Iván Kotliarevskiki’s role in the creation of the New Ukrainian Theatre and the development of the national culture

Abstract

This article is devoted to the analysis of theatrical works’ peculiarities of the Ukrainian playwright who is considered to be the founder of the New Ukrainian Theater, Ivan Kotliarevsky. They are investigated through a research approach which combines linguistic and theatrical study methods and allows to determine the reasons for these 19th century plays’ popularity in the 21st century. This research analyses the peculiarities of style, humor, sentimental and dramatic features, distinctive typological and national characteristics of the author’s best-known theatrical works Natalka Poltavka – a social drama – and Moscovita-hechicero – a vaudeville quite similar to Spanish zarzuelas. Attention is paid to the language used in the plays, which became a productive tool for revealing the special features of Ukrainians’ mentality and national consciousness. I.Kotliarevsky managed to reflect the realities of Ukrainian life and its acute problems in his light plots and everyday atmosphere.