Interpretation of historical figures in the works of Mykhailo Starytsky and Ivan Ohiienko: typological aspect

Historical prose, which is characterized by an intellectual rethinking of signifi -cant facts from the past, has always been very popular. The article envisages the image of historical fi gures in the works of M. Starytsky and I. Ohiienko; shows how they are a mask-embodiment of an author’s idea, and how they correspond to Hegel’s formula of «human disclosure», especially in the fi eld of psychology and worldview.A historical person is always a phenomenon of his epoch, although every writer, addressing to the image, looks at the person from his point view. We can say that in the interpretation of any heroic act the ideological essence of the approach to it is revealed. M. Starytsky and I. Ohiienko were not the only authors of historical and literary works whose ideological burden was placed on well-known historical fi gures, through whom the authors tried to convey to the reader a certain idea, to help the Ukrainian people realize their identity in the European historical process.We have combined the works of artists with common themes and similar socio-national conditions and worldviews. They set themselves the task to present a true pic-ture of the real past through the most plausible details. The peculiarities of a literary character are determined by the fact that he is not only a certain psychological type, but also a certain plot, because he has his own true history.In the works of M. Starytsky and I. Ohiienko we have a wide gallery of heroes – strong personalities, heroes-rulers, fi rst of all from the pantheon of Ukrainian history. They are present in almost every work, and their role is usually key, pivotal, around such heroes unfolds all or almost the whole range of problems conceived in the works (Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Ivan Mazepa and Petro Doroshenko, etc.).Studies of the artistic heritage of M. Starytsky and I. Ohiienko show that the writ-ers relied on strong personalities, on the rulers from the pantheon of national history, who played key roles in the structure of these works and around whom the main prob-lem circles unfolded: hero and people, hero and power, hero and morality, etc. The hero in the works of both authors was realized primarily as a public fi gure (through the paradigms of problems «hero and history», «hero and people», «hero and struggle», etc.). The evolution of the characters takes place on the social scale of values. The concepts of heroes in the works of artists were written in the classical manner of expression with the using of tested literary techniques, which were mentioned above: portrayal of the hero, his characteristics through interiors, landscapes, through the ac-tion of the character (so-called external plan); self-characterization of the hero, internal monologues, refl ections; as well as indirect pictorial and expressive characteristics – im-pression assessments of some characters by others, injection of synonymous paths, etc.Thus, the characters of I. Ohiienko and M. Starytsky are characters that embody the features of that time, not only taking an active part in the historical process, but also assessing the events that take place according to their views of the world. They are directly related to the attributes of the past, not only characterized by them, but also illuminate them themselves, giving them a vital credibility.