THE TRAGEDY OF SHAKESPEARE «ROMEO AND JULIET» IN THE LITERARY-CRITICAL INTERPRETATION OF I.A. AKSENOV

Objectives: The article describes a specific understanding of Shakespeare’s tragedy «Romeo and Juliet» by I. A. Aksenov. Methods: While researching, we used the cultural-historical, comparative-historical and historical-typological approaches, as well as elements of the socio-psychological method required to recreate certain biographical realities that are often necessary for an objective perception of a literary text. Findings: In the essay «“Romeo and Juliet”. The place of tragedy in the work of Shakespeare» I. A. Aksenov called the text of the great tragedy «composite», noting the participation of several dramatists of the Elizabethan era at that time in its creation (Ch. Marowe, J. Peele, R. Green, T. Kyd). The motives of «Romeo and Juliet» and «The Honest Whore» by T. Dekker having much in common allowed I.A.Aksenov to raise the question of T. Dekker’s involvement in the work of the Shakespearean play. Novelty: As we can see, even in those few cases, when I. A. Aksenov tried to move away from analyzing, translating and popularizing the creative heritage of the little-known playwrights of the Elizabethan era in Russia in the first third of the XX century, focusing on the dramatic work of Shakespeare, in particular, on his tragedy of «Romeo and Juliet», he persistently continued to look for the collective «Elizabethan» trail in the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays.