Poetics of expressiveness: a theory and applications

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

LINGUISTIC & LITERARY STUDIES IN EASTERN EUROPE (LLSEE) The emphasis of this scholarly series is on recent developments in Linguistic and Literary Research in Eastern Europe; it includes analysis, translations and syntheses of current research as well as studies in the history of linguistic and literary scholarship.

Founding Editor: John Odmark t General Editor: Philip A. Luelsdorff

Volume 18

Yu. Shcheglov & A. Zholkovsky Poetics of Expressiveness: A Theory and Applications

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS A THEORY AND APPLICATIONS by

Yuri SHCHEGLOV and Alexander ZHOLKOVSKY

Introduction, Glossary, Index, Bibliography and general editing by Alexander ZHOLKOVSKY

JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY AMSTERDAM/PHILADELPHIA 1987

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Shcheglov, IU. K. (IUrii Konstantinovich) Poetics of expressiveness. (Linguistic & literary studies in Eastern Europe, ISSN 0165-7712; v. 18) Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Literature. I. Zholkovskii, A.K. (Aleksandr Konstantinovich). II. Title. III. Series: Linguistic & literary studies in Eastern Europe; Bd. 18) PN45.S387 1987 808'.00141 86-3572 ISBN 90 272 1522 7 (alk. paper) © Copyright 1987 - John Benjamins B.V. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the publisher.

PREFACE

This book presents, for the first time in systematic form in English, our project for a theory of literary competence which we call "poetics of expres­ siveness". An outline of this project is sketched in the Introduction against the background of the Soviet structural-semiotic movement of the '60s and 70s. Part One is devoted to an exposition of the theory, concentrating on the concepts of theme, text, expressive device, derivation, poetic world, and others, as well as on particular expressive devices. In Part Two these concepts are applied to a structuralist portrayal of Leo Tolstoy's tales for children (which we show to be a sort of War and Peace in miniature) and of the medieval Latin author the Archpoet of Cologne (with special emphasis on his "Confession"). The volume is provided with a Bibliography of our work on the poetics of expressiveness and a Glossary of its metalanguage. Most of the original work reflected in this book was done and pre-published in Moscow, under the auspices of the legendary "Problem Group for Experimental and Applied Linguistics" (PGEPL in Russian). Our most sin­ cere thanks, as well as sweetest memories, belong to PGEPL's Director, the one and only Viktor Julievic Rozencvejg. Earlier versions of parts of the book have appeared in Russian: Introduction, as 1982c (see Bibliography), in Russian Literature, 11(1), 1-18; Chaps. 1,2,6, as 1976a (Moscow: "Znanie"); Chap. 3, as 1977a, in Semiotika i Informatika (Moscow), 9: 106-50; Chap. 4, as 1980i, in Wiener Slawistischer Almanach's special issue on poetics of expressiveness; Chap. 5, as 1981a, in Slavica Hierosolymitana, 5-6: 109-36; Chaps. 7-8, as 1978c, in Preprints 104-106 of PGEPL; and Chaps. 9-11, as 1980g, in the special issue of Wiener Slawistischer Almanach, while an English version of these three chapters was preprinted in series B, NN 103-104-105 (1981), of the Working Papers of Centro Internazionale di Semiotica e di Lin­ guistica, Università di Urbino. It is our pleasure to thank our colleagues the editors Jan van der Eng, Aage Hansen-Löve, Pino Paioni, Tilmann Reuther and Dmitri Segal, for the publication of the early material and their permis­ sion to use it in this book. Although the ultimate responsibility for the English text of the book

vi

PREFACE

rests with us, we had much help from friends and colleagues: in the Introduc­ tion and Chaps. 3-5, from Olga Matich; in Chaps. 9-11, from Norman Kruse; in Chaps. 1, 2, 6, from Christopher English, whose translation was commis­ sioned by Benjamin Hrushovski for the then PTL (Poetics and Theory of Lit­ erature, now Poetics Today) and later presented to us, on our arrival in the West, as a gift; the entire text of the book was style-edited by Marina Romani. To all of them we extend our deeply felt gratitude. Unless indicated otherwise, we are also responsible for the English ver­ sion of quotations from Russian and other languages. The preparation of the manuscript for publication (by A. Zholkovsky) was sponsored by the Department of Russian Literature, the Society for the Humanities, and the Humanities Research Grant Committee of Cornell Uni­ versity and by the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures of the University of Southern California. In transliterating Russian, we have used the system known as Shaw III (see Shaw 1967:8), except for certain proper names, which are given in the form in which they have become familiar to English-speaking readers (e.g. Pushkin, Akhmatova, etc.) The Bibliography lists works on the poetics of expressiveness. In the text these works are referred to by the date of publication only (i.e. without the name of the author(s)), either in brackets (e.g. "... involves VARIATION [1977a]...") or without them (e.g. "... on VARIATION see 1977a..."). All other works referred to in the text are listed in the References; in the text these works are identified by author and date in parentheses; where two dates separated by a slash appear for a single work, the first date indicates that of the edition we have used, the second, that of original publication or writing. We use single quotes for motifs and other thematic entities, except in numbered formulas, which are set off by small type. Quotations used as examples are italicized (except for poems given in columns); translations of quotations are in double quotes. The names of expressive devices are printed in capitals; the names of figures and constructions begin with capital letters and are in double quotes. The numbering of formulas starts anew in each of the three major sections (Chaps. 1-6; Chaps. 7-8; Chaps. 9-11); the number­ ing of Notes is separate in each chapter. Yuri Shcheglov Alexander Zholkovsky

CONTENTS

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS: AN INTRODUCTION.

1

PART ONE. THEORY Concepts towards a theory of literary competence. Introductory remarks. 1. The problem of metalanguage.

19 2. Poetics and modelling.

1.

Basic concepts of the poetics of expressiveness. 1. Text. 2. Theme. 3. Expressive devices. 4. Derivation. 5. "Subtraction" of Eds. 6. Dictionary of reality.

25

2.

Elementary expressive devices. 1. CONCRETIZATION. 2. AUGMENTATION. 3. REPETI­ TION. 4. DIVISION. 5. VARIATION. 6. CONTRAST. 7. PREPARATION. 8. COMBINATION. 9. CONCORD. 10. REDUCTION.

51

3. On VARIATION. 1. General remarks. 2. Organization of diversity. 3. Sources of diversity: qualitative. 4. Sources of diversity: quantitative. 5. Themes CONCRETIZED via VARIATION. 6. VARIATION and other EDs.

69

4. On PRESAGE. 1. Parameters of PRESAGE. 2. Examples of PRESAGE. 3. COMBINATIONS of PRESAGE with other EDs. 4. Themes CONCRETIZED via PRESAGE. 5. EDs bordering on PRES­ AGE.

99

viii

CONTENTS

5. On RECOIL. 1. RECOIL proper. 2. RECOIL MOVEMENT. 3. SUDDEN TURN. 4. SUDDEN TURNS: some varieties. 5. S-TURNS compounded with other EDs. 6. Themes CONCRETIZED via RECOIL.

