SOURCE: "Prose Writings," in Alexander Pushkin, revised edition, Twayne Publishers, 1992, 122-29.

In the following excerpt, Vickery presents an overview of Pushkin's short fiction and concludes that his integral contribution to the Russian short story lies in his use of narrative technique rather than in the content of his writings.

Pushkin, along with some of his contemporaries, realized early in his literary career that Russian prose had lagged far behind Russian poetry in its achievements. Furthermore, the flowery characteristics of much Russian poetry had infiltrated prose. As early as 1822 he comments, "Voltaire may be regarded as an excellent example of sensible style. . . . Precision, tidiness, these are the prime matters of prose. It demands thought and more thought, brilliant expressions are of no use; poetry is another business. . . . Whose prose is the best in our literature? Karamzin's: this is no great praise." Pushkin's intense interest in Vyazemaky's translation of Benjamin...