Article

Name: The legendary story about Oleg the Wise in the «Russian history» treated «Satyricon»

Authors: S. K. Sevastyanova

In the section Study of literature

Abstract: The legendary story of the Kiev prince Oleg the Wise, known for The Tale of Bygone Years, reinterpreted in a humorous «Russian history», compiled by the Satyricon contributor I. L. Orsher and published by the magazine «Satyricon» in the early years of the 20th century. Using the short funny stories from Oleg’s life the writer characterized in a satirical manner, going back to the traditions of the Russian laughter culture, virtually all areas of the Prince’s activity, showing him both as a brave warrior and a hard ruler. Also, the paper presents an analysis of the interpretation of the archetypal motif of the «death of the prince from his steed». By parodying the annalistic material the satirist pursued the goal to afford aesthetic pleasure to the reader and make him laugh. For the satirical depiction of the political situation of Russia and of the social morals I. L. Orsher used the method of ironic depiction of the past by projecting the features characteristic of the events of his time onto the ancient era, and by endowing the Prince of Kiev with the traits of his contemporaries. The paper draws the conclusion: Orsher has reinterpreted values of the Russian history, and adapted them to the cultural and political tasks of his time.

Keywords: «russian history», i. l. orsher, «satyricon», legendary story about oleg the wise, motif, plot, interpretation, satire, parody, humor, russian laughter culture

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