Boris Godunov: (Annotated Edition)

Boris Godunov is a play by Russian playwright and novelist Alexander Pushkin. The play was written as a closet drama, which is a play script that is meant to be read in a small group and not meant to be performed on stage. The titular character was an actual historical figure, Boris Fyodorovich Godunov, who was a tsar during the 1500s. The end of his reign was followed by a period of political unrest in Russia called the Time of Troubles.The play was Pushkin's attempt to create a Shakespearean drama in the form of a closet play and within the context of Russian history. Pushkin would later state in letters to his literary colleagues that he believed the Russian dynasties and tsardoms were just as intriguing and bloody as the political history of other countries. Pushkin also revealed that Karamzin-a Russian poet and historian-was also an influence on the writing of Boris Godunov. Like the playwrights and poets of the past who fictionalized historical dramas, Pushkin wanted to create a sweeping Russian epic. It also allowed Pushkin to criticize certain aspects of Russian politics and history.