Transformation of literary and folklore genre structures in the literary fairy tale “Ivan the Fool” by Leo Tolstoy (1885-1886)

The study aims to shed light on the peculiarities of transformation of literary and folklore genre structures in the literary fairy tale “Ivan the Fool” by Leo Tolstoy (1885-1886). The paper reveals the genre polyphony of this literary fairy tale by Tolstoy in comparison of its content with the problems of the philosophical novella of Voltaire, the social utopia of Th. More, F. Bacon and Plato, with the poetics of folklore (fairy tales, epics, riddles) and the military novella. The scientific novelty of the paper lies in determining the connection between Tolstoy’s artistic “ideas” in “Ivan the Fool” and the humanistic principle of his religious, philosophical and journalistic writings of the 1880s and 1900s (pacifism, criticism of historical forms of slavery, advocacy of nonviolence and universal love); in providing a historical and theoretical literary substantiation of the genre genesis of Tolstoy’s tale. As a result of the study, the genre form of Tolstoy’s literary fairy tale was characterized as a complex structure combining features of different types of literary creativity. The methods of artistic solution in this work containing socio-philosophical and ethical issues peculiar to philosophical novellas, social utopias and folk tales were classified. Scientific knowledge about folklore and ancient Russian reception in the plot, themes, images and details was supplemented with new facts.