Boltikova E.I.

 

Merchant tales of the 17th and early 18th centuries: theoretical and methodological principles of study. Pp. 123–133.

 

UDC 821.161.1-31.09«16/17»

DOI 10.37724/RSU.2026.90.1.012

 

Abstract. The article examines a range of issues related to the scientific principles of studying merchant tales of the transition period, which allow us to identify the artistic and aesthetic, genre and typological, and plot and motif integrity of these monuments of Russian literature. The study is based on the following methodological approaches: comparative, genre-genetic, intertextual, plot-compositional, motif, and cultural-historical. The analysis of specific texts led to the following conclusion: the unity of genre, imagery and characters, as well as the use of the same motifs (e.g., travel, the demonology, ‘fathers and children’) indicate a return to similar plot and storylines. The results obtained have both practical application (inclusion in the educational process of higher education) and theoretical value. In the future, it will be possible to consider merchant tales of the 17th and early 18th centuries as a single corpus for researchers.

 

Keywords: merchant tales of the 17th and early 18th centuries, literature of transitional period, genre organization, imagery and characters, plot and motif complex.

 

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