On a form of auto-communication in Russian poetry

This study analyzes the self-referential nature of Russian lyric poetry, focusing on instances where poets explicitly address their own works. The inherent representativeness of the initial works within each pair ultimately prompt their authors to reconsider, refine, or validate the biographical and artistic perspectives conveyed therein. The analysis encompasses notable works such as “Zhdi menya” (“Wait for me”) by K. Simonov, “Loshadi v okeane” (“Horses in the ocean”) and “Fiziki i liriki” (“Physicists and lyricists”) by B. Slutsky, “Kogda my byli molodye…” (“When we were young...”) by Yu. Moritz, “Okhota na volkov” (“Hunting for wolves”) by V. Vysotsky, and others. The celebrated poems, reintroduced within the new composition, function as integral plot devices, exceeding simple auto-reminiscence. The study also examines the transitional cases between repeated elements (variants, “doublets,” and motifs) and the actual poems of poets about their verses. The study reveals the versatility of poems about one’s own poems, including self-parody, reference to the former poems by the poet’s representative, reference to a third participant in the subject situation, and others. These forms indicate the increasing poetic possibilities in the ratio of the subjective and temporal organization of a lyrical poem, the expansion and complication of the dialogical possibilities of the duality “I am the present - I am the former” (a new text - a prototype text). It is stated that in parallel with other forms of discourse, the use of self-quotation in poetry enriches the semantic field and contributes to the expression of different value relations to the world.

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