123

6. On poetic worlds. 1. The concept of "poetic world" (PW). 2. The PW of Molière. 3. The PW of Pushkin.

145

PART TWO. TWO APPLICATIONS I Ex ungue leonem: Leo Tolstoy's children's stories as an echo of his major works. (A study in thematic invariance). Introductory remarks

155

7. Deep structure. 1. Tolstoy's thematic invariants. 2. Plot component: the five acts. 3. Spatial component: the two zones. 4. Actant component.

159

8. Surface structure. 1. Plot: the 11 invariant episodes. 2. Spatial organization. face characters. 4. Others aspects of surface structure.

199 3. Sur­

II The Archpoet of Cologne's arch poetics: Deep and surface structures of his "Confession" in service of an ambivalent theme. Introductory remarks

255

9. Theme and deep design. 1. Theme. 2. Deep design.

257

10. Deep structure. 1. Constructions. 2. The plot nucleus. 3. Composition.

273

CONTENTS

ix

11. Surface structure. 1. Phase I: 'exaggerated self-flagellation'. 2. Phase II: 'defense of hedonism'. 3. Phase III:'blasphemous praise of sin'. 4. Phase IV: 'attacks on piety'. 5. Phase V: 'hasty transfiguration'. 6. Phase VI: 'reconciliation of piety and zest for life'.

289

Appendix Abbreviations Bibliography References Glossary Index

305 327 329 339 345 355

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS AN INTRODUCTION

1. For over twenty years, the authors of this book have been engaged in developing a brand of structuralist poetics which has been referred to, in suc­ cession, as Soviet generative poetics, the "Theme-Text" model of literary competence, and poetics of expressiveness. We will use the last of these terms and abbreviate it as PE. In a nutshell, the PE project proceeds from the assumption that a literary text is an expressive embodiment ("contagious", in Tolstoy's terms) of a nonexpressive theme (purely "declarative", in Eisenstein's terms), which is defined as the invariant of all the text's components (parts, levels, images, etc.). According to the PE model, the description of a literary structure has the format of a derivation of the text from the theme. Formulated in terms of expressive devices, the derivation is a series of universal elementary tranfor­ mations which are responsible for gradually heightening expressiveness in the course of the derivation. Thematic invariance underlies expressive varia­ tion, not only in an individual text, but also in entire sets of texts, as a writer's oeuvre, for example. PE describes the poetic world of an author as a deriva­ tional hierarchy of his invariant motifs, which are the expressive realizations of his central theme. In the following pages, I will describe PE's interaction with the Soviet critical establishment and the semiotic scene; outline the principal stages of its development and genres of research; introduce the contents of the present book; and discuss the current state of our theory. The appearance of PE dates back to the late 1950s. Thus it coincided with the Post-Stalinist "Thaw", which led, among other things, to a reintegra­ tion into official tradition of entire layers of the cultural heritage of the 20's and 30's. It also coincided with the flourishing, on the international linguistic scene, of structuralist and semiotic methods, backed and stimulated by the introduction of computers into such humanistic fields as translation, the com­ pilation of dictionaries and other kinds of language processing. The first, "generative", steps of PE (reflected in 1962a-d, 1967a, b, d,

2

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

1970a-c) were motivated by a rejection of traditional literary scholarship with its eclecticism, impressionism, lack of scientific discipline, etc. Nascent PE set itself the problem of establishing the connection between the legacy of Rus­ sian Formalism and the attempts of modern linguistics to formalize meaning.1 The idea of combining the Formalists' tenets with Eisentstein's approach to thematic-expressive structures (in literature, painting, film, and other arts, see Eisenstein 1957, 1964-1970, vv. II-IV; Nizhny 1979) seemed to offer the necessary theoretical answer; as far as practical criticism is concerned, PE was intent on developing tools for the accurate portrayal of individual literary texts as well as entire poetic systems. Here is a brief summary of the theoret­ ical tenets developed during this first period of the PE project. (i) Although Shklovsky's concept of "defamiliarization" is not beyond dispute, it should not be criticized for being "formalistic": defamiliarization is an attempt to state the invariant thematic-expressive structure of a work of art in general. According to Shklovsky, the content of all art is the 'renewal of vision', its universal device, defamiliarization. This idea can be very pro­ ductive, especially if amended by Eisenstein's thesis that art involves not only the destruction of existing ("automatized") relations, but also the purposeful creation of the new relations that embody a writer's world view, or theme [1962a, 1967a,d]. (ii) Taking the cue from Eisenstein's ideas and analyses, "device" was redefined as an operation that enhances the expressiveness of a theme; a list of elementary expressive devices (EDs) was drawn: CONCRETIZATION, AUGMENTATION, REPETITION, DIVISION, VARIATION, CON­ TRAST, COMBINATION, PREPARATION, COORDINATION, REDUCTION [1967d, 1970a]. (iii) A motif (image, character, object, etc.) appearing in a literary text came to be viewed as a combination of several more abstract thematicexpressive functions (i.e. as "assembled according to functions"). PE intro­ duced the concept of "ready-made object", defined as a sign that combines a given set of functions already in the "dictionary of reality" and thus embodies them in a natural and convincing way [1967b; 1970a; see also 1978f.]. (iv) Couched in the language of transformational and computational linguistics, the project of "generative poetics" [1967d, 1970a,c] was formu­ lated as follows: "The structural description of a work of art is a demonstra­ tion of its generation from a certain theme and material according to certain constant rules" [1967d, Engl.: 182]. Such generation, or derivation (in a loosely Chomsky an sense), of the text from the theme consists of successive approximations of the text with a gradual build-up of expressiveness. This

INTRODUCTION

3

method was applied in the following studies: - a "generation" of the film episode "Dessalines": an attempt to formalize the artistic logic underlying the decisions made by Eisenstein (and his Institute of Cinematography class) in translating a "declarative" theme into a dramatic mise-en-scène [1970a; see also Nizhny 1979:22-60]; - a similar derivation of the "auction" episode from Ilf and Petrov's The Twelve Chairs, producing, along with the actual episode, theoretically possi­ ble alternative versions2 [1967d, Engl.: 183-188]; —a generative description of the plot of Petronius' "The Ephesus Widow" [1970b]; - a generation of the plot of the Somali tale "A Soothsayer's Trial" [1970c]. Derivations of these plot structures were based on elementary expressive devices plus the complex device of SUDDEN TURN, responsible for "unex­ pected and natural" (Eisenstein's favorite words) denouements. (v) An important postulate was put forward concerning the similarity of structures underlying similar texts: "One can anticipate that the Eisensteinian functions, formulated for an individual work and proceeding from its theme, will prove to be invariant for a whole set of texts, since the content of these works is the same, and will coincide with the functions in Propp's sense" [1967d, Engl.: 188]. To test this avenue of research, attempts were made to discover thematic-expressive structures that are invariant for whole sets of texts by one writer (Ovid's Metamorphoses [1962c], Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories [1962b, 1973b]), constituting a step toward representing poe­ tic worlds as invariant derivations of the corresponding texts. 2. These ideas and studies were advanced during the "structuralist boom" in the belief that they were indisputable elementary truths. But soon the authors found out that they were in for years of painstaking defense, clarifica­ tion and reformulation of the initial framework. At the most basic level, PE challenged some values inherent in Russian humanistic thinking, and perhaps, not only Russian, although PE is itself rooted in the cultural soil of the Russian humanities. Generative poetics ran counter to the traditional mistrust of theory, abstractions, technology, formal logic (with its A = A principle) and to the Russian preoccupation with ultimate essences, con­ tent, soul, the living whole, processes, etc. Quite naturally, the defense of these values was paramount in the critical campaign waged against PE by the "impressionists", who accused it of attempting "to separate the inseparable", to "kill art's inexhaustible soul", "to divorce form from content" etc. More unexpected and, therefore, instructive was the fact that the same tastes

