Любовні сюжети в літературно-критичній оцінці Івана Франка

The article examines Ivan Franko's literary-critical remarks on the love stories of Ukrainian writers, in particular Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky, Taras Shevchenko, Ulyana Kravchenko, Vasyl Pachovsky, Agatangel Krymsky, Volodymyr Vynnychenko, as well as foreign authors, including William Shakespeare, Émile Zola, and Josef Machar. The aim of the study is to analyse the peculiarities of Ivan Franko's literary- critical approach to love themes in Ukrainian and foreign literature and to determine the criteria he used to evaluate these texts. Research results. Both in his writing and in his literary criticism, Franko adhered to his main principle – the truthful reproduction of reality. Therefore, he criticised both excessive sentimentality and overt eroticism in the depiction of love. Only those authors whose works depicted love as a catalyst for significant changes in the life of the protagonist, whether personal or professional, received positive reviews from Franko. In addition to literary-critical reviews, the article contains quotes from Frank's correspondence with young poets Ulyana Kravchenko and Klymentyna Popovych, in which, alongside editorial comments on the authors' poetic skills, Frank's understanding of true love and contempt for ‘carnal’ love is revealed. It is emphasised that it was important for Frank the critic that artistic texts with love intrigues (regardless of style or genre) revealed important social problems of the time, which often caused serious personal conflicts with tragic consequences. Therefore, when choosing between personal happiness and public duty, the critic positively evaluated the hero's choice in favour of the latter. The conclusions emphasise that humanism, realism, psychologism and social orientation became Franko's main criteria in his critical reviews of love texts by Ukrainian and foreign writers.