Images of Napoleon in "Collection of Poems Relating to the Unforgettable 1812" (anthology republishing project)

The era of the Napoleonic wars is one of the most difficult in the Russian history and culture: it is the period of changes and active military-political events, unprecedented unity of the Army and the people, the church and the state; still, it is the period of great myths, which were created to strengthen and support the feeling of national dignity. The fiction of military and post-war time bears the impress of ideology and serves to some extent to promote patriotism thus becoming historical journalism. Philosophical and aesthetic problems fade before the essential problems of culture, the natural need to comprehend the recent past and the present in the changed realities. "Collection of Poems Relating to the Unforgettable 1812" is unique in scale: the edition united more than a hundred authors, both well-known (N.M. Karamzin, G.R. Derz-havin, V.A. Zhukovsky, etc.) and anonymous, who signed by toponyms (e.g., "Starorusino Village"). The two-volume collection included the already known texts and the new poems of different styles (from Classicist to folklore stylizations) and genres (from the ode to the lament), which forces to perceive it in the important contemporary context with the major role belonging to the people, the masses, not high artistry. The image of Napoleon-atheist, the enemy of Christians was the most popular, key cliche. Its introduction in public consciousness organized one of the main activities of orthodox clergy - the anti-Napoleonic church sermon. The main poetic figure the authors-poets used to describe the features of the French Commander-in-Chief is comparison. Comparing Napoleon to tyrants was a favourite method of the pamphleteers. The sequence of bad names Napoleon is defined with ends by calling him evil in the religious sense. Satan, Devil, Antichrist - these names become an integral part of the anti-Bonaparte myth. Images of animals are also used developing the idea of the beastly nature of Antichrist act. So, the French emperor is represented by the Russian poets as "a greedy, fierce animal", "an alien predator"; "a hydra with killing poison"; "darkness-headed dragon". The third form of depicting Napoleon in the Collection is connected with the national motive. Everything French is reconsidered. The name "Gaul" becomes a curse in the works of the poets. As a result of these collective efforts the heroic image of Napoleon is totally discredited and opposed to all Russian citizens. The Collection repeats the same motives and expressions, thus reaching the main communicative goal connected with ideology - glorification of the military deed of the perished and the survived compatriots, and the defeat of the evil enemy.

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