An Observer in Poetic Narrative (In the Poems of Pavel Vasiliev)

The article analyzes the subjective organization of poetic narrative, the specificity of an observer in correlation with the forms of the author’s consciousness, ways of expressing the subject of spatial deixis, and kinds of perception used by the observer. The analysis is carried out on the basis of the lyrics of the Russian Soviet poet Pavel Vasiliev (1910-1937). Supporting the opinion of many scholars about the narrative nature of poetry and its eventuality, we have applied some narratological concepts to the analysis of poetic texts. Based on the concept of an “observer” (Yu.D. Apresyan, E.V. Paducheva) in poetic narrative and correlating it with various forms of the author’s consciousness (the author him-/herself, the narrator, the lyrical character, the role-playing character), in accordance with B.O. Korman, we have attempted to identify the specificity of the role and function of an observer as a subject of spatial deixis, explicit and implicit ways of its expression, and kinds of perception used. The observer in Vasiliev’s poems acts as the subject of perception, most often visual or acoustic one, less often tactile and olfactory. By varying the channels of perception and using the figure of an observer, the poet creates a stereoscopic concrete-sensual reality for the reader, perceiving it through their eyes, ears, and other senses. Depending on the role of the subject, it is expressed explicitly using egocentric words: 1st person pronouns, 1st person verbs of perception (see, hear, look, etc.), particles (vot, i vot), or implicitly through implications derived from figurative-artistic linguistic means: metaphors, epithets, comparisons, rhetorical figures, etc. The reader and the observer, changing their positions and points of observation, move in space and become a spectator and a listener directly present at the events. The observer in poetic narrative, regardless of the forms of the author’s consciousness, always shows interest in what is happening around in different degrees: from emotional acceptance or rejection to a direct involvement. The methods of complicating the subjective organization that Vasiliev uses are established as well. These are changing various forms of the author’s consciousness as an observer in one work, changing the position and role of an observer within the same subject form, attracting the reader to a joint visual or auditory perception of nature, events, and things. These poetic techniques create the spatial diversity, subjective polyphony and dialogic nature of the poet’s art world, conveying his emotional experiences and reflection, influencing the figurative and sensory perception of the reader as an interpreter of poetic narrative.

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