Three epigrams by A.P. Sumarokov in the may issue of the journal “The industrious bee” (1759): the historical and cultural context

Much of the literature concerning Sumarokov's journal «The Industrious Bee» often highlights its satirical orientation. Often the genre of epigram is noted as corresponding to this satirical pathos and to the topicality of the journal's publications. In contrast, this article suggests a new perspective, focusing on Sumarokov's epigrams that were published in the May issue. Historical-typological, cultural-historical, biographical, and comparative-historical methods are used to reconstruct their historical and cultural context. The authors find that Sumarokov formally follows the main generic features of the epigram. The text of each epigrams is intended for the general reading public. The subject of each epigrams is an original interpretation of a common place. At the level of poetics, the emergence of a new genre section of several texts is a special way of their cyclization. This method is based on the intuitively found by the publisher balance of socially significant and intimate contexts.