SOURCE: Lang, D. M. “Bolieau and Sumarokov: The Manifesto of Russian Classicism.” Modern Language Review 43, no. 4 (October 1948): 500-506.

In the following essay, Lang examines Sumarokov's Epistle on Poetry and compares it in detail to Despréaux Boileau's tract Art Poétique by which it was inspired, emphasizing the work's influence on the development of Russian literature.

The publication in 1748 of Sumarokov's¹ “Epistle on Poetry” (“Epistola o Stikhotvorstve”) was a significant event in the history of Russian literature. Since the death of Prince Kantemir,² Russian letters had been dominated by Trediakovsky,³ an erudite Classical scholar and expert theorist in the art of versification, and Lomonosov,⁴ a profound and versatile genius for whom the pursuit of literature was only one of many activities. Lomonosov's formal odes, justly famous for their lofty imagery, recall the style of Pindar, the German poet Günther and the Psalms of David almost more than...