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Propp's essay in Russian Folk Lyrics extends beyond the formalistic analysis of folklore outlined in his classic The Morphology of the Folktale. In this study, newly translated by Roberta Reeder, Propp considers the Russian folk lyric in the social and historical context in which it was produced.

Reeder supplements Propp's theoretical presentation with a comprehensive anthology of examples. Some songs were imitated by or appear in the works of Russia's major writers, such as Pushkin and Nekrasov. Here we find the customs of Russian peasant life expressed through the ritual of song. Whether the songs are about love, labor, or children's games; whether they are sad, humorous, or satiric in tone, Russian folk lyrics are rich in metaphor and symbolic meaning. In addition to the editor's notes to the text and songs, Reeder supplies a bibliography of Propp's sources as well as an extensive selected bibliography.

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This collection of the most commonly used and understood proverbs is designed for a broad readership comprised of students of both language and culture. An approximate or literal translation is provided. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not Great But Available
This may be the best book of Russian proverbs available in English, but that's not saying much, because, as far as I can tell, it's the Only such book currently in print. This is sad, because many superior such booksexist; in particular, I would mention Kuzmin and Shadrin's Russian-EnglishDictionary of Proverbs and Sayings (Russky Yazyk, Moscow, 1989). For astudent of the language, a book of this kind would ideally include, as doesKuzmin and Shadrin, a literal translation of each proverb, as well as anyappropriate lexically equivalent or semantically similar correspondingEnglish sayings, and, importantly, at least one example of the use of eachsaying in its characteristic context(s). Mertvago includes literaltranslations only in the cases where he deems lexically equivalent sayingsnot to exist; this can present problems for anyone who wants to understandthe many and various colloquial and regional words that show up in thesesayings even when the overall sense is given. Furthermore, no examples ofusage are included. Finally, the Introduction claims that an English keyword index has been provided, but in fact it has not, nor has the promisedRussian key word index, although this is less important because theproverbs are themselves indexed alphabetically by Russian key word. Despitethese omissions, the publishers found space for ten pages of advertisements(after 171 pages of proverbs averaging six proverbs a page). ... Read more

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This dictionary contains 2,375 Russian sayings and proverbs and their English counterparts. Variants of each saying are included, and careful attention is given to the differences in British and American versions. For example, the Russian saying that is interpreted as "Children behave in a childish way, and they cannot be expected to act like grown-up people," is first given in Russian (in the Cyrillic alphabet) and then in English, and is then followed by the nearest English-language equivalent sayings in Britain and the United States: "Young colts will canter" (British) and "Boys will be boys" (American). The proverbs and sayings are arranged alphabetically by the first Russian word (in the Cyrillic alphabet) and are cross-referenced so the reader can find analogous Russian versions of English sayings. There is a keyword index for each language (one in English, one in Russian in the Cyrillic alphabet), which allows the reader to find a proverb or a saying without knowing the first word. Proverbs and sayings are current and include those popular in both spoken Russian and literature. The prefatory matter is in both English and Russian, for readers who have a command of either language. ... Read more

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This study challenges the prevailing claim that there is no connection between ritual and the Russian folktale. It reveals the author's discovery of two primary magic spell forms found in pagan ceremonies and folk literature. These binary and trinary invocation forms appear in a number of variations and contain basic rhythmic elements found in primitive music and folk songs. They are similar to those found on verbal and incident levels in 20 Russian magic tales. Their basic rhythmic elements are compared to like phenomena noted in the Russian language verbal aspect system, and to primitive music. In addition to the binary/trinary ritual forms, embedded patterns of ancient rituals have been delineated in "Shabarsha" and "By Pike's Command," two well-known Russian tales. Superimposed on these ritual patterns are yet other patterns of mythic images, revealing new insights into the mental world of those who created these tales of wonder. ... Read more

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"Joanna Hubbs has found the trace of Baba Yaga and the rusalki and Moist Mother Earth and other fascinating feminine myths in Russian culture, and has added richly to the growing interest in popular culture." -- New York Times Book Review

"... brave... fascinating... immensely enjoyable... " -- Times Higher Education Supplement

"... a stimulating and original study... vivid and readable." -- Russian Review

"An immensely stimulating, beautifully written work of scholarship." -- Francine du Plessix Gray

"Joanna Hubbs has provided scholars... with a wealth of significant interpretive material to inform if not reform views of both Russian and women's cultures." -- Journal of American Folklore

A ground-breaking interpretation of Russian culture from prehistory to the present, dealing with the feminine myth as a central cultural force.

