Category Archives: LITERARY CRITICISM

Summary

Hovhannes K. Yeghoyan

Zaven Piperyan’s creation was a new voice in modern Turkish-Armenian literature. The great writer understood profoundly the meaning of the new era of national literature, and his own accountability before time. For the development and progress of highly valuable literature, Z. Piperyan considered the psychological examination of wide swaths of society as a precondition for social perception, for the universal depth of beauty within the constant influence of the lessons of the national past.

The novel, « Lkrtats » which is one of the best examples of Western Armenian fiction writing, presents Turkish life and post-war misery of the past century. It is a reflection of the new process of Armenian-Turkish relations, in light of the redrawing of tragic historical memory. The Armenian woman, Kyulkun becomes the victim of Ali the butcher’s passions who slaughters her with the call of “old blood” with “equanimity” just as his ancestors and comfortably removes himself toward the city’s Asian section, the hint of which, from a historical perspective, is transparent. The feature of the new era is reflected in the novel; however Z. Piperyan’s literary commitment in TurkishArmenian life is the aspiration to overcome the inculcated fear of national existence and its complexities.

Summary

Aram G. Alexanyan

Soviet literary criticism assessed the historical context and cultural calling of Gabriel Sundukyan as an expression of opposition to market capitalism. This understanding of research during the Soviet era came to rest on extremes and a failure to understand, because it was dictated by the Marxist theory of class struggle.

To explain the historical and cultural context of Sundukyan’s creations with Marxist postulations is not scientific and disregards the principles of historiography. In reality, Sundukyan’s creations are penetrated by a dramatism typical of a transitional era. Values characteristic to the new capital made by traders and money-lenders are in contraposition to Christian morality, the understanding communal justice and to the necessity of the restoration of man’s essence. Thus, Sundukyan’s creation in its historical-cultural calling is multi-layered and extremely original.

Summary

Albert A. Makaryan

The sketches of “The Portraits and Personalities of the Nations Living in Different Quarters of the Capital” were edited by the brilliant Armenian satirist Hakop Paronian (1843-1891) and published in Constantinople in different issues (1874-1875) of the satiric paper Tatron (Theatre) under the dubious pen name Yes (I). This pa per is an attempt to finally verify that the mentioned work is only a variant of Paronian’s famous, “A Pro menade in the Quarters of Constantinople”. Accordingly, we conduct a thorough history of the Promenade… including a comparative study of the main text and its variants believed to be of disputed authorship. Moreover, we think that numerous literary miniatures, stories and short stories ascribed to an author known by the pen names Yes, Dun, Anika, Menq (I, You, He, We), which was actually created by Paronian, still remain scattered in old press issues. The satirical novel “Khachik of the Old World and Gabik of the New World” written in the dialect of Akn is among them. The mentioned literary work needs to be systematized and pub lished in a separate volume and thoroughly investigated. This will undoubtedly be a serious contribution to the enrichment of the satirist’s unique literary heritage.

Part 2: The Prediction of Nerses the Great and Other Visions

Summary

Vardan G. Devrikyan

The second part of the article is devoted to the visions connected with the legend of liberation: particularly, the visions of Nerses the Great and Sahak Partev have undergone meticulous examination.

It is being shown that the Pan-Christian visions mentioned in Daniel’s foretelling records lie on the basis of the latters together with their actual elucidations, which were perceived as assaults of wild animals in medieval times, and then extermination which symbolized the cruelties committed by the malicious and ruthless enemy, and afterwards the defeat and the retreat from the stage of history.

It was completely concurrent with both the liberation expectations of the Armenian nation and the thrills experienced during the Arabic, Seljuk and Mongol invasions.

In the article it is being noted that the same regularity is also found in Byzantine Literature where similar feelings and expectations have been expressed via the apocryphal vision of Daniel and its numerous variants.

From this perspective, the visions of Nerses the Great and S. Partev are being examined in their historical development: starting from the records of the 5th century till the 13th century. It is also being shown how they were perceived and reinterpreted in each historical-political situation.

From the same angle, in a succeeding order it is also being shown which historical development S. Partev’s vision underwent, which had an exceptional place in the Armenian liberation legend, after Pavstos Buzand’s “From the Armenian History”, first in the work “A History of St. Nerses Partev” by Movses Vayotszoretsi in 967, and then in the republications of the latter in the 13th century and in the succeeding centuries, as well as in diverse mentionings of that very vision present in the Armenian records.

Summary 

Aram G. Alexanyan
Although the examiners of the works by Paronyan have highly evaluated his work “Azgayin Chocher” (“National Bigshots”), in reality its philosophical deep background has not been revealed, giving ground for numerous misinterpretations. These can be edited only by defining the circles of Paronyan studies. In the article it is being revealed that the work “Azgayin Chocher” (“National Bigshots”) is mainly created on the basis of the Ancient Greek philosophy of morality and the urgency of examining Paronyan’s work is being stressed. Particularly, essential similarities are being revealed, when Paronyan’s viewpoints are being examined in the context of Socrates’, Plato’s, Aristotle’s, and Plutocrat’s science of morality. Thus, in the work “Azgayin Chocher” (“National Bigshots”) Paronyan, in assonance with Plutocrat, defined his moral ideal via the concrete historical material and via the examination of the characters’ behavour. Here, the perception specialty of the human essence is also being manifested, which was set in the tractates of the ancient Greek philosophers.

