THE PROBLEMS OF LITERARY CREATIVITY AND CRITICISM IN MAKSYM RYLSKY’S PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE

Abstract

The article contains analysis of literary-critical views of Maksym Rylsky on private correspondence
material. It is noted, that this aspect of the poet`s epistolary heritage is still the least studied, but
nevertheless it is an actual task of history of Ukrainian literary criticism, because the poet`s letters contain
many evaluative judgments about literary process. These estimates form the idea about the historicalliterary
context of the epoch, become the source of knowledge about the individual artist`s aesthetic
concept. It is emphasized that Maksym Pylsky is revealed as perfectionist writer and critic on the pages of
his letters. The main attention is focused on mentoring criticism, the artist`s thinking about its role and
goals, relections on its condition, the author`s commentaries, the author`s views on the nature of art
and artistic skills. The leading criteria of the writer’s estimation for artistic phenomena are stressed, there
are statement clarity; originality of theme, tropes, images; precision of composition (especially, in sonnet
structure); perfection of versiication (rhythm and melody, rhyme); cleanness of language; observance
norms of pronunciation and so on. The author proves conclusively that Maksym Rylsky always remained
true to his own literary-critical convictions in his epistolary estimates: honesty, integrity, constructability,
validity, speciicity and objectivity.