A. PLATONOV AND HIS POETICS OF DEATH (OBSERVATIONS ON 'CHEVENGUR', 'KOTLOVAN' AND 'JUVENILE SEA')

• Authors: Proskurina E.
• Languages of publication: RU

Abstracts

EN

In this article the authoress reveals the main semantic aspects of death poetics within the three most famous works of A. Platonov dating to late 1920s and early 1930s, namely the novel 'Chevengur' and the stories 'Kotlovan' and 'Juvenile Sea'. The main semantic aspects of death poetics represent the following: (1) 'mystery aspect' - death with an intention of resurrection; (2) 'aspect of the absolute nonexistence' - death deprived of the intention for resurrection; (3) 'aspect of life illusion' - death represented in expositions of life. In the three texts mentioned above, a certain strategy for an artistic view on death can be observed. It displays dynamics of the author's attitude to the historical reality of Russia of the time. Special attention is given to poetics of gesture in Platonov's descriptions of death, to semantic differences of death with face down which is always charged with the idea of resurrection, and death with face up lacking a positive intention. Analysing the sense of the strategy for portraying death in Platonov's works leads to a seemingly unexpected conclusion: from the ontological point of view, the 'Juvenile Sea' seems to lack prospects to the strongest degree. This story was completed by the author in 1932, which means that it is chronologically the completion of Platonov's trilogy. The work has the smallest number of deaths, yet at the same time it absolutely lacks the mystery component in poetic representation of those deaths.

Keywords

EN

ABSOLUTE NONEXISTENCE; LIFE ILLUSION; MYSTERY ASPECT; PLATONOV A.; POETICS OF DEATH

Discipline

• PHILOLOGY_&_LINGUISTICS: PHILOLOGY & LINGUISTICS

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk
• Journal: Slavia Orientalis
• Year: 2006
• Volume: 55
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 529-540
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Proskurina E.

• E. Proskurina, Institut Filologii, Sibirskoe Otdelenie Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, ul. Nikolayeva 8, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

07PLAAAA01863990