Structure and Meaning: Literary Theory for Everyone

Igor Nikolaevich Sukikh (b. 1952) — Doctor of Philology, Professor at St. Petersburg University, writer, critic. Author of more than 500 scientific works on the history of Russian literature of the 19th-20th centuries, including monographs "The Problems of Chekhov's Poetics" (1987, 2007), "Sergei Dovlatov: Time, Place, Fate" (1996, 2006, 2010), "Books of the 20th Century. The Russian Canon" (2001), "Prose of the Soviet Era: Three Fates. Babel. Bulgakov. Zoshchenko" (2012), "The Russian Canon. Books of the 20th Century" (2012), "From... to... Studies on Russian Literature" (2015) and others, as well as a beloved three-volume work for schoolchildren and teachers, "Russian Literature for Everyone." The book "Structure and Meaning" is the result of I. N. Sukikh’s research and teaching experience. It can be placed alongside textbooks on introduction to literary studies, but it has at least three significant differences. First, this book is interesting to read, not just to study from; second, it successfully combines theory and practice: the section "Illustrations" contains articles devoted to specific issues in literary studies; and third, despite its academic presentation, the book is aimed at the broadest audience of readers.