The article investigates the supertext unity that was notable in the Russian literature of the first quarter of the 19th century, the so-called Khvostoviana, or a system of integrated texts that developed around the person of Count D.I. Khvostov. We note the parodic nature of this supertext, which was emphasized by Pushkin’s well-known line «Svistov’s own style should be used to chant our praises of Svistov». This text is considered in three interrelated aspects: first, from the perspective of Khvostov’s parodic personality, where one can trace some features of a stylized image and of a real person (sometimes in a conflict and dramatic form); second, in terms of the supertext’s internal structuring and revealing its time framework and local variants; third, in the aspect of the overall dynamics of the literary-historical process and individual evolution of Khvostov’s work. A separate analysis is given to Khvostoviana’s most brilliant version - the receptive cycle of the Arzamasian P.A. Vyazemsky that imitates and parodizes the style of Khvostov’s fables.
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