The Literary Text. Thematic and Expressive Structure: An Analysis of Pushkin's Poem "Ya vas
lyubil..."
Author(s): A. K. Zholkovsky and L. M. O'Toole
Source: New Literary History, Vol. 9, No. 2, Soviet Semiotics and Criticism: An Anthology
(Winter, 1978), pp. 263-278
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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The LiteraryText-Thematic and Expressive
Structure:An Analysisof Pushkin's Poem
"Ya vas lyubil... "*
A. K. Zholkovsky
I. Some Prior Theoretical Considerations'
UR APPROACH to the descriptionof a literarytext(T) proceeds
from a fairly traditional conception of art: cf. Tolstoy's
definition,"Art is a human activitywhich consists in the
following:one man deliberately,by means of external signs,conveys
to othersthe sentimentsexperienced by him,and others are infected
[zarazhayutsya]
by these feelingsand experience them." This conception is elaborated in the lightof more recentdevelopmentsin poetics
and linguistics,such as:
of a
(a) The concept of device or process [priy'm]as a transformation
nonartistic("practical") message into a poetic one, "the renewal" of
perception (Shklovsky).
na vyrazheniye],
i.e., a
(b) The concept of a settoexpression
[ustanovka
use
of
"code"
to
secondary
convey"message" (Formalist,Prague, and
Tartu schools).
(c) The concept of invariantfunctionused for describinga set of
similar texts as "one text"-at a certain level of abstraction (the
syntacticfunctions:Shklovsky,Propp).
embodies
a semanticvaleur,or theme,
(d) The view thatT expressively
and owes its expressiveness to certain universal rules applied to a
"raw," nonartistictheme (Vygotsky,Eisenstein); these rules may also
be called devices,though in a slightlydifferentsense.
(e) The discoveryof semantic invariants,or invariantthemes(the
oppositions of Bakhtin,Levi-Strauss,Lotman, et al.).
(f) The development of "Meaning (- Text" models of language,
i.e., of sets of rules (= transformations)imitatingthe speaker's ability
* This article,writtenforNew
is a shorterversionof the author'sthree
Literary
History,
articles"K opisanivu smyslasvyaznogoteksta"[Towards a descriptionof the meaning
of a coherent text],in Predvaritel'nve
Problemnoi
Gruppypo Eksperimental'nloi
i
publikatsii
PrikladnoiLingzvistike
[Preprintsof the research group on experimental and applied
linguistics],Preprints76, 77, 78 (Moscow, 1976).
History,The Universityof Virginia
Copyright? 1978 by New Literary
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264
NEW LITERARY
HISTORY
to express his meaning and/orthe hearer's abilityto understandtexts
(generativesemanticists,Schank, Mel'chuk-Zholkovsky).
The semantic invariantof all components (parts, levels, images,
etc.) of T is called itstheme(correspondingto the "conveyedfeelings"
in Tolstoy's formula).Correspondence between T (more precisely,a
reading of T) and its theme (0) is formulatedin termsof universal
elementary transformations,or expressiondevices(EDs). These are
responsibleforthe heightenedexpressiveness(Tolstoy's"contagiousness") of T as compared to the "raw," "declarative"theme, but they
are semanticallyequivalent transformations
(theydo not change the
theme). Theme is "nonexpressive"; EDs, "meaningless." A description of T has the formof a derivation
of T fromits theme in termsof
EDs.2 Theme is presumed not actuallyto exist separatelyfromT in
the author's consciousnessor subconscious; it is an abstraction.What
is being modeled is not literaryperformance (the historyof actual
creative processes), but rather literarycompetence (the artisticlogic
of the correspondencesbetween themes and texts).
The elementary EDs isolated so far are: CONCRETIZATION,
REPETITION,
AUGMENTATION,
DIVISION, VARIATION,
CONTRAST, PREPARATION (including as its varieties PRESENTATION, PRESAGE, and RECOIL), COMBINATION, CONCORD, REDUCTION. In what followswe will have to do with the
followingthreeEDs: (1) CONCRETIZATION: a thematicelementX
transformsinto a more concreteelement X1 having all the properties
= Xia), e.g., entrance c?och
of X plus a new property a: X C
RX1 (X1
door. (2) VARIATION: X VARX1, X2, X3 ... (quite differentor even
of X), e.g., to touch AR to
contrasting CONCRETIZATIONS
to
wound.
to
COMBINATION:
catch,
X, Y COM,
embrace,
(3)
X
Y
of
both
and
X(Z=CONCRETIZATION
simultaneously),e.g., to
to
cause
to
wound.
touch,
pain C?2B
CONCR and VAR take place not only in the "message" sphere (of
things,events,and "real life") but in the "code" sphere (of language
and literary techniques) as well; e.g., in Pasternak the thematic
element "excessive number" concretizesboth throughsuch words as
tysyacha[a thousand], kucha [heap], etc. (message sphere), and
throughungrammatical("excessive") plurals ofsingulariatantum,
e.g.,
V gromakh
drugikhotchizn[in the thundersof other fatherlands](code
sphere, namely, morphology). The same applies to the levels of
phonetics, syntax,rhythm,composition,viewpoint,etc. Since complete isomorphismbetween a theme and the phenomena of these
levels is rare, a partial code CONCRETIZATION (= CONCR in the
code sphere of a part of a theme only) is usually the case.