Part 1: Armenian-Roman Treaty in the literary sources 

Vardan G. Devrikyan
The article is devoted to Trdat I Arshakuni’s visit to Rome in 65 and the written echoes of the signed treaty with Neron the Emperor, to which later the history of Trdat the Great’s visit to Rome together with Grigor Lusavorish in 315 and meeting Constantine (Kostandianos) the Emperor and Pope Seghbestros of Rome was added.

In the article, it is being shown how the history of Trdat I’s visit to Rome was intertwined with Trdat III’s visit to Rome in the Armenian environment.

Starting from Agathangeghos’s “History of the Armenians” from historiograph to historigraph, from century to century the history of this Armenian-Roman Treaty has been endowed with new features, gaining marked political shades.

The Armenian historiographs, referring to this treaty, first from the Byzantium emperors, and then from the “Franks”, the European rulers were expecting military-political support for Armenia’s liberation.

At the same time, mainly connected with these expectations, the history of this very Treaty and Trdat’s visit to Rome, receiving reinforced novelistic tones, has turned to a medieval legend, according to which the Treaty which was formerly signed by the Armenian and Roman kings has to be realized by the successors of the Roman Emperor.

In the article, in the notifications about the Armenian-Roman Treaty, according to their chronicle course, the future changing flow of the medieval legend of the confirmed Treaty is being shown, as well as the political of the Armenian freedom mind quests reflected in it are being revealed. Concurrently, the idea is being stressed that the history about the Armenian-Roman Treaty, besides the reflection of military-political expectations, also had a general cultural-political importance and symbolized the perception of Armenia and the Armenian nation of forming a part of the European system of values by succeeding authors.

Summary

Aram G. Alexanyan
In the articles, monographs about Nalbandyan published in the Soviet region, his philosophical worldview was mainly qualified as materialism, or a passage from idealism to materialism. Moreover, Soviet researchers portrayed M. Nalbandyan as an atheist, a person who denied God’s existence. But, in reality, on the basis of the eminent Armenian thinker’s worldview lies deism, which is the organic synthesis of theology, philosophy, and science, and has a syncretic, undifferentiated nature.

In Nalbandyan’s works the classification of the main problems of the theory of cognition and will freedom in mind, having an exceptional blend in his deictic worldview context, also present a necessity of a new examination. M. Nalbandyan’s theory of cognition is greatly relativistic. A lot of formulae discussed in his various works have later been elaborated much more minutely by different streams of philosophical investigation. Mikayel Nalbandyan’s worldview is of epistemological and historicalcultural high value and presupposes a thorough professional study.

Summary

Seyran Z.Grigoryan
The author of this article analyses works of Vahagn Davtyan that deal with the Armenian Genocide. He brings to light their historical and biographical background, artistic value, and relations to the poet’s time. The author uses Davtian’s poetic creations, as well as his memoirs, articles, and interviews to conclude that the poet’s creative works are important contributions to the legacy of the literary representations of the Armenian Genocide.

Vahagn Davtyan’s creative works with new motifs and interesting, specific solutions added to the poetic traditions created by Hovhannes Shiraz, Paruyr Sevak, Silva Kaputikyan and others.

Summary

Vardan G. Devrikyan
In 1829 the ascent to summit of Mount Ararat with Professor Parrot had a radical impact upon the national-public and literary thinking of Khachatur Abovyan, because since the medieval times there had been a traditional prohibition of the ascent to summit of Mount Ararat upon which rested Noah’s Ark.

Similarly, since the Middle Ages Ani had been considered to be destroyed because of the curse and there was a superstition that it was impossible to live in Ani. Contrary to such a mood Abovyan in “The Wounds of Armenia” settled his principal hero Aghasi together with his friends in Ani putting forward the restoration plan of Ani as the Armenian statehood.

The article deals with the national-political and spiritual-cultural role attributed by Abovyan to Ani. This plan of Abovyan is considered parallel to the works and expressed ideas in the Armenian literature and public thought in his time and during next decades.

Aram G. Alexanyan
The research of Hokob Paronyan’s work has passed a long way: articles and monographs were published, but his Weltanshahuung has not become the object of research. In reality, many contradicting, fleeting opinions had been expressed, but not a single systematized analysis has been done. Researchers were satisfied with innumeration of mentioning the authors’ names whose works had been read by Paronyan. Thus cognitive roots of the atirist’s philosophy have remained out of the scope of their research.

The author of the articles tresses that,the philosophy of Paronyan becomes certain mainly on the basis of the antique moral philosophy. Consenquently, his philosophy of life becomes important basically in the context of the necessity of the moral philosophy’s research. Such a methodology of research also gives a chance to reconsider anachronic, impolite formulation and characteristics given to the works of the satirist in the Soviet, vulgar sociologic literature.