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Gogol
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, short story writer and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol was one of the first to use the technique of the grotesque, in works such as " The Nose", " Viy", "The Overcoat", and "Nevsky Prospekt". These stories, and others such as " Diary of a Madman", have also been noted for their proto-surrealist qualities. According to Viktor Shklovsky, Gogol's strange style of writing resembles the "ostranenie" technique of defamiliarization. His early works, such as ''Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka'', were influenced by his Ukrainian upbringing, Ukrainian culture and folklore. His later writing satirised political corruption in the Russian Empire (''The Government Inspector'', '' Dead Souls''). The novel ''Taras Bulba'' (1835), the play ''Marriag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viy (story)
"Viy" ( rus, Вий, p=ˈvʲij), also translated as "The Viy", is a horror novella by the Ukrainian-born Russian writer Nikolai Gogol, first published in volume 2 of his collection of tales entitled ''Mirgorod'' (1835). Despite an author's note alluding to folklore, the title character is generally conceded to be wholly Gogol's invention. Plot summary Students at Bratsky Monastery in Kyiv break for summer vacation. The impoverished students must find food and lodging along their journey home. They stray from the high road at the sight of a farmstead, hoping its cottagers would provide them. A group of three, the kleptomaniac theologian Khalyava, the merry-making philosopher Khoma Brut, and the younger-aged rhetorician Tiberiy Gorobets, attracted by a false target of wheat fields suggesting a nearby village, must walk extra distance before finally reaching a farm with two cottages, as night drew near. The old woman begrudgingly lodges the three travelers separately. At night ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Portrait (short Story)
"The Portrait" (russian: Портрет) is a short story by Russian author Nikolai Gogol, originally published in the short story collection ''Arabesques'' in 1835. It is one of Gogol's most demonic of tales, hinting at some of his earlier works such as " St. John's Eve" and " Viy". Plot summary "The Portrait" is the story of a young and penniless artist, Andrey Petrovich Chartkov, who stumbles upon a terrifyingly lifelike portrait in an art shop and is compelled to buy it. The painting is magical and offers him a dilemma — to struggle to make his own way in the world on the basis of his own talents or to accept the assistance of the magic painting to guaranteed riches and fame. He chooses to become rich and famous, but when he comes upon a portrait from another artist which is "pure, faultless, beautiful as a bride" he comes to realize that he has made the wrong choice. Eventually, he falls ill and dies from a fever. Part I The first part of the story takes place in nineteen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dead Souls
''Dead Souls'' (russian: «Мёртвые души», ''Mjórtvyje dúshi'') is a novel by Nikolai Gogol, first published in 1842, and widely regarded as an exemplar of 19th-century Russian literature. The novel chronicles the travels and adventures of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov (Russian: Павел Иванович Чичиков) and the people whom he encounters. These people typify the Russian middle aristocracy of the time. Gogol himself saw his work as an "epic poem in prose", and within the book characterised it as a " novel in verse". Gogol intended the novel to be the first part of a three-volume work, but burned the manuscript of the second part shortly before his death. Although the novel ends in mid-sentence (like Sterne's ''Sentimental Journey''), it is regarded by some as complete in the extant form. Title The original title, as shown on the illustration (cover page), was "The Wanderings of Chichikov, or Dead Souls. ''Poema''", which contracted to merely "Dead ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Overcoat
"The Overcoat" (russian: Шине́ль, translit. Shinyél’; sometimes translated as "The Cloak") is a short story by Russian author Nikolai Gogol, published in 1842. The story has had a great influence on Russian literature. Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé, discussing Russian realist writers, said: "We all came out from under Gogol's Overcoat" (a quote often misattributed to Dostoevsky). Writing in 1941, Vladimir Nabokov described "The Overcoat" as "The greatest Russian short story ever written". Plot The story narrates the life and death of titular councillor Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin (Russian: Акакий Акакиевич Башмачкин), an impoverished government clerk and copyist in the Russian capital of St. Petersburg. Although Akaky is dedicated to his job, he is little recognized in his department for his hard work. Instead, the younger clerks tease him and attempt to distract him whenever they can. His threadbare overcoat is often the butt of their jok ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Nose (Gogol Short Story)
"The Nose" (Russian: Нос ''Nos'') is a satirical short story by Nikolai Gogol written during his time living in St. Petersburg. During this time, Gogol's works were primarily focused on the grotesque and absurd, with a romantic twist. Written between 1835 and 1836, "The Nose" tells the story of a St. Petersburg official whose nose leaves his face and develops a life of its own. "The Nose" was originally published in '' The Contemporary'', a literary journal owned by Alexander Pushkin. The use of a nose as the main source of conflict in the story could have been due to Gogol's own experience with an oddly shaped nose, which was often the subject of self-deprecating jokes in letters. The use of iconic landmarks in the story, as well as the sheer absurdity of the story, has made "The Nose" an important part of St. Petersburg's literary tradition. "The Nose" is divided into three parts and tells the story of Collegiate Assessor ('Major') Kovalyov, who wakes up one morning without h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Carriage
"The Carriage" (or "The Coach" in some translations; russian: Коляска) is an 1836 short story by Nikolai Gogol, one of his shortest works. The story centers on the life of a former cavalry officer and landowner near a small Russian town. After reading the story, Anton Chekhov wrote to Alexei Suvorin, "What an artist he is! His 'Carriage' alone is worth two hundred thousand rubles. Sheer delight, nothing less." Background Nikolay Vasilievich Gogol (1809–1852) was a well-known Russian novelist and short-story writer. He was born and raised in Ukraine and moved to St. Petersburg in 1828. His short story "The Carriage" was published in the first volume of Pushkin's literary journal ''The Contemporary'' in 1836. It is speculated that Gogol wrote the short story to echo Pushkin's '' Tales of Belkin'', as he mimics Pushkin's use of anecdotes, irony, and structure in media res. It is classified as one of his Petersburg tales (along with "Nevsky Prospekt", "The Diary of a Madman" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Government Inspector