Customer Reviews (4)

Interesting but error- filled
I got this book to learn about the pagan cults of Russia prior to the Christian conversion. While the basic information is interesting-- who the gods were and what their associations were, the book is filled with opinions that are not substantiated with any footnotes to back them up. (She does have some footnotes, but a LOT of conjecture.) She has a clear feminist slant, which is not particularly a bad thing, but it seems ahistorical particularly in the context of the 10th century-- can we really say that at the time the chuch was seen as misogynistic when we consider how society was set up? That seems like a modern construct being written into history...
It is often unclear if she is referring to medieval or modern concepts or rituals with certain gods/ goddesses and her discussion of the Vladimir Icon is erronious: the Vladimir Icon is NOT the same as the Kazanskaja for starters.
This all being said, take it with a grain of salt and only read it for the absolute basics. Anything beyond that is probably unsubstantiated opinion or ahistorical re-writing of history.

Good, but has some alarming errors... Not sure what to think
I am interested in world mythology, and Slavic is one of my favorites. It is a shame that there is so few good books in English on the subject, so when I saw this one I was very excited. However, I am on page 30 right now, and already I noticed some glaring mythological errors. Among them was a statement that Thor hung from Yggdrasil on p.19 (it was Odin, not Thor, that hung from Yggdrasil), that Dazhdbog is Svarog's father on p.17 (it is the other way around!), and that Adonis is Cybele's lover on p.29 (Cybele's lover was Attis, and though the story of Aphrodite & Adonis is similar to that of Cybele & Attis, they come from different cultures and feature different characters).

At first I wondered if she was writing about some obscure versions of these myths that I never encountered, then I thought perhaps the errors about Mediterranean and Norse mythology could be due to her specialty in Slavic myth, but when she got even Slavic myth wrong I could not come up with any excuses. Because of this I am not sure how reliable the rest of her information is. Nevertheless it is a valuable resource since there are few books on Slavic myth out there - just read with a grain of salt...

Excellent resource for Mother goddess/Russian myth studies
I found Joanna Hubb's text to be very informative and enlightening.Its contents are academic, prolific and detailed down to the definitions of Russian origins.The chapter on Baba Yaga has the greatest, most factual collection of resources available on the subject.Anyone interested in Russian mythology, the foundation of the Russian goddess religions, and the critical analysis of the female divinities, this is a must for your collection.

Class Required Text
This was a required text for my Russian Lit and Culture class.It's not bad, but I don't know that I would have purchased or sought it out by myself.I particularly enjoyed Chapter 4 as it addressed the issue of Byzantine Christianity attempting to overtake the role of mother in the home.It would be useful to feminist anthropological studies. ... Read more

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This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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The stories in this book are those that Russian peasants tell their children and each other. In Russia hardly anybody is too old for fairy stories, and I have even heard soldiers on their way to the war talking of very wise and very beautiful princesses as they drank their tea by the side of the road. I think there must be more fairy stories told in Russia than anywhere else in the world. In this book are a few of those I like best. I have taken my own way with them more or less, writing them mostly from memory. They, or versions like them, are to be found in the coloured chap-books, in Afanasiev's great collection, or in solemn, serious volumes of folklorists writing for the learned. My book is not for the learned, or indeed for grown-up people at all. No people who really like fairy stories ever grow up altogether. This is a book written far away in Russia, for English children who play in deep lanes with wild roses above them in the high hedges, or by the [vi] small singing becks that dance down the gray fells at home. Russian fairyland is quite different. Under my windows the wavelets of the Volkhov (which has its part in one of the stories) are beating quietly in the dusk. A gold light burns on a timber raft floating down the river. Beyond the river in the blue midsummer twilight are the broad Russian plain and the distant forest. Somewhere in that forest of great trees—a forest so big that the forests of England are little woods beside it—is the hut where old Peter sits at night and tells these stories to his grandchildren. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

As an avid reader of Arthur Ransome's books, make sure you're ordering from a reputable publisher
Be warned, the book published by General Books LLC is an el cheapo version, using OCR scanning and an automated scanning device which can miss complete pages. Typos are frequent and there's no table of contents, also, there was absolutely no editing of the book. This is all stated on the publishers web site (google them and read - you'll be as shocked as I was when you get all the details). There are NO illustrations.