4

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

seemed to inspire much of the criticism levelled at PE from the semiotic camp. That the same atheoretical, although "essentialist", approach to the humanities underlies both responses, seems to be borne out by the fate of the heritage of two great scholars whose insights and discoveries form the found­ ations of PE. Vladimir Propp's Morphology of the Folktale (1958), now a clas­ sic, was for three decades (after its first publication in 1928) practically ignored by the Russian critical establishment. It was not even deemed worth the crit­ ical "demolition" meted out to the Shklovsky-Eixenbaum strain of For­ malism, which at least addressed, if "incorrectly", the prestigious esthetic categories of content and form. But even after Propp's Morphology made a triumphant return to Russia when it had been translated into Western lan­ guages and its author had become a world celebrity, it failed to become the starting point for similar descriptions of other folklore material (a notable exception is Meletinsky et al. 1969) or of plot grammars and story-writing computer programs (for the contrary development of post-Proppian poetics in the West cf. the works of Levi-Strauss and Greimas; Brémond 1973; Klein 1974; Prince 1973). In Russian literary scholarship, so fond of "elusive essences" and afraid of precise statements (which "limit the object"), Propp, in a sense, reigns but does not rule. 3 Much of the same applies to S.M. Eisens­ tein: official as well as semiotic poetics in Russia pays considerable lip service to his contribution to esthetics. But they refuse to conceive of his theoretical works as an outline of a grammar and a lexicon of artistic expression, whose elaboration should be at the center of poetic studies. As compared to the "rigid" and "rationalistic" Eisenstein, M. Bakhtin is more eligible for canoni­ zation4: his catchwords of ambivalence, dialogue, polyphony etc. are charac­ terized by the refined vagueness so cherished in the humanities. Moreover, in Russia these ideas are often perceived not so much as postulates for a scien­ tific poetics, but rather as moral and political commandments ('dialogue' — 'respect the other as a personality'; 'plurality of viewpoints' — 'ideological pluralism'; etc.). 5 To return to the response evoked by PE in semiotic circles: in Soviet cir­ cumstances criticism of PE could only in part be voiced in open polemics; mostly, it took place behind the scenes and surfaced in the press in the guise of subtle innuendos. This criticism, although largely based on misinterpreta­ tion, was much more articulate and sensible than the impressionists' laments about the onset of a science which "murders to dissect". It proved of use to PE, as it helped us to clarify and revise some of its premises.

INTRODUCTION

5

Thus, V. V. Ivanov (1967a) was right when he questioned the legitimacy of the analogy between PE and generative linguistics. Indeed, transforma­ tional grammar is a calculus (enumeration) of grammatical sentences and, correspondingly, derives them from the purely formal symbol S (for "sen­ tence"). In PE, a derivation proposes to enumerate only those texts that embody a given theme (so to speak, synthematic texts, and not just wellformed literary texts); accordingly, it starts with a theme. A more natural analogy is with models of the speaker's ability to render one and the same meaning in a variety of ways, notably the "Meaning-Text" model (Mel'cuk & Zholkovsky 1970, Mel'cuk 1974, 1981), which actually served as the immediate scientific paradigm for PE [1976a, b; 1978b]. The terms "genera­ tion", "generative poetics" etc. were therefore weeded out from the sub­ sequent PE work, which now concentrated on elaborating a "Theme-Expres­ sive Devices-Text" model of literary competence. Some other criticisms, which can be summarized as "PE's ignoring the complexity of works and forcing them into rigid schemas", were perhaps less justified. For instance, PE was accused of representing the creative process in a crudely standardized way by arbitrarily placing at the start of the process a pre-formulated theme and thus failing to recognize the importance of formal stimuli, concrete impressions, intertextual links and so on. Commenting (or­ ally, in 1966) on drafts of 1967d and 1970a, Ivanov said that Eisenstein had described only his own idiosyncratic creative make-up, so that his devices and his order of derivation cannot claim theoretical universality. Later Ivanov (1973:7-8) wrote: "...the possibility of separating different stages of the pro­ cess of synthesizing an artistic text remains problematic, for in such a text the surface structure... can influence the deep structure..., e.g., because, with the increase of the number of formal constraints, as in terza rima verse, it becomes necessary to increase the number of synonymous expressions, which is achieved by recourse to figurative usage, unusual phrases etc". This obvi­ ous failure to distinguish between competence and performance (notions familiar to Western semiotics, reared on Chomsky, cf. Culler 1975) is akin to the age-old "intentional fallacy", identified and exposed by the New Critics. In a series of PE papers that followed [1975a, 1976a, b, 1977a, b, 1978a, b] it was stressed that "Theme-Text" is a functional model of the ideal logic under­ lying the correspondences between θ (theme) and Τ (text), and not an imita­ tion of the actual history of the text's creation by its author. But nothing bars the scholar from stating, in terms of a functional model, the links between the deep and the surface levels invoked by Ivanov. No PE paper ever contained

6

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

the statement (ascribed to us in Ivanov 1973, 1976) that the levels of descrip­ tion are completely isolated from one another and exclude complex interrela­ tions and feedbacks. It is noteworthy that Soviet semiotic analyses produced during that period seemed to implement, consciously or not, the orientation toward per­ formance discernible in the criticism of PE by their authors. See, for instance, Lotman's (1969) comparison of the order of creative process in Pushkin and Pasternak and Ivanov's (1967b) analysis of a Xlebnikov poem in connection with its source. In the domain of theory, the same ''performance bias" man­ ifested itself in the consistent use of the terms zamysel ("conception, inten­ tion"), which clearly refers, in dealing with the dominant of a literary text, to the facts of performance (cf. Ivanov 1968). Pronounced interest in the text's actual creative history also fostered the emergence of the "quotation school" (cf. the works of Levinton 1971, 1977 and Timencik in Russia and Ronen in the West), inspired by Kiril Taranovsky's intertextual study of Mandel'stam's poetics (1967). Such a tendency is only natural, since literary theory, espe­ cially in Russia, has always been based on literary history, on biographical and textological studies in particular. Yet, it would be a pity if the recent interest in theory should again boil down to the empirical collection of facts, textual commentaries etc. To be sure, the problem of intertextuality is of vital theoretical interest (cf. Laferriere 1977:118ff.) and still awaits an adequate formulation in PE terms. An attempt in this direction was made in 1976c and 1977b, concerned with various types of (structural and genetic) intertextual relations. It was also said about PE that its analyses were "half parodies" (Ivanov 1967a) and contribued "nothing new" to the text described (Lotman, discus­ sion at the Moscow 1977 School in Semiotics). 6 These arguments seem to miss the very point of modelling, which never claims to enrich its object (complex enough already): its aim is to discover and state, as explicitly as possible, the functional structure of a text, whether overt or covert, intentional or uninten­ tional, perceived consciously or unconsciously. Once discovered, this struc­ ture is formulated as a static one, even though for the sake of vivid exposition it can be presented as a slow-motion picture of an ideal generation process. Clarifications to this effect were included in 1972,1975a, 1976a, b, 1978a, b. Yet another type of objection concerned PE's view of the literary text's content. PE was accused of: severing content (theme) from form (EDs); neg­ lecting content in favor of expressive techniques (Meletinsky and Segal 1971); reducing content to a preformulated ideological theme without due

INTRODUCTION

7

attention to subtle and polyvalent "fade-in-and-out" effects {mercante) and to the "set toward expression" {ustanovka na vyrazenie). Such criticisms reflected a curious fear of explicit formulation of literary content. Predicta­ bly, in critical practice this fear led to vague, non-committal, or "dialectical" formulations of themes and to emphasis on the analysis of "lower" levels. Apparently, the current critical mentality can accept scientific precision in the field of meter, rhythm, plot etc., because it secretly believes that they are peripheral to the values involved in the text, and, accordingly, feels no pangs at seeing them modelled. It is even prepared to accept a change in literary technique as a writer's principal message (Čudakov 1972, an interesting instance of Russian Neo-Formalism). But the very idea that the content of a literary text, as well as its artistic embodiment, might admit of rational formu­ lation and modelling, remains an absolute "no-no". In response to this type of objection PE strove (in 1971,1975a, b, 1976ac, 1978a-c) to formulate themes with greater sophistication and to describe entire poetic worlds as systems of values; generalize the notion of theme as an invariant principle, or set, realized in the text, and specify two principal subtypes of themes: Class I themes (ideological, i.e. messages about "the world") and Class II themes (purely linguistic or literary, i.e. messages about "the code"); ~ distinguish between the plurality of alternative readings of a text (by differ­ ent readers) and the ambiguous fading-in-and-out polyvalence of one and the same reading, and state that PE is interested in deriving just one (a given or any) reading from its theme (be it mono-, ambi-, or polyvalent); pinpoint (along with the general case, in which arbitrary EDs are applied to arbitrary themes) the particular cases of special links between themes and EDs (the most important link being the CONCRETIZATION of a theme through an ED predisposed by this theme). 3. The modifications of PE theory outlined above [1971,1975a, b, 1976a-c, 1978a-c] aimed not only at making use of the pertinent criticism, but also at developing new tools of description called for by our interest in poetic worlds (as well as other descriptive problems). This involved: - distinguishing between two components of the theme: local (i.e. specific for the given text) and invariant (i.e. shared by a given text with its author's other texts); - defining an author's poetic world (PW) as the invariant part of the deriva-

8

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

tions of all of his texts; developing an analogy between the set of obligatory ("grammatical") meanings of a natural language and the system of invariant motifs of an author; introducing the concepts of deep design (DD), deep structure (DS) and sur­ face structure (SS) as the main stages on the way from theme to text. Along with theoretical innovations, PE's second decade laid more emphasis on practical criticism with the double task of testing the tools and of achieving a new level of accuracy in portraying literary works. The studies conducted in PE seem to fall into the five major genres of inquiry that are inherent in its conceptual framework: (i) Detailed derivation of an individual text Τ from its theme Θ, on the basis of EDs, via DD, DS and SS, accounting for all the elements in Τ and all the relationships between θ and T. See 1972, 1978a: analysis of a La Rochefoucauld maxim; 1978g: description of a Somali proverb; 1979f: analysis of an epigram by I. I. Dmitriev and a sketch of the invariant thematicexpressive structure of the genre; 1980a: description of the artistic structure of a Bertrand Russell aphorism. Examples of derivational description are also given in 1975a, b, 1976a, b, 1978b, 1984a. (ii) Portrayal of the poetic world of (all or a set of) an author's works. See the studies: of Ovid's Metamorphoses [1962c; 1980f]; of the Sherlock Holmes cycle [1973b]; of the poetry of Pasternak [1974c; 1976c; 1980e], Pushkin [1976d; 1979g], Akhmatova [1979a], Tsvetaeva [1979b, c] and Okudzava [1979e; 1980h]; of Molière's comedies [1977d (1), 1979h (1)]; of Leo Tolstoy's children's stories (1978c, also translated in Part Two of this vol­ ume; 1979J). Brief outlines of Pushkin's and Molière's poetic worlds are also given in 1976a (translated in Part One of this volume, see Chap. 6). Akin to this genre is the description of an individual invariant motif recurrent in an author. It calls for an exhaustive characterization of the place and functions of the motif in the PW as a whole. See 1978f, 1984h on motifs of 'window' and of 'the sinister' in Pasternak's lyrics; 1980d, 1981b on Pushkin's motifs of 'superior peace' and 'idleness' (respectively); and 1980k, 1982a on special types of adverbs ("circumstances of magnificence") and of syntactic linking ("distributive contact") in Pasternak. Another subgenre is the description of what one might call the poetic world of a character, as instanced by 1975c, dealing with the invariant structure of "Benderisms" (the wisec­ racks of the protagonist of Ilf and Petrov's satirical novels). (iii) Derivational description of a text with special reference to its satura-

INTRODUCTION

9

tion with the invariants of its author's PW. In this case the derivation must dis­ play, along with the gradual increase in expressiveness, the gradual grafting onto the local theme of a set of invariant motifs. Such descriptions have been elaborated for: a dozen of Pasternak's lyrics [1974c (3); 1976e; 1977b; 1980e], especially "Veter" and "Mne xocetsja domoj, v ogromnost'..." [1983b, 1984f]; the line about Sisyphus listening in oblivion to Orpheus's singing (Ovid's Metamorphoses, X, 44, see 1975a,b (1) and Chapter 1 of this volume); Victor Hugo's poem "Sur une barricade" (L'Année terrible cycle) [1981d]; Pushkin's love lyric "I loved you once..." [1976d (2), 1977c, 1978e]; Molière's comedy "Mr. de Pourceaugnac" [1977d (2), 1979h (2)]; Osip Mandel'stam's poem "I drink to the military asters..." [1979i] ; the "Mock penitent" (Estuans intrinsecus... ) by the medieval Latin author Archpoet of Cologne [1980g], see also Part Two of this volume; Akhmatova's "The heart is beating evenly..." [1982b]; Denis Davydov's "A Modern Song" [1983f] An outgrowth of the same genre is 1980c — an attempt to place derivations at the service of contras­ tive poetics. The essay shows how texts by two poets (Pasternak and Okudžava) on the same local theme differ inasmuch as the theme is developed in terms of two different sets of invariant motifs (= two respective PWs); see also 1980b. (iv) Systematic characterization of the elementary expressive devices, their subtypes, combinations, relations with one another and with the themes they can CONCRETIZE. The set of elementary EDs is briefly described in 1976a (= Part One of this volume), 1976b, 1977a, 1978a. Also see: on VAR­ IATION: 1967c (with special reference to Ovid), 1977a (= Chapter 3 of this volume); on CONCRETIZATION, REPETITION, AUGMENTATION, DIVISION, VARIATION, CONTRAST: 1973a; on PREPARATION and its varieties PRESENTATION, PRESAGE, and RECOIL (including the complex EDs RECOIL MOVEMENT and SUDDEN TURN): 1974a; on PRESAGE: 1979d (with special reference to the preparation of rhymes), 1980i (= Chapter 4 of this volume); on RECOIL: 1981a (= Chapter 5 of this volume); on comical figures (i.e. combinations of EDs that CONCRETIZE the theme of 'ridicule'): 1978a: 583-589, 1980g: 164-174 (= Chapter 10, § 1, of this volume); on special relations between themes and EDs: sections in 1970c, 1972, 1973a, 1974a, 1976a,b, 1977a, 1980i, and Chapter 3, § 3 of this volume. An interesting subgenre considers an individual ED (or a combina­ tion of EDs) in the context of a specific PW. In 1979k, the "Eclipsing" con­ struction (a combination of several varieties of PREPARATION) is discus­ sed first as such (i.e. as instanced by literature in general) and then within the

