Abstract: The article raises the question of the deep ideological connection between the first collection of N. A. Nekrasov’s poems Dreams and Sounds and the poet’s mature works. The analysis of Nekrasov’s early lyrics shows a consistently sustained polemic with E. A. Boratynsky and other Russian romantics from the standpoint of traditional religiosity as opposed to the aestheticization of religion. The article considers the poet’s attitude to creativity as a “religious feat,” as a means of spiritual salvation, finding the “crown of love,” and elevation from “petty passions” to the “great deed of love.” The article emphasizes the absence of lyrical self-expression in the poet’s first collection, and the abundance of didacticism. The author of the article proves that the mature Nekrasov gave Russian poetry something that sharply distinguishes him from others, including the greatest Russian poets, i. e., an inimitable piercing intonation of spiritual anguish in love and righteous anger. The article notes the connection between the most important poetic features of Nekrasov’s lyrics and the Gospel, the Christian worldview, which has not yet been adequately studied. Dreams and Sounds were not a mistake or failure of Nekrasov, but a necessary step on the path to the poetry of “love and anger.”
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