Մարտիրոս Սարյանի «Գիսաստղը»

The series by Martiros Sarian "Tales and Dreams" fully corresponds to the art of the young generation of Russian Symbolism in terms of subject matter, pictorial language and aesthetic views. In the work of the artist of this period, there are “wandering” characters from one painting to another, recurring themes paving the way for various interpretations, and mysterious paintings. Such is "Comet", created in 1907. The key to the symbolism of this work is the semantic analysis of the characters of the gazelle and the one-eyed figure, which are central to the composition. Some notes by Sarian and comparisons with the symbolistic thinking of that time allow us to conclude that the gazelle bears a symbol of the Nature as a Creator, and the one-eyed hero is a Poet owning universal knowledge. The basis of "Comet" by Martiros Sarian is an inextricable link between Nature and Human being, it expresses the artist's love and respect for nature and, at the same time, faith in man.

Bulgarian Modernist Publications in the Database “Books in Russian Published Abroad, 1927—1991”

The article is devoted to the reflection of Bulgarian literary modernism of the 20th century in Bulgarian publications in Russian. The relevance of the article is supported by the fragmentary assimilation of Bulgarian modernism by Russian literary studies, which is insufficient to carry out the necessary completeness of the intercultural dialogue, given that the Bulgarian modernists largely focused in their work on the achievements of Russian symbolism and the Silver Age as a whole. The author traces the local features of the development of modernism in Bulgaria, which determine the validity of including in it the trends of symbolism and expressionism, often appearing in Bulgarian literature in syncretism. The article concretizes the stylistic and thematic uniformity of a number of Bulgarian literary phenomena of the 20th century, which proves the self-sufficiency of Bulgarian modernism as a full-fledged trend. Based on the material of Russian-language publications issued in Bulgaria and reflected in the database of the Bibliography Department of the Russian State Library “Books in Russian Published Abroad, 1927—1991”, the article identifies the main representatives of Bulgarian literary modernism: P. Todorov, P. Yavorov, A. Dalchev, A. Strashimirov, N. Furnadzhiev, A. Karalichev, D. Debelyanov, G. Milev, N. Rainov, T. Trayanov. The author attempts to determine a specific place for each of them within the framework of the considered trend. On the basis of individual and collective publications identified when accessing the specified database, the article outlines the main features of the creative method and style of each of the authors under consideration, which are supported by examples from the texts. The author draws conclusions about the degree of completeness of Bulgarian modernism adaptation for Russian-speaking readers, which remains insufficient due to the limited number of translations, the tendentious selection of works for translation in the light of the ideological restrictions of the Soviet era, the disregard of a number of leading authors, and the lack of modern reprints and popularization of the accumulated body of translations.

EXPLICATION OF THE IMAGE OF FIRE IN THE LYRICS OF A. BELY (1890–1910)

