The relationship between Russian and English cultures is a long and complex romance. It has included passionate infatuation, profound influence, and periods of cooling. English motifs have penetrated Russian literature, poetry, and philosophy so deeply that they are sometimes difficult to distinguish from the "native." However, they were never simple copying. Russian thought took English ideas, melted them in its own cauldron, and produced something new, recognizable, and yet original. From Pushkin to Berdyaev, England was not just a geographical point but an important interlocutor in the Russian cultural dialogue.Poetic Conquest: Byron, Shakespeare, and the Russian RomanticismAt the beginning of the 19th century, Russian poetry was literally enchanted by English romanticism. Lord Byron became the idol of a generation. His "rebellious individual," his disillusionment, his "worldly sorrow" found an echo in the souls of Russian poets. Pushkin wrote "Byronic" poems ("The Captive of the Caucasus," "The Fountain of Bakhchisarai") in his youth, but quickly outgrew direct imitation, creating "Eugene Onegin" — a verse novel where Byronicism had been overcome. Lermontov was more direct, his "Demon" and "Mtsyri" — this was Russia's response to the Byronic challenge. English motifs in Lermontov are not only form but also theme: loneliness, rebellion, disobedience. Shakespeare in Russia has become almost "native." His translations and reinterpretations were made by Pasternak, Marshak, Lозинский — their translations of Shakespeare made him part of the Russian poetic speech. Brodsky — the English motif in Russian poetry of the 20th century is particularly noticeable. Emigration, reflections on the "northern" character, comparisons of Petersburg with London — all this connects him with the English tradition. Brodsky even wrote poems in English, although he considered Russian his main language.Prose: Dickens, Thackeray, and the "English" World in Russian LiteratureDickens was perha ... Read more