The textsof one author usually exhibita high degree of thematic
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THE
LITERARY
TEXT-THEMATIC
AND EXPRESSIVE
STRUCTURE
265
similarity(as a linguisticanalogy: notsentenceswiththe same syntactic
structureand differentmeaning,but rathera synonymousperiphrastic set of sentenceswithdifferentsyntacticstructuresand a common
meaning). The most abstract thematicinvariantsof an author's Ts
plus the more concrete invariantsobtained from them through the
application of EDs characteristic of the author (i.e., varieties of
themes, invariant situations, characters, objects, e.g., Pasternak's
window) formhis poeticworld(PW).
A PW may be likened to the set of (semantically) significant
grammaticalcategoriesof a language thatare obligatorily"added" to
any message expressed in it (Boas, Jakobson). Indeed, whateverlocal
theme(081o)an author elaborates(an emotionhe expresses,an objector
stateof affairshe describes),he will"add" to it some of the invariants
(Oinv)forminghis PW. Thus a T by an author is derived in two major
stages:
(1) I.(1,,-o, 6inv)
CO-B4T;
II. eT
EST.
(A Freudian analogy: a dream results from the invariant neurosis
plus recent impressions,or Tagesreste.)
Differentauthors have differentPWs. A comparativedescription
of PWs may consist in the juxtaposition of superficiallysimilar Ts
involvingdifferentinvariantthemes,i.e., havingdifferentderivations
in the respectivePWs; e.g., in Pasternakthe lines
(2) Spurge
Wormwoodand genista
Werecatchingat [his]canehead,
Impeding[his]steps
go back to such invariants as close contact,3 man and nature,
excessive force,difficulty,which,in theirturn,concretizethe pivotal
themes of Pasternak's PW-the unity and the magnificence of the
universe; in Mandelstam a similarline
(3) Likeivy,importunate,
catchingall thetime[at everything]
concretizesthe invariantsirritation,annoyance, and capriciousness,
togetherwithintricacyof forms-thus representingone of Mandelstam's main themes,that of instability,nonbasicality.4
II. An Overview of Pushkin's Poetic World
The analysis of a particular text, then, must be preceded by a
description,albeit necessarilya briefone, of the PW.
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266
NEW LITERARY
HISTORY
We mightformulatethe basic thematicconstantof Pushkin'spoetry
by abstractingfrom the various indirectways by which he makes it
"contagious":
of
or conflict
in thecombination,
interaction,
(4) an interest
juxtaposition,
two oppositepoles: on the one hand, everything
living,passionate,
inanimate,cold,
mobile,light,or fickle;on the other,everything
or
immobile,
heavy, unchanging.5
For brevitywe mightrefersimplyto the constanttheme mutability/
immutability.Of course thisis only an abstract"essence," or rathera
conventional representation(shown here in boldface) of the most
crucialoppositionswhichmightprovide the categories-the prism,as
itwere-through whichthe worldis viewed in Pushkin'sworks.In the
actual texts,the basic opposition (4) appears in an infinitevariety(ED
VAR), withrespect both as to the materialencompassed by his act of
organizationand to the value the opposing poles acquire in Pushkin's
world and, of course, to the means by which these poles are
COMBINED.
First of all, the material,by being projected onto various spheres
of reality(conventionally:the physical,biological, psychological,and
prosocial) and combined with the theme mutability/immutability,
vides the more frequentcorresponding oppositions of motion/stillness, heat/cold, life/death,passion/impassivity,freedom/shackles,
etc.
In terms of value either pole of the theme (or more often some
harmonious COMBINATION of both) turns out to be the desired,
"victorious"principle, the one being propounded. In other words,
is
Pushkin's evaluation of the opposition mutability/immutability
deliberatelyambivalent.This is precisely what interestshim-as a
problem which he sets himself each time and solves in various
ways-often withina single text.
A positiveor negative value for either pole of the theme is freely
applied to the variationslisted above and to COMBINATIONS of
them, so that we end up with a rather diverse range of typically
Pushkinianmotifs.Let us brieflyenumerate some of these.
In thephysical
sphere:joyful or painful peace; headlong movement;
of
such
a string
movements; the alternation of movement and
sudden
halting or rushing of a torrent,a ship, a
immobility (the
a
horse, a deer, ballerina); simultaneous peace and movement ("a
streambeneath the ice," dozing on a journey); superior immobilityat
some elevated point; excitement at some destructive force (of the
wind, waves, etc.) or, on the contrary,excitement at miraculous
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THE
LITERARY
TEXT-THEMATIC
AND EXPRESSIVE
STRUCTURE
267
inaccessibility (of a crag amid a storm); the stirringinto motion of
heavy immobile masses (e.g., of the unshakable bronze horseman);
"the cold beauty" of winter; heat and cold ("ice and flame," "frost
and sunshine,"etc.); roses in the snow.
