The ways of the Bible: an interpretation of antique and biblical motives in the works of M.A. Voloshin

Abstract

This article is about the evolution of the poetic work of Maximilian Voloshin in the context of Russian history of the early twentieth century. It reflects the formation of the religious and philosophical worldview of this poet-philosopher. The hypothesis is discussed that under the influence of tragic events, wars and revolutions, the biblical motives increasingly replace the antique ones, and the contemporary historical events are interpreted in terms of biblical history. In this connection a general view of the subject is given, as well as an analysis of the language, metrics, imagery and style of Woloshin's poetry at different moments of his creative work. It appears that if earlier the poet often tended to adapt antique verse and strophe to the Russian syllabo-tonic poetry, in the works of the epoch of wars and revolution he imitates the biblical poetry several times, and then he goes on to an unrhymed tonic verse, with the line divided into two hemistichs. Thereby the antique images, topoi and metaphors give way to biblical allusions, combined with realistic details of the period of terror and mass executions. It is proved that Crimea-Cimmeria, which had previously been an area of the ancient oecumene for the poet, an abode of the ancient gods, appears as an arena of the fulfilled prophetic and apocalyptic visions of the Bible in the post-revolutionary period of his work. It is alleged that history itself, which had previously been depicted as a cycle, according to ancient tradition, turns into a vector of destruction. Concerning the Old Testament history, the poet's attention is mostly attracted to prophetic books, and he chooses the most mystical images from the New Testament, chiefly from St John’s Book of Revelation. Moreover, some Gnostic motifs are combined with the Biblical ones. The cosmic allegory of Christ as the spirit "crucified" in the matter is considered as an example which goes back to the Gnostic teachings of Late Antiquity. It is also concluded that Voloshin’s hope for a future revival of Russia after passing through the crucible of trials also fits into the framework of the biblical tradition.