TSVETAEVA VERSUS PLATO (poetry as an exercise in death)

Abstract

Th e article is devoted to the interpreting of essence of poetic art. In response to the interpretation of philosophy as an exercise in death, proposed by Plato, the author, referring to Tsvetaeva’s works, proves a similar version in relation to poetry. Poetry is the ultimate abstraction from the empirical reality, internal concentration and at the same time the openness and willingness to hear things in the neverending stream of diversity of meanings with their involvement in the noumenal sphere. A poet forces his way through common language and traditional forms of thinking, resisting and obeying, he retrieves the deep layers of utterances and recognizes language in its nature. Philosophical thought in its dismissal from the world which has been thought over before uses the language nevertheless, doesn’t peer into and listen attentively to every element of the language; it is not an indissoluble unity with the language. Poetical thought rejects completely the world which has been thought over before; it is always born for the fi rst time from the darkness of language chaos. Th e poetic world outlook is formed in the sphere where verse-word-life-death is mysteriously intertwined. Versifi cation is an exercise in death and at the same time an exercise in life, an experience of existence aft er death and the only possibility
of surviving. Death-life-verse interpenetrate each other, they are as unthinkable without each
other as well as death-life-philosophy. Refs 12.

Keywords:

poetry, philosophy, exercises in death, the myth of Orpheus, the poet’s voice.