Poem as Text and as Song (Case Study of J. Brodsky’s Lyric Poetry of the 1970s and 1980s)

Abstract

The article focuses on the concept of poetry presented in J. Brodsky's compositions of the 70s and 80s. The author semantically opposes the two forms of presentation of a poetic work – written and oral. This opposition is based, firstly, on the contrast between the linguistic and empirical realities, while it is the sphere of language that acquires the highest, determining value. In the process of writing, the poet creates a second self, projects himself into the area of the text and thus gains access to a special textual space, which becomes for him a kind of refuge from the material world. However, the reproduction of a poem in oral form correlates with the image of the living world and is carried out in empirical reality. In this regard, the romantic conflict between the poet and the crowd, characteristic of Brodsky's early compositions, is preserved in his work of the 70s and 80s only when the poem is realized orally and addressed to the poet's contemporaries. The interaction of the poet and the audience in terms of the written text is presented as communication between an abstract sender and addressee. Participants of this communication lack any specific biographical features, which eliminates the possibility of a conflict between them. Secondly, the opposition of oral and written forms of poetic speech is based on the contrast between sound and silence, which in Brodsky's ontological model correspond to being and non-being. The situation of writing, characterized by soundlessness, refers the poet to the image of non-existence and helps to take a position of courageous acceptance of the thought of death. The very space of the text is likened to non-existence, therefore, during his lifetime, the poet has only partial access to it. The situation of speaking is the spreading of the poet's voice in the living world.