In the biologicalsphere: various intermediate states between life
and death ("floated dead, rockingas if alive"; "neitherinhabitantof
the world, nor dead ghost"); a dead man killing a live man;
abandoning the grave; a voice frombeyond the grave; frenzied life
on the verge of one's own death (fatalintoxicationwithbattle,daring,
wine, or love; a nightbought "at the cost of life"; "rosemaiden's ...
breath ... laden withthe plague"; and so on); love scenes beside a
corpse.
In the social sphere: the praising of freedom, flight from
captivity,the breaking of bonds; the image of "sweet captivity"; the
harmonious combination of captivity and freedom ("through the
iron rails thrustan enchantingfoot"); "a law erected by an awesome
liberty"; voluntary fetters and bars (for "the poor knight," for
example); the acceptance or nonacceptance of standards, curbs, and
customs: the superior and detached position of the neutral observer.
In the psychological
sphere: an other-worldly,exalted, or celibate
tranquility; a despondent or sweet indifference; cooled passions;
pleasant or bittermemories of past passions; love of deathlybeauty;
assignations withdead loved ones; unrequited passion in the face of
indifference;the common herd's indifferencetowards the poet and
his indifferenceto their opinion; a superior and alien attitude to
passionate involvement; sudden transitionsfrompassion (in particular from poetic inspiration)to impassivity and vice versa; tender
submissiveness; pleasurable or forced suppression of the passions;
passionless love ("withouteither hopes or desires"); sensible selfrestraintor frenzied unacceptance of standards.
Pushkin has a particularlycharacteristicway of COMBINING the
two poles of the basic opposition in the situation:
the(unrealized)potentialforall kindsof
(5) a superiorpeace containing
movements
or actions(superiorpeace, forshort).
From his elevated position,restingon some "summit,level withthe
eagle, next door to God," and so on, the poet (or his hero) looks down
with detached superiorityupon those obstacles and forces which
normallyoppress and worryhim ("here the stormclouds submissively
pass beneathme"; "I can surveyall thatis in my power"; "I soared with
head unbowed higher than Alexander's Column"). In thisstate he is
"above all desires,"is "calm," "the consciousness"of his own superior-
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268
NEW LITERARY
HISTORY
ity"is sufficient"(the Baron in The CovetousKnight;Silvioin ThePistol
Shot; the poet himself--"Satisfied?Then let the crowd abuse your
work ... / And shake your tripod in childishenvy" ["To the Poet"]).
Related to this range of psychological stances are those more
specificallyChristian situationswhere the Tsar offershis subject a
forgivinghand or cup of wine, the hermitor the Holy Virgin admit
the sinner into Heaven, or such situationsas
(6) Jenny (in Mary's song from A Feast in Time of Plague) and Andre
Chenier(in the poem of thatname) in theirheavenlyreincarnation
afterdeathmentally
permittheirnearestand dearest(thelovedone,
stormhas
friends)not to show (at least until"the infection"/"the
for
their
not
those
dead
love
incarnation
("touch
earthly
passed")any
lips";"bewareof arousingsuspicionwithyourtears").
III. The Overall Structureof Pushkin's poem "I Loved
You Once..."
1. The Text of the Poem6
Russian Text
Accentuated Phonetic Transcription
1. A5sac
emCl,6MlTbMOXeT,
Jto6HI:Imo6OSb
2. B aymeMoe yracnia He COBceM;
3. Ho nycTbOHa Bac 6oIAbule
He TpeBOXHT;
Ya vas lyubil:lyub6v'yeshchi?,byt'm6zhet,
V dush6 moyeyugisla ne sovs6m;
No pust' ond vas b61'shene trev6zhit;
5.
Ya vas lyubilbezm6lvno,beznad6zhno;
4. AI He xoqy neqvajHT sBac HHqeM.
AIsac mo6Hj 6e3MoABHo, 6e3HaaexHo,
6. To po6ocTbIo, TO peBHOCTbMO, TOMHM;
7. 5 sBac Jlo6HJ TaK HCKpeHHO, TaK HeXHO,
8. KaK aa~ saM 6or Io6HMo~i
6lTb apyrHM.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Free Translation
I loved you. Even now I may confess
Some embers of my love theirfireretain
But do not let it bring you more distressI do not want to sadden you again.
5. Hopeless and tongue-tied,yet I loved you
dearly,
6. With pangs thejealous and the timidknow.
7. So tenderlyI loved you, so sincerely,
8. I pray God grant another love you so.
Ya ne khoch6 pechilit' vas nich6m.
To r6bost'yu, to rivnost'yu tomim;
Ya vas lyubil tak iskrenno, tak n6zhno,
Kak dayvim b6g lyubimoybyt'drugim.
Word-for-wordTranslation
I loved you: love still,perhaps,
In soul my has died out not completely,
But let it not you any more disturb,
I not want to sadden you not by anything.
I loved you speechlessly,hopelessly,
Now by shyness,now byjealousy tormented;
I loved you so sincerely,so tenderly,
As grant to you God loved to be by another.
2. The Thematic Core
The local theme of the poem is the "eternal" one of
(7) unhappylove(in thebanalsense).
