Muravyov’s resurrection K. N. Batyushkov as a literary critic (‘A letter to I. M. M-A on Mr. Muravyov’s writings…’)

Abstract

   The article is concerned with the story of K. Batyushkov’s analysis of the prose penned by the 18th-c. writer M. Muravyov. This study of Batyushkov’s critical review of Muravyov’s legacy, written and published in the journal Syn Otechestva in 1814, discusses not only Batyushkov’s literary preferences and writing technique, but also his social-political and moral-philosophical reasons to reacquaint the public with the ideas of his literary predecessor. The article details the social-political tendencies of the early 19^th c., the effect that the outcome of the Napoleonic wars had on Batyushkov’s generation, and the general sentiment among his contemporaries (Batyushkov himself fought against Napoleon). According to Shulpyakov, the moral questions posed by Batyushkov (man’s attitude to nature, European culture, the Enlightenment and its ideology, etc.) had been anticipated and promoted by his friend and mentor M. Muravyov. However, Batyushkov’s interpretation is influenced by the new era with its disillusionment, discoveries, and semantic atmosphere.