The dissertation is dedicated to the problems and poetics of Ivan Korsak's historical novels in the field of Ukrainian historical fiction. A comprehensive analysis of the artist's creative work allowed to trace the development of the writer's worldview and creative manner, to explore the genesis and genre specifics of the Ukrainian historical novel, to analyze critical and scientific research of the author's work, to reveal the poetics of the writer's historical prose. Events in the context of the day, to highlight the view of historical figures depicted in the studied novels, to comprehend the nature of national consciousness and gender issues of the writer's novels.
The study of Ivan Korsak's historical prose is carried out taking into account the methodology, terminology, scientific concepts of modern and classical literary criticism.
The work considers the development and specifics of the historical novel, clarifies the periodization and themes, analyzes the current classifications of the genre and its modifications. The analysis of literary studies gave grounds to conditionally divide historical prose into two groups. The first of them includes works that focus on the fate of a historical figure, the second – rethinks a certain era or significant historical event. In the first case, part of the fiction and conjecture is significantly narrowed. The writer is obliged to follow the biography of the historical figure. In the second – the creative imagination of the author prevails, necessarily with observance of principles of historicism.
For the first time, the study, based on the artist's journalism, presents a holistic biography with an emphasis on the factors shaping the worldview of I. Korsak. The influence of the writer V.A.Lazaruk on the formation of the personality of the Volyn writer is proved. Teaching at school in the village Zabolottya Ratniv district, Victor Lazaruk introduced students, among whom was Ivan Feodosiyovych, with the latest and greatest examples of Ukrainian literature, in particular, the work of poets of the sixties, organized the work of poetry and art circles. V. Lazaruk had progressive pro-Ukrainian literary views, was a jealous defender of nature, author of numerous environmental articles, for which he was once persecuted. It was these worldviews that influenced the teacher for the further life and creative way of I. Korsak. In hisfirst profession, the writer was an agronomist, and in his later work, the motif of the unity of man and nature, admiration for the beauty of his native land runs through the line. Further studies at the Ukrainian Agricultural Academy and the Higher Party’s School contributed to the establishment of the creative individuality of the Lutsk writer. Student meetings with writers and acquaintance with the world's progressive literature contributed to the development of their own style, which is characterized by a philosophical understanding of reality, the unusual worldview, intellectualism.
A review of I. Korsak's literary work allowed us to trace the genesis of creativity from a realistic story of people's lives, at which stage attention is already traced to the inner world of man, through fiction, which became a turning point in the choice of subject, to a full-fledged historical novel with a powerful stream of psychologism.
The researching of the gender aspect of I. Korsak's creative work showed a movement towards emancipation in issues concerning women in state and public affairs. The author notes the traditional public views on family relations. A special place is occupied by the problem of motherhood. In the analyzed novels there is a failure of this function, which leads to divorce or misunderstandings in marriage due to the conditional brand of inferiority. It is important to emphasize the author's awareness of a woman as a full member of society.
It was found that the national component in the prose of Ivan Korsak is manifested through the "philosophy of the heart" as the basis of the worldview of the heroes of novels, the use of folk symbols, mythologies and archetypes expressed in images of human, plant and animal worlds, sources of national identity, depiction of the most significant or ideologically important moments of history in order to rethink, taking into account the new realities of today, emphasizing the individuality of the Ukrainian nation, culture over almost a thousand years of history and at the same time belonging to the European community, world progress, the return of little-known names in the historical and cultural context of the nation.Based on the corelation between facts and conjecture and fiction, the study proved that the fiction is characterized by features of intellectualism and philosophical.
