Spring 2007

E 322 • Pushkin

Course Description

Discover why the Russians call Pushkin their greatest writer. Why Dostoevsky's last statement was his "Pushkin speech." Why the Russian symbolist Alexander Blok paid tribute to Pushkin's "secret freedom" and twentieth-century tragic muse Anna Akhmatova wondered, "How did he know it all already?" Why Vladimir Nabokov devoted years of his life to translating and annotating Pushkin's novel in verse, Eugene Onegin. Find out why the Pushkin monument in Moscow is still people's number one meeting spot. As an extra bonus, learn about Pushkin's special relationship to English literature: Byron, Shakespeare and Scott. We will see that Amadeus works off the same material as Pushkin's brilliant "Mozart and Salieri." Opera and film versions of Pushkin works will be included. All readings will be in English.

Grading Policy

Essays 60%
Exams 40%
Extra credit for active class participation

Cell-phones or pagers must be off during class. No lap-top or hand-held use, please.

Attendance policy: three unexcused absences are permitted. Excused absences shall be for illness or family emergencies only. With the fourth unexcused absence the final semester grade will fall by one-half grade.

Texts

biography and legend
Pushkin the poet: lyrics, Gypsies, The Bronze Horseman
Pushkin the dramatist: Boris Godunov, The Little Tragedies
Pushkin the novelist: Eugene Onegin, The Captain's Daughter
Pushkin the short-story writer: Tales of Belkin, "The Queen of Spades"
Pushkin the enigmatic traveler: The Journey to Arzrum

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