Genres and poetics of Russian military poetry of the 18th century: kant, military song, ode

The purpose of this study is to identify the rich range of artistic means of representing the military theme based on a comparison of folklore and literary texts – poetic and dramatic – that have reflected the military theme throughout the century. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the identification of typological features of poetic works about war: the depiction of characters and battle paraphernalia – based on the first-ever comprehensive comparative analysis of the realization of the war theme in artistic reflection using various poetic forms in 18th-century literature and folklore. The study reveals that the poetic works that responded to the events of the 18th century, which was rich in wars, made up a significant part of the era’s poetic legacy. The military theme was embodied in various poetic genres: kant songs, folk and author’s war songs, odes, and theatrical arias. All poetic genres retained the solemn patriotic pathos characteristic of the era’s poetics, as well as the universal topoi and symbolism of the heroic, including folk-poetic and baroque elements, while seamlessly blending with the ideals of classicism.