10

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

invariant framework of Tolstoy's children's stories. (v) Discovery and listing of elementary correspondences between thematic entities and textual segments that embody them. Relying on a close empirical scrutiny of literary texts (see 1978d, concerned with the iconic realization of themes in verse, and also 1973a, 1974a-c, 1976a, 1977a,c,d, 1979d), this project borders on the study of EDs, for it involves the compilation of a dictionary of elementary CONCRETIZATIONS, i.e. the "dictionary of reality" (DR, see 1970a, 1976a,b). Such a dictionary is presupposed by the system of EDs, with which it forms the pair "lexicon/grammar" of artistic expression. To be sure, in actual PE publications the discussed genres are often mixed. 4. What has been said about the relations between PE and the surrounding scene should not create the impression of an unbridgeable gap. Russian semiotic poetics of the period was in fact far from atheoretical. The work of B.M. Gasparov, Ju. M. Lotman, E.I. Meletinsky, Z.G. Mine, G.L. Permjakov, LP. Smirnov, V.N. Toporov and some others, combining "essentialism" with "theorizing", created an intellectual climate without which PE's extremism would have been completely rootless and out of place. More­ over, PE did have a constructive response in Russia. It profited a great deal from the comments offered by E.G. Etkind, Ju.L. Frejdin, M.L. Gasparov, L.Ja. Ginzburg, Ju.I Levin, E.M. Meletinsky, I.A. Mel'čuk, E.S. Novik, I.A. Paperno, E.B. and E.V. Pasternak and V.Ju. Rozencvejg, as well as from sharp, but stimulating criticism by S.I. Gindin, G.A. Levinton and M.Ju. Lotman. One of PE concepts (the distinction between Class I and Class II themes) found its way into L.A. Mazel"s musicological theory (1976, 1978), whose earlier version was among the actual sources of PE (see 1967d, Engl: 182, 188, and also references to his work in this volume). PE also received some attention in the West. Some of the papers were translated (see Bibliography). Such periodicals as Poetics and Russian Liter­ ature (The Netherlands), PTL and Slavica Hierosolymitana (Israel), New Lit­ erary History (USA), "Stockholm Studies in Russian Literature" (Sweden), VS (Versus) (Italy), Wiener Slawistischer Almanack and Neue Russische Literatur (Austria) have published PE material. Expositions and discussions of PE appeared in several languages (see Ihwe 1972; Lucid 1978; Marzaduri 1979; OToole 1978; the special issue of New Literary History on Soviet semiotics, v. IX), as well as attempts at the application and development of PE by "outside" authors (see OToole 1975a, b; Dreizin et al, 1978,1979; and

INTRODUCTION

11

also El'nickaya 1979b, c, included in the PE Bibliography). With the recent publication of three collections [1980j, 1982d, 1984a], one of them in English, and the appearance of the present volume, PE work is now fairly well rep­ resented. Curiously enough, PE displays both a rupture and an affinity with the tradition of Russian literary scholarship.7 PE's "theoretical extremism", with its pronouncedly Western and linguis­ tic roots, manifests itself in: the distinction drawn between competence and performance and the selection of the former as the object of modelling; prin­ cipled separation of theme from expressiveness and explicit formulation of non-expressive themes; elaboration of a special metalanguage (= a system of EDs) to account for expressiveness; exhaustive description of the literary structure in the form of a "theme → text" derivation. PE's interest in the message of individual texts and entire literary schools is, in a sense, a legacy of the Russian critical tradition (from Belinsky down to the sociological school). The new turn given to this "essentialist" view by PE involves even greater stress on the discovery of deep thematic complexes that recur in an author's texts, independently and even in spite of his con­ scious intentions. Parallels to and sources of this approach are to be looked for in psychoanalysis, New Criticism and the writings of Kenneth Burke. In the Russian tradition the notion of deep, often unconscious, invariants per­ vading the oeuvre of an artist was never a central one. And yet it can be said that PE learned from Russian criticism as well, especially M. Gersenzon (1919, 1922), K. Cukovskij (1922) and Roman Jakobson (1979). (It is proba­ bly telling that Jakobson did not turn to these problems until he was long in the West: Jakobson 1979 (11937) belongs to his Prague period). The name of Gersenzon is relevant to the PE approach for yet another reason. He coined the phrase and founded the tradition of "slow reading" (medlennoe ctenie), which is similar to the French explication de texte and English close reading, all forerunners of the modern linguistic project of accounting for everything in the corpus of texts. The approach of Gersenzon (whose background was philosophical and literary and far from linguistic) finds an unexpected, but quite natural parallel in several painstakingly detailed analyses of poetic texts by the well-known Russian linguist Lev Scerba (1957). And yet, the work of Gersenzon and Scerba hardly attained the perspicacity, exhaustiveness, sophistication and consistent interest in minor detail instanced by Empson's classic study (1966). Thus, the theoretical framework of PE tries to combine two major objec-

12

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

tives: describing the deep thematic level and accounting for all the details of a text in light of its theme. The ultimate goal is envisaged as a sensitive and precise portrayal of a literary work (or set of works) in terms of a standard metalanguage. It should be admitted that, in spite of all the effort toward technical perfection, PE leaves much to be desired in this respect. As a result, not unlike other products of Russian humanistic scholarhip, PE ends up "over-contentual" and "under-formalized", short of the harmonious combi­ nation of "essence" with "grammar". But it is this age-old Russian ideal of Westernization that PE strives to achieve. 5. The present book consists of two parts: the first is an exposition of PE theory; in the second, the theory is used, tested and refined through its appli­ cation to actual works of literary art. Part One starts with a discussion of the general foundations of poetic discourse and then goes on to outline and illus­ trate PE's basic strategies and concepts. An overview of the ten elementary EDs is followed by three chapters detailing particular devices. Part One con­ cludes with a chapter on the framework accounting for the thematic invariance of a writer's oeuvre. Throughout the first part of the book, the exposition is illustrated with examples from actual texts, but the emphasis is on theoretical issues; in Part Two the focus shifts to practical criticism, per­ meated as it is with theory: the point is to try to analyze specific works exclu­ sively in terms of the metalanguage placed at the critic's disposal by PE. Of the two sections in Part Two, the first concentrates on a group of "primitive" texts, Leo Tolstoy's tales for children, which are shown to be pos­ sessed of a fully developed artistic structure, similar in many ways to that of Tolstoy's "adult" works. This is then an attempt at supporting the claim that the Proppian and Eisensteinian functions are either identical or at least can be successfully wed to each other; all the tales are seen as manifestations of an invariant thematic-expressive pattern. The focus is on a detailed and systematic treatment of the various levels and components of the "one and the same tale" underlying the eight tales under discussion (the English translations are appended). A major challenge and source of pleasure in this kind of study is a neat mutual superposition of virtually every detail of every single story, serving as evidence of the thematic unity of the writer's world. The second section of Part Two complements the first by concentrating on an individual text: the "Confession", or "Mock Penitent", by the Archpoet of Cologne ("Estuans intrinsecus..."). The principle of com­ plementarity is also served by the differences in genre and epoch ("Confes-

INTRODUCTION

13

sion" is a poem by a medieval Latin author). The strategy of description, however, remains basically the same in the way it proceeds from theme to text via intermediate levels. But in dealing with a specific poem, the analysis dwells at greater length on the interrelations and interactions between the local theme of the poem and the poet's invariants; the deep design as an important level of description; the way various poetic figures and patterns, existing independently of the given text, are pressed into the service of its composition; and on a minute analysis of the poem's texture in light of its higher levels. Reference to the Latin text is facilitated by both a literal translation and a poetic one, which accompany it in the Appendix, and a list of its Biblical subtexts. The analysis is, in a sense, traditional, in that it tries to do justice to all the effects and subtleties of the poem; but it is structuralist in the way it ascetically confines itself to the "standard" concepts and tools forged in the theoretical parts of the book. Here the major plaisir du texte is in observing how the various constructs converge on a textual element to produce a unique manifestation of poetic meaning. Since so much in this project depends on metalanguage, the last but not the least informative section is the annotated Glossary of PE terms. Used together with the Index, the Bibliography of PE publications and the present Introduction, the Glossary forms a comprehensive reference source on the theory and practice of the model. 6. As I said before, PE is both a theoretical proposal and a sustained effort in practical criticism. Although the two aspects are closely connected in prac­ tice, they are mutually independent in principle. It is, in fact, essential that the proposed metalanguage accomodate different critical interpretations of texts (even if it narrows down the number of interpretations by imposing the constraints of completeness, consistency, stratification, etc.). Therefore, the current state of PE theory can be assessed separately from its interpretational aspect. PE was put forward as the unique and universal theory of literary compe­ tence; clearly, it is not. It is probably time to recognize its limitations and reassess its theoretical priorities, absorbing constructively some of the recent ideas in poetics. Let it be stressed, however, that the major tasks that PE has set before itself and grappled with remain valid and for the most part are either ignored or unsolved by other schools. Accordingly, the prospects of PE's development seem good, especially so in view of the interesting refor­ mulations that suggest themselves. Let us consider briefly some of the dis-

14

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

turbing problems encountered in PE practice or raised by other poetics and possible answers. -- The principle of derivation is hard to implement in analyses of long and/or artistically rich texts, and sometimes it obstructs (instead of facilitating) the explicit statement of structurally relevant facts. Multistep derivational hierarchy tends to obscure the boundaries between levels and is thus out of step with modern linguistic and artificial intelligence models, which prefer stratification, calculi, frames, and other "statements of knowledge" to sequential, "algorithmic" procedures. -- The problem of intertextuality, actively debated inside and outside Slavistics, calls for the elaboration of appropriate PE tools and techniques. -- The vast potential of the "poetry of grammar" has yet to be systematically tapped in light of PE's concept of the two major spheres, the referential and the stylistic. -- Finer distinctions in the treatment of poetic invariance are desirable. These and other problems require a greater sophistication of the model's technical apparatus, which can be made both more flexible and more precise. Here are some proposals to that effect. -- Step-by-step derivation should be consistently replaced with a clearcut four-level hierarchy, where "theme" is an unstructured set of abstract inex­ pressive formulations of the most important messages carried by the poem; "deep design", a primary non-linear expressive combination of the various components of the theme; "deep structure" (or "composition"), a general sequential outline of the text; "surface structure", a systematic representa­ tion of all the relevant elements and correlations in the actual text. -- It is crucial to distinguish levels from "spheres", which are not hierarchical, but co-present at each level. It seems sufficient to posit three major spheres: "referential" (concerned with "life"), "stylistic" (concerned with linguistic and literary codes and conventions), and "intertextual" (concerned with other texts); the spheres are further articulated into "planes"; for instance, the stylistic sphere comprises the grammatical, metrical-rhythmical, rhyming, phonetic, and other planes. -- The levels and spheres/planes are mutually independent and each plane can appear on any of the four levels and vice versa, which accounts for the rich structural variety of actual texts. It is up to the practical critic to determine which of the planes are so pivotal to the structure of the analyzed text as to be represented at the level of theme (see §2 above on Class I and Class II themes), while others only make it to the level of DD, DS or SS. Like other

INTRODUCTION

15

spheres, intertextuality is just another source of the entities occurring in the four hierarchical levels of the structure. If a certain plane is obligatory for a certain genre (as plot is for the short story, rhyme for traditionnal verse, syntax for all poetry, etc.), this plane must figure on all the four levels. Plot, rhyme, syntax etc. are not levels of description, but planes, i.e. aspects of structure. 8 -- Grammatical and other stylistic patterns must be accorded the status of motifs, the same as their referential counterparts. Systems of authors' invariant stylistic motifs can be discovered, paralleling similar referential hierarchies [1979k, 1980k, 1982a, 1984c,j]; -- On the level of theme, the fundamental but simplistic binomial θloc + θinv should be expanded into a polynomial, representing, in addition to the two, the thematic contributions of the literary epoch ; the writer's school, or "ism" ; the text's genre; and of the particular period in the writer's creative development [1983b, 1984d, e,f]. In part, these innovations have already found their way into PE work and are reflected in the present book (see also: 1978a, 1980a,g, 1981d, 1982b, 1983b, 1984a,d). Interestingly enough, one of them, the concept of "deep design", seems to lie at the intersection of several such ideas. It is at the DD level that the text's overall artistic plan is charted. It results from a series of COMBINATIONS that match against one another the diverse elements inherent in the theme (i.e. either contained in it or obtained from it by simple CONCRETIZATIONS). A typical DD determines how the local theme can be successfully expressed through certain aspects of the invariant theme, genre and period; how this fusion can profit from the theme's intertextual and stylistic components; and so on and so forth. What emerges is a compact, thematically relevant and structurally effective pattern underlying the "fu­ ture" text. Alexander Zholkovsky

NOTES 1) PE bears the imprint of its authors' experience with semantics, lexicography, and computa­ tional linguistics in close collaboration with V.V. Ivanov, Ju.S. Martem'janov, I.A. Mel'čuk and and V.Ju. Rozencvejg (see Rozencvejg 1974). 2) The concept of alternative solution is an important contribution of functional and generative descriptions to the humanities. The alternative variant of the 'loss of the chairs' generated in [1967d, Engl: 188] was praised (in private conversation with Yu. Shcheglov) by Shklovsky, who remarked: Poxoze vyšlo. vyslo. "It turned out similar."

16

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

3) Talking privately to the present writer (summer 1966), V. Propp said, perhaps with a touch of affected modesty: "In general, I regret having done all this. Here is my son, he is a biologist, just back from the Antarctic. He went down to the sea bottom. Saw sea stars. I, too, would have liked to be a naturalist. Perhaps, I would have had the luck to make a discovery." Sitting in front of me was one of the few people who could rightly claim to have made a discovery in philology. But the cultural tradition which, in the humanities, appreciates, on the one hand, uncheckable "profound ideas" and, on the other, concrete (biographical, textological, etc.) facts, and only in the sciences acknowledges the role of theory and laws, denied him the sense of an accompished discovery. 4) Cult, myth and taboo (and not dispassionate analysis) determine the cultural, and, in particu­ lar, philological, climate in a country where all the "pros" and "contras" are ideologically polarized. 5) It is worth noting that this "tolerance complex" is extremely characteristic of the mentality of today's Soviet intellectuals. This is only natural, as they are trying to relearn, after decades of dogmatism, the ABCs of liberal-Christian values. Ironically, one of the acute forms of this com­ plex is a tyranny of tolerance and relativism. 6) This was criticism; on another occasion (private discussion, 1975), Lotman said that PE deri­ vations were interesting because they were "dynamic" and, therefore, contained "something new". 7) A project of derivational poetics is to be found at the very outset of modern Russian science and literature, in Lomonosov's (1952 [11748]) treatise on rhetorics. 8) For an instructive example of the confusion of levels and planes see OToole 1982, an other­ wise perceptive and in many ways excellent study of the Russian short story.

PART ONE THEORY

CONCEPTS TOWARDS A THEORY OF LITERARY COMPETENCE INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

1.

The problem of metalanguage

One of the crucial problems in the establishment of a science is the development of a special language in which it formulates the results of its inquiries. This language must be unambiguous (i.e. understood in the same way by all specialists), explicit and formally strict. Only then will it be able to perform its function of accumulating, ordering and storing information. Such metalanguage will of course be different from natural language, colloquial or literary, and not just superficially. The function of a metalanguage does not consist merely in introducing special terminology and notation, but in provid­ ing a conceptual framework capable of adequately reflecting the described object. In other words, a metalanguage, as a means for making statements about the object, is also the means of existence of a scientific theory. Like any theory, it is required to have explanatory power, i.e. to be suitable for the description ("explanation") of a wide range of phenomena in a given field, including those yet to be described. The humanities, with the exception of linguistics, have until recently relied in their descriptions on natural language. The same holds true of poe­ tics. The lack of a special metalanguage in poetics has both positive and nega­ tive consequences. On the one hand, the scholar not constrained by a strict scientific language has much greater scope for his fantasy and intuition. In conveying his insights to the reader he does not have to wait for the construction of a conceptual apparatus that may take an epoch to materialize. He has at his disposal the entire range of concepts of natural language, and should they prove inadequate for the expression of some original thought, he can resort to such tested means of formulating new concepts and tapping hidden resources of meaning as images, metaphors etc. On the other hand, many features of the artistic text often pass unnoticed by the literary critic, who, una-

20

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

ware of the questions posed to a text by a metalanguage, either fails to notice these features, or regards them as "self-evident" and devoid of interest. But the artistic text is a coherent whole, a mechanism in which everything is interconnected. As a rule, the degree to which the interaction of all the text's 'large" and "small", "original" and "trivial" components is accounted for by the critic depends on his being equipped with a metalanguage. The subsequent fate of the information obtained also depends on the metalanguage. It enables the science to separate clearly the results of a study from the study proper by recording them in a concise and standardized form (of formulas, figures, models, etc.). The isolability of the result in the sci­ ences means that scientists are able to distinguish between the history of a dis­ cipline and its state, i.e. the sum-total of accumulated reliable information. One result of this kind in linguistics is the list of the phonemes of a particular language. The establishment of the phonemic make-up of a language is no easy task. However, it is perfectly legitimate to give a complete list of phonemes in a descriptive grammar or dictionary without any justification. An example of a result in chemistry is the periodic table of elements: it is not necessary to consult Mendeleev's works in order to use it, since the table is given in every textbook. Thus the metalanguage makes it possible for a sci­ ence to keep a strict account of what it has achieved, to make use of the results of previous studies and to reduce the likelihood of repetitious research. These principles are sometimes observed in literary criticism as well; for instance, in literary history, biography, and textology. They have been instru­ mental in the solution of a large number of questions, the establishment of many facts, and the acceptance or rejection of hypotheses; the results have gained scientific currency, and it is now hard to imagine the intellectual endeavour which was required to obtain them. As an example of a conscious tendency to keep results separate from the research itself, we can take the Academy edition of Pushkin's complete works (1937-1949), whose editors intentionally excluded all accounts of the enormous task involved in substantiating dates, attributions, standard versions of the text, variants, and so on, presenting the reader only with the result (see v.I:xiii). It is somewhat ironic that in such an obviously "technical" area as textology and editing we encounter a level of scientific competence which would be a credit to theoretical poetics. Unfortunately the degree to which the abovementioned principles are applied in the various spheres of literary studies is in inverse proportion to the degree of "semanticity" of the sphere. Informa­ tion about the structure of works and the principles behind images, literary trends, genres etc. offered by the theory of literature is both rich and interest-

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

21

ing (cf. the wealth of information accumulated by traditional linguistics); but it still has a long way to go before it can be presented in a standardized form in reference books. In literary criticism the result of a discussion is either partly or wholly diffused in the discussion itself, and can only be elicited with difficulty and certain loss; literary-critical thought is not always distinguishable from the literary form in which it is set down; the distinctions between old and new information are not always sufficiently clear. As a result, the classics of literary criticism, unlike the classics of the natural sciences, but quite like the classics of literature itself, often have to be read "in the originar1. Much of what has been said about poetics has its parallel in the history of linguistics. Its present "exact" stage, reached over the last half-century, was preceded by the stage of traditional linguistics, in which the problem of metalanguage was given relatively scant attention. "Traditional grammars ...give a wealth of information concerning structural descriptions of sen­ tences. However, valuable as they obviously are, traditional grammars are deficient in that they leave unexpressed many of the basic regularities of the language with which they are concerned. This fact is particularly clear on the level of syntax, where no traditional or structuralist grammar goes beyond classification of particular examples to the stage of formulation of generative rules on any significant scale... Nevertheless, it seems obvious that the attempt to explore this largely uncharted territory can most profitably begin with a study of the kind of structural information presented by traditional grammars and the kind of linguistic processes that have been exhibited, how­ ever informally, in these grammars11 (Chomsky 1967:5). Translating such information into a metalanguage created for this purpose was a methodological experience of value not only to linguistics, but to the humanities in general and in particular to poetics. F. de Saussure, the founder of modern linguistics, was the first to realize that the structure of a theory is determined by the view of the object studied and the aims of its study. Saussure showed that linguistics must start with the delimitation of its object from the agglomerate of heterogeneous phenomena coming under the name of "language". Proceeding from a view of language as a code used by the addresser and the addressee (= the participants in the act of communication) for the encoding and decoding of information, Saussure laid the foundations of the modern theory of language. Its main concepts (language as a system of oppositions; content and expression planes; conventional relationship between them; finite number of units at each level) were developed by sub­ sequent linguistic schools. American descriptivism worked out a particu­ larly strict and formalized theory, but as a result had to renounce the study of

22

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

meaning and the use of abstractions not justified by the facts directly observable in texts. In a sense, traditional linguistics, with its absence of a metalanguage and its diffuse and naively content-oriented notion of its object, is the "thesis", the first element in the dialectic triad, and early structural linguistics is the formalistic "antithesis". At the end of the 1950's it became apparent that the framework of descriptive linguistics was not adequate for the task of reflect­ ing many simple regularities of language (particularly syntactic), intuitively obvious and familiar to traditional grammar. Such, for example, is the depen­ dence of sentences of the type: Invisible God created the visible world on the statements forming their implicit base of the type: God is invisible, God created the world, and The world is visible. To quote Chomsky (1968:19), descriptive methods, despite the fact that they are formalized to an extent unprecedented in the humanities, "are at best limited to the phenomena of surface structure and cannot, therefore, reveal the mechanisms that underlie the creative aspect of language use and the expression of semantic content". The recognition of this inadequacy of their metalanguage forced linguists to search for a new theoretical apparatus which, by going beyond the facts observed in the text, would enable them to explain relationships of the type illustrated above. This was the beginning of the stage of "synthesis" of traditional "content" views of language with the newly acquired ability to construct formalized systems. The resulting theory of language — transformational grammar (TG) — is "a formalization of features implicit in traditional grammars...", while the latter are "inexplicit transformational generative grammars" (Chomsky 1962:512). The aim of TG, as well as of the "Meaning ↔Text" (MT) theories (see, e.g. , Zholkovsky 1970;  1974, 1981; Schank 1975), is to reveal the deep mechanisms which control linguistic behavior. 2.

Poetics and modelling

The description of language in TG and MT (to summarize both in a very general way) is handled by a chain of mechanisms (systems of rules), which process and transform units of a deeper level into those of the next one, closer to the surface. The end result of this process is a phonetic or orthographic representation of an actual utterance in natural language. This multi-level organization of linguistic description aims at unraveling the complex relation­ ships among linguistic facts, in particular those between the expression plane

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

23

and content plane and among the various phenomena on the expression plane (that failed to be covered by the previous metalanguage). The initial deep structure and all the intermediate stages on the way to the real text are con­ structs, i.e. abstractions created by the investigator. Transformational rules are also constructs, as they are no more than a metalanguage for recording the correspondences — between deep and surface structures (in TG) or between meaning and text (in MT). In other words, the metalanguage of modern lin­ guistics is that of modeling. A model is a device which imitates the behavior of the object of study; for instance, MT models imitate the behavior of the speaker who transforms his meaning into a sequence of linguistic signs (the text) understood by other speakers of the language as an expression of precisely this meaning. Let us mention another fundamental difficulty also overcome by the introduction of a theoretical abstraction. The actual linguistic performance of a speaker moving from a deep structure ( in particular, meaning) to a surface structure (the text) has to do with psychological and neuro-physiological factors not yet sufficiently studied, and in the absence of exact data this process is hardly considered by linguistics at all. Linguistics for the most part consciously limits itself to the elaboration of functional models1: TG and MI aim to imitate not performance, but competence, a special concept in TG. Competence is understood not as a process which develops in time, but as a static system of unconscious linguistic skills used by the speaker to produce linguistic utterances. Correspondingly, competence models, although they do use operations, are in principle static (compare the proof of a mathematical theorem, which develops like a process, but reflects essentially "synchronic" properties of its objects). Now, which concept of literature should the metalanguage of a modern poetics attempt to formalize? A view which, in our opinion, deserves and admits of technical elaboration is expressed in Leo Tolstoy's well-known words: "Art is a human activity consisting in this , that one man consciously, by means of certain external signs, hands on to others feelings he has lived through, and that others are infected by these feelings and also experience them" (Tolstoy 1929:123). This is one of the simplest and time-hallowed ideas of the essence of art. We meet it as far back as Aristotle, who postulates 'pity and fear' as the basic emotions aroused by tragedy and in his Poetics (Ch.14) enumerates the means of instilling these feelings in the spectator. The analogy with the " M e a n i n g ↔ T e x t " approach in linguistics is obvi­ ous. It could be formulated, in computational terms, as follows:

24

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

-- like language, art is a sui generis transforming device; -- as its input this device takes some form of information (ideas, feelings...); -- as its output it produces a sequence of external signs. But there are points of difference too: -- the function of art is not merely to transmit information, but to 'infect" with it: whereas in language it is sufficient that the addressee understand the communication, art requires the message to captivate his inner soul, to become a part of his own experience. It is natural to envisage the metalanguage of poetics as a functional model imitating the work of the "transformer" with the four above-mentioned properties. The assertion that art translates meaning into a "contagious" text does not mean that the artist consciously constructs his text according to rules known in advance in order to render some preformulated idea. In postulating a meaning and describing its transformation into an artistically expressive text the poetician is acting like the linguist who, constructing a sophisticated model for, say, the morphology of an unwritten exotic language, does not have to assume that the speaker of this language consciously says to himself: "Now let me have a go at forming an analytical form of the inclusive 2nd person plural of the unreal frequentative continuous future in the past from such-and-such a verb..." The analogy with linguistics also points up the necessity to distinguish competence from performance. In poetics this distinction is especially important — because of the traditional interest in "creative history" and in the "psychology of creativity" : any application of transformational methods risks being interpreted automatically as an attempt to model these performance categories.

NOTES 1) I.e. models which aim to reproduce only the "results" of the behavior they model and con­ sequently may differ from the modelled object (in particular, a human one) not only in their mate­ rial substance but also in their inner structure; if a model imitates this structure as well, it is called structural.

1 BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

Poetics of expressiveness (PE) is an attempt to implement the project suggested by Tolstoy's definition of art. The principal idea of this model of literary competence is that the expressiveness of the artistic text can be abstracted (with certain reservations, see below) from the information it conveys. This information (thoughts, feelings, predilections...) we will call the theme (θ). The theme is conceived as completely void of artistic qualities, i.e. of expressiveness. As for the effect of contagion, it is accounted for by a special mechanism which translates the "non-expressive" theme into a proper artistic text Τ and consists of a set of expressive devices (EDs). An ED is a rule mapping element X onto element X1 (or onto elements X 1 ,X 2 ,...,X n ) which conveys the same thematic content as X, but with greater "force". The description of a literary text is envisaged as its derivation from a theme on the basis of EDs, i.e. standard units for formulating the correspondence between texts and themes. A derivation imitates the logic of the artist's behavior; as for the logic of the reader's perception (and of the critic's analytic thinking), it is identified by the reverse procedure of subtracting EDs from the text. Each step of the derivation {resp. subtraction), i.e. each application of an ED, is made by consulting the dictionary of reality (DR), common to the author and the readers. Thus, a derivation is called upon to explain how an original text structure is made up of elementary, "universally available" steps. Not only an individual text, but also whole groups of texts (such as texts by the same author) sharing an invariant thematic and expressive structure can be described in the form of