On the essence of poetic creativity in the understanding of V. Solovyov and Yu.N. Govorukha-Otrok

The focus of this study is the literary-critical statements of V.S. Solovyov and Yu.N. Govorukha-Otrok about the poetry of A.A. Fet. The main object of research – articles written in the 1890s, during the formation of the philosophical method of literary criticism: "About lyrical poetry. Concerning the last poems of Fet and Polonsky" (Solovyov, 1890), "Poetry of Fet" (Govorukho-Otrok, 1892; 1893). Vladimir Solovyov, a younger contemporary and opponent of Govorukho-Otrok, can paradoxically be considered as a mentor in philosophical criticism. The purpose of this work is to identify and analyze the views of Solovyov and Govorukho-Otrok on the essence of poetic creativity. The novelty of the research lies in the comparison of the literary-critical systems of the opposing authors. The homogeneity of the methods reveals itself through a combination of journalism and subjectivity, as well as a mandatory focus on social impact. But if for Govorukho-Otrok the main point of support in literary and critical judgments is religion, for V. Solovyov it is history. Only the spiritual and eternal, according to those writers, can be both a source and an object of poetic comprehension. For both critics, the poet appears, if not a sacred, then an exceptional figure.

Literary criticism, philosophical method, Soloviev, Govorukha-Otrok, Fet, Poetry, literary critical statement, literary hierarchy, lyricism, pure art