Towards Professor A. T. Parfyonov’s biography

Abstract

The article proposes to rediscover and newly appreciate the scholarly output of A. Parfyonov — a renowned expert in English Renaissance theatre, author of books on C. Marlowe and B. Jonson, professor and a regular participant of Shakespearian conferences held in Russia and abroad. The overview of Parfyonov’s achievements shows an impressive range of academic interests. The scholar was always drawn to the problem of the interplay between cultures and different art forms. In many of his works, e. g., those on Shakespeare, Gogol and the baroque, he examines typological similarities of literary phenomena of different cultural and historical periods. Parfyonov shared his time between research of fundamental literary problems and teaching, as well as writing course books for university students, and was successful in all three capacities. In the appendix to the article, the reader will find Parfyonov’s work on Hemingway from the scholar’s unpublished book. Written for students, the article effortlessly engages its readers in a detailed textual analysis, introduces them to theoretical generalisations and succeeds in defining the writer’s unique poetics and philosophy.