Purpose. The article is dedicated to a linguistic approach to analysis of symbolic meanings of the element of Fire in the poetry of Russian symbolist A. Bely.Methods. Symbolism of the element of Fire is studied from linguistic and linguoculturological points of view. The descriptive method was used to select and describe citation material, linguistic and statistical analysis allowed to determine the most frequent constructions, comparative analysis of symbolism of fire was used to identify the author's symbolic meanings on the background of traditional ones.Results. On the one hand the subject of the studying is traditional symbolism of the element of fire conditioned by German-Scandinavian mythology and by binary archetypical oppositions. On the other hand, we defined new author’s symbolism conditioned by the author’s poetic worldview.Archetypes are represented with binary oppositions actualizing the semantics of vertical direction, ambivalence, animism and anthropomorphism. The main traditional meanings of the culturological symbol “Fire” are as follows: a living, mobile element, a symbol of divine energy, the myth world of divine essences, a substitute for God on Earth, characterized by the properties of ambivalence – a symbol of creation and destruction, life and death, also a symbol of fertility, a symbol of passion, strong feelings and desires, a symbol of transformation, rebirth, interaction of the elements, a symbol of purification and healing, light, masculinity, a symbol of creativity, inspiration. The author’s symbolic meanings are expressed according to his rethinking of the myths and archetypes and explication of the meaning in the nearest surrounding of the concept Fire in the texts. So, A. Bely’s individual semantics of the element of fire is: symbol «Fire» is interpreted as a retribution, a challenge, correlates with the symbolist visionary “experience”, fabric, celestial phenomena – “dawns” and “sunsets” as the embodiment of information of a subtle world, the human body and his mental world, artifacts, precious stones on the basis of shades of red and yellow colours and the properties of transparency, “earthly” fire symbolizes physical-vital experiences, “heavenly” fire – “the ignition of a spiritual man”.Conclusions. Thus, the use of the mythologeme Thor, the author’s understanding of archetypal oppositions in the semantic circle of the image of fire led to the expression of traditional and individual-author interpretations of the symbolism of fire in the lyrics of A. Bely.Key words: Russian symbolism, poetry, element of Fire, A. Bely, traditional and author’s semantics. Мета статті – дослідити експлікацію символічних значень образу вогню в поезії російського символіста А. Бєлого.Методи дослідження. В даній студії символізм стихії вогню вивчається з лінгвістичної та лінгвокультурологічної точок зору. За допомогою прийомів описового методу відібраний та описаний цитатний матеріал, лінгвостатистичний аналіз дав змогу визначити найбільш частотні конструкції, порівняльно-зіставний аналіз символіки стихій використовувся для виявлення авторських символічних значень стихії вогню на тлі традиційних, які були знайдені у культурологічних словниках, енциклопедіях.Результати дослідження. Виявлені та описані механізми, що дозволяють експлікувати традиційні та індивідуально-авторські символічні значення образу вогню в ліриці А. Бєлого: це є взаємодія міфологем та архетипів, виявлених у най-ближчому оточенні образу, експлікованого лексемою «вогонь». З одного боку, предметом вивчення є традиційна символіка стихії вогню, зумовлена німецько-скандинавською міфологією та бінарними архетипічними опозиціями, визначеними у поетичному мовленні автора. З іншого боку, проаналізовано індивідуально-авторську символіку, зумовлену поетичним світогля-дом поета-символіста. Архетипи представлені бінарними опозиціями, що актуалізують семантику вертикального напрямку, амбівалентності, анімізму та антропоморфізму. Основні традиційні значення культурологічного символу «Вогонь» пред-ставлені у словниках та енциклопедіях символів, міфологій: живий, рухливий елемент, символ божественної енергії, світ божественних сутностей, субститут Бога на Землі, що характеризується властивостями амбівалентності – символ створення і руйнування, життя і смерті, символ родючості, символ пристрасті, сильних почуттів і бажань, символ перетворення, від-родження, взаємодії стихій, символ очищення і зцілення, світла, мужності, символ творчості, натхнення. Індивідуально-авторські символічні значення формуються відповідно до його переосмислення міфів та архетипів. Отже, індивідуально-авторські символічні значення стихії вогню А. Бєлого такі: символ «Вогонь» трактується як відплата, виклик, він корелює із символістичним візіонерським «переживанням», тканиною, небесними явищами – «світанками» та «заходами сонця» як втілення інформації тонкого світу, людського тіла та його психічного світу, артефактів, дорогоцінних каменів на основі від-тінків червоного та жовтого кольорів та властивостей прозорості, «земний» вогонь символізує фізично-життєві переживання, «небесний» – «займання духовної людини».Висновки. Таким чином, використання міфологеми Тор, авторське осмислення архетипних опозицій у семантичному колі образу вогню зумовило вираження традиційних і індивідуально-авторських інтерпретацій символіки вогню в ліриці А. Бєлого досліджуваного періоду.Ключові слова: російський символізм, поезія, стихія вогню, А. Бєлий, традиційна та авторська символіка.

GOTHIC TRADITION IN LITERATURE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF INTERMEDIAL ANALYSIS

The article is devoted to the insufficiently studied problem of using intermedial analysis for studying the Gothic tradition in the literature of Russian symbolism (on the example of V. Brusov’s and F. Sologub’s works). We focus our attention on transition a visual image or a medieval art motive from one sign system to another. We analyze how medieval cultural categories correspond to the chronotope and figurative system in the Gothic novels of the 18th - early 19th century. It is concluded that the Symbolists refer to the visual images of the Gothic novel not only as elements of tradition, but also as categories of the culture of the Middle Ages.

The Idea of Russian Symbolism about the Synthesis of Cultural Forms in the Context of Postmodern Culture

The relevance of the topic is due to the attention to trends in the development of culture. The synthesis of cultural forms is one of the important factors in the dynamics of culture. The teaching of Russian symbolism about the synthesis of cultures was analyzed in the scientifi c literature of the entire twentieth century. The novelty of the research is to compare the idea of art synthesis in the early twentieth and twenty-fi rst centuries. Two aspects of the idea of synthesis are considered: 1) the relevance of the idea of art synthesis in the postmodern era; 2) music and the visual series as organizing centers of art synthesis in the era of information technology. The purpose of this article is to examine the teaching of Russian symbolism about the integration of various forms of art and the features of synthesis in the postmodern era. The idea of integrating cultural forms was one of the key elements in Russian symbolism at the beginning of the twentieth century and was interpreted as a real prospect for the development of culture. In a broad sense, synthesis in symbolism meant the integrity of life, the integration of all spheres of human activity, the “organic connection” of cultures of the past and present. The synthesis can be realized on the basis of the art of symbolism, which can create a new culture. The synthesis of arts was understood as the beginning of the formation of a new culture. The core of the synthesis of arts, the symbolists saw music. Postmodern art is characterized by synthetism. Computer and information technologies create new forms of synthetic media art. The video series becomes the center of integration construction of postmodern audiovisual culture forms. The symbolist idea of the synthesis of arts as the beginning of cultural change in the postmodern era remains a utopian project. But the creation of new art forms in postmodern culture i s based on integration. New technologies are becoming a factor that determines the specifi cs of the synthesis of arts and infl uences the dynamics of culture. Both in Russian symbolism and in modern art, the goal of art synthesis is to present an integral image of the world, to form a system of worldview attitudes.

