Poor Liza Character in 20th Century Russian Literature Essay.

Karamzin is the first to revere this name in his work Poor Liza and it is this work that sets off a chain reaction that causes the occurrence of subsequent characters in Russian literature. This character can particularly be found in works such as Pushkin’s Queen of Spades, Griboyedov’s Woe from Wit, and even briefly in Gogol’s Dead Souls.

Nikolay Karamzin's short story Poor Liza (1792). Karamzin's famous tale, as recounted by a captivated narrator, tells the tragic love story between an aristocrat, Erast, a basically kind-hearted but flighty young man, and a young and innocent peasant, Liza, who gives in to her passion for him.

Poe’s writings will provide a lens to view Gogol’s “The Overcoat” and Karamzin’s “Poor Liza”. Because both pieces of fiction are obviously short stories, Poe’s essay will be used not to compare the effectiveness of two differing forms, but rather as a standard by which to measure the success of each short story.