The figure of Mykola Illich Storozhenko in obituaries and memorial articles: Biographical and literary discourse

The article for the first time collected, systematized and analyzed obituaries and memorial articles dedicated to Mykola Illich Storozhenko (1836-1906), a prominent Shakespearean literary critic of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Anative of Ukraine, he studied and worked at Moscow University, was a librarianat the Rumyantsev and Public Museums. Obituaries and memorial articles providean opportunity to reproduce biographical information about M. I. Storozhenko, his contribution to literary criticism and to deepen information about his connections with contemporaries who played a role in the personal and creative life ofthe scientist, the cultural and historical context of the early twentieth century.The authors of most of these publications are literary critics, well acquaintedwith the creative work of M. I. Storozhenko. Therefore, their letters, in particular,inevitably emphasized the irreplaceability of his loss for all science and education,gave an overview and evaluation of his activities. The biographical approach inM. I. Storozhenko's obituaries was mostly combined with philological discourse. In the publications you can find a reflection of the biography of M. I. Storozhenko,they form a panoramic picture of the main stages of his life and scientific activity, his relationship with society. At the same time, in obituaries and memorial articlesthe figure of M. I. Storozhenko is considered from different angles: from the stand-point of professional, personal, family history, cultural processes, the history of literary criticism. All texts contain biographical facts, information about education,a detailed description of scientific and pedagogical activities, clarifies the attitudeof the scientist to the achievements of predecessors, as well as the uniqueness ofhis views and positions, the role in the development of literary science.Obituaries and memorial articles formed the basis, the frame work for the perception of the image of the deceased, which will later be developed by the authorsof the memoirs. Therefore, they are a valuable historical and literary source and material for the future creation of a scientific biography of this outstanding scientist.