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THE
LITERARY
TEXT-THEMATIC
AND EXPRESSIVE
STRUCTURE
269
In "translating" theme (7) into the language of Pushkin's poetic
world, a complex (8) of invariantmotifsis drawn in:
thecoolingof love;thesuppression
(8) passionin thefaceof impassivity;
of
of passion;passionlesslove("without
hope or desire");thememory
pastfeelings.
One possible COMBINATION of 01o, (7) with Oinv (8) produces the
followingintegralthemeof the poem:7
in conformity
to a superiorpeace and lovewithout
(9) restrained
memory,
of
desire,ofa cooledpassion(and,perhaps,beneathitall a declaration
a continuing
woman.
restrained)
passion)fora cold (or necessarily
and
The main featureof the thematiccomplex (9) is its ambivalent
indeterminate
quality.
of the
One is struckby the very indeterminacy
of thecircumstances
romance betweenthe two figures.In the firstplace thiskindof lack of
concretenessin the local theme (whichseems to dissolvecompletelyin
the invariantthemes)is characteristicof abstract
(philosophical
lyricism
or otherwise) which aims primarilyto make manifestthe author's
poetic world. Second, this is the reverse side of Pushkin's famous
laconic manner,his "vertiginous conciseness" (Anna Akhmatova).
Finally,the veryfactof thisindeterminacyand itsrelevanceto the key
components of the theme (a declaration or only a recollection?love
or necessity?)help
has died or is it stillalive? coldness or self-restraint
to bring alive the ambivalentcentral motif (passionless love). This
whole tendencyto ambivalentindeterminacyis sustained and developed in the text in all kinds of ways.
Thus, the COMBINATION declaration plus recollections is used
to carrythe theme of passionless love throughtwo temporalthemes
thattellsof thispast love (being tongue-tied,
(ED VAR). Everything
jealousy, supposed cooling of the embers,etc.) is given directlybythe
structure
thepresentstateof the hero
ofthetellingitselfwhichincorporates
and of his love (by the obliqueness of the confession,by the selfdenial for"another's"sake, and bythe hintofjealousy in the lastline).
The problem "has it cooled or not?" is developed into a miniature
plot: firstwe are told that love has passed ("has died out"), then
doubt is cast on this ("not completely"), then we are given to
understand thatthisis not the cause of the impassivityanyway("I do
not want to sadden you").
On the other hand the indeterminacyof the motifsconcerningthe
heroine'sbehavioris not "played out" at all in termsof plot,as witness
attitudeto her of the lyricalhero; one might
(10) the reverential-distant
in the
of thisstrangepassionlessveneration
see othermanifestations
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270
NEWLITERARY
HISTORY
use of
and theconsistent
politepluralvy[you]notedby Shklovsky8
notedbyJakobson."
onlytheobliquecasesofthispronoun
In anycase theemotionalstance(10) is itselfone oftheCONCRETIZATIONS of the motif
oflove'sclaims
(11) thealtruistic
suppression
whichis drawnin as a psychologically
based COMBINATION of the
love
without
thematic
desire
and superiorpeace in (9).
components
In motif(11) thisCOMBINATION is notbuilton a compromise,
buton theultimatedevelopment
of thepoles of thetheme:a denial
ofone's claimsoutofa desireforthegood ofthelovedone-at once
the greatestpossiblemanifestation
of love and the renunciationof
love, a conscious necessity and a demonstration of freedom and superiority.It is typicaltoo thatin the poem's plot the
cause (love) and the consequence(renunciationof claims)do not
replace one anotherin timebut coexist
simultaneously,
creatingthe
so appropriateto thethemeofan ambivalent
mixture
impression
oftwo
ofan extendedpresenceinthemagneticfieldofbothpoles,ofa
states,
sensationof "sacrificialfire,""a quietlysmolderingheat, of sad
voluptuousness"
(typicalPushkinimages).
3. The ExpressiveResolutionof theTheme as a Whole
to themore
We willmovenowfromthethemeand plotstructure
concrete levels of the poem. The theme of love being tamed
determines
boththewholetoneofthepoem-unassertive,
restrained,
muted-and, bythesame token,thebasiccreativeproblemwhichis
tonewitha certain
themoderate
tocombine
degree
of
beingresolved--how
and
(dictatedbothby the generalartisticrequirements
expressiveness
of a themewhichalso includessuch a
by the innercontrastiveness
"vivid"componentas passion).None of theelementswhichmakeup
thepoemare chosenin theextremeor mostvividforms,butat their
mostmoderate;the effectsare diffused:a pointwhichis "vivid"in
one respectremainsmutedin another,so thatwe can appreciatehow
structural
details,the"poetryof
greata roleis playedbytheminutest
grammar."10
This overallmutedtonemakesitselffelt,forinstance,in whatwe
tenseis
The predominant
modeofexposition.
mightcall the "oblique"
described
which
the
but
not thepresent
being
tingeseverything
past
forms
or noncategorical
There are numerousnegative
withunreality.
...
do
not
want
.
