An attempt to interpret and appraise the work of Boris Pasternak as lyrical and narrative poet, writer of prose fiction, and verse translator (notably from Shakespeare). Pasternak belonged to an unusually gifted generation of Russian poets who began writing in the years that preceded the First World War and the Russian revolution of 1917. Henry Gifford discusses Pasternak's choice of vocation, and then examines the poetry and stories of the 1920s and 1930s, his work as translator, his two autobiographies, the novel that brought him world fame and much personal anguish, Doctor Zhivago, his late poems and his unfinished play, The Blind Beauty. Pasternak is seen in relation to his most eminent contemporaries among the Russian poets, and to the common crisis they had to face. All the poetry quoted in Russian has a plain prose translation. This critical study is not intended only for the specialist student of Russian literature: it should have an appeal for all readers who are concerned about the survival of poetry in the present age.

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Briefly describes the life of the Russian novelist, discusses his views on education, religion, and ethics, and assesses his influence on modern literature

Product Description: In Russia's struggle with Napoleon, Tolstoy saw a tragedy that involved all mankind. Greater than a historical chronicle, War and Peace is an affirmation of life itself, `a complete picture', as a contemporary reviewer put it, `of everything in which people find their happiness and greatness, their grief and humiliation'...read more