Notes of a commentator. 6. On the origins of Russian poetic ecphrasis

Abstract

The note deals with two examples of poetic ecphrasis from 19th century Russian poetry, which served as models for subsequent descriptions and interpretations of the image: “The Dancer” by Lev Mey and “In the Monastery Near Cordoba” by Alexey Tolstoy. Possible pictural and verbal sources of both poems are restored and examples of their reflexes in 20th-century poetry are given.

Keywords

• historical and literary commentary
• 19th-century russian poetry
• poetic ecphrasis
• lev mey
• alexey tolstoy