
Vergil in Russia
National Identity and Classical Reception
Zara Martirosova Torlone(Author)
Oxford University Press
Published on 27. November 2014
Book
Hardback
316 pages
978-0-19-968948-4 (ISBN)
Description
The Russian reception of the greatest Roman poet, Vergil, provided Russian thinkers with a way in which to define Russian-European features. This volume looks to uncover the nature of Russian reception of Vergil, and argues that the best way to analyse his presence in Russian letters is to view it in the context of the formation and development of Russian national and literary identity.
Russian reception of Vergil began to play an integral role in the eighteenth century - starting with the reforms of Peter the Great - and continued to be an important point of reference for Russian writers well into the last part of the twentieth century. At the beginning of the twentieth century, it took on a spiritual, almost messianic mission, while towards the end of the millennium the post-modernist Vergil of Joseph Brodsky contemplated the fate of a poet in the world. However, Russian reception of Vergil offers significantly more than mere foreign importation or imitation of the beliefs and attitudes towards Vergil developed in Europe. It provides a gateway to understanding Russian eighteenth- and nineteenth-century thought about national identity and values, and uncovers important sources of later thinking about the character and destiny of Russia. Vergil in Russia reveals that at the centre of Russian reception of Vergil is Russia's challenge to define the character and validity of their own civilization. Vergil's poems, especially the Aeneid, gave Russian men of letters an opportunity to think about and act upon national self-determination in both political and cultural terms.
Russian reception of Vergil began to play an integral role in the eighteenth century - starting with the reforms of Peter the Great - and continued to be an important point of reference for Russian writers well into the last part of the twentieth century. At the beginning of the twentieth century, it took on a spiritual, almost messianic mission, while towards the end of the millennium the post-modernist Vergil of Joseph Brodsky contemplated the fate of a poet in the world. However, Russian reception of Vergil offers significantly more than mere foreign importation or imitation of the beliefs and attitudes towards Vergil developed in Europe. It provides a gateway to understanding Russian eighteenth- and nineteenth-century thought about national identity and values, and uncovers important sources of later thinking about the character and destiny of Russia. Vergil in Russia reveals that at the centre of Russian reception of Vergil is Russia's challenge to define the character and validity of their own civilization. Vergil's poems, especially the Aeneid, gave Russian men of letters an opportunity to think about and act upon national self-determination in both political and cultural terms.
Reviews / Votes
Torlone is immensely learned and writes throughout with intelligence, verve, and wit. ... she writes with an informed sense of history and a complex, sophisticated understanding of empire in both its ancient and modern contexts.Vergil in Russiawill be the definitive treatment of its subject for years to come. * John Watkins, Mediterranean Studies * interesting and thoughtful ... a welcome exploration of a part of classical reception which has been obscured by linguistic boundaries; throughout the book, quotations are given in Russian and then translated ... [a] rewarding addition to OUP's Classical Presences series * Christopher Stray, Classics for All *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
8 half-tones
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
531 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-968948-4 (9780199689484)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
11/2014
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€74.99
Available for download
Person
Zara Martirosova Torlone is Associate Professor of Classics and a faculty member of the Havighurst Center for Russian and Post-Soviet Studies at Miami University (Ohio).
Author
Associate Professor of ClassicsAssociate Professor of Classics, Miami University (Ohio)
Content
Preface and Acknowledgements ; Note on Transliteration ; Introduction: Vergil in Russia: Contexts and Texts ; 1. Vergil at Court ; 2. Subversion and Mockery ; 3. Appropriation: Alexander Pushkin ; 4. The Messianic and Prophetic Vergil ; 5. Joseph Brodsky's Vergilian Episodes ; 6. Vergil in Russian: Lost in Translation? ; Postscript ; Appendix I ; Appendix II ; Bibliography