Article

Name: Angels and Demons in the Art World of Lermontov: Drama

Authors: Ishchuk-Fadeeva N. I.

In the section The Plot, Motive, Genre

Abstract: Lermontov’ drama is the playwright’ road to Russian tragedy. Classical tragedy is determined by the fate of a hybristes, i.e. a hero, who violates the order of the universe. Lermontov creates a special hero, a demon, who can be interpreted as a hybristes in the heathen past. His first play, The Spaniards, is marked as a tragedy, but it relies on the laws of melodrama: The poetics of accidental determines its plot, but binary oppositions identify situations, not the hero. The play is important with its dividing antagonist into two: the demon (Fernando) and the devil (Sorini). The difference between them is fundamental: The demon revolts against God and the devil acts against man. A new type of a hero is introduced into Masquerade – it is a player who is above a demon, because he does not oppose God, but plays the part of Him.

Keywords: angel, demon, hybris, player, the function of a character, mask, masquerade, tragedy, melodrama.

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