GENRE UNIQUENESS OF THE "FINAL" BOOK OF POEMS BY E. EUTUSHENKO. YEVTUSHENKO "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SAY GOODBYE. VERSES. POEMS" (2013)

Abstract

The article deals with the genre and problem-thematic features of the "final" book of poems by E. Yevtushenko "I Don't Know How to Say Goodbye. Verses and Poems". In the course of the analysis it is established that two genre-species forms of the "final" book of poems are developing in contemporary Russian poetry: a boundary or stage book of poems and a "testament book", built on the genre model of the "final" book of poems of the last third of the XIX century. The paper concludes that E. Yevtushenko's book of poems belongs to the second genre-species form, where an important ideological and semantic role is played by the complicated architectonics, plot-forming motifs, polygraphic means, and metaphorical title. The distinctive features of E. Yevtushenko's poetics become declarative, epatastic, strongly pronounced subjectivity of the poetic voice of the lyrical hero, closely merged with the image of the poet himself. The book demonstrates the author's view of his own fate and the fate of Russia. It actualizes the motifs of forgiveness and farewell, loss, the desire to share the most intimate things, to remember the best moments of his life, to thank his loved ones; biography is combined with a dialogical appeal to the "other".

Extended abstract:

The purpose of this article is to examine the genre specificity of E. Yevtushenko's "final" book of poems, "I Don't Know How to Say Goodbye. Verses and Poems" (2013). The main hypothesis of the study asserts that the "final" book of poems has become a significant genre form in modern poetry, allowing authors to present their worldview as an integral artistic system. For poets at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, it has become a kind of "poetic testament", presenting their life and creative path, and expressing their desire to bid farewell to readers and thank those close to them for their support. To achieve this, the article employs comparative-historical, typological, socio-cultural, biographical methods, as well as a holistic analysis of the artwork. The study is novel in its comprehensive analysis of E. Yevtushenko's "final" book of poems, identifying its genre-species, problem-thematic, and compositional features. The analysis reveals that two genre-species forms of the "final" book of poems are developing in contemporary Russian poetry: a boundary or stage book of poems and a "testament book" built on the genre model of the "final" book of poems from the last third of the 19th century. E. Yevtushenko's book belongs to the second genre-species form, where the complicated architectonics, plot-forming motifs, polygraphic means, and metaphorical title play an important ideological and semantic role. The poetics of E. Yevtushenko are characterized by declarative, epatastic, and pronounced subjectivity of the poetic voice of the lyrical hero, closely merged with the image of the poet himself. The book demonstrates the author's view of his own fate and that of Russia, actualizing motifs of forgiveness and farewell, loss, and the desire to share intimate moments and thank loved ones. Biography is combined with a dialogical appeal to the "other", and the author does not separate himself from the era, considering the poet a part of the world he describes, capable of influencing the course of events. Overall, the "final" book of poems has become a significant genre form in modern poetry, allowing authors to present their worldview as an integral artistic system. E. Yevtushenko's "I don't know how to say goodbye. Poems. Poems" belongs to the "testament book" genre-species form, characterized by its complicated architectonics, plot-forming motifs, polygraphic means, and metaphorical title. The book demonstrates the author's view of his own fate and that of Russia, actualizing motifs of forgiveness and farewell, loss, and the desire to share intimate moments and thank loved ones.