A.S. Pushkin’s Poetic Images in Vyach. Ivanov’s Literary and Philosophical Criticism as the Basis Thesaurus and Topoi of Thought
Publication Title:
A.S. Pushkin’s Poetic Images in Vyach. Ivanov’s Literary and Philosophical Criticism as the Basis Thesaurus and Topoi of Thought
Abstract:
The article is devoted to the consideration of poetic images of A.S. Pushkin in the literary and philosophical criticism of the poet and theorist of Russian symbolism Vyacheslav Ivanov (1866–1949). The main objective is to demonstrate, based on comparative and hermeneutical analysis in the aspect of historical poetics, that Pushkin's poetic images form the basis the thesaurus and can act as allegories and topoi in Ivanov's articles “The Poet and the Common People” (1904), “On Pushkin's Gypsies” (1908), “Two Lighthouses” (1937), “Thoughts on Poetry” (1938–1940s). The idea is substantiated that Pushkin's word is understood by the theorist of Russian symbolism on the basis of the philosophy of Platonism, Neoplatonism, and the teachings of A. Potebnya as the “inner form” of the conceptual meaning of the language. The article shows that Ivanov uses this word not only as an allegory or an intertextual reference to a source, but also as a universal topos, a poetic expression of philosophical thought. The article takes into account Ivanov's correspondence with E.R. Curtius in the 1932–1949 period, where the German philologist and thinker discussed the special language of the symbolism theorist and his desire to preserve spiritual values through the revival of the verbal universals of culture. The analysis of some of Pushkin's poetic images by Vyacheslav Ivanov is presented. Ivanov's use of such terms as “Masses”, “Proud Man”, “Incomprehensible Vision”, demonstrates that he employs them in a specific type of discourse based on the synthesis of literary criticism, philosophy, and art, and develops them within the framework of the ideas of Russian symbolism. Ivanov's philosophical critique of Pushkin's imagery can be understood as a historical topoi, as it preserves the genetic memory of culture and continues to evolve.
References:
(Sources)
Collected Works
1. Blok, A.A. Tvorchestvo Vyacheslava Ivanova [Vyacheslav Ivanov's Creativity], in Blok, A.A. Polnoe sobranie sochineniy i pisem v 20 t., t. 7 [Complete Works and Letters in 20 vols., vol. 7]. Moscow: Nauka, 2003, pp. 7–14.
2. Ivanov, Vyach. Kop'e Afiny [The Spear of Athena], in Ivanov, Vyach. Sobranie sochineniy v 4 t., t .1 [Collected Works in 4 vols., vol. 1]. Bryussel': Foyer Oriental Crétien, 1971, pp. 721–733.
3. Ivanov, Vyach. Poet i Chern' [The Poet and the Rabble], in Ivanov, Vyach. Sobranie sochineniy v 4 t., t. 1 [Collected Works in 4 vols., vol. 1]. Bryussel': Foyer Oriental Crétien, 1971, pp. 709–714.
4. Ivanov, Vyach. Dve stikhii v sovremennom simvolizme [Two Elements in Modern Symbolism], in Ivanov, Vyach. Sobranie sochineniy v 4 t., t. 2 [Collected Works in 4 vols., vol. 2]. Bryussel': Foyer Oriental Crétien, 1974, pp. 537–561.
5. Ivanov, Vyach. Zavety simvolizma [The Precepts of Symbolism], in Ivanov, Vyach. Sobranie sochineniy v 4 t., t. 2 [Collected Works in 4 vols., vol. 2]. Bryussel': Foyer Oriental Crétien, 1974, pp. 587–603.
6. Ivanov, Vyach. Religioznoe delo Vladimira Solov′eva [The Religious Cause of Vladimir Solovyov], in Ivanov, Vyach. Sobranie sochineniy. T. 3 [Collected Works. Vol. 3]. Bryussel′: Foyer Oriental Chretien, 1979, pp. 296–306.
