Patristic teaching in N. A. Nekrasov's early poetry: from a religious subject to the evangelic ideal

Abstract

The originality of N. A. Nekrasov's early poems in «Dreams and Sounds» is based on patristic teaching. This collection revealed not only Nekrasov's discipleship as a poet, but also his «spiritual discipleship», his attempts to put his church experience into poetic form, his neophyte categorical nature as a spiritual person. Nekrasov was excused by his youth and purity of motives. But being a great poet, he soon realized that one should not write so bluntly and categorically about religious issues, that religiosity is important in art due to its hidden depth, rather than its open, almost journalistic expression of the dogmas and tenets of church life. Nevertheless, he managed to find forms of original poetic expres-sion. In each of his poems, Nekrasov not only follows church regulations, but also shows his own innovations. The po-ems «Death», «Conversation», «Doubt» and others are analyzed from this point of view. The content of these works shows that Nekrasov not only had an idea of the patristic Orthodox teaching, but also tried to wage «spiritual struggle», as far as it was possible at a very young age and in his life circumstances. After a short time he would find the strength to stop trying to present a scholastic «theory» of Christian doctrine, but would not lose the warmth of his faith, but bring its life-giving gospel spirit into his social poetry, filling it with the spirit of love, mercy, and holy impulses. The author raises the question of the links between the collection «Dreams and Sounds» and Nekrasov's later work.