. . by
and expressions("not you
disturb";"I
anything";"stillperhaps"; "not completely";etc.). In addition, there
are passives, nominalizations, and other heavy constructions("by
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THE
LITERARY
TEXT-THEMATIC
AND EXPRESSIVE
STRUCTURE
271
jealousy tormented,""loved to be by another"). Also workingin this
directionare the detached pluralyou in oblique cases and the various
mentioned earlier and the poem's
manifestationsof indeterminacy
often-remarkedlack of imagery(absence of tropes), avoiding, as it
were,all rhetoric.Last but not least is the mutingeffectplayed by the
of the versestructure.
"averaging"normality
If thereis any deviationfromthe "norm" in the rhymescheme it is
towardsa greatermutingand monotony.Out of eightlines there are
not fourbut only threerhymingvowels whichforma transitionfrom
/;/through/je/to /i/.In all the rhymes,moreover,there is a play of
repetition and alternation of the consonants /zh/and /m/.This
consistencyof the rhymingsyllablescreates overall aflowingtransition
throughthe lines:
/atzh/-/jem/-lazh/-/em/
/jezh/-/im/-/jezh/--/im/.
4. Composition
However, creating a muted effectis not the sole functionof this
transition. It also plays an important compositional role, since
through its rhyme scheme and its syntax (particularlythe periods)
and itsthematicparallelism(in each stanza the hero firsttellsthe story
of his love and then announces his renunciationof it forthe heroine's
sake), the poem is preciselydivided intotwoequalparts.Meanwhile,it
is structuredaround an intensification
fromstanza I to stanza II: the
intensityof each of the poles of the dual situationlove/suppressionis
increased; the CONTRAST between them and the closeness with
which theyare intertwined(see below) is heightened. Moreover, the
similarityof the two stanzas is undermined with the aid of the
assonanceswe have already noted, which culmiinterweaving
of rhyme
nates in the appearanceofa newand particularly
on /i/(line
sharprhyme
6). The anaphoric"I loved you" also both links stanzas I and II and
betweenthemby producing an overall scheme
destroysthe symmetry
4 + (2 + 2). Hence the two stanzas tend to be unitedinto a single
constructionwhichis intensified
towardsthe end, a kind of eight-line
verse. But how is this intensificationstructured?"
On theplot-theme
level, the intensificationof love is feltin the way
the hero permitshimselfunder the guise of memories to talk quite
freely about his passion (which has died down?). In a sense his
"present" lover's claims are even intensifiedin the hint of jealous
interest which forces itself through the eighth line, completely
counter to the totalrestraintand objectivityof the fourth.In parallel
withthisthe submission also intensifies:a straightforward
renuncia-
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272
NEWLITERARY
HISTORY
tion of his claims on the heroine ("let it not you any more disturb";"I
not want to sadden you") becomes a readiness to give her up to
"another."
On the level of modeofexposition
of love worksas
the intensification
follows.In stanza I the leitmotifphrase "I loved you" breaksagainsta
pause in mid-lineand is then whittledaway in denials and provisos;in
the firstline of stanza II it syntactically
takescharge of the whole line
yet reaches the end of the line shielded,as it were, bytwonegations
("speechlessly" and "hopelessly"); on its third appearance it at last
thecurtainofdenialintoopenaffirmation:
line 7 is the only
burststhrough
fully assertive line in the whole poem. The rhythmic-intonational
intensityalso growsas the poem progresses;fromstanza I to stanza II
of
thereis a simultaneousheighteningof bothwholeness
andfracturing
the sentences(as a simple comparison of the punctuationshows). But
parallel with this the corresponding symptomsof submission-the
manifestationof "obliqueness"-gain in power, for it is in the second
stanza (line 6) that the most passive and dependentconstructions
is reached in the eighth line,
appear, while the ultimatein obliqueness
a
which combines subordination, passive,and a heavy complex object
construction.
The accentuationof the poles of the theme leads, naturally,to an
of the CONTRAST between them. Simultaneously,as
intensification
we have said, there is increasing interpenetration
(i.e., COMBINAI
of
If
the
of
the
the
end
of
stanza
COMBINATION
at
TION)
poles.
love and the suppression of love into situation (11) renunciation
because of love is offeredsottovoce ("I not wantto sadden you not by
anything"),by the end of stanza II this paradox is utteredloud and
clear: the lyrichero's love is described in terms of a comparison (a
trope,almost!) withthe supposed love of "another." And the last line
at once incorporatesboth love's claims and a renunciationof them.
A rather special vehicle for this greater and greater weaving
togetherof both poles of the theme is the 4 + (2 + 2) compositional
scheme (marked by the anaphoric "I loved you"). In principle the
range of expressivepossibilitiesofferedby thisscheme includes such
effectsas intensification (resulting from an increase in rhythmic
frequency),anticlimax (resultingfrom a decrease in rhythmicfrequency), and deepening, sometimesa lyricalself-absorption(this is
without
the interpretation,on the contentplane, of an intensification
in breadth).Here it is clearlythislast possibilitywhichis
anydevelopment
realized, harmonizingwell with the assertionof (11) of a sacrificial
love withoutclaims.
from
An importantrole in the overall compositionalintensification
material.
stanza I to II is played by the redistribution
oftheplot-theme
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THE
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273
In stanza I there are three temporal planes ensuring a gradual
transitionfrompassion to restraint:thepast ("loved"), thepresent("has
died out not completely"),and thefuture("let it not you any more
disturb").Half of the stanza is allottedto the firsttwostages,the other
half to the third.In stanza II the intermediatestage is leftout and its
place and part of that of the third stage (line 7) are taken by a
descriptionof the firststage. This shiftinvolvesmanyconsequences.
