Shapinskaya E.N. Aesthetics of Love/Suffering in the Musical-Poetic Discourse of Romanticism

Abstract: The subject of the present research is the perception of the musical-poetic discourse of Romanticism by the representatives of contemporary culture. The dominating theme in works created by romantic poets and composers is Love/Suffering aestheticized in the process of art representation. Another theme associated with Love/Suffering is Nature that was subjectively described by romantics depending on emotions felt by an author or a main character. Special attention is paid to peculiarities of the musical-poetic discourse as part of the social discourse of that age in general. In her research the author of the article has used the discursive analysis of lyrics of Schubert's romances (Lieder) which, on the one hand, are being viewed as part of the socio-cultural environment of those times and, on the other hand, analyzed from the point of view of universal values and concepts that make them relevant for a modern man. The emphasis is also made on peculiarities of this genre because it combines both music and poetry, moreover, their combination allows to achieve the integrity both poetry and music strive for. The scientific novelty of the research is caused by the fact that the musical-poetic works of romantics are being discussed as part of the discursive practices of those times and, at the same time, as having particular semantic dominants that have a universal meaning. The theme of Love/Suffering is such a dominant typical for the most popular artworks of that genre.  In her article Shapinskaya also provides a number of examples of interpretations of musical-poetic forms by famous performers as well as their opinions and thoughts on the matter. The author also analyzes the reaction of the modern audience, both prepared ones and beginners, regarding the musical-poetic discursive practices of romantics. It is concluded that musical-poetic works of those times are very important for our contemporaries who long for aesthetic values and emotions of Romanticism in the age of the cult of consumption and domination of popular culture. 

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