Modest Levytskyi: creativity through the prism of biography

In the article is proved the relationship of the biography of M. Levytskyi (1866–1932) with his work, in particular as a specific issue, topos, choice of characters, genre due to the professional activities of the author. It is traced that medical practice has become a source of plots of many stories. A number of these works have a specific genre definition: the doctor's story (“Empty course”, “Happiness of Peysach-Leiderman”), the story (“By law”, “Niobeya”), “from the doctor's memoirs” (“State children”). The aspect of autobiography in the image of a doctor is singled out. The connotation of the title of the story “The Hard Road” is noticed, as well as the associative connection of the dramatic incarnation of the father with the image of Judas. The analysis of the story “Eyes” notices the authenticity in the reproduction of the mental state of the hero, in particular the experience of psychological trauma, madness, as well as the role of the image of the eyes as an important psychological detail. It is emphasized that the problems of the story “Criminal” are focused on the problems of psychological experience of sin and suicide. The plot of the story “Criminal” also testified to the author's belief in the importance of the native Ukrainian language. On the basis of problematic situations that arise during court hearings (the work “In Court”), the writer demonstrated the richness of the lexical structure of the Ukrainian language, the difference between Ukrainian and Russian, and accordingly proved the need for Ukrainian language not only in domestic use. The connection between M. Levytskyi's teaching work at the Lutsk gymnasium and the need to write a work for children of an instructive nature (“Disaster with Fire”) and republish the story of the moral and religious plan (“Peter's Dream”) can be traced.