Pushkin and the Genres of Madness: The Masterpieces of 1833 (Publications of the Wisconsin Center for Pushkin Studies)

In 1833 Alexander Pushkin began to explore the topic of madness, a subject little explored in Russian literature before his time. The works he produced on the theme are three of his greatest masterpieces: the prose novella The Queen of Spades, the narrative poem The Bronze Horseman, and the lyric "God Grant That I Not Lose My Mind." Gary Rosenshield presents a new interpretation of Pushkin’s genius through an examination of his various representations of madness. Pushkin brilliantly explored both the destructive and creative sides of madness, a strange fusion of violence and insight. In this study, Rosenshield illustrates the surprising valorization of madness in The Queen of Spades and "God Grant That I Not Lose My Mind" and analyzes The Bronze Horseman’s confrontation with the legacy of Peter the Great, a cornerstone figure of Russian history. Drawing on themes of madness in western literature, Rosenshield situates Pushkin in a greater framework with such luminaries as Shakespeare, Sophocles, Cervantes, and Dostoevsky providing an insightful and absorbing study of Russia’s greatest writer.

• | Author: Gary Rosenshield
• | Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• | Publication Date: November 15, 2003
• | Number of Pages: 280 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 0299182045
• | ISBN-13: 9780299182045