The Personality of the Narrator in the Epic Tradition: from the Russian School of Folkloristics to Perry-Lord

This article shows research in the evolution of personality comprehension of the storyteller in the epic tradition, starting with the Russian school of folklore studies and ending with the research of the American school of Perry-Lord. It analyzes key concepts of creative continuity, individual style, and collective creativity, as well as the role of verbal poetry as a living process. Particular attention is paid to the methods of composing an epic text, performance techniques, and the universal characteristics of the art of storytelling. There is a transition from the collective perception of the storyteller to the recognition of his creative individuality discussed, which becomes the basis for modern approaches to the research of verbal epic poetry and the understanding of the phenomenon of verbal artistry. The aim of the research is to identify and analyze the development of ideas about the personality of the storyteller in the epic tradition, to trace the evolution of scientific approaches from the Russian school of folklore studies to the theoretical concepts of the Perry-Lord school, and to determine the influence of these approaches on the contemporary understanding of the creative individuality of the verbal epic poetry performer. Object of research: epic verbal tradition and the creative personality of storytellers in the context of Russian and foreign folklore studies. Subject of research: scientific concepts and theoretical models revealing the role and individual characteristics of the storyteller in the process of creating and performing epic works within the traditions of the Russian school of folklore studies and the Perry- Lord school. The following methods were used: theoretical (analysis of scientific and methodological literature regarding the subject being studied, analysis of the contemporary literature content).