Poetic imagery in L. Tolstoy’s Resurrection [Voskresenie]

Abstract

The article examines three principal devices of L. Tolstoy’s poetics in the novel Resurrection [Voskresenie]: metaphorization, contrasts and oppositions, and repetition and rhetorical climax. Repetition of certain fragments marks a turning point in the plot, as well as a return to the true nature of things, with multiple arrangements gradually intensifying to amplify the effect. The use of such devices can be observed in the metaphorization of nature which accompanies transformations of the male and female protagonists, for example, in the description of the garden with lilac bushes and the nightingale, the ice breaking on the river, or a sweltering day on the train and in the city. The repeated images conjure up parallels between the fragments describing the characters’ falling in love and committing a sin, as well as between the scenes of train journeys — to the army and to the prison camp. The characters’ intellectual and spiritual development is expressed through tropes and repetitions of motifs and sounds, which shifts the focus from the ideological to the poetic dimension, and helps create new images that complement the narration’s ideological foundation.