THE LYRICAL HERO EVOLUTION IN THE WORKS OF YESENIN AS AN EXPRESSION OF THE RUSSIAN NATIONAL CHARACTER
Works of Yesenin reveal the national mind of the Russian people. The temporal spread of his work represents the consecutive change in expression of his poetical me forms: from humble monk, The Third Testament prophet, romantic rebel, poet-bully, to 20th century Pushkin, and it is in these traits that Yesenins lyrical hero fi nds his national character. The national distinctiveness of the Russian people is a result of the ambivalence of its soul, which determines the evolution of the lyrical hero, who traversed the path from being a devoted orthodox by walking away from his beliefs, to fi nally coming back to his original beliefs, but at a higher level of its understanding and practice. The lyrical hero of Yesenin incarnates the meditativeness and wisdom of the people, their eschatological and messianic consciousness, their clerical mentality, their thirst for further spiritual enlightment. Clemency, tenderness, honesty, and spontaneity are his distinctive character traits.