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Poshlost'
''Poshlost'' or ''Poshlost' '' ( rus , по́шлость , p= ˈpoʂləsʲtʲ) is a Russian word for a particular negative human character trait or man-made thing or idea. It has been cited as an example of a so-called untranslatable word, as there is no single exact one-word English equivalent. It carries much cultural baggage in Russia and has been discussed at length by various writers. It is derived from the adjective пошлый. Description It has been defined as "petty evil or self-satisfied vulgarity", while Svetlana Boym defines it briefly as "obscenity and bad taste". Boym goes on to describe it at more length: Early examinations of ''poshlost'' in literature are in the work of Nikolai Gogol. Gogol wrote (of Pushkin), In his novels, Turgenev "tried to develop a heroic figure who could, with the verve and abandon of a Don Quixote, grapple with the problems of Russian society, who could once and for all overcome 'poshlost’, the complacent mediocrity and mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, short story writer and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol was one of the first to use the technique of the grotesque, in works such as " The Nose", " Viy", " The Overcoat", and " Nevsky Prospekt". These stories, and others such as " Diary of a Madman", have also been noted for their proto-surrealist qualities. According to Viktor Shklovsky, Gogol's strange style of writing resembles the "ostranenie" technique of defamiliarization. His early works, such as '' Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka'', were influenced by his Ukrainian upbringing, Ukrainian culture and folklore. His later writing satirised political corruption in the Russian Empire ('' The Government Inspector'', '' Dead Souls''). The novel '' Taras Bulba'' (1835), the play ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fyodor Sologub
Fyodor Sologub (russian: Фёдор Сологу́б, born Fyodor Kuzmich Teternikov, russian: Фёдор Кузьми́ч Тете́рников, also known as Theodor Sologub; – 5 December 1927) was a Russian Symbolist poet, novelist, translator, playwright and essayist. He was the first writer to introduce the morbid, pessimistic elements characteristic of European ''fin de siècle'' literature and philosophy into Russian prose. Early life Sologub was born in St. Petersburg into the family of a poor tailor, Kuzma Afanasyevich Teternikov, who had been a serf in Poltava guberniya, the illegitimate son of a local landowner. When his father died of tuberculosis in 1867, his illiterate mother. Tatiana Semyonovna Teternikova, was forced to become a servant in the home of the aristocratic Agapov family, where Sologub and his younger sister Olga grew up. The family took an interest in the education of young Fyodor, sending him to a pedagogical institution where Sologub was a mode ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madame Bovary
''Madame Bovary'' (; ), originally published as ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' ( ), is a novel by French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The eponymous character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life. When the novel was first serialized in ''Revue de Paris'' between 1 October 1856 and 15 December 1856, public prosecutors attacked the novel for obscenity. The resulting trial in January 1857 made the story notorious. After Flaubert's acquittal on 7 February 1857, ''Madame Bovary'' became a bestseller in April 1857 when it was published in two volumes. A seminal work of literary realism, the novel is now considered Flaubert's masterpiece, and one of the most influential literary works in history. Plot synopsis ''Madame Bovary'' takes place in provincial Northern France, near the town of Rouen in Normandy. Charles Bovary is a shy, oddly dressed teenager arriving at a new school where his new classmates ridicul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invitation To A Beheading
''Invitation to a Beheading'' (russian: Приглашение на казнь, lit=''Invitation to an execution'') is a novel by Russian American author Vladimir Nabokov. It was originally published in Russian from 1935 to 1936 as a serial in '' Sovremennye zapiski'', a Russian émigré magazine. In 1938, the work was published in Paris, with an English translation following in 1959. The novel was translated into English by Nabokov's son, Dmitri Nabokov, under the author's supervision. The novel is often described as Kafkaesque, but Nabokov claimed that at the time he wrote the book, he was unfamiliar with German and "completely ignorant" of Franz Kafka's work. Nabokov interrupted his work on '' The Gift'' in order to write ''Invitation to a Beheading'', describing the creation of the first draft as "one fortnight of wonderful excitement and sustained inspiration." Some scholars have argued that the central plot of ''Invitation to a Beheading'' has its roots in Chernyshevsk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many List of islands of the United Kingdom, smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reading Lolita In Tehran
''Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books'' is a book by Iranian author and professor Azar Nafisi. Published in 2003, it was on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list for over one hundred weeks and has been translated into 32 languages. Plot The book consists of a memoir of the author's experiences about returning to Iran during the revolution (1978–1981) and living under the Islamic Republic of Iran government until her departure in 1997. It narrates her teaching at the University of Tehran after 1979, her refusal to submit to the rule to wear the veil and her subsequent expulsion from the University, life during the Iran–Iraq War, her return to teaching at the University of Allameh Tabatabei (1981), her resignation (1987), the formation of her book club (1995–97), and her decision to emigrate. Events are interlaced with the stories of book club members consisting of seven of her female students who met weekly at Nafisi's house to discuss works of Western literature, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Azar Nafisi
Azar Nafisi ( fa, آذر نفیسی; born 1948)Following eighth grade, Nafisi's parents sent her to England for schooling from 1961 to 1963. Nafisi 2010, chapter 8, pp. 69-70; chapter 13, p. 115 is an Iranian-American writer and professor of English literature. Born in Tehran, Iran, she has resided in the United States since 1997 and became a U.S. citizen in 2008. Nafisi has held several academic leadership roles, including director of the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Dialogue Project and Cultural Conversations, Georgetown Walsh School of Foreign Service Centennial Fellow and a fellow at Oxford University. She is the niece of famous Iranian scholar, fiction writer and poet Saeed Nafisi. Azar Nafisi is best known for her 2003 book '' Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books'', which remained on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for 117 weeks, and has won several literary awards, including the 2004 Non-fiction Book of the Yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philistinism
In the fields of philosophy and of aesthetics, the term philistinism describes the attitudes, habits, and characteristics of a person who deprecates art and beauty, spirituality and intellect.''Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language – Unabridged'' (1951) p. 1260 As a derogatory term philistine describes a person who is narrow-minded and hostile to the life of the mind, whose materialistic worldview and tastes indicate an indifference to cultural and aesthetic values. The contemporary meaning of ''philistine'' derives from Matthew Arnold's adaptation to English of the German word ''Philister'', as applied by university students in their antagonistic relations with the townspeople of Jena, Germany, where a row resulted in several deaths, in 1689. About the riot, Georg Heinrich Götze, the ecclesiastical superintendent, applied the word ''Philister'' in his sermon about the social class hostilities between students and townspeople. Götze addressed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War And Peace
''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published serially, then published in its entirety in 1869. It is regarded as Tolstoy's finest literary achievement and remains an internationally praised classic of world literature. The novel chronicles the French invasion of Russia and the impact of the Napoleonic era on Tsarist society through the stories of five Russian aristocratic families. Portions of an earlier version, titled ''The Year 1805'', were serialized in ''The Russian Messenger'' from 1865 to 1867 before the novel was published in its entirety in 1869.Knowles, A. V. ''Leo Tolstoy'', Routledge 1997. Tolstoy said that the best Russian literature does not conform to standards and hence hesitated to classify ''War and Peace'', saying it is "not a novel, even less is it a poem, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anna Karenina
''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, «Анна Каренина», p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever written, Tolstoy himself called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial installments from 1875 to 1877, all but the last part appearing in the periodical ''The Russian Messenger.'' A complex novel in eight parts, with more than a dozen major characters, ''Anna Karenina'' is often published in more than 800 pages. It deals with themes of betrayal, faith, family, marriage, Imperial Russian society, desire, and rural vs. city life. The story centers on an extramarital affair between Anna and dashing cavalry officer Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky that scandalizes the social circles of Saint Petersburg and forces the young lovers to flee to Italy in a search for happiness, but after they return to Russia, their lives further ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bel Ami
''Bel-Ami'' (, "Dear Friend") is the second novel by French author Guy de Maupassant, published in 1885; an English translation titled ''Bel Ami, or, The History of a Scoundrel: A Novel'' first appeared in 1903. The story chronicles journalist Georges Duroy's corrupt rise to power from a poor former cavalry NCO in France's African colonies, to one of the most successful men in Paris, most of which he achieves by manipulating a series of powerful, intelligent, and wealthy women. Summary The novel is set in Paris in the upper-middle class environment of the leading journalists of the newspaper ''La Vie Française'' and their friends. It tells the story of Georges Duroy, who has spent three years in military service in Algeria. After working for six months as a clerk in Paris, an encounter with his former comrade, Forestier, enables him to start a career as a journalist. From a reporter of minor events and soft news, he gradually climbs his way up to chief editor. Duroy initially ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guy De Maupassant
Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destinies and social forces in disillusioned and often pessimistic terms. Maupassant was a protégé of Gustave Flaubert and his stories are characterized by economy of style and efficient, seemingly effortless ''dénouements''. Many are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s, describing the futility of war and the innocent civilians who, caught up in events beyond their control, are permanently changed by their experiences. He wrote 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books, and one volume of verse. His first published story, "Boule de Suif" ("The Dumpling", 1880), is often considered his most famous work. Biography Henri-René-Albert-Guy de Maupassant, born on 5 August 1850 at the late 16th-century Château de Miromesn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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