The reviews asoociated with this book from General Books LLC are from a version from a different (and reputable) publisher. The owner of General Books LLC, VDM Publishing, is gaining noteriety for these ripoffs - almost every review of their books (around 500,000 of them from one imprint or another now listed on Amazon) by an actual buyer is negative, many are extremely so.

If you have bought the version from General Books LLC by mistake, you can return to Amazon within 30 days(but check Amazon's Return Policy for the details)

Some will love, some won't
OK, yeah, my title is a truism, but I think it applies here.If you like old-fashioned folk tales, as opposed to Disneyesque fairy tales, then you'll love this book.In other words, if you like the original Grimm tales, as opposed to the cleaned-up and defanged versions you often see nowadays, then you'll love this book.If you only let your kids read stuff where nobody is ever naughty and where nothing is really scary, then you should pass on this.Examples: One story has a bad-tempered man who hits people, and who gets his comeuppance in the end.Several stories have a traditional Russian witch, who is dangerous and not particularly nice, but who is also not altogether evil.

I think I enjoyed it more than my kids, so I only gave it 4 stars, since I think most people would buy this for a kid.

Best people to buy this for: adults who like folk tales, kids 8+ if good reading skill, kids 11+ if average reading skill, parents who are sick and tired of the usual pablum they are forced to read to their kids at bedtime.

Imaginative Tales for Kids
This was the first storybook that was ever read to me. TheBook tells the story of an uncle that lives in the chill of Russia during the winter with his nephews. As days go by, he starts telling stories to them ...

Thesestories, are perfect for children ages 10 and up. They arewritten prettymuch as fables, all of them having some kind of insight as to how peopleare. No violence is included in the text, though some is meant to beunderstood, as in Little Red Riding Hood.

Do get this book. Read it outloud to your young and see their reaction. ... Read more

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Contents:THE QUEEN OF SPADESA.S. Pushkin, THE CLOAKN.V. Gogol, THE DISTRICT DOCTORI.S. Turgenev, THE CHRISTMAS TREE AND THE WEDDINGF.M. Dostoyevsky, GOD SEES THE TRUTH, BUT WAITSL.N. Tolstoy, HOW A MUZHIK FED TWO OFFICIALSM.Y. Saltykov, THE SHADES, A PHANTASYV.G. Korolenko, THE SIGNALV.N. Garshin, THE DARLINGA.P. Chekhov, THE BETA.P. Chekhov, VANKAA.P. Chekhov, HIDE AND SEEKF.K. Sologub, DETHRONEDI.N. Potapenko, THE SERVANTS.T. Semyonov, ONE AUTUMN NIGHTM. Gorky, HER LOVERM. Gorky, LAZARUSL.N. Andreyev, THE REVOLUTIONISTM.P. Artzybashev, THE OUTRAGEA.I. Kuprin. ... Read more

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Writers and Problems, 1917-1977. ... Read more

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Covers the myths and legends of the Russian Empire at its greatest extent as well as other Slavic people and countries. Includes historical, geographical, and biographical background information. ... Read more

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Read the amazing collection of 24 magical mythological stories of all nations. Fascinating and adventurous stories like Jason and the Golden Fleece, Prometheus Friend of Man, The Good King Arthur, The Great Knight Siegfried, Beowolf and the Fire Dragon, The Cyclops, Oedipus and the Sphinx, Lohengrin and Elsa the Beautiful, Count Roland, the Sack of Troy,and many more... Clearly written short classics that everyone should know. Read the ancient legends from nations and countries like Greece, Italy, Britain, Germany, Scandinavia and France in this comprehensive 1914 bestselling book that tells the wonderful mythological stories of all nations. Magical stories that everyone should know! ... Read more