Propp s essay in Russian Folk Lyrics extends beyond the formalistic analysis of folklore outlined in his classic The Morphology of the Folktale. In this study, newly translated by Roberta Reeder, Propp considers the Russian folk lyric in the social and historical context in which it was produced.

Reeder supplements Propp s theoretical presentation with a comprehensive anthology of examples. Some songs were imitated by or appear in the works of Russia s major writers, such as Pushkin and Nekrasov. Here we find the customs of Russian peasant life expressed through the ritual of song....