Grotesque and Fantasy as a method of transformation of real loci in Sluchevsky's early Lyrics

Chen' Fangming Doctor of Philology Postgraduate, Department of the History of Russian Literature, Lomonosov Moscow State University 918 Leninskie Gory str., Moscow, 119991, Russia 17854222348@163.com Other publications by this author

First of all, it is worth defining the terms "grotesque", "fantasy" and "locus". In the Literary Encyclopedia of Terms and Concepts, the term "grotesque" is defined as "a kind of conditional fantastic imagery that defiantly violates the principles of plausibility, in which imaginative plans and artistic details incongruous in reality are bizarrely and illogically combined" ^{[1, 188]}.

Fiction can be considered more conventional and less connected with reality, "in which the author's fiction extends from the depiction of strangely unusual, improbable phenomena to the creation of a special — fictional, unreal, "wonderful world". Fiction has its own fantastic type of imagery with its characteristic high degree of conventionality, an outright violation of real logical connections and patterns, natural proportions and shapes of the depicted object." At the same time, "at the heart of every fantastic work lies the opposition of the fantastic — the real" ^{[2, 1119]}. Thus, the concepts of "grotesque" and "fantasy", that is, both ways of artistic shaping, imply the interaction or opposition of the imaginary world to the real one, in particular to a really existing space, or real "loci".

In the literature, the study of loci — significant images of conditional space, which can be both real, reflecting objectively existing spatial realities, and unreal, created by the author's imagination, was initiated by Yu. M. Lotman ^[3]. The term "locus" (from Latin locus — place), which originally arose in its time in genetics, became an effective element of the analysis of literary texts thanks to the works of Yu. M. Lotman, who defined locus as an element of mythological space, which is a collection of isolated objects with proper names ^{[4, 63]}. The use of the locus system involves the use of a structuralist approach and the use of methods proposed by Yu. M. Lotman, although in recent decades many researchers have addressed the concept of "locus", in particular, S. Yu. Neklyudov ^[5], V. P. Okeansky ^[6], V. Yu. Prokofiev ^[7], I. A. Tarasova ^[8], O. E. Frolova ^[9], D. A. Shchukina ^[10] and others, who contributed to the development and study of this concept.

At the same time, spatial images and loci in the artistic world of K. K. Sluchevsky seem to be insufficiently studied, although in recent years his work has received special attention from researchers. In particular, the transformation of real loci through the use of the grotesque and fiction in Sluchevsky's early lyrics remains on the periphery of the study of his work.

The beginning of the literary debut of Konstantin Konstantinovich Sluchevsky (1837-1904) was marked by the first publication of his poems in the illustrated magazine "General Educational Bulletin" in 1857. In Nos. 3, 9 and 11, Sluchevsky's poems were published, as well as his translations of the works of J. G. Byron, V. Hugo and O. Barbier ^{[11, 13]}. In the same year, the poems "Night" and "Rome" were published under the signature "K. S." in the magazine "Fashion". Sluchevsky's poem "On the Death of Beranger", published in No. 11 of the General Educational Bulletin, was also signed." (1857) ^{[12, 14]}.

The end of the early period of Sluchevsky's work is usually attributed to 1860. This was primarily due to the fact that in 1860 more than ten poems by Sluchevsky were published in Nekrasov's Sovremennik (No. 1-3), which attracted the close attention of critics. In addition to positive and even enthusiastic reviews, including such authoritative authors as I. S. Turgenev and A. Grigoriev, there were also unfriendly, even sharply satirical reviews. In the popular magazine Iskra at that time, unusually evil parodies began to be published from issue to issue, not only on the poems of the young poet, but even on himself. The criticism hit Sluchevsky so hard that he stopped publishing, however, magazines also showed no interest in publishing his poems. Sluchevsky retired, went abroad, wanting to receive a broad European education, and fell silent for a long time. Thus, the events of 1860 marked a turning point in Sluchevsky's life and career and marked the end of the early period of his work.

This period is characterized by Sluchevsky's following the tradition of late Romanticism ^{[13, 10]}. The influence of German romantics, in particular Heinrich Heine, is especially noticeable in his early work, which is confirmed, among other things, by his translations from Heine, as well as by the original lyrics ("Statue", "Vestal"). D. I. Pisarev, a well—known and very authoritative critic at that time, wrote about Heine: "Heine is a poet of a capricious, irritable, impatient and inconsistent century. He himself is all made up of contradictions and teases himself with these contradictions, and does not even try to reconcile them with each other, and he sometimes cries, then laughs at his feelings, then suddenly throws himself into the struggle of life and, with the full force of youthful fervor and courageous conviction, explains to people the difference between the remnants of the past and living glimpses the future" ^{[14, 100]}. I. F. Annensky in his article "Heinrich Heine and we" noted:

In the poem "From Heine", first published in Illustrations (1859), Sluchevsky, following the tradition of the German romantic, whose work, according to I. F. Annensky, inspired many Russian writers and poets at that time, demonstrates his own satirical talent and uses the grotesque and fiction to transform real loci. He paints a fantastic picture when the still living dead are walking to their graves in the cemetery. When describing, the poet artfully combines the tragic and the comic, the funny and the terrible: "I know who will have to go down into the earth this year, / Who of mortals, of the living, / Will tumble, drown. / Someone bald —striped, / In red trousers, in mottled feathers, / Walked with a cock's step, / Thin-legged and pot-bellied. / Someone long, very long, / In a black tailcoat, in a black hat, / Walked with a swinging stride, / Multi-star, multi-line <...> Dirty people were walking, / Some in white, some in ink, / They were splattered with mud, / Some up to their necks, some up to their chests. / They walked and sank into the ground..." ^{[14, 461]}.

These images combine real details (clothes, titles) and fantastic, grotesque features (unusual appearance, strange gait). Sluchevsky ironically lists representatives of different professions and social groups: "There were some uniforms, / Chamberlains, hof-furriers, / Ex-gendarmes, VIC ministers, / Infantrymen, cuirassiers" ^{[14, 461]}. This creates the effect of a carnival procession in which the real and the fantastic are mixed. The satirical effect is achieved due to the contrast between the high ranks and positions of the characters and their grotesque, caricatured images. The poet ridicules the emptiness and meaninglessness of their existence, predicting their imminent death: "I know who will have to go down into the earth this year, / Who of the mortals, of the living, / Will tumble, drown" ^{[14, 461]}.

Sluchevsky calls all these people, the powerful of this world, "dirty", "splattered with mud." And although this is a translation of "from Heine", the techniques that the poet uses are typical of his original lyrics, where the tragic is often combined with irony and sarcasm. As an example, the poem "I saw my burial...", written under the obvious influence of Heine, can be cited: "I saw my burial. / Tall candles were burning, / An unslept deacon was censing, / And hoarse choristers were singing" ^{[14, 458]}.

In this work, Sluchevsky achieves a strong visual and emotional effect, creating a surreal, ironic and gloomy description of his own funeral, which allows him to explore the themes of death, human nature and social order from an unusual perspective. The lyrical hero lying in a coffin captures what is happening around him. The "unslept" deacon, "hoarse choristers", "tall candles" create a gloomy and tragic atmosphere. Sluchevsky introduces elements of grotesque and satire: in addition to the "sleepless" deacon and "hoarse" choristers, we see by no means a grief-stricken wife who "in an interesting frenzy" kisses the wrinkled forehead of the deceased and immediately whispers about something with her cousin; outwardly sad relatives joyfully anticipate receiving an inheritance, the eyes of concerned creditors "and they are muddy and scary"; standing in thought, the footmen worry about losing their place, and the cook who prepared the wake ate too much, as well as everyone who participated in them ^{[14, 458-459]}. The reality here is distorted to the point of absurdity, as well as the images of the characters and their actions; with this technique, the poet emphasizes human hypocrisy and the impermanence of human relations. Fiction manifests itself in the ability of the lyrical hero to observe his own burial. The alternative reality created by Sluchevsky allows him not only to express a critical attitude towards society and the imperfection of human nature, but also to explore deeper philosophical and moral themes.

Even in the early period, elements of realism appeared in Sluchevsky's poetry, which is especially noticeable in the poem "In the Snow", which was begun at this time. The poem, both in its place of action and in the nature of the events described, differs markedly from the romantic works of that time. There is a tendency to describe everyday life, saturate the action with realistic details, to "colloquialism" and simplicity of dialogue, and the desire to typify speech.

The first period of Sluchevsky's literary activity bears traces of the influence of other poets, on whose translations he worked. As already mentioned, Sluchevsky began his career in literature with translations by Beranger and Auguste Barbier. Beranger and Barbier were recognized as the voice of modernity, and their poetry in the late 1850s and early 1860s was associated with the struggle for a revolutionary democratic trend in literature. Interestingly, already in these early translations, Sluchevsky's dramatic sense of life manifested itself: he chose those poems characterized by an acute perception of evil and injustice, which was reflected, for example, in Barbier's poem "Il pianto" ("Crying"): "Yes! it is sad to meet only evil on earth, / Tune your verse to a groan and a scream of torment, / In clear skies to notice clouds running, / To look for wrinkles in a laughing face" ^{[14, 518]}. His choice was not accidental and met a deep need of the soul. By the way, Barbier's work on the theme of the revolution was very successful in Russia, and many famous Russian poets-translators worked on translations of his works. Beranger was known for his satirical poems and harsh criticism of the aristocracy. As we saw above, Sluchevsky was also no stranger to satire and critical perception of social life.

In the lyrics, created during a trip abroad in 1857-1858, the presence of elements of the grotesque and fiction is also noticeable, with which the poet transformed real loci. In the poem "Monte Pincio" Sluchevsky begins to describe the real locus, but gradually, with the help of metaphors, creates a fantastic picture in which the mentioned real loci are animated: "the turbid" Tiber "licks the banks", Peter's Temple "looks proudly, crushing Rome", "decrepit Forum" together with Nero's thermae and the Capitol"they are waiting for future centuries," and immediately the picture turns from a fantastic one into a real one again when an Italian on a donkey appears "with a basket, in a colorful hoodie, / hanging down to the ground with a Red hat" ^{[14, 221]}. With the help of such descriptions, Sluchevsky transforms real loci, giving them a new, deeper dimension. This is how reality is transformed through the prism of his personal perception, reflecting the complexity and inconsistency of the world.

This approach to poetry reflects the desire to explore all forms of human existence, using the grotesque and fiction as methods of transforming real loci. An example is the poem "In the cold", which creates the atmosphere of a cold winter night. The lyrical hero watches from the street what is happening indoors. This creates a feeling of remoteness and alienation. The grotesque is manifested in the contrast between the warmth and light inside the room and the cold and darkness outside. Fiction finds its expression in surreal and mystical elements, such as shadows jumping on glass. The lyrical hero does not just look out of the window from the street: he is cold and hungry ("I was once full"; ^{[14, 461]}.), that is, it clearly does not belong to the circle of Sluchevsky himself.

In the poem "Evening on Leman" we see a unique combination of real landscape elements and fantastic, almost mystical images. A red column of fire on a fisherman's boat, lonely colored clouds, a large spider hanging on a web create a picturesque picture at the same time filled with realism and a sense of mystery. The grotesque and fantastic in this poem are manifested not only in the description of nature, but also in the images of the sounds of the night. The sound, rushing from afar and foreshadowing the appearance of stars, creates a feeling of something mystical, unknown. The harmony of the sounds grows, creating a powerful and exciting effect. The fantastic image of the night with blue moistened eyes, walking "on the wings of ghosts", enhances the mystical atmosphere of the poem, ending with the image of a star "shamefacedly" appearing "in the folds of a long night veil" ^{[14, 218]}.

In the poem "The wind Walks in excess", grotesque and fantasy are also used as a method of transforming real loci: "The wind walks in excess / Along the wide Neva, / Rolls of snow / crooked women" (464). Sluchevsky creates a picturesque and dynamic image of the winter landscape, thanks to his unique poetic perception, distorting reality, giving it a kind of comic and at the same time gloomy character. A simple natural phenomenon — the wind blowing along the Neva River — turns into a bizarre living, almost anthropomorphic creature that controls everything around. The image of the wind, animated and full of emotions, creates a strange grotesque feeling, emphasizing the contrast between nature and the human world. The wind lays snow on the rolls of a lopsided woman, thrusts potholes under the firewood of a peasant, incessantly blows into the old sides of a nag, howls a pitiful howl behind the rampart. This description gives the poem a mystical and fabulous touch, transforming ordinary winter scenes into something magical and unreal. In the battle of the cathedral clock, the voices of ancestors, "tales of the Murom forests" and "songs of our grandfathers" are heard, which creates a sense of temporal and spatial depth connecting the present with the past, reality with folklore.

Apollon Alexandrovich Grigoriev, who highly appreciated Sluchevsky's early works, paid special attention to the poems "Vestal", "Statue" and "Human Sighs". In a letter to the critic N.N. Strakhov, Grigoriev expresses admiration for these works, claiming that "everything" is present in them: "real passion, the ability to draw with hints and broad features <...> and the simplicity of the technique, extending to audacity" ^{[16, 278]}.

In the poem "Vestal", Sluchevsky transforms real loci, that is, real places, into something symbolic and fantastic. The poem begins with a description of an empty temple, where red light pours over the columns, illuminating the Vestal Hermione. The described scene combines elements of the real (temple, columns, flame) and the mystical (mystical glow, emptiness of space). The grotesque is manifested in the contrast between the sacred space of the temple and the half-naked figure of the Vestal, which creates a feeling of unreality and strangeness of the scene. The Vestal is depicted as a statue, with an impassive, motionless face and closed eyes, which enhances the impression of detachment and mystery. The images in the poem reflect the Vestal's complex emotions, her dreams and fears, the conflict between her sacred duties and human desires. At the end of the poem there is a call: "Vesta! Vesta! Spare me / The Dream of the Vestal Hermione!.." ^{[14, 164]}. it sounds like a plea for salvation from the plight of the priestess of the goddess of the hearth Vesta, who is obliged, while maintaining chastity for 30 years, to devote her life to observing religious rituals and maintaining the sacred fire in the temple.

In the poem "The Statue", the poet paints a magical world where reality and fantasy, living and inanimate, are intertwined. By a quiet sleepy lake stands a statue of a young gladiator, who, being wounded in battle, seems to be trying to wash his wound with cold spring water. With the onset of night, the surrounding space changes fantastically: a mermaid comes out of the waters, clinging to the statue, begging him for love and a kiss. The grotesque in the poem is manifested in the contrast between the static and lifeless statue of a gladiator and the lively, emotionally saturated, but fantastic figure of a mermaid ^{[15, 162]}. This creates a feeling of a strange discrepancy between the real world and the unreal world. The night stars and the two-horned moon witness this mysterious scene, emphasizing the magical atmosphere of what is happening. At the end of the poem, the image of a mermaid, sad and pale, going into sleepy waves and sighing deeply, enhances the feeling of unquenchable sadness. Thus, Sluchevsky's "Statue" is an example of his ability to use the grotesque and fiction to create a poetic world where reality is transformed and enriched with fantastic and symbolic elements.

In "Human Sighs," Sluchevsky describes a strange world in which at night human sighs take on tangible mystical forms. The night, filled with mysterious and bizarre shadows, enhances the atmosphere of the grotesque and fantasy. The real world is being transformed, acquiring new, fantastic dimensions. The sighs that have turned into light, airy creatures, born from light and darkness, flying around the world at midnight, collect moon rays: from fragrant flowers, from the faces of the sleeping and the dead, from which they weave golden crowns and die at dawn, "with crowns on their faces, with supplication on their lips," which gives the poem a tragic- lyrical intonation.

The poems "In the Cemetery" and "The Wind is Beating" in the 1860s aroused the greatest complaints from critics due to a lack of understanding of their poetic style. Thus, V.S. Kurochkin sarcastically noted that ordinary readers may find Sluchevsky's preference to rest in the cemetery strange and that the image of the wind laying snow on the rolls of a lopsided woman may be perceived as nonsense ^{[12, 59]}. This opinion reflects a purely realistic view of poetry, in which the reader is not ready for innovative methods, including the use of the grotesque and fiction.

In fact, the poem "In the Cemetery" is an outstanding example of using the grotesque and fiction to transform real loci. In this work, Sluchevsky creates an atmosphere in which a real place — a cemetery — turns into a world of mystical and grotesque phenomena. The grotesque is manifested in the description of naturalistic, but at the same time unusual and strange scenes. The lyrical hero lies on a coffin slab, watching clouds, swallows, beetles, a green maple, a pine tree, and in his imagination they all come to life equally. The optimistic pictures of nature and the dancing rhythm of the verse contrast with the gloomy and mysterious atmosphere of the cemetery, creating a sense of unreality and surrealism. Fiction manifests itself in the image of a dead man who turns to the lyrical hero with a request to replace him in the grave and set him free. The dialogue between the living and the dead enhances the feeling of mystique of what is happening, when the boundaries between life and death, reality and fiction are blurred. The poem ends with a return to the depiction of nature, but now all these elements are colored with a gloomy light after the dialogue with the dead man. The last lines, which mention fireflies, add elements of light and hope to the poem, but at the same time enhance the feeling of mystery and mystery.

From the above, we can draw a number of conclusions about the properties of space and preferred loci in Sluchevsky's early lyrics. His early work of the 1850s was dominated by the influence of Romanticism, especially German romantics such as Heine, which manifested itself in the choice of exotic loci, as well as in the transformation of real places through the grotesque and fantasy. Nevertheless, already during this period, elements of realism began to appear in Sluchevsky's poetry, especially noticeable in some of his works, where the author strives for a detailed description of everyday life, which indicates an emerging trend towards concretization of loci in the spatial organization of works. The formation of Sluchevsky's early poetics was significantly influenced by his upbringing and education received in the First Cadet Corps, where teachers of Russian literature such as N. Y. Prokopovich, V. T. Plaksin, G. E. Blagovetlov, I. I. Vvedensky instilled in the future poet an interest in European literature and the work of M. Y. Lermontov. Sluchevsky's early lyrics developed in the context of the socio-cultural atmosphere of pre-reform Russia in the late 1850s, and visits to literary circles and salons, communication with famous writers of that time (L. A. May, N. V. Gerbel, N. F. Shcherbina, Ya. P. Polonsky) contributed to the expansion of the range of themes and motifs in his poetry. Sluchevsky's first poetic experiences are connected with his translations of the works of Beranger and Auguste Barbier, whose choice of poems with a keen sense of the injustice of the world and a passionate desire for justice testifies to the dramatic worldview of the young poet and his interest in social topics. Thus, in his early lyrics, Sluchevsky preferred romantic, exotic and historical loci, which were transformed with the help of the grotesque and fiction, however, already in this period there was a tendency to a realistic depiction of space and concretization of details, and the poetic space of early Sluchevsky was formed under the influence of romanticism, realism, as well as personal experience and environment of the poet.

However, these trends are most clearly manifested in Sluchevsky's later works, such as the cycle "Ballads, Fantasies and Fairy Tales", which was written in the 60s of the XIX century and does not belong to the early period of the poet's work. In this cycle, we can observe the further development of romantic and folklore motifs. Ballads, fantasies and fairy tales as genres tend to conventions, fiction and folk poetics, which allows the poet to create vivid, unusual images and plots, moving away from a realistic depiction of reality. At the same time, Sluchevsky does not completely abandon realistic elements, but strives for the synthesis of various artistic methods, which gives his works a unique originality.