Information about the author:
Maria Cymborska-Leboda
Maria Cymborska-Leboda, Professor, Dr. Hab., Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (Institute of Neophilology, Doctoral School), Poland, 20-031, Lublin, Pl. M. Curie-Sklodowskiej, 5/1508.
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ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8666-3563
Abstract:
The article offers an analysis of the multifaceted problem of the semantic antinomy of myth and its interpretation in the poetry of Vyacheslav Ivanov. The main focus of the research is the poem “Sphinx” from the collection “Pilots of the Stars.” The starting point and hermeneutic key to these reflections was the poet’s philosophical essay of 1934, where we find one of his explications (the third) of the myth of Oedipus, in which the antinomic combination of “the terrifying and the divine” is found. Two main theses are put forward and developed: (1) in its genre structure/nature the “Sphinx” poem is a mystery, and initiatory schemes acquire an important role in it; (2) in terms of meaning, the mystery poem is constructed according to the palimpsest principle; in addition to the mythological layer, the Dante, Baudelaire and Augustine layers, as well as the biblical and Christian ones, are of significant importance in it. It is indicated that the reading/ deciphering of palimpsest meanings, obvious and “hidden” (Christian) contributes to the understanding of the ontological (split earth — heaven/paradise) and existential-axiological antinomies of the poem (Evil — Good, hatred/violence — love/ salvation), as well as the interpretation of the textual multi-voicedness (polyphony) on the personal, values-related and philosophical levels. The polar, opposite meanings and symbolic contradictions of the mythical figures of the Sphinx and Oedipus are revealed, underpinned by an enriching multi-level interpretation. The key role of the semantic and axiological antinomies of the mystery is revealed: the Beast/Demon — Christ, Darkness — Light; and in the myth itself and the symbolic dimension of Oedipus (in his guise as a “sufferer”): blindness — sight, searching — finding. It is argued that Ivanov’s discursive strategy is aimed at indicating human deliverance from Evil, from being in its bondage, at emphasizing the struggle of the Spirit, seeking the “way to salvation” and the path of purification; therefore, it is aimed at confirming/revealing the mysterial-Christian Ultimate Meaning of the work, the secret “irreplaceable message”.
