Historical and Literary Context of Poetic Dialogue Between A.S. Pushkin and A.I. Gotovtseva in Almanac “Northern Flowers for Year 1829”

This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the epistolary poem by the Kostroma poetess A.I. Gotovtseva, titled "A.S.P." (To Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin), published in the almanac “Northern Flowers for the Year 1829”. This poetic address is contextualized within Gotovtseva's other works, including her message to Y.N. Bartenyev. The poem by the Kostroma poetess is also compared with a previously published poetic letter to Pushkin by Prince P.I. Shalikov. The article summarizes existing scholarship on Pushkin's “Response to A.I. Gotovtseva,” highlighting that the commentary provided by V.P. Gaevsky and P.V. Annenkov has not been significantly revised since its initial publication. The author proposes additions to the traditional commentary, taking into account the historical, literary, and biographical contexts that influenced the creation of Pushkin's poem. The study of the poetic dialogue between Pushkin and Gotovtseva incorporates new information regarding the addressee of Pushkin's "Response." The article provides biographical data on the Kostroma poetess, identifies archival sources, and presents materials from periodicals previously overlooked by literary scholars. The author hypothesizes why, despite her brilliant debut, Gotovtseva did not become a regular contributor to the almanac “Northern Flowers.” It is asserted that the history of the poetic dialogue between Pushkin and Gotovtseva aligns more with a series of poetic "duels" rather than with a collection of madrigals.