First, this makes the growthof the motif passion not merely
but qualitative:the assertionand developmentof the motif
quantitative
love occurs in the veryplace (line 3 of the stanza) where,according to
the patternestablishedin the firststanza, one mighthave expected a
bridling of that love. This effecthelps to sustain the sensation we
noted earlier of a breakthroughin line 7.
Second, we find an intensificationof both the CONTRAST and
COMBINATION of the poles of the theme due to their extreme
manifestations(past passion and future submission) now clashing
directly:they occur as immediate neighbors in the text and even as
members of a single syntactic and rhetorical construction (the
comparison "so . . . as.. .").
Finally,the combinationof this redistributionof the materialwith
the 4 + (2 + 2) scheme produces a furtherimportant
effect
compositional
which also strengthensthe COMBINATION of the poles of the
theme. What happens is that out of the final two lines one (the
seventh) is devoted to the historyof love, and the other (the eighth)
to a programof submission. In otherwords,we are presentedhere in
a condensed formwiththe relationshipobtainingbetween the initial
and final episodes withineach stanza. Thus the seventh and eighth
lines form a kind of resumeof the wholepoem. Since line 8 also
COMBINES both poles of the theme,the compositionof the poem as
a whole emerges as a series of COMBINATIONS, one inside the
other and getting more and more condensed towards the end.
Certainlythe motifsof passion and impassiveness run throughout
the poem, but are presented more powerfullyin the second stanza
where the second clause stands out as a re'sume,and withinthe final
line.
IV. Some Details of the Structure
1. The Organization of the Points of View (in Stanza I)
The mostintensepoint in the firststanza is line 3 where on theplot
level passion is overcome by submission, while an intense rhythmicintonational
growthbreaks against a barrierand is replaced by a fall.
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274
NEW LITERARY
HISTORY
Mimicking the collapsing effect in these two planes, the mode of
seems to extinguishthe veryintensityof thischange.
exposition
The pointofviewin line 3 is organized in such a waythatattentionis
focused at this point not on the most "heated" part of what is taking
place-the hero's suppression of his desires, his despair and selfdenial--but on the relativelycalm puttingan end to discomfortfor
the heroine. By referringto his own love in the thirdperson and by
observing as if from afar its negative and somehow insignificant
impacton the heroine ("disturb"),the hero seems to be suggestingto
her thatshe should "brushaside" thislove.12This externalviewof his
own "I" has already been establishedin the second clause, where the
hero regards his own emotion in a detached and alienated way,
making cautious, "scientificallyobjective" comments ("perhaps")just as if it had no direct connectionwithhim at all. Grammatically,
this is expressed by the parenthesis which serves to separate the
author fromthe contentof his utterance.This divisionof the "I" (into
even in the firstclause
"feeler" and "speaker") begins surreptitiously
due to the latentdualityof point of view whichcharacterizesthe past
tense. 13
The detached pointof viewis maintainedby the waythe love which
is mentioned so insistentlyin each clause of the stanza is signified
lexically.It graduallybecomes more and more oblique and detached,
negligent almost: "loved," "love," "it," "not by anything," i.e., a
personal verb,an abstractnoun, a third-personpronoun, a negative
inanimate pronoun.
The firststanza, then,is builtaround a patternof superior peace:
fromunhappylove;aboveis a coldor
(12) downbelowis an "I" suffering
restrainedheroine;higherstillis the "speakingI" whichsetsabout
"letit
betweenthe firsttwocharacters:
tryingto resolvetheconflict
notyou. 14
2. The Culminationof the Intensity(Stanza II, sentence 1)
The thirdquarter of the whole piece (lines 5 and 6) is the natural
point for the culmination.
As we have pointed out already, on the level of themeand plot the
storyof the love is here told in more detail withall its contradictions
level here at last we reach the
and deviations.On the rhythmic-syntactic
full breadth of tone to which the melodic line in stanza I has been
tending (with its clauses of 1/2,11/2,1, 1 lines in length, but never of 2
lines). The unity of this clause, which takes up half the stanza, is
accentuated by the chiasmus: on the outside, the iambic verb forms
with stressed -/i/-describing the hero's love [lyiibil,t6mim],and
between them,pairs of equivalent three-or four-syllabledescriptions
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THE
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STRUCTURE
275
withstressed/a/and /e/describingthe "slowingdown" of [bezmdlvno,
This produces a double
beznadizhno,/ to r6bost'yu,to re'vnost'yu].
effect-both
a
and
a
link.15At the same time the
join
chaining
mirrorlikesimilarityof the lines and the equivalence of the attributes
withineach of themtend to increase the effectof fracture(six phrasal
units). The resultingsymmetricarc creates a sense of spaciousness
and, at the same time, a faster breathing tempo, an intenseand
unbrokensense of movement
from the beginning to the end of the
sentence.
This growthproceeds not merelyfrom the contrastwiththe first
stanza but withinthe sentenceitself.On theplotlevel thereis clearlya
development fromthe more or less neutral "loved" to its clash with
the staticand unmistakablynegative adverbs (and here too "speechlessly" involves only external manifestationsof the "hindrances" to
love, while "hopelessly"extends them inwards to the hero's soul and
ahead to his whole future),and from there to dramatic emotional
movements.
Now, "shyness"suggestsonlyan indecisiveinneraspiration
in the heroine's direction,while'jealousy" is far more active,working
itselffrominside outwards,and makes claims to some kind of-albeit
imaginaryand "negative"--rightsover her. From "shyness"to '"jealousy," then,thereis a growthnot onlyin the activenessand drama of
the emotions but in that egoism of claims which has to be held in
check and which is mentioned explicitlyhere for the firsttime.
The activization takes place on other levels of the text too.
the adverbs of manner ("speechlessly"and "hopelessly")
Syntactically,
and intonaare replaced by agentive instrumentals,and rhythmically
tionallythere is a piling on of equivalent forms16and an intensifying
switchfrom the normal word sequence in line 5 to the inversionin
line 6, involvingat once a switchfrom a dividingconstruction
(where
the head word "loved" seems to "split"into two equivalent qualifiers)
to the more activesummative
construction(where "by shyness"and "by
the fifthand
jealousy" are combined in "tormented").Phonetically,
especiallythe sixthlines are among the peaks of the poem. Alongside
the precise patterningof vowels (see above), there is a clear play on
the consonants (three /b/,two prestress/r/,three prevocalic/t/),with
play on /r/and /t/(as well as the "sharp" rhyme on /i/mentioned
earlier) appearing for the firsttime in line 6.
A particularlyvivideffectto be noted in line 6 is thatcreatedby the
interplay of phonetic, rhythmic,syntactic,and semantic elements
strengtheningthe drama in the storyline at this point.
The powerfulphonetic,rhythmic,and syntacticsimilaritybetween
robost'yu[by shyness] and revnost'yu[by jealousy] highlights the
distinctionbetween the stressed /a/and /e/,which turns out to be
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276
NEW LITERARY
HISTORY
virtuallythe only substantiveexpression of the semanticdistinction
between the two words. The factof thisdistinctionis accentuated by
the semantics of the construction "to . . . to . . ." (now one thing, now
the other) and of the word tormented
(-.the ebb and flow of feeling,
intermittentstates). In its turn the syllable "to-" (or rather /ta-/)in
tomimacquires a semanticof its own, being subconsciouslyperceived
as bearing the element of meaning alternationof states. This is then
underpinned
by the phonetic series "to ...
6-to . .. 6-to
.
...
i,
where all three stressedvowels are differentand happen to be those
verythreedifferentvowelsupon whichthe rhymescheme of the poem
is built.17Indeed, if tormentis a switchfromone stateto anotherand
then a returnto the firststate,etc., then we see somethinganalogous
to this on the phoneticlevel too: differentstates--/o/-/e/-/i/;
similar
states-/t/-/t/-/t/,r ...
st'yu-r ...
st'yu, /m/-/m/(in tomim).What is
more, the final word, one mightsay, repeats in condensed formthe
alternationswhich had initiallybeen taking place in termsof whole
adverbial phrases (if we recall the parallel rhythmic-syntactic
sumto rivnost'yu
into tomim).
ming up of tor6bost'yu,
3. The FinalCOMBINATION (line8)
The lastlineis a sortof"total"lineforthewholepoem,and itdraws
togetherin a focal pointall the motifswhichhave been running
throughthetexton variouslevelsand in varioussections.In theplot
and theme
in terms
spheretheseare love,jealousy,and renunciation;
of modeof exposition
the
are
of
they
categories obliqueness and
and
assertion; in the rhythmic-intonational
explicitness,negation
the
which
stress
characterizethe different
lines;
sphere,
patterns
of
the
reversal
the
phonetically,
sequencebi-b6-by ... 6 fromthe
firstlineto b6-bi-by-i, echoingthereversalof theactive"loved"to
thepassive"be loved"and thereplacement
of the"I" by"another."
The playwithdirectand obliquemodesofexposition
is particularly
The
final
admissions
love
of
the
(for
heroine) and
intriguing.
who
at
the verylast
another,
jealousy (towards
literallyappears
moment)are wrappedup-appropriatelyforthe motifof altruistic
submission-ina thick
veilofobliqueness:
a subordinateclause,a full
in
the
nominative
case and subject in the
(with
passive
object
and a dry,almostbureaucraticconstruction
of the
instrumental),
accusative and infinitivetype ("grant to you ... to be"). The
has been carefully
appearanceof the bunchof heavyconstructions
preparedfor:(1) bythesuppressedcausallinkbetweenthethirdand
fourthlines; (2) by the participialconstructionin line 6 ("...
of meansand agentin lines4
tormented");
(3) by theinstrumentals
and 6 ("not by anything";"by shyness";"byjealousy"); (4) by the
mirroringof "I loved" in "tormented"(assistingthe changing of the
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THE LITERARY TEXT-THEMATIC
AND EXPRESSIVE STRUCTURE
277
activeverb "to love" into a passive form"be loved"); (5) the weightof
the infinitiveconstruction is lightened by the phrasal unity and
everydayidiomaticqualityof the expression which governs it-"God
grant."
But thisobliqueness does not remain impenetrable.Corresponding
withthe principleof the ambiguousness of passion, showingthrough
impassivity, it is literally brokenby the "direct" imperative day
[grant],whichis ungrammaticalin a Russian subordinateclause.
To conclude, we mightnote that many of the featuresof the last
line depend on various propertiesof the expressiondayvambog[God
grant]-its oblique imperativeness, its unreal affirmativeness,its
idiomatictone, its syntacticgovernance, the stresson both monosyllables,and, of course, its(imaginary)address to God. It is so much the
keyto manycrucialaspects of the aestheticstructureof the poem that
it becomes irreplaceable,
as it were; it turns into an image which can
stand for practicallythe whole poem. The other equally contentful
componentis the leitmotifphrase "I loved you,"whicheven in itsfirst
occurrencecontainsa protoformof both poles of the theme passion/
impassivity, and on its subsequent occurrences accumulates the
effectsof theirfurtherelaboration.
Both these symbolic fragmentsoccur in the final period of the
poem.
INFORMELECTRO INSTITUTE,
Moscow
(Translated by L. M. O'Toole)
NOTES
1 This theoreticalapproach is being developed by the author in collaboration with
Yu. K. Shcheglov; see Shcheglov and Zholkovsky,"Towards a 'Theme-(Expression
Devices)-Text' Model of LiteraryStructure,"RussianPoeticsin Translation,1 (1975) 350, and "Poetics as a Theory of Expressiveness,"Poetics,5, No. 3 (Sept. 1976), 207-46.
2 Our descriptionof Pushkin'spoem (secs. III-IV) is in the formnot of a derivation
but of an examination of many separate correspondences between elements of the
theme and elements of the text (taken consecutivelylevel by level according to their
degree of concreterealization).A complete derivationwould be extremelyponderous.
3 Boldface is used in this articleto representtypicalthemes and motifsof Pushkin's
poetic world.
4 For details see my "K opisaniyu odnogo tipa semioticheskikhsistem" [Towards a
i informatika
[Semioticsand
descriptionof a specifictypeof semioticsystem],Semiotika
informationscience], VII (Moscow, 1976).
5 Our descriptionof Pushkin'sPW owes a greatdeal to articlesby M. O. Gerschenzon
(Mudrost'Pushkina [Pushkin's wisdom] [Moscow, 1919]) and Roman Jakobson ("La
statue dans la symboliquede Pouchkine,"in Questionsdepoetique[Paris, 1973], pp. 15287), while the analysis of the text which follows owes much to Jakobson, "Poeziya
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278
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HISTORY
grammatiki i grammatika poezii" [The poetry of grammar and the grammar of
poetry],in Poetics-Poetyka-Poitika(Warsaw, 1961), pp. 397-417.
6 [The translationbelow the Russian text of the poem is by R. M. Hewitt fromJ.
Lavrin, Pushkinand Russian Literature(London, 1947), p. 100. It retainssome of the
rhythm,rhyme,and euphony of the original. The phonetic transcriptionand wordfor-wordtranslationhave been given to assist referenceto particularfeaturesof the
language of the poem discussed in the article.Tr.]
7 The similaritybetween 01,oand the invariantmotifis an additional reason for his
resortingto this local theme so "dear to the author."
8 V. B. Shklovsky, "Poeziya grammatiki i grammatika poezii" [The poetry of
grammar and the grammar of poetry],Inostrannayaliteratura[Foreign literature],6
(1969), 222.
9 Jakobson,"Poeziya grammatikii grammatikapoezii," p. 405.
10 Jakobson,"Poeziya grammatikii grammatikapoezii."
11 That the tendencyis towards intensificationmay easily be checked by switching
round the stanzas,producing a damping effectat the end, instead of the heightening.
12 Here linguistic elements serve to achieve the splitting of the hero into two
hypostases,whichtypifiesthe state of superior peace (see formula(6) above).
13 In the context of the subsequent development of this effect in stanza I this
potential of the past tense is realized-and perceived through the repetitionsof the
leitmotif"I loved you"-as an essential part of its meaning.
14 This superiorityreaches a peak in the second stanza: I gives orders to all three
participantsin the love conflictand even God ("God grant")-who, of course, often
appears in situationsof superior peace.
15 These are termsused by Osip Brik and Victor Zhirmunsky.
16 This piling on begins with the artfullyorganized rhythmicweighting from
where the '/' motifis "stretchedout" to to beznadezho,
bezmolvno
17 The culminatingsixthline summarizes,as itwere,the rhymevocalismof the poem
as a whole.
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