On the English Source and Russian Literary Connections of N. F. Grammatin’s Ballad “Uslad and Vsemila”

The plot basis of the N. F. Grammatin’s “Uslad and Vsemila. Old Russian Ballad” (1810) – the ballad “Alonzo the Brave and the Fair Imogine” from the novel “Monk” by M. G. Lewis (1796) is determined. To establish the probable source of acquaintance with the Lewis’s ballad, in addition to the English original, Russian (1803) and French (1797) translations of the novel were used for comparison. Comparison of the texts leads to the conclusion that the author is directly acquainted with the English ballad in the original language. To give the ballad a national flavor, Grammatin used a conventional historical background, archaized vocabulary, as well as images and expressions of the national epic tradition. It has been proved that Grammatin used motives of Russian epics to create a ballad on a similar plot ATU 974 “The Homecoming Husband” from the collection of Kirsha Danilov – on Solovei Budimirovich (contamination of two plots – the matchmaking and the return of a husband to his wife’s wedding) and on Dobryna Nikitich and Alyosha Popov (the return of the husband to his wife’s wedding). The basis for combining these different sources – the supposedly “old Spanish ballad” on Alonzo and Imogine (as it is presented by Lewis in the novel) and Russian epics – were Grammatin’s general views on ancient poetry. Revealed the author’s accents in a popular plot. Compared to the English sample, Grammatin reinforces the theme of heavenly punishment for treachery. The bridegroom-dead comes not only in fulfillment of the fidelity’s vow, first of all he is the messenger of heaven, the messenger of the punishing God. The connection of Grammatin’s poem with the ballad experiments of N. M. Karamzin, V. A. Zhukovsky, I. I. Dmitriev, P. A. Katenin, S. P. Zhikharev and other contemporary works are considered.