Мотив потерянного рая в русской литературе: от Древней Руси к Серебряному веку
A Lost Paradise Motif in Russian Literature: from Ancient Rus to the Silver Age

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the evolution of the lost paradise motif in Russian literature — from ancient times to the beginning of the 20th century. It is proven that lost paradise is precisely a motif based on the features of plot, actantness, chronotopic characteristics, predicativity, invariance and variability, and intertextuality. The aim of the work was to determine the features of the implementation of the lost paradise motif in Russian literature before and after the perception of J. Milton’s poem “Paradise Lost” within the Russian cultural space. The information from the first edition of the “Dictionary-index of plots and motifs of Russian literature” (Novosibirsk, 2006) was used as a source base for selecting the material. The main conclusion of the study is that in Russian literature before the 18th century, that is, before the translations of Milton’s poem, the motif of lost paradise was recreated mainly in apocrypha, spiritual poetry and court drama; it was based on the biblical story with some additions (Adam’s lament, Adam’s handwriting) and a characteristic interpretation of the loss of paradise as the plot event that would lead to the birth of Christ. Since the 18th century, the influence of Milton’s already translated work has become noticeable in the realization of the lost paradise motif in Russian literature: the motif acquires a cosmological scale (Dostoevsky’s “The Dream of a Ridiculous Man”), and the kingdom of Chaos is added to its topology (Kheraskov’s “The Universe”); the life of the first ancestors is interpreted under the influence of the pastoral tradition, emphasizing amorous and erotic characteristics; Adam’s vision of the future is also reinterpreted (Gumilyov’s “Adam’s Dream”). Thus, we can speak both of Milton’s direct influence on the epic tradition (for example, the poems of Bogdanovich and Kheraskov) and of the creative reception of his image of the lost paradise in the literature of the “Golden Age” and subsequent periods.

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