Article

Name: In Line of Queer Personages: Device as Object of Artistic Vision

Authors: I. V. Kuznetsov

Novosibirsk State Theatre Institute, Russian Federation

Abstract:

The article establishes presence of different figurative series and created by them plot lines in A. S. Pushkin’s poetic narrative “House in Kolomna” (1830), written with octaves. The actants in one of plot lines are personified composition elements – masculine and feminine syllables. This line finishes with allegorical conclusion about classic Italian octave inexpediency in Russian rhyme. Pushkin’s rhyme “Autumn” (1833) also written with octaves contains allusion to that metapoetic plot of “House in Kolomna”. The doubt, expressed in final of the rhyme, resonate with skeptical final of “House”. For all that, octave as strophic form, although not in its classic variant, has nevertheless got some use in Pushkin’s époque, particularly by M. Yu. Lermontov. Metaportic reflection of using octave as difficult form for Russian poetry took place later by D. S. Merezhkovsky. And Pushkin’s device itself of rhyme composition elements personifying was prolonged in Russian modern poetry. It was regularly used by V. F. Khodasevich: in rhymes “Peon and caesura”, “Poor rhymes”, “Daktyles”, “If not the jamb four-footed line…”. Sensual effect of this device is experience of changed reality, especially stressed by Hodasevich in all his life summarized rhyme “If not the jamb four-footed line…”.

Lyric subject’s placing into inward space of text inhabited by personified composition devices realizes a kind of “alchemic” technique of poetry, because composition devices embody such elements of poetry as rhythm, metre, intonation. Revealed by Pushkin, this device became used in 20th century. It anticipated modern conception of “word as object”, according to which in word-sign equalizes aspects of insigning and insigned. Such theoretical combination of two object lines is possible only for poetic mind understanding how “word itself” generates image and plot. That is why just the poets became the theorists of “word as object”: A. Belyi, V. Khlebnikov. In second half of 20th century combination of two object lines became working device in Russian poetry: it was used by J. Brodsky, I. Zhdanov and other metarealists, S. Gandlevsky, often by S. Samoylenko. In prose this device was actively used by V. Nabokov, and then S. Sokolov. It is notable that modernist literati regularly used combination of two object lines device – V. Khodasevich, V. Nabokov, V. Khlebnikov – constantly stressed their creation’s tie with Pushkin’s tradition.

Keywords: A. S. Pushkin’s “House in Kolomna”, Russian octave, composition elements personifying, word as object, alchemy of poetry

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