way to achieve truth

Granatovyi braclet

1911, Kuprin Zheltkov, a "little man", is possessed by a consuming love for Princess Vera Sheina, a rich society lady hardly aware of his existence. After his wife receives for her birthday a particularly expensive gift, Prince Vasily Shein visits Zheltkov, accompanied by Nikolai Nikolayevich, Vera's brother, and tells him to stop pestering the Princess. Being aware that the last thread connecting him with his beloved one is gone, Zheltkov commits suicide, in the final letter asking Vera to listen to Beethoven's Second Piano Sonata. The power of music brings about the spiritual rebirth of a hitherto detached aristocrat who recognizes that she's just been brushed by "this rarest thing, a true love that happens once in a thousand years.

"Будем как солнце! Забудем о том..." (1902)

Bal'mont ◦3ft dactyls; strange rhyme scheme, he repeats the same few sounds ◦his testament to beauty ◦we will be eternal like the sun ◦we will pray to the unearthly and strive for the golden sun ◦we are constantly tempted by eternity (death?) and this is where our journeys will lead ◦nature again plays key role

"Камыши" (1895)

Bal'mont ◦4ft amphibrach; rhyming couplets ◦describes a swamp at midnight - both of which are demonic in folklore ◦nature is dark and quiet ◦Ш sounds abundant, cattails whispering to each other ◦image of dying souls ◦sparks of hope pop up, but everyone ignores them ◦possible interpretation: cattails are hopeless humans in desolate existence

Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina, Tolstoy Themes: be family; morality tied to happiness; marriage = center of life; be your true inner self (family is self); minimal moral responsibility to help others; authenticity; words are inadequate to express true emotion; just live (don't overthink it); Characters: Karenin (false public religiosity; connects to Anna when he thinks she's dying but mourns society's loss; converts to Christianity); Anna (orphan; raised by aunts; married to Karenin without choice; lively, beautiful,) Levin (spiritual; ppl are selfish, work hardest for themselves; difficulty expressing feelings; authentic; sees morality as black and white; troubled by hyposcrisy) Stiva (manipulates through words; ability to read people; not trubled by morality; great at making temporary connections; ); Dolly (Stiva's wife; he cheats on her; she takes him back); Vronsky (flirts with Kitty and breaks her heart; affair with Anna; tries to commit suicide); Varen'ka (independent woman Kitty meets in Germany; beautiful singing voice but rejection in love so won't fall in love again, devotes her life to Christian service); Lidia Ivanovna (woman in Karenin's life; responsible for making him want to keep Seryozha; they have love affair without sex); Plot: Stiva cheats on Dolly again; Anna comes to make her forgive him; Levin proposes to Kitty second time (WYAM: TCBDIMNO don't need words to communicate); Levin apologizes to Kitty about diaries, she apologizes for turning him down before (communication, mutual understanding); Kitty takes care of Levin's brother out of natural instinct to help; Anna tells Dolly about birth control and Dolly leaves early; Anna and Levin meet = best conversation he's had; Seryozha sees Anna again and calls her an angel; final scene: should I tell my wife what's upset me? No. . .

•"О нет, не стан" (1906)

Annenskii ◦5ft iamb; feminine rhymes ◦Narrator bored with life and this world ◦Prefers suffering over worldly beauty ◦Doesn't want heaven, everyone dreams of it (it's too mainstream for him) ◦When he is in a "banal-variegated hall" with music and fun he summons Percival (the one who fetched Holy Grail for Round Table) shadow, and death

•"Маки" (1909) (Poppies)

Annenskii ◦6ft iamb with masculine and feminine alternating rhyme ◦Describes a beautiful day with bright poppies, turns out poppies are decaying and the garden is empty ◦A chalice shines from the heavens - implies there is a better world elsewhere ◦Thought might also be resurrection - death now, chalice later

"Скорпион" (1899)

Bal'mont ◦Sonnet with iambic pentameter; dactylic and masculine rhyme ◦Describes himself as a scorpion in a ring of fire with people who hate him watching ◦Scorpion takes matters into his own hands and kills himself ◾he is free and proud in his death ◦perhaps mirroring his own suicide attempt

Dlia beregov otchizny dal'noi

Bound for the shores of your distant home you were leaving an alien land. My hands and my moans tried to hold you back. But you tore away your lips from our bitter kiss. You called me to another land. You said, "when we meet again, in the shade of olive trees, we shall once more be joined in a kiss of love." But there-where the olive trees lie warm on the waters, you have fallen asleep forever You have vanished in the grave. I wait for the sweet kiss of our meeting; you owe it to me.

