Two crosses of Konstantin Batiushkov
This year marks the 230th anniversary of the birth of Konstantin Nikolaevich Batyushkov (1787–1855) and the 200th anniversary of the release of his only book, the two-volume book Experiments in…

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strip tease
Bitter "Chelkash"
The hero of Maxim Gorky’s story “Chelkash” is Grishka Chelkash, an old wounded man, an avid drinker and a clever, courageous thief and smuggler in one of the southern Black…

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Homeric epic
Epic means nothing more than a word about exploits (in Greek “epic” - “word”), songs that were performed by wandering singers. To the accompaniment of the lyre, they were sung…

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tiptoes

Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin in the story “The Overcoat”

The Gogol story “The Overcoat” (see its full text, summary and analysis) depicts a petty, downtrodden and pathetic official Akaky Akakiyevich Bashmachkin (see his description in the text of the work). He is so humiliated, so intimidated, so offended by fate that, apart from the mechanical rewriting of papers, he does not know how to do anything. He says more pronouns and interjections, is afraid of mocking co-workers and trembles in front of the authorities. Continue reading

Byron "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage"
The hero of Byron's poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage is a young aristocrat, full of pleasure and disappointed in life. Leaving the "father's house", his "ancient castle", Harold sits on the…

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Boyardo, Matteo Maria, and his “Roland in Love”
Matteo Maria Boyardo (1434 or 1441-1494) was descended from a noble surname, who zealously served the Este family (who owned Ferrara and Modena) and received from him in 1423 fief…

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