“EUGENE ONEGIN” BY A. S. PUSHKIN AS AN EXAMPLE OF BOOK HYPERTEXT

The article substantiates the relevance of scientific research to overcome a serious cultural gap between the cultural space of schoolchildren in the 21st century and the Golden Age of Russian literature. This work belongs to the area of research that sees the possibility of overcoming this gap in the field of studying the educational potential of hypertext. An analysis of the literature devoted to the general features of hypertext makes it possible to establish that most researchers agree that hypertext is characterized by such features as fragmentation, nonlinearity, infinity, diversity, interactivity, lack of continuity and intertextuality. The difference between electronic and book hypertexts lies in the way the text is presented: book hypertexts have a linear structure complicated by footnotes and author’s comments, while electronic hypertexts are based on the use of hyperlinks to expand the text. Based on the analysis of the novel in verse by A. S. Pushkin “Eugene Onegin” through the prism of hypertext theory, it is concluded that the leading category that allows to classify this work as a book hypertext is its potential hypertextuality. It is due to this quality that the novel turns out to be an “encyclopedia of Russian life”. Hypertext elements of the novel, such as author’s notes and semantic echoes between stanzas and chapters, create the opportunity for a non-linear perception of the text. The practical significance of this conclusion is that on its basis there is an opportunity to develop a teaching aid containing a virtual text of “Eugene Onegin”, which, with the help of modern technologies, will reflect its hypertextual beginning, which will bring this classic work of Russian literature of the 19th century closer to the needs and capabilities of modern schoolchildren.