Article

Name: To the Study of Visual Poetics in the Old Believer Literature of the 18th Century

Authors: O. D. Zhuravel

Novosibirsk State University (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation)

Abstract: The article raises the problem of visual poetics in the Old Believer literature. The author analyzes the texts of Baroque rhetoric and sermons created on the Vyg during the 18 th century, including the works written by the Vyg leaders Andrei Denisov and Andrei Borisov. The author argues that focalization in the Old Believer literary culture is linked to general poetic attitudes. The Baroque Poetics implied the intensive inclusion of the illustrative material in the texts. Visual metaphors were meant to clarify the writer's idea, and simultaneously execute a didactic function. The author shows that visual images and metaphors used in the texts written at the beginning of the 18 th century helped to create an idealized image of the world, which itself was based on the structure- forming constants of the Baroque worldview. The excerpts from baroque rhetoric reflected the ideas common for the Baroque culture, such as the contrasting nature of the world, the world as a labyrinth, “vanitas vanitatum”, “life is a dream” etc. The usage of emblem is considered to be an example of the implementation of conceptual metaphors. The author displays how through the visualization techniques Andrei Denisov constructs the ideal image of Vyg as a place of spiritual asceticism. Details of the real-life and landscape are included in the utopian discourse, which encompasses the topic of paradise as well. Different symbols such as honey, bees, gold, sunshine, rose and others are used. The article discusses the first detailed description of the elephant in Russian literature, included in the allegorical context of Andrei Denisov’s preaching. At the end of the 18 th century, Andrei Borisov started emphasizing the author’s personality. Naturalistically accurate descriptions of the author’s condition focus attention on his viewpoint and also serve as an expression of the didactic thoughts. The detailed analysis of the unique example of ekphrasis from Andrei Borisov’s work, a description of the portrait of Catherine the Second by D. Levitsky, is provided.

Keywords: Old Believer literary culture, Vyg, Baroque, rhetoric, visual metaphors, emblem, Andrei Denisov, Andrei Borisov, ecfrasis

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