7. Ivanov, Vyach. O «Tsyganakh» Pushkina [On Pushkin's “Gypsies”], in Ivanov, Vyach. Sobranie sochineniy v 4 t., t. 4 [Collected Works in 4 vols., vol. 4]. Bryussel': Foyer Oriental Chretien, 1987, pp. 299–323.
8. Ivanov, Vyach. Dva mayaka [Two Lighthouses], in Ivanov, Vyach. Sobranie sochineniy v 4 t., t. 4 [Collected Works in 4 vols., vol. 4]. Bryussel': Foyer Oriental Chretien, 1987, pp. 330–342.
9. Ivanov, Vyach. Nash yazyk [Our Language], in Ivanov, Vyach. Sobranie sochineniy v 4 t., t. 4 [Collected Works in 4 vols., vol. 4]. Bryussel': Foyer Oriental Crétien, 1987, pp. 675–680.
10. Ivanov, Vyach. O noveyshikh teoreticheskikh iskaniyakh v oblasti khudozhestvennogo slova [On the Latest Theoretical Research in the Field of the Artistic Word], in Ivanov, Vyach. Sobranie sochineniy v 4 t., t. 4 [Collected Works in 4 vols., vol. 4]. Bryussel': Foyer Oriental Crétien, 1987, pp. 631–650.
11. Kurtsius, E.R. Evropeyskaya literatura i latinskoe Srednevekov'e. V 2 t., t. 1 [European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages. In 2 vols., vol. 1]. Moscow: Izdatel'skiy Dom YaSK, 2021. 560 p.
12. Platon. Kratil [Kratil], in Platon. Sobranie sochineniy v 4 t., t. 1 [Collected Works in 4 vols., vol. 1]. Moscow: Mysl', 1990, pp. 613–681.
Individual Works
13. Aristotel′. Poetika. Ritorika [Poetics. Rhetoric]. Saint-Petersburg: Azbuka, 2000. 346 p.
14. Blauberg, I.I., Dzhokhadze, I.D. (eds.). Toposy mysli: Zapadnaya filosofiya XIX–XX vekov v perevodakh i kommentariyakh [Topoi of Thought: Western Philosophy of the 19th–20th Centuries in Translations and Commentaries]. Moscow: Kanon+ ROOI “Reabilitatsiya”, 2025. 416 p.
15. Bryusov, V.Ya. Perepiska s Vyacheslavom Ivanovym (1903–1923) [Correspondence with Vyacheslav Ivanov (1903–1923)], in Literaturnoe nasledstvo. T. 85. Valeriy Bryusov [Literary Heritage. Vol. 85. Valery Bryusov]. Moscow: Nauka, 1976, pp. 428–542.
16. Frank, S.L. O zadachakh poznaniya Pushkina [On the Tasks of Pushkin's Cognition], in Pushkin v russkoy filosofskoy kritike. Konets XIX – I polovina XX v. [Pushkin in Russian Philosophical Criticism. The End of the 19th Century and the First Half of the 20th Century]. Moscow: Kniga, 1990, pp. 422–451.
17. Gal′tseva R. (ed.). Pushkin v russkoy filosofskoy kritike. Konets XIX – I polovina XX v. [Pushkin in Russian Philosophical Criticism. The End of the 19th Century and the First Half of the 20th Century]. Moscow: Kniga, 1990. 527 p.
18. Ivanov, Vyach. Iz oblasti sovremennykh nastroeniy. I. Apokaliptiki i obshchestvennost' [From the Field of Modern Sentiments. I. Apocalyptics and the Public], in Vesy, 1905, no. 6, pp. 35–39.
19. Ivanov, Vyach. Mysli o poezii [Thoughts on Poetry], in Simvol. Parizh; Moscow, 2008, no. 53–54, pp. 229–275.
20. Solov'ev, V.S. Sud'ba Pushkina [The Fate of Pushkin], in Solov'ev, V.S. Filosofiya iskusstva i literaturnaya kritika [Philosophy of Art and Literary Criticism]. Moscow: Iskusstvo, 1991, pp. 271–299.
21. Solov'ev, V.S. Krasota v prirode [Beauty in Nature], in Solov'ev, V.S. Filosofiya iskusstva i literaturnaya kritika [Philosophy of Art and Literary Criticism]. Moscow: Iskusstvo, 1991, pp. 30–72.
22. Solov'ev, V.S. Znachenie poezii v stikhotvoreniyakh Pushkina [The Significance of Poetry in Pushkin's Poems], in Solov'ev, V.S. Filosofiya iskusstva i literaturnaya kritika [Philosophy of Art and Literary Criticism]. Moscow: Iskusstvo, 1991, pp. 316–370.
23. Vakhtel′, M. (ed). Ernst Robert Kurtsius – Vyacheslav Ivanov. Perepiska [Ernst Robert Curtius – Vyacheslav Ivanov. Correspondence], in Tekst i traditsiya: al'manakh. T. 4 [Text and Tradition: Almanac. Vol. 4]. Saint-Petersburg: Rostok, 2016, pp. 386–407.
(Articles from Scientific Journals)
24. Karpov, N.A. Eshche raz o zagadkakh pushkinskogo «Pamyatnika» [Once Again on the Mysteries of Pushkin's “Monument”], in Epistola. Filologicheskiy zhurnal, 2023, vol. 3, issue 6, pp. 13–22.
25. Karpyuk, S.G. Vulgus i Turba: tolpa v klassicheskom Rime [Vulgus and Turba: The Crowd in Classical Rome], in Vestnik drevney istorii, 1997, no. 4, pp. 121–137.
26. Lappo-Danilevskiy, K.Yu. K istorii pushkinskogo seminariya Vyach. Ivanova 1919–1920 gg. (zapisi N.I. Ignatovoy) [On the History of Vyacheslav Ivanov's Pushkin Seminary. Ivanov 1919–1920 (notes by N. I. Ignatova)], in Letnyaya shkola po russkoy literature, 2025, vol. 21, no. 3–4, pp. 262–274.
27. Makhov, A.E. Veselovskiy – Kurtsius. Istoricheskaya poetika – istoricheskaya ritorika [Veselovsky – Kurtzius. Historical Poetics – Historical Rhetoric], in Voprosy literatury, 2010, no. 3, pp. 182–202.
28. Petrov, V.V. Filosofsko-esteticheskie vzglyady Vyach. Ivanova v esse «Forma Formans i Forma Formata» [Vyacheslav Ivanov's Philosophical and Aesthetic Views in the Essay “Forma Formans and Forma Formata”], in Studia Litterarum, 2019, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 228–251.
29. Titarenko, S.D. Topos kak simvolicheskoe prostranstvo pamyati v avtobiograficheskoy proze M.A. Voloshina i mifopoeticheskaya traditsiya Platona [Topos as a symbolic space of memory in the autobiographical prose of M.A. Voloshin and the mytho-poetic tradition of Plato], in Vestnik SPbGU. Yazyk i literatura, 2017, vol. 14, issue 2, pp. 186–198.
30. Titarenko, S.D. Vladimir Solov′ev i Vyacheslav Ivanov: printsipy filosofskoy germenevtiki i traditsiya dialogov Platona [Vladimir Solovyov and Vyacheslav Ivanov: Principles of Philosophical Hermeneutics and the Tradition of Plato’s Dialogues], in Solov′evskie issledovaniya, 2024, issue 2(82), pp. 6–21.
31.Vakhtel', M. Perepiska Vyacheslava Ivanova s E.R. Kurtsiusom [Correspondence of Vyacheslav Ivanov with E.R. Kurtzius], in Tekst i traditsiya. Al'manakh. T. 4 [Text and Tradition. Almanac. Vol. 4]. Saint-Petersburg: Rostok, 2016, pp. 386–388.
32. Yanushkevich, A.S. Fenomen kalokagatii v russkoy slovesnoy kul′ture 1790–1830-kh gg. Stat′ya 1 [The Phenomenon of Caloagathia in Russian Literary Culture of the 1790s–1830s. Article 1], in Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Filologiya, 2015, no. 3(35), pp. 189–201.
(Articles from Proceedings and Collections of Research Papers)
33. Averintsev, S.S. Raznorechie i svyaznost' mysli Vyacheslava Ivanova [The Dichotomy and Cohesion of Vyacheslav Ivanov's Thought], in Ivanov, Vyach. Lik i lichiny Rossii. Estetika i literaturnaya teoriya [Ivanov Vyach. The Face and Masks of Russia. Aesthetics and Literary Theory]. Moscow: Iskusstvo, 1995, pp. 7–24.
34. Karpov, N.A. «Dusha! Ya prorok, ey bogu prorok!» O poete i proroke u Pushkina [“Soul! I am a prophet, by God, a prophet!” On the Poet and the Prophet in Pushkin's Works], in Materialy Mezhdunarodnoy nauchnoy konferentsii Boldinskie chteniya 2025 [Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference Boldinskie Chteniya 2025]. Nizhniy Novgorod: NNGU im. N.I. Lobachevskogo, 2025, pp. 3–13.
35. Kumpan, K.A. Kommentarii k stat'e Vyach. Ivanova “Poet i Chern'” [Comments on Vyach. Ivanov's article “The Poet and the Common People”], in Ivanov, Vyach.I. Po zvezdam. Opyty filosofskie, esteticheskie i kriticheskie. Stat'i i aforizmy. V 2 t., t. 2 [By the Stars. Philosophical, Aesthetic, and Critical Essays. Articles and Aphorisms. In 2 vols., vol. 2]. Saint-Petersburg: Pushkinskiy Dom, 2018, pp. 116–133.
36. Shishkin, A. Materialy k teme «Vyach. Ivanov i pushkinovedenie» [Materials on the Topic “Vyach. Ivanov and Pushkin Studies”], in Ivanov, Vyach. Issledovaniya i materialy. Vyp. 1 [Research and Materials. Issue 1]. Saint-Petersburg: Izdatel′stvo Pushkinskogo Doma, 2010, pp. 780–807.
37. Skoropadskaya, A.A. «Geniy chistoy krasoty»: literaturnaya predystoriya [“The Genius of Pure Beauty”: Literary Prehistory], in Boldinskie chteniya 2024 [Boldino Readings 2024]. Nizhniy Novgorod: NNGU im. N.I. Lobachevskogo, 2024, pp. 3–9.
38. Tamarchenko N.D. (red.) Teoriya literatury: v 2 t., t. 1 [Theory of Literature: in 2 vols., vol. 1]. Moscow: Izdatel′skiy tsentr «Akademiya», 2004, pp. 147–151.
39. Virolaynen, M.N. Kul'turnyy geroy novogo vremeni [The Cultural Hero of Modern Times], in Sbornik statey «Legendy i mify o Pushkine» [Collection of Articles “Legends and Myths about Pushkin”]. Saint-Petersburg: Akademicheskiy proekt, 1995, pp. 329–349.
(Monographs)
40. Bocharov, S.G. Syuzhety russkoy literatury [The Subjects of Russian Literature]. Moscow: Yazyki russkoy kul'tury, 1999. 626 p.
41. Bocharov, S.G. Geneticheskaya pamyat' literatury [Genetic Memory of Literatur]. Moscow: RGGU, 2012. 342 p.
Key words:
Vyacheslav Ivanov’s literary and philosophical criticism, thesaurus, topoi of thought, E.R. Curtius’s ideas of historical topoi, hermeneutics of the image, Plato’s philosophy, Neoplatonism, the “inner form” of the word, image and concept, historical poetics
The DOI index:
10.17588/2076-9210.2026.3.006-025
Publication file:
