Naumenko, G. A. Imitation of the Italian (Mickiewicz’ Message in Alexander Pushkin’s Late Work)

Abstract: According to the popular opinion, the dialogue of a Russian national poet Alexander Pushkin with a Polish national poet Adam Mickiewicz described in The Bronze Horseman was completed in 1834 when Pushkin wrote his poetic message to Mickiewicz ‘He lived among us…’. However, ‘Mickiewicz’ message’ that involved Pushkin’s perception of the anti-Russian cycle ‘Ustęp’ from the poem ‘Dziady III’ could have been found in later works written by Pushkin. The hypothesis that Pushkin continued his dialogue with the Polish poet in 1834 – 1836 gave a better insight into creative work of Pushkin in his late years. The object of the present research article is the poem ‘Imitation of the Italian’ included in the Kammeny Island Cycle under the Roman number III. The emphasis is made on the conceptual interpretation and intertextual analysis of the ‘Mickiewicz’ message’ as the key to interpretation of the poem. The purpose of the research is to show ‘Imitation of the Italian’ as a poem based on the Evangelic legend about Judas’ betrayal was created by Pushkin in the dialogue with Mickiewicz and involved images from such poems written by the Polish poet as ‘Kondrad Wallenrode’, ‘Dziady III’ and ‘Ustep’. The number ‘III’ in the Evangelic cycle allows to make a hypothesis that the main idea of the poem is that the ‘sinner’ chooses the path of repentance and the ‘apostle’ chooses the path of sin.

Keywords: