Images of bodily objectification in non-classical lyrics

Rakhmatova Alisa Mukhamatovna PhD in Philology Associate Professor of the Department of Humanities of Moscow International University 17 Leningradsky prospekt, Moscow, 125040 MOSCOW INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY laubernorbek@mail.ru Other publications by this author

This article examines the phenomenon of bodily objectification in the lyrics of the non-classical stage of the poetics of artistic modality (S.N. Broitman ^{[1, pp. 221-334.]}).

The relevance of this study is due, firstly, to the unflagging interest of scientists in various aspects of physicality in literature, art, and culture ^{[2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]}, and secondly, by actively conducting research on the poetics of the latest lyrics (we will note only some works of recent years: ^{[10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18]}).

 The scientific novelty of the research is determined, firstly, by the insufficient study of bodily images in lyrics as a kind of literature in general. The number of studies of corporeality in lyrics is significantly inferior to the number of studies of this aspect of artistic imagery in epic (see more about this: ^{[19, pp. 3-34]}), secondly, the lack of clarity of the artistic specifics of bodily images in the lyrics of the non-classical stage of the poetics of artistic modality (late XIX – early XXI century), thirdly, the unexplored phenomenon physical objectification in both classical and modern lyrics.

The purpose of the study is to identify and describe general parameters, as well as types of images of bodily objectification in non–classical lyrics. 

Specifically, the phenomenon that we define as bodily objectification has not been considered in literary studies. Some approximation to the consideration of this type of bodily images in non-classical lyrics is found, in particular, in the works of S. N. Broitman. Describing the works of I. Brodsky, the scientist notes the character's detachment from his own body, characteristic of the poetics of the works of this author. However, Broitman considers this feature as characterizing the subject structure in the works of Brodsky and Pasternak: "the fluidity of subject "I"-forms" ^{[20, p. 392]}. Detached perception of one's own body is not the main subject of research in Broitman's work and is rather an optional remark that complements the reasoning about the peculiarities of subjective organization in Brodsky's lyrics.

By bodily objectification, we mean in this work a specific way of depicting a lyrical subject and/or a lyrical character, in which his body is experienced (comprehended, evaluated) by himself as something separate, independently existing (or the body of a lyrical character is comprehended by a lyrical subject as something independent in relation to his "I", the inner world).

Consider as an example a fragment of a poem by M. Tsvetaeva "After a sleepless night, the body weakens ...". The lyrical heroine describes her condition through reasoning about her own body:

After a sleepless night, the body weakens, It becomes Cute and not its own, — nobody's (...) ^{[21, p. 65]}

The lyrical heroine's reasoning about her own body in this way illustrates her perception of her bodily component as something that is valuably (not literally – physically) isolated from her inner world, from the "I". Belonging to the lyrical heroine, the body simultaneously acquires the features of the "external" body, is evaluated by her as "not her own", "nobody's".

Considering concepts similar to objectification in works on aesthetics, it should be noted M. M. Bakhtin's arguments about lyrical self–objectification ^{[22, pp. 230-231.]}. According to Bakhtin, lyrical self-objectification is a concept associated with the correlation of the value positions of the author and the hero, "the personal coincidence of the hero and the author beyond the boundaries of the work" ^{[22, p. 230]}. By objectification, we mean an image reflecting the specific features of the value position of the hero of a lyrical work associated with his perception of his own physicality. In the works of non–classical lyrics of the late XIX - early XXI centuries, the reflection of a lyrical subject directed at his own body (or the body of a lyrical character) is often associated with the experience of some kind of value separation of the bodily sphere from other sides of the hero. The images of bodily objectification in the lyrics of this stage of poetics convey the perception by the lyrical subject of his body / body of the lyrical character as another while maintaining an actual connection with him (that is, in fact, the body retains a connection with the hero, is separated from him not literally, but only in experience). The body given in the horizon of the lyrical subject, in certain cases, is objectified by him himself: either he is evaluated in opposition to others / another sphere / spheres of his being, or he is elevated to the status of a conceptual value, comprehended by the lyrical subject as something universal. Consequently, the images of bodily objectification are associated with the image of the transition in the outlook (reflection) of the lyrical subject from subjective perception (what is associated with the "inner" body) to objectifying (the lyrical subject perceives his body as "external", alien). Being a "subject-for-himself", the hero of the lyrical work perceives the body, realized by him as his own, to a significant extent detached, as another body, himself as a subject, disintegrating into bodily and spiritual principles.

It should be noted that in the lyrics of the previous stages of poetics there are images that look similar to the images of bodily objectification (for example, when depicting the experience of death, separation of the soul from the body, etc.), but differ in semantic terms (see our analysis of such images in the poems of M.Y. Lermontov, E.A. Baratynsky, etc.: ^{[19, pp. 37-40]}). This semantic difference is primarily due to the fact that in classical lyrics, the image of the body as something that is separated from the hero (in fact or in the consciousness/speech of the lyrical subject) is associated with the perception of the body as part of an integral human image. In the works of classical lyrics, the body, actually separating from the hero, being considered as an independent substance (for example, in texts depicting the experience of death – real or hypothetical, the separation of the soul from the body, the reflections of the lyrical subject about the body and/or his soul and/or the lyrical character), retains in his experience a semantic connection with him as with bodily and spiritual unity. In the works of non–classical lyrics of the late XIX - early XXI centuries, the body, actually maintaining unity with the hero, is perceived by the latter as something separate in semantic terms, opposed to other aspects of his being ("I", "consciousness", "soul"). Such indistinctness of its external and internal boundaries, which becomes the subject of reflection of the hero of non-classical lyrics, seems to us to indicate the incompleteness of the human image, the analytical attitude of the lyrical subject to himself.

We assume that, while preserving the general features described above, the images of bodily objectification are represented in non-classical lyrics by several stable variants that demonstrate various forms of attitude in the reflection of the lyrical subject of the objectified body to other spheres of his being. Next, we will consider on a number of examples the variants of bodily objectification in the lyrics of the non-classical stage of the poetics of artistic modality.

In some cases, the heterogeneity of the image of the lyrical subject/character, generated by bodily objectification, is based on the opposition of the "I" (mental activity) – the bodily component. In our opinion, in works with such an opposition, the image of the lyrical subject appears dual or two-part.

 Thus, the lyrical subject in O. Mandelstam's poem "The body is given to me – what should I do with it..." already in the first lines emphasizes his non-connection with his own body, without denying at the same time a strong connection with it:

Given me a body — what should I do with it,

So one and so mine? ^{[23, p. 37]}

The lyrical subject of this poem perceives himself as a separate external, materially expressed part (body) and an internal part with the ability to think, represented in the text by the personal pronoun "I". At the same time, the hero's point of view on the bodily part of his being is associated with acceptance and joy. A slightly different value position of the lyrical heroine is observed in S. Plath's poem "Tulips" ("Tulips"). the lyrical heroine perceives the connection with the bodily side of her existence as unfreedom, contrary to her essence:

And I'm ridiculous, sprawled out like a silhouette made of paper,

Between the glare of the sun and the eyes of tulips,

I am faceless, I have always sought to depersonalize myself ^[24]

 The considered poems illustrate the heterogeneity of the image of the lyrical subject, which is represented by the image of two spheres of his being – the body and the "I" (mental activity), common to all the types of bodily objectification that we have identified. These two spheres are depicted in a state of some isolation, separation from each other (primarily semantic – given in the reflection of the lyrical subject).

Isolation from one's own body, objectification of the body in the assessment of the lyrical hero / heroine may also be associated with the experience of separation from earthly existence (for example, in A. Akhmatova's poem "Everything is taken away: both strength and love ..."), loss of the meaning of existence (for example, "Farewell" by B. Akhmadulina, where the loss of the meaning of life related to the loss of love). In both cases, the body is linked to the value-semantic pole of life, with which the characters are experiencing a break. The experience of separation from one's own body as a pole of life may not be experienced as something negative ("Clarification" by I. Brodsky, "Over the blue Sea tub ..." by M. Tsvetaeva, etc.). In the latter case, the lyrical subject is focused on intangible values that are not related to earthly existence, which implies a value detachment from the body.  

In some cases, bodily objectification, also represented in the assessment of a lyrical subject, is associated with his perception of a lyrical character. In such texts, we see that the lyrical subject describes the character's body as a phenomenon of the objective reality surrounding it (for example, "Outfit" by E. Pound). The two-part image of a lyrical character in the assessment of a lyrical subject is also found in the poems "Enchanted", "Sisters of Mercy" by A. Rimbaud, "Hardcastle Valley" by S. Plath, "A heroic and mourning Song about a second lieutenant who died in Albania" by O. Elitis and a number of others.

In some cases, the objectification of the body is associated with an implicit image of the lyrical subject. In S. N. Broitman's terminology, these are poems with an impersonal form of expression of the author's consciousness ^{[10, p. 113]}. In these cases, the body is depicted as an external phenomenon to the lyrical subject, illustrating unity with the objective world. In such poems ("This is a series of observations ...", "Near the ocean, by candlelight ...", "Thames in Chelsea", "Because the heel leaves traces – winter ..." by I. Brodsky and a number of others), with an impersonal form of expression of the author's consciousness, the body acquires universal features. Here, as a rule, there is no experience directly physically felt by the subject of consciousness associated with it. The presence of a contextual and semantic connection of the lyrical subject with the body is complicated by the inclusiveness of this bodily image. The body depicted in the cases considered belongs not only to the lyrical subject, but, in a certain sense, to a person in general.

When considering the work of non-classical lyrics, we, along with the cases discussed earlier, encounter texts in which the image of the lyrical subject /character is characterized by a greater degree of heterogeneity. In a number of texts, not only the body objectified by the consciousness of the lyrical subject and his "I" (or "he"), but also the soul are value-contrasted.

The three-part image of the lyrical subject/character, based on the image of the objectified body, "I" and "soul", is presented, in particular, in the poem by M. Tsvetaeva "Life lies inimitably ...". In this work, the image of the three-part structure of the lyrical heroine already appears, based on the image of the objectified body, the "I" and the soul in its composition: "We, bodies, // Souls (...) are enchanted" ^{[21, p. 197]}. The separation of the lyrical subject from the body and soul is also represented in A. Tarkovsky's poem "I say goodbye to everything that I once was ...". In N. Gumilev's works "Soul and Body", "Memory", bodily objectification becomes an element of contrasting the values of body and soul (also objectified in the evaluation of the lyrical subject).

Let's consider how this variant of bodily objectification is presented in N. Zabolotsky's poem "Passer-by" ^[25]. The lyrical situation in this poem is connected with the position of the lyrical hero (in the presence of a lyrical subject who is both the subject of speech and the subject of consciousness) outside the social context:

By railway sleepers

He walks at night on foot.

It's too late. To Nara Station

The penultimate composition left ^{[25, p. 284]}.

The missed composition is a condition for comprehending not everyday, but existential problems. However, this state of proximity to immaterial meanings and truths is not presented as all-consuming, not as the final point in the path of a lyrical character. The mention that the departed line-up was the penultimate one sets the mindset for a possible and even probable return in the near future to the social context, the world of material things. The title of the poem also embodies this theme of constant movement, only passing unexpectedly revealed meanings. The last lines of the poem reinforce this interpretation:

And the body wanders along the road,

Walking through thousands of troubles,

And his grief and anxiety

They run like dogs after ^{[25, p. 285]}.

In the finale of the poem, the image of bodily objectification, in fact, becomes a consequence of a lyrical event. The lyrical event here is connected with the situation of an epiphany, unexpected for the lyrical character and the lyrical subject himself to be introduced to being:

And in the dark hall of the universe,

Above this sleepy foliage

The unexpected instant rises,

Peace piercing the soul (...) ^{[25, p. 285]}.

The juxtaposition of soul and body here continues with the image of the deceased pilot. At the beginning of the poem, in the horizon of the lyrical subject, he appears as part of the objective world:

There's a pilot at the edge of the alley

Resting in a pile of ribbons,

And the dead propeller, turning white,

It is crowned by a monument ^{[25, p. 285]}.         

But in the finale of the poem, his image is described already in connection with the immaterial beginning, exposing the connection between the two spheres of the world, the living and the afterlife:

(...) Pauses with downcast eyes

A living human soul.

And in the slight rustling of the kidneys,

And in the slow noise of the branches

The Invisible young Pilot

Talking about something with her ^{[25, p. 285]}.

This unity and intertwining in eternity of the souls of a living and deceased person creates the image of a short moment of enlightenment that overtook the lyrical subject. The lyrical subject here merges with the passer-by, and in the finale of the work, the described body acquires the status of a universal, simultaneously belonging to the lyrical subject and the passer-by, and, in a broad sense, embodying the opposition of the material-vital, visible sphere of being to the spiritual, hidden, sphere, which does not exclude their close connection.

Thus, based on the analysis, a number of conclusions can be drawn. 1. A common feature of bodily objectification in lyrics (with all the variety of its depiction in specific texts) is the following: the perception by the lyrical subject of his body / the body of the lyrical character as another (related to the outside world) while maintaining an actual connection with him. 2. In the works of non-classical lyrics, two main variants of the image of bodily objectification are distinguished: a) in the image of a lyrical subject /character, the body is opposed to the "I"; b) in the image of a lyrical subject / character, the body is opposed to the "I", as well as to a certain extent to the objectified inner principle – the "soul".

Summarizing the contextual meanings of body-objectified images in non-classical lyrics, it can be noted that the objectification of the body in the reflection of the lyrical subject, as a rule, is associated with the borderline state in which he or the lyrical character resides: illness, existential crisis, an attempt to comprehend his own life. The connection of the image of bodily objectification with such themes and situations, in our opinion, expresses a characteristic feature of the worldview of the subject of non-classical lyrics, namely, his perception of the boundaries of his own "I" as displaced. The very image of the juxtaposition of the body and the other /other spheres of being of the lyrical subject / character is associated with the expression in the texts of the incompleteness of the image of a person. The hero of the works of the late XIX – XX centuries . "he begins not to coincide with himself precisely as a subject", his "self-consciousness becomes the main subject of the author's image" ^{[26, p. 45]}. The reality external to the hero is depicted as entirely subordinate to his reflection, including his own body (or the body of a lyrical character), which becomes the subject of an analytical relationship and is thus objectified.