UDC

821.161.1

Authors

Elena G. Ivashchenko
Amur State University;
Ignat’evskoe shosse 21, korp. 7, Blagoveshchensk, 675000, Amurskaya obl., Russian Federation;
e-mail: eivaschenko@mail.ru

Abstract

The article deals with the evolution of poetic nature in Boris Pasternak’s flash fiction. His early prose (“Apelles’ Line”, “Letters from Tula”, “The Childhood of Luvers”, “Aerial Ways”, etc.) is a result of a certain transformation of poetic images into the prosaic plane, increasing the metaphorization of the text. Tropes are represented in these works in such numbers that the text is perceived vertically (the reader has to go deeper into subtexts), rather than horizontally, which is characteristic of poetic works. This effect is enhanced by complex syntactic structures, a peculiar rhythm, and a diluted plot. Pasternak “uses prose as poetry” (A.S. Pushkin), leaving out its characteristic features: accuracy, clarity and simpler means of expression, all of which are meant to save artistic energy. By the early 1930s, Pasternak’s prose is starting to lose some poetic elements. He attempts to create a dichotomy including the prosaic “Novella” and the novel in verse Spektorsky. “Novella”, unlike Spektorsky, was never finished. It was supposed to embody the epic scale of the unfolding events, but, in the end, it came down to describing the inner feelings of the protagonist, which is characteristic of poetic works. In “Safe Conduct” and Patrick’s Notes, the changes in poetics become perceptible: descriptiveness is replaced by dynamism, syntactic constructions are simplified. Yet, up to the 1940s, Pasternak’s prose remains to a high degree poetrylike. The analysis of Pasternak’s numerous, and cited here, statements about the nature and essence of poetic and prose works confirms the main points of the article.

Keywords

Boris Pasternak, Pasternak’s prose, poet’s prose, poetic nature, prose metaphorization, prose rhythmization

References

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