"An original and persuasive illumination of the history of Russian poetry."—William Mills Todd III, Harvard University
The Imperial Sublime examines the rise of the Russian empire as a literary theme simultaneous with the evolution of Russian poetry between the 1730s and 1840—the century during which poets defined the main questions facing Russian literature and society. Harsha Ram shows how imperial ideology became implicated in an unexpectedly wide range of issues, from formal problems of genre, style, and lyric voice to the vexed relationship between the poet and the ruling monarch.
"An excellent knowledge of specifically Russian and general European contexts, incisive textual analyses, and a very fine aesthetic sensibility make Ram's book an outstanding achievement."—Boris Gasparov, Columbia University
"Given its broad perspective and eloquent argument, Ram's study of the confluent rise of the imperial sublime and the modern Russian poetic language should prove a vital resource for scholars of Russian history and poetics. . . . Ram breaks new ground in forging a synthesis of historical concern and poetic tradition. Essential."—N. Tittler, Choice
The Imperial Sublime was a finalist, Best Book in Slavic Literary and Cultural Studies, AATSEEL