Intertextuality in the novella Vasylko Rostyslavych by Volodymyr Birchak

Abstract

The article dwells on the personality of Volodymyr Birchak, outlining his activities, examining his creative heritage, and giving a brief overview of the studies of V. Birchak’s historical novellas. Emphasizing the polemics about the methods of artistic comprehension and interpretation of the events of Kievan Rus by V. Birchak, the author points out that intertextuality in the novella Vasilko Rostislavich has not become the subject of research by literary scholars yet. However, intertextuality is extremely indicative for V. Birchak’s novella under analysis, since it characterizes the writer as an expert on the monuments of Old Russian literature and demonstrates his style. The author determines different ways of referring to other texts in the novella: citing the original source, mentioning the title of a known text, combining the translation with direct citation of a fragment. Analyzing the situations in which other texts appear in Vasilko Rostislavich, the author notes that the most frequently cited texts are The Tale of Bygone Years, The Tale of Igor’s Campaign, Rus’ Justice, Pchela. Emphasizing the motivation for referring to the iconic texts of Ukrainian culture in the writer’s work, the author reveals the functions of such narratives in the novella under study. Intertextual connections and their dialogical relations are manifested both at the level of content and form. Further research can focus on intertextuality in other works about Kievan Rus.