Poetic Intonation in the Poems by Alexander Blok and Sergei Yesenin: More on the Methodology of Analysis

Julia M. Oparina

Abstract


In poetry, like in music, the poetic sounding has a semantic meaning and the meaning captured in a poem is “incapable of being renamed”, that is, expressed in any other way. This is what A.V. Mikhailov defines as “musicality”. Based on the concept of musicality in poetry, the article puts forward an original method of analysing poetic intonation. It can be used to identify individual features of the sound structure in a verse and, as a consequence, its emotional tone. The comparative analysis of two poems by A. Blok and S. Yesenin found the difference between the poetic intonation—a sound meaning— chosen by the authors. The manifestation of verse (rhythmic) and conversational (phrasal) intonations shapes the form of the poetic text either closer to the immanent musical or speech patterns.

The analysis of the sound meaning in a verse combines linguistic and musicological approaches. This methodology facilitates the retrieval of deep “musical” patterns of the poetic text and their “reincarnation” in a composer's interpretation. The two traditional types of verse recitation, i.e., conventional, done in an actor's fashion (expressively declamatory), and authorial (monotonously melodious, rhythmised) are fundamentally different approaches to the sound embodiment of the text, which also applies to the interpretations made by composers. The poetic (“rhythmic”) intonation is used to show the difference between poetry and prose; hence, it is a fundamental condition for the emotional, semantic and musical unity of the poetic text. In this connection, the article attempts to find a functional equivalent to the poetic intonation in music written to this poetic text so that the words absorbed by music regain their artistic unity.

Keywords: musicality of poetry, poetic intonation, sound and rhythm in a poem, rhythmic structure of verse, rhythmic

For citation: Oparina Ju. M. Poetic Intonation in the Poems by Alexander Blok and Sergei Yesenin: More on the Methodology of Analysis [Electronic source]. In: Sovremennye problemy muzykoznaniya / Contemporary Musicology, 2021, no. 4, pp. 65–78. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.56620/2587-9731-2021-4-065-078


References


Asafiev B.V. Muzykal'naya forma kak process [Musical Form as a Process]. Leningrad: Muzyka [Music], 1971.

Blok A.A. Polnoe sobranie sochinenij v 20-ti tomah [Complete Works in 20 Volumes]. Moscow – Saint-Petersburg: Nauka [Science]. Vol. VIII – 2010.

Hirshman M.M. Ritm hudozhestvennoj prozy [The Rhythm of Fiction]. Moscow: Sovetskij pisatel' [Soviet Writer], 1982.

Zlatoustova L.V. Ritmicheskaya organizaciya stihotvorenij A.Bloka (rannyaya lirika) [Rhythmic Organization of A.Blok's Poems (Early Lyrics)] // Vestnik Mosk. un-ta [Bulletin of the Moscow University]. 1980. Ser.9. №6. Pp.34–41.

Kovtunova I.I. Poetika Aleksandra Bloka [Poetics of Alexander Blok]. Vladimir: A. Kovzun, 2004.

Kovtunova I.I. Poeticheskij sintaksis [Poetic Syntax]. Moscow: Nauka [Science], 1986.

Nevzglyadova E.V. O stihe [About the Verse]. Saint-Petersburg: JSC Zvezda Magazine, 2005.

Sabaneev L.L. Muzyka rechi. Esteticheskoe issledovanie. [Music of Speech. Aesthetic Research]. Moscow, 1923.

Taranovsky K.F. Zvukovaya tkan’ russkogo stiha [The Sound Fabric of Russian Verse]. In: Taranovsky K.F. O poezii i poetike / Sost. M.L. Gasparov [About Poetry and Poetics / Comp. M.L. Gasparov]. Moscow: YAzyki russkoj kul'tury [Languages of Russian Culture], 2000. Pp. 343–348.

Tynyanov Yu.N. Problema stihotvornogo yazyka [The Problem of Poetic Language]. Moscow: URSS, 2007.

Chukovsky K.I. Aleksandr Blok kak chelovek i poet: vvedenie v poeziyu Bloka [Alexander Blok as a Man and a Poet: an Introduction to Blok’s Poetry]. Moscow: Russkij put’ [Russian way], 2010.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.56620/2587-9731-2021-4-065-078

Copyright (c) 2021 Julia M. Oparina

License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/