The author and the hero in the poem “Povest’ Skorbi” of Nikolai Klyuev

This article provides an analysis of an autobiographic image of the lyric hero of the poem “Povest’ Skorbi” (“The Povest’ of Sorrow”) by N. A. Klyuev (1933). The author of this poem puts forward the “kinship” closeness of his own destiny and his main creative concepts to his great predecessor, poet A. S. Pushkin. The text of Klyuev’s poem contains numerous references to the facts of Pushkin’s biography and his works. The study of these references is important not only for understanding the deep semantic layers of one of the most touching works of Olonets poet but also for understanding the principles of continuity of Pushkin’s ethical and aesthetic concepts in the late works of Klyuev. The author of the research comes to conclusion that the reference to Pushkin, to his biography and works in the poem contributes to the creation of an autobiographical image of the main character — the poet destined for death, who is summing up the results of his own career.