Viktor Zhirmunsky facts for kids
Viktor Maksimovich Zhirmunsky (Russian: Ви́ктор Макси́мович Жирму́нский) was a famous Russian expert. He studied literature and languages. He was born in 1891 and died in 1971. He was known for his work on how literature is made and how stories change over time.
About His Life
Viktor Zhirmunsky was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in 1891. He came from a Jewish family. He became a university professor. He taught in cities like Saratov and Leningrad (which is now Saint Petersburg again). He was also a member of the top science group in the Soviet Union.
His Ideas on Literature
Zhirmunsky was part of a group called "Russian formalists." These scholars focused on the "form" of literature. They looked at how a story was built, its style, and its language. They didn't focus as much on the history behind the story. Zhirmunsky thought that just looking at the form wasn't enough. He believed it was also important to understand the history and culture that shaped a story. His ideas helped change how people studied literature in Russia.
Studying Epic Poems
Even though he first studied German literature, Zhirmunsky later researched epic poems. These are long, heroic stories often sung or recited. He focused on the epics of people in Central Asia, like those from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. He studied their traditional singers, called aqyn. This research helped other scholars understand how myths and epic stories are connected.
New Ways of Thinking
In 1948, some of Zhirmunsky's ideas were questioned. People thought he was focusing too much on how cultures borrowed stories from each other. This was called "comparativism." Zhirmunsky then developed a new idea. He suggested that similar stories or traditions in different cultures might not always be borrowed. Instead, they could appear because those cultures had similar ways of life or social structures.
He passed away in Leningrad in 1971.
His Books
- Skazanie ob Alpamise i bogatirskaya skazka, Moskva 1960
- Narodnij geroicheskiy epos, Moskva 1962
Related works:
- E.M. Meletinskij, Proischoždenie geroičeskogo eposa, Moskva 1963