•"В Дамаск" (1903)

Briusov ◦3ft dactyl and iamb; feminine and masculine alternating rhyme ◦main idea: physical erotic experience leads him to a religious epiphany ◾one compared to St. Paul's vision on the road to Damascus ◦The night is an altar, nature becomes place of worship ◦sensual experience similar to religious worship

•"Юному поэту" (1896)

Briusov ◦4ft dactyl; all feminine rhymes ◦address to younger generations of poets ◦poet should: never live in the present, don't sympathize with anyone and love yourself, completely worship only art ◦If a poet does all three, he will be defeated and concede to the new generation ◦egocentric, he is true poet

•"В вертепе" (1895)

Briusov ◦4ft iamb; Sonnet; changing masculine and feminine rhyme ◦traditional symbolist imagery: he falls asleep and sees himself in a black crypt ◾around him is fog, he is in chains and wounded, through the window he sees the steppe (prisoner) ◦he cries himself awake, feeling absolute anguish for the person in his dream

•"В Застенке" (1904)

Briusov ◦4ft trochee; feminine and masculine alternating ◦two prisoners in jail ◾two are condemned together even though were on previous paths before ◾renounced each other before the "Judge" for a long time ◦mixes images of sex and death ◦not sure what will happen next ◦two possibilities of the female: either a real person or probably a muse - his relationship might be tormenting him, and they will be judged and die together

•"В Склепе" (1905)

Briusov ◦7ft trochee, rhyming couplets ◦necrophilia ◾proof of him tackling taboo ◦a lot of ideas dedicated to darkness and the moon, it cannot happen in the day ◾night means secret and probably forbidden ◦Constant focus on her eternal sleep ◦invokes other works like "Демон" and "Вий"

•"Голос луны" (1915)

Briusov ◦palindrome ◦play with words and letters

Я

Dec. 24, 1899, Briusov ◦6 and 5ft iamb; alternating feminine and masculine rhyme ◦main point: blasphemy to church as he has all the gods and dedicates his verse to all of them ◦He says he has fallen in love with contradictions ◾poem itself filled with contrasts, especially light and dark

"Что есть грех?" (1902)

Gippius ◦In some parts dactylic, other times iambic дольник; dactylic rhyme throughout ◦Defines sin with incomplete binaries ◾partial attention and partial oblivion; half-mischievous and half-agitation, to renounce or pray to god ◦Main idea: worst sin is not committing to something - not taking a stand

Khadzhi Murat

Hadji Murad, Tolstoy, published posthumously Themes: incredible effort, striving and total failure; silence; God is absent but still exists; passionately alive people; beauty of the world; Characters: Hadji Murat (a separatist guerrilla who falls out with his own commander and sides with the Russians in hope of saving his family; relationship to God; not a conversationalist); Shamil (commander of the Caucasian separatists); Last scene: 400 to 6; each has distinct personality in final battle; HM gets shot twice, plugs with cotton; dying rushes the enemy; shot a third time; tries to get up, looks at them, but keels over; most horrible death you can imagine but the birds sang because it was beautiful too!

Propok (The Prophet)

Speaker: I Tormented by a spiritual thirst I dragged myself through the desert. A six-winged seraph appeared and touched my eyes, ears, mouth, and with a sword he pierced my breast, plucked out my quivering heart, and thrust a coal of live fire into my gaping breast. I lay in the desert like a corpse. God called to me, "Go and set the hears of men on fire with your word."

Shinel' (The Overcoat)

The Overcoat, Gogol', 1842 Setting: St. Petersburg, cold as enemy of inhabitant (social and emotional coldness) Characters: Akakii Akakievich (poor clerk) Petrovich (tailor who won't fix his coat, devil who tempts Akakii with new coat) "person of consequence" Plot: scrimps and saves to buy new overcoat, doesn't write at work (material object replaces higher calling); congratulatory gathering greeted warmly then forgotten, coat is stolen, and znachitel'noe litso is no help; Akakii dies of fever; mertvets steals people's overcoats including znachitel'noe lits's overcoat Themes: coat as necessary for warmth or fashionable coat as protection from coworkers; mal'enkii chelovek → microscopic being (not even considered a person) Dostoevsky's "We all came out from Gogol's overcoat."

Melkii bes

The hero, Peredonov, is a nasty little man, an abusive schoolteacher whose ambition is to become inspector of schools, through the connections of his fiancee Varvara. Varvara, terrified of Peredonov dumping her, has been in league with the old spinster Grushina, who fabricates her connections, forging letters from a princess in St. Petersburg to Peredonov. Varvara keeps up the charade with increasingly unbelievable antics until Peredonov marries her, by which point he is quite paranoid, and partly with reason, since most of the people around him really do loathe him and gossip about his peccadilloes. By the end, he has become completely crazy, unwilling to believe what everyone else knows-that the letters are fakes-and instead chasing after fabricated plots, setting fire to ballrooms, and eventually turning on his dense friend Volodin and slitting his throat, spurred on by the "petty demon" of the title, which taunts him and eggs him on.

Voina i mir

War and Peace, Tolstoy, Wants to write about the Decembrists, writes about 1812 Characters: Napolean (Romantic hero: extraordinary, proud, takes control, history made by individual; looks over battle and can't see because of smoke and clouds = he's cut off from the world) Andrei (speaks 4 languages converses skillfully; good at waiting; obsessed with death after wife dies; yells Hoorah! and people follow him into battle, falls and contemplates the sky, feels small but connected to universe, sense of belonging) Pierre (naive, genuine, doesn't fit in with high society, childlike, sincere, oblivious, good, likeable; Pierre spends the whole book trying to kill people: Napolean but has to save child from burning building and then woman who's being hurt by soldiers; big impuless: be like Napolean, improve estates, join free masons, kill napolean, become a decembrist) Nikolai (passionate, compromising (purse is stolen, but lets the man keep the money anyway); instinctively cares for the estate; loyal; also looks up at the sky) Natasha (passionate, full of life, exuberant, laughter; loveable; happy; self-absorbed; impatient; lives in the moment, family-oriented; open and honest; spontaneous and dreamer (looks at moon)) Platon Karataev (lives in moment; unburdened; little folk sayings (collective conscious of peasants) optomistic; prays (to saints horses but does it sincerely) unaware of past and future; always someone to love, never someone to miss; hard worker; hard sleeper) Families: Rostovs (party; good with family; instinct within family) Volkonskys (study; understand people; philosophical, rational, analytical nature; nard workers, don't take pleasure in it) Plot: Party at Anna Pavlovna's people call Napolean the anti-Christ; Themes: Don't be a hero! Live humbly; go with the flow; less agency = less suffering; history is made by groups and by chance; Focus on family; Be in the moment; understand each other deeply (Pierre and Natasha when married don't need to speak); enjoy life, including simple, everyday, enchanting monments;

Smychok i struny (The Bow and the Strings)

power of the violin •Bow feels someone take it up and unite it with the strings, but know they will part soon •Last Stanza: But the violinist didn't snuff The candles out 'til dawn...The strings sang on... The sun found them worn out On the black velvet of their bed.

Nos

satirical short story Characters: Kovalyov; Ivan Yakolevich (barber, who finds the nose in his bread) Plot: St. Petersburg official, Kovalyov wakes up to find his nose gone. He confronts it at Kazan Cathedral, but it refuses to rejoin his face because it has acquired a rank higher than him. He tries an ad in the paper and asks a doctor for help. Everyone gathers to look for the nose. Kovalyov awakes to find his nose reattached. Gogol comments. Nos in Russian is 'dream' backwards.

Двенадцать (Twelve)

◦about October Revolution ◦narrator is an omniscient presence without corporeality ◦features a love triangle ◦Blok ambivalent about revolution ◦vision at the end is key 1.opening scene a.predominantly trocheic but has anapests; rhyme all over the place b.snatches of conversation to show people starving and naked in the face of a harsh winter c.pro-government poster blows in the breeze but people wonder how many it could clothe d.marks people's hatred for writers and priests e.image of snowdrifts repeated (rhymes with casket) i.snowstorm often means apocalypse 2.12 marching on a.mostly iambic with amphibrachs, dactyls and rhyming couplets b.emphasis on soldiers without religion c.mocks the political slogan d.introduction of Van'ka and Kat'ka 3.war preparation a.predominantly trochees with different types of feminine rhymes and couplets b.serve the red guard in rags and Austrian rifles c.want to set the world on fire d.ask for blessing from God 4.Seduction of Kat'ka a.trocheic with all kinds of rhymes b.seduction shown in fragmented images c.chaotic images 5.Kat'ka sinning a.Kat'ka is scarred from a knife being held at her throat i.she continues to dance and sin b.narrator asks her if she remembers the soldier that got killed because of her 6.Fight and Death a.4ft iambs and rhyming couplets b.Van'ka and Petrukha get into a fight, Van'ka escapes but Kat'ka gets killed c.fragmented actions and exclamations paint the picture, chaos continues 7.Petrukha's guilt a.4ft trochees and inexact rhymes b.they continue to march - don't look back, only forward c.Petrukha goes through stages of grief, then gets over it d.images of darkness and intoxication repeated 8.Bored Soldiers a.trocheic, alternating rhymes b.Speaker unclear but expresses immense boredom c.speaker says he will drink blood, then utters a religious phrase 9.Calm Before the Storm a.4ft iambs; feminine and masculine alternating rhyme b.focused switched to a bourgeois man who stands in the snow like a hungry dog i.hungry dog is behind him 10.Snowstorm Rages a.4ft and 3ft trochees; rhyming couplets b.forces getting ready for battle c.they can't see each other in the storm; funnels twisted out of intense snow d.they continue to march on, ignoring the raging nature around them e.narrator quotes revolutionary song 11.Storm continues a.mostly iambic; F and M rhymes but also couplets b.pointing guns at unseen enemies i.waiting for enemies to wake up c.getting stuck in the snowdrifts - nature is winning 12.Fight nonexistent enemy a.mostly trochees with mostly feminine rhymes b.before them is a cold snowdrift (death awaits?) c.shooting at no-one i.don't care, they will continue until they find enemies d.we will tear the old world to pieces e.In front of them is the image of Jesus i.is he leading them or are they shooting at him?