This essay offers a critical introduction to Ivan Kotliarevsky’s famous “Eneida”, a travesty of Virgil’s “Aeneid”. The first parts of his work were published in 1798. As such, “Eneida” is considered to be the beginning of modern Ukrainian literature. The essay considers the poem’s plot as well as its various intertexual and linguistic devices. It likewise surveys the poem’s reception from the 19th century up to the present moment in contemporary Ukrainian literature (V. Neborak, Yu. Andrukhovych), elucidating various interpretations of Kotliarevsky’s travesty.

This article is written in German.

Keywords: Ivan Kotliarevsky, “Eneida”, Ukrainian literature