Biblical Images in the Poetry of Symbolism: Methodology of Analysis (On the Example of the Image «Last Judgment» in the Poetry of M.Voloshin)

Abstract

The article deals with transformations of biblical images in the poetry of symbolism, wishing to break into the sphere of theology. Mythological poetry of M. Voloshin is in the center of the article. The image of the great religions of the world, the Last Judgment is analyzed. The main attention is focused on the stages and methods of analyzing the image of tradition in the poetry of the Silver Age. Their aim is to avoid mistakes in interpretation and evaluation, to identify the new that the poet gives in his conception as a result of transformation of the image. The process is shown to start with traditional wide commentary of the image, then all the material is divided into the essential and close to the poet’s ideas and not important for him; then we see the new idea of the poet and the old components given in previous transformations of the image, by the way the wrong interpretations of the image are eliminated when we take into account the whole conception of the poet. As the important result we observe the new creation as the new knowledge given by the poet.