Leonid Dolgopolov’s Unpublished PhD Thesis on Alexander Blok’s Narrative Poems ‘Retribution’ and ‘The Twelve’

Russian Modernism scholar Leonid Konstantinovich Dolgolopov (1928 –1995), known for his studies on Alexander Blok and Andrei Bely, completed his PhD thesis on Blok’s narrative poems “Retribution” and “The Twelve” in 1960, received his degree in 1962, but never published the text (now in the author’s possession). Its major parts were published as papers, its principal propositions and conclusions were developed in Dolgopolov’s later research works, but the thesis was never printed as a whole, and, from the author’s point of view, is worth being published as a valuable source for history of literary studies on Russian Symbolism as well as an original work useful and readable even now. The article presents Dolgopolov’s unpublished PhD thesis. Chapter One deals with “Retribution” and presents a comprehensive study of the poem’s plan, plot, and literary history, its genre peculiarities and historical scenes. Chapter Two analyzes evolution of Blok’s political views during the First World War and the Russian Revolution of 1917 and also its reflection in Blok’s lyric poems of this period. Chapter Three is the first of Dolgopolov’s numerous studies on “The Twelve”, the work he considered to be Blok’s highest literary achievement. Dolgopolov analyzed the poem’s ideas and images (especially Jesus Christ), its formal and rythmic novelty, its place among other contempopary poetical works on Russian revolution.

MIKHAIL VRUBEL IN SEARCH OF THE “STYLISHLY BEAUTIFUL”. THE BIOGRAPHICAL ASPECT

The article is a conceptual exploration of the life and creative path of Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vrubel (1856-1910) in the context of the individual characteristics of his personality. The relevance of this study is determined by the need to find new conceptual angles in the field of understanding the idealistic component of M.A. Vrubel's work, i.e. in the field of his iconographic poetics. The visual myth-making of the artist, who drew on authentic spiritual prototypes, defined the leading role of Vrubel not only in Russian Symbolism and Modernism, but also in Modernism as a whole. The linking of the biographical aspect with M.A. Vrubel's poetic thinking, examined through the prism of “pure art”, i.e. in the context of the idea of the legitimacy of the independent existence of the self-contained reality of the work, can give entirely new accents of understanding the deep origins and potential meanings of the artist's work at the present stage of development of art history.

Neo-Kantian motifs in the works of A. Bely

The article is devoted to the work of A. Bely in the development of Russian culture in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. Attention is paid to the motives of the creative path of the philosopher-poet, who created the basis of Russian symbolism. By analyzing the cultural and historical manifestations of the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, reflection in the works of art and science workers, an assessment of the severity of symbolism for the development of Russian philosophy and the field of art in general. In the process of the formation of symbolism in Bely's work, neo-Kantian motives are clearly revealed in the formulation of the problem of the difference between subjective perception and the essence of the object of perception in itself, that is, distinguishing between the symbol and the signified. By comparing Bely's views with the concept of sophiology and anthroposophy, distinct Kantian positions of the philosopher-poet stand out. These include the schematism of space and time, an attempt to apply the categories of natural science to the field of philosophy of art, as well as the demarcation of the immanent and the transcendent. Despite the fact that the ideas of the philosopher-poet in their form have similar positions with the anthroposophy of R. Steiner and with the ideas of V. Solovyov, however, the key content is the neo-Kantian methodology of "critical deepening" of thought and its rationalization. The actualization of Bely's creativity and the issue of his neo-Kantian motives is carried out by attracting research from related branches of knowledge on the principles of interdisciplinary consideration and implementation of an integrated approach.

On the History of the Academic Series “Literary Heritage” (for the 90th Anniversary)

The article examines the history of the publication of the academic series Literary Heritage based on new archival materials. The publication was initiated in 1931, when archival and publishing activities were affected by political trials. The author of the draft used political rhetoric to get permission to publish it from the Central Committee of the CPSU(b). In 1932, following the decree “On the Restructuring of Literary and Artistic Organizations,” Literary Heritage became an exemplary academic publication and received international recognition. Literary Heritage developed a new method as it placed the author in the position of a student at the editorial board. In Soviet times, the Literary Heritage existed under the conditions of censorship and ideological control but still managed to publish a volume on Russian symbolism in 1937. The years 1947–1959 were difficult for Literary Heritage when the editorial office was accused of cosmopolitanism. In its publishing policy, Literary Heritage was ahead of time and above the reader’s dogmatism which led to the sequestration of several volumes. The history of Literary Heritage contributed to creating an intellectual and ideological platform that nurtured a new generation of literary historians.