The article deals with certain aspects of the poetics of heroic poems of the late 18th - the early 19th centuries, in particular, the poems "Ilya Muromets" by N. M. Karamzin, "Alyosha Popovich", "Churila Plenkovich" by N. A. Radishchev and "Bakhariyana" by M. M. Kheraskov. Using the methods of historic cultural and comparative analysis, we have emphasized several elements that point to genre experimentation by the authors. We consider the following two aspects in greater detail: differences in the appeal to "the muse", with which all poems begin, and differences in the description of the central character - bogatyr. It can be observed that the appeals to the “non-muse” in each of the works both link them with the traditions of the epic poem, and at the same time declaratively challenge elements of the passing age’s poetics. The description of the protagonist varies in the poems: the reader can see both the images of a European knight in armor and a Russian knight with a wooden club. The central character’s description varies depending on authorial intent and particular focus on creative experimentation.