On literary reminiscences in Pushkin's essay "I ty tut byl..." ("And you were here...")

Object of the article: Pushkin’s essay “I ty tut byl…” ("And You Were Here..." (1835). Subject of the article: literary reminiscences in the Pushkin essay. Purpose of the research: reconstruction of the essay’s plot design. Results: the authors argue that Pushkin’s essay "And you were here ..." has parallel allusions, on the one hand, to an episode from the “Chronicles” by Jean Froissart, and on the other hand, to the play "Wat Tyler" by Robert Southey. Field of application: literary criticism. Conclusion: Comparison of the essay “And you were here ...” with episodes from “Chronicles” by Froissart and Southey’s play “Wat Tyler” indicates that they could serve as literary sources of Pushkin’s text. Thematic parallels between “And you were here...” and some fragments of “Chronicles” and the play “Wat Tyler” help to reconstruct the plot design of Pushkin’s essay and support the idea of its semantic completeness. The author is indebted to Oleg B. Zaslavsky for stimulating discussion and helpful advice.