Orientalist Poets and Intertextuality with the Qur'an: Alexander Pushkin as an Example

Abstract

Orientalist Poets and Intertextuality with the Qur’an (Alexander Pushkin as a Model) This research examines the characteristics of Russian Orientalism, which developed primarily as a literary and artistic engagement with the East, independent of traditional religious polemics. It takes the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin as a representative example of Russian writers’ interaction with Islam and the Qur’an. The study demonstrates that Pushkin’s attraction to the East was shaped by his Abyssinian ancestry and his exposure to translations of the Qur’an. This engagement is reflected in his poetry through clear intertextual relations with the Qur’anic text. Such interaction appears notably in his poem Imitations of the Qur’an, where he draws upon Qur’anic meanings and imagery, particularly from the chapters Al-Muddathir, Abasa, and Ad-Duha. Pushkin’s poetic method is characterized by an assimilative form of intertextuality that retains the spirit and thematic intentions of the Qur’anic text while integrating a personal poetic perspective. The research concludes that Pushkin represents a distinctive creative case in which engagement with the Qur’an contributed to enriching Russian poetry with deep spiritual resonance and refined aesthetic expression.