A recital analysis. An attempt to examine the structure of a poem through its recital

Abstract

A ‘practical’ look at Batyushkov’s poem ‘You are awake, oh Baia, from the tomb…’ [‘Ty probuzhdaeshsya, o Bayya, iz grobnitsy…’] by means of musical and vocal performance allows its further analysis with interspersing elements of synthesis. When employed jointly, a recital and analysis of a poem determine a combined plan of its examination and offer a deeper view of the poem’s structure. A vocal recital implies consecutive emergence of words in a poem, but can also activate a (largely subconscious) inner interpretation, nonlinear and with varying sequences of lines and words. While Y. Lotman’s work mainly focuses on the systems of assonances and consonances, this article deals with more sophisticated sound complexes. In a holistic poetic recital, with accentuated syllables and repetitions, one can perceive formations of separate musical parts, accompanied by something close to musical compositions. The author shows how a recital of a whole text can then help to discern separate recurrent and transforming symbolic elements. The author devised a method of ‘the inner plastic theatre’, which he employs in order to study the system of different movements within Batyushkov’s poem.