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Abstract:

The article presents the first detailed Russian-language literary analysis of 1942 poem “Timoshenko” ву the English poet Sidney Keyes. The author emphasizes that Keyes remains virtually unknown in Russian literary criticism, and his poetic portrayal of a Soviet military leader stands as a unique example in the English-language poetry of World War II. The first part of the article explores the context of the poem’s creation: in the early 1940s, Timoshenko was one of the few Soviet commanders widely recognized in Britain and the USА due to the positive wartime image of the USSR in Western press. The article analyses the mechanisms behind this heroization, including media portrayals and even biographical legends. The second part examines the poem’s literary features, structure, and its place within Keyes’s poetic oeuvre. Special attention is given to the duality of the Timoshenko figure — both an epic hero and a tragic character. The study argues that, despite its seemingly atypical subject matter, the poem aligns with Keyes established style, marked by tragic pastoral imagery, symbolism, and mythological allusion. The novelty of this study lies in uncovering the artistic logic of a poem previously underrated by critics, and in interpreting Timoshenko’s image as part of the English-language wartime mythos.

Keywords: Sidney Keyes, WWII poetry, Russia in English literature, Eastern Front in world literature.