An Anthology of Russian Folk Epics (Folklores and Folk Cultures of Eastern Europe)

An extensive introduction provides basic information about Russian epics, their historical background, their poetics, the history of their collection, their performance context, and their main interpretations. In addition, their is a short introduction to each song, explaining its plot, allusions, and interpretations. A glossary of common terms and a selected bibliography of studies about the Russian epic in English and Russian are also included in the volume. This anthology presents translations of 30 songs recorded from a living epic tradition over the past two hundred years. The authors have captured the distinctive poetic language of Russian oral epics. All subgenres of the Russian epic are covered and previously untranslated variants included. This anthology presents translations of thirty songs about Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya, Sadko, and other legendary characters of Russian folklore