Musical ekphrasis in L. N. Tolstoy’s short fiction of the late 1890–1900’s (based on the novella “Hadji Murad”)

About the author:

Alexandra Yu. Manannikova, Postgraduate Student, Department of Russian Classical Literature and Slavistics, Maxim Gorky Institute of Literature and Creative Writing, Moscow, Russia; k-geologist@yandex.ru, https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3085-4705, https://elibrary.ru/author_profile.asp?authorid=1203527

Abstract:

The article is dedicated to the study of style features and functions of the technique of musical ekphrasis in L. N. Tolstoy’s short fiction, which belongs to the final period of creativity, the late 1890–1900’s. The analysis is based on the material of the novella, created in 1896–1904, “Hadji Murad” — its final version and episodes from draft editions. The application of textual approach allows us to trace the style work’s course and get closer to understanding the individual style of L. N. Tolstoy. The results of the research indicate the writer’s tendency to laconicism at this stage: Tolstoy uses short forms of ekphrasis and resorts to quoting the texts of songs. This technique is assigned a significant complex of artistic functions. Among them are the description of everyday life and the psychological characterization of the images through the recreation of impressions from the sounding music, the formation of plot twists and pointing them out in the quoted song texts’ content (the so-called predictivity), the expression of ideological messages on a number of issues: executions and punishment, the importance of family and national culture.

References:

Ali-zade, A. A. (2007). The Islamic Encyclopedic Dictionary. Ansar. [In Russian]

Bagration-Mukhraneli, I. L. (2019). Caucasian woman in the eyes of Russian writers of the nineteenth century. Kunstkamera, 2(4), 147–156. https://doi.org/10.31250/2618-8619-2019-2(4)-147-156 [In Russian]

Gasanova, Z. I. (2009). Caucasian Mountain Mentality in the Image of Russian Literature of the 19th Century [Cand. Sci. (Philol.) dissertation]. [In Russian]

Gasharova, A. R. (2022). Author’s rethinking of “mortal songs” in Russian literature of the 19th century. International Journal of Humanities and Natural Sciences, 3-2(66), 196–199. https://doi.org/10.24412/2500-1000-2022-3-2-196-199 [In Russian]

Geller, L. (2002). The resurrection of the concept, or The word about ekphrasis. In L. Geller (Ed.), Ekphrasis in Russian Literature: Proceedings of the Lausanne Symposium (pp. 5–22). MIK. [In Russian]

Geller, L. (2013). Ekphrasis, or Exposure of the technique. A few questions and a thesis. In D. V. Tokarev (Ed.), “Inexpressibly Expressible”: Ekphrasis and Problems of Visual Representation in a Literary Text: Collection of Articles (pp. 44–60). Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie. [In Russian]

Gering, A. A. (Ed.). (1961). Collection of Russian Military Poetry: Regimental and Ship Songs and Poems of the Russian Imperial Armies and Navy (2nd). Obshchekadetskoe ob-nie. [In Russian]

Zaydenshnur, E. E. (1951). Traditional song and proverb in L. N. Tolstoy’s works. In Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy: Coll. of Art. and Mat. (pp. 511–576). Izd-vo AN SSSR. [In Russian]

Kireevskiy, P. V. (1870). Songs Collected by P. V. Kireevsky: [Parts 1-3]. [With adj.]. 10 Vols. Ed. 8. [Epic and Historical Songs. Petrine Rus. The King, Peter Alekseevich, Tsar White Peter the Great, the First Emperor on Earth]. O-vo lyubiteley ros. slovesnosti. [In Russian]

Lomunov, K. N. (1981). The Life of Leo Tolstoy. Khudozh. lit. [In Russian]

Manannikova, A. Yu. (2024). Musical ekphrasis in short fiction of the 1880–1890’s (on the basis of L. N. Tolstoy’s, I. S. Turgenev’s, and A. P. Chekhov’s works). // Literature at School, 4, 33–43. https://doi.org/10.31862/0130-3414-2024-4-33-43 [In Russian]

Mineralov, Yu. I. (1999). Theory of Fictional Literature (Poetics and Individuality). Gumanitarniy izdatelskiy tsentr VLADOS. [In Russian]

Miroshnikov, Yu. I. (2010). L. N. Tolstoy’s romantic philosophy of life as an integral characteristic of his artistic, philosophical & religious activity. Scientific Yearbook of the Institute of Philosophy and Law of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 10, 83–107. [In Russian]

Munaev, I. B., & Akhmadov, M. M. (2005). About Chechen song folklore. In Chechen Folk Poetry in the Records of the 19th–20th Centuries (illi-uzamy): Translated by Russian Poets (pp. 7–37). Novyy klyuch. [In Russian]

Musaeva, S. A. (2012). The elements of oral folk arts as a complementary means of revealing characters in L. N. Tolstoy’s Short novel “Hadji Murad”. Vestnik of Moscow State Linguistic University, 657, 164–170. [In Russian]

Natiev, D. S. (1895). Caucasian Military Songbook (166 songs). Tip. Trenke i Fyusno. [In Russian]

Novitskiy, V. F., fon Shvarts, A. V. et al. (Eds.). (1912). Gazavat. In Military encyclopedia. Vol. 7: Military unit — Military gymnastics (p. 138). T-vo I. D. Sytina. [In Russian]

Selvanyuk, R. M. (1957). “Collection of different songs” by M. D. Chulkov. Uchenyye zapiski Kostromskogo pedagogicheskogo instituta imeni N. A. Nekrasova, 3, 134–176. [In Russian]

Tolstoy, L. N. (1928–1958). Full Collection of Works in 90 vols. (В. G. Chertkov (Ed.)). 1935. Vol. 3. 1852–1856 Works (P. M. Mendelson & S. L. Tolstoy (Eds.)); 1950. Vol. 35. 1902–1904 Works (Text preparation and commentary by A. P. Sergeenko & V. S. Mishin). Khudozhestvennaia literatura. Retrieved August 16, 2025, from https://tolstoy.ru/creativity/90-volume-collection-of-the-works/ [In Russian]

Khodanen, L. A. (2021). The poetics of the military plot in L. N. Tolstoy’s caucasian prose and the traditions of romanticism. Modern Humanities Success, 5, 117–125. [In Russian]

Chavtaraeva, U. B. (1949). Folklore and Ethnography of the Caucasian Mountaineers in L. N. Tolstoy’s Novella “Hadji Murad” [Cand. Sci. (Philol.) dissertation abstract]. [In Russian]

Chulkov, M. D. (1913). The Works of Mikhail Dmitrievich Chulkov: Vol. 1. Collection of various songs: Parts 1, 2 and 3 with additions of 1770–1773. Otd-nie rus. yaz. i slovesnosti Akad. nauk. [In Russian]

Eykhenbaum, B. M. (1937). About L. Tolstoy’s novella “Hadji Murad”. In Tolstoy L. N. Hadji Murad (pp. 156–172). Detizdat. [In Russian]

«Yasnaya Polyana», musum-usadba of L. N. Tolstoy (Tulsk. obl.) (1972). Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy Library in Yasnaya Polyana: bibliographic description. Vol. 1, part 1: Books in Russian, part 1. A–L (V. F. Bulgakov, (Ed.)). Kniga. [In Russian]