The article deals with the genre, typological features of the works by Merezhkovsky “Instead of a Preface. The tragedy of Sophocles “Oedipus the King”, “The Tragedy of Chastity and Lust”, “Daphnis and Chloe”. These works are considered to be literary studies (the genre is interpretation research). Merezhkovsky examines them for compliance with the canons of the ancient poetics, finds out the idea, forms of conflict, includes the works in a broad cultural context.

The article deals with the genre and stylistic originality, compositional features of the work by D.S. Merezhkovsky “Two Secrets of Russian Poetry. Nekrasov and Tyutchev”. The critical prose essay is schematic and subjective in evaluations. Merezhkovsky is intertextual; using the method of opposition and the elements of the biography of poets, he claims the authorship of “the new word” about Nekrasov and Tyutchev, creates a wide literary historical and metaphysical context.