''The Government Inspector'', also known as ''The Inspector General'' ( rus, links=no, Ревизор, Revizor, literally: "Inspector"), is a satirical play by Russian dramatist and novelist, Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the play was revised for an 1842 edition. Based upon an anecdote allegedly recounted to Gogol by Pushkin, the play is a comedy of errors, satirizing human greed, stupidity, and the extensive political corruption of Imperial Russia. The dream-like scenes of the play, often mirroring each other, whirl in the endless vertigo of self-deception around the main character, Khlestakov, who personifies irresponsibility, light-mindedness, and absence of measure. "He is full of meaningless movement and meaningless fermentation incarnate, on a foundation of placidly ambitious inferiority" (D. S. Mirsky). The publication of the play led to a great outcry in the reactionary press. It took the personal intervention of Tsar Nicholas I to have the play staged, wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mirgorod (short Story Collection)
''Mirgorod'' (russian: «Миргород») is a collection of short stories written by Nikolai Gogol, composed between 1832-1834 and first published in 1835. It was significantly revised and expanded by Gogol for an 1842 edition of his complete works. The title ''Mirgorod'' is the Russian pronunciation of the name of the Ukrainian city Myrhorod and means "city of peace" in both languages. It is also the setting for the final story in the collection, “The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich”. The title reflects the stories’ portrayal of provincial Ukrainian life, similar to Gogol’s successful previous collection, ''Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka''. To solidify this connection between the two works, he attached the subtitle: “Stories which are a continuation of the ''Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka''.” Stories The collection is a cycle of four stories, divided into two volumes: Part One # " Old World Landowners" («Старосветские п ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taras Bulba
''Taras Bulba'' (russian: «Тарас Бульба»; ) is a romanticized historical novella set in the first half of the 17th century, written by Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852). It features elderly Zaporozhian Cossack Taras Bulba and his sons Andriy and Ostap. The sons study at the Kiev Academy and then return home, whereupon the three men set out on a journey to the Zaporizhian Sich (the Zaporizhian Cossack headquarters, located in southern Ukraine) where they join other Cossacks and go to war against Poland. The story was initially published in 1835 as part of the ''Mirgorod'' collection of short stories, but a much expanded version appeared in 1842 with some differences in the storyline. The 1842 text has been described by as a "paragon of civic virtue and a force of patriotic edification", contrasting the rhetoric of the 1835 version with its "distinctly Cossack jingoism". Inspiration The character of Taras Bulba, the main hero of this novel, is a composite of several hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evenings On A Farm Near Dikanka
''Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka'' (russian: «Вечера на хуторе близ Диканьки») is a collection of short stories by Nikolai Gogol, written in 1829–1832. They appeared in various magazines and were published in book form when Gogol was twenty-two. The collection's frame story takes place in Dykanka, a settlement in central Ukraine. The writer was born in the village of Velyki Sorochyntsi near Poltava, and he spent his life in Ukraine up to the age of nineteen. He put his early impressions and memories of childhood into these pictures of peasant life. In a series of letters to his mother, he asked her to write down descriptions of village customs, dress, superstitions, and old stories. These were also used as primary sources. Stories ''Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka'' is separated into two volumes of four stories each: Часть первая [], Part One #Сорочинская ярмарка [], The Fair at Sorochyntsi (short story), Sorochynts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diary Of A Madman (Nikolai Gogol)
"Diary of a Madman" (1835; Russian: Записки сумасшедшего, ''Zapiski sumasshedshevo'') is a farcical short story by Nikolai Gogol. Along with "The Overcoat" and " The Nose", "Diary of a Madman" is considered to be one of Gogol's greatest short stories. The tale centers on the life of a minor civil servant during the era of Nicholas I. The story shows the descent of the protagonist, Poprishchin, into insanity. "Diary of a Madman", the only one of Gogol's works written in first person, follows diary-entry format. Plot introduction Although nineteenth century medical authorities noted the accuracy of Gogol's depiction of the course of madness, the text itself (with the exception of the title) never crosses the boundary into objectification. Everything is told exclusively from the point of view of the protagonist, and conclusions about him and what is happening to him can only ever be inferred from the solipsistic and increasingly fantastic narrative of events and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nevsky Prospekt (story)
"Nevsky Prospekt" (russian: Невский Проспект) is a short story by Nikolai Gogol, written between 1831 and 1834 and published in the collection ''Arabesques'' in 1835 . Summary Influenced strongly by the sentimental movement, the protagonist of "Nevsky Prospekt" is a pathetic and insignificant romantic, the narrator is chatty and unreliable (along the lines of ''Tristram Shandy'', the definitive sentimental novel), and realism dominates. The story is organized symmetrically; the narrator describes Nevsky Prospekt in great detail, then the plot splits to follow in turn two acquaintances, each of whom follows a beautiful woman whom he has seen on the street. The first story follows the romantic hero, the second follows his realistic foil. The story closes with the narrator once more speaking generally of Nevsky Prospekt. The introduction describes Nevsky Prospekt, the central avenue of St. Petersburg, and its population at different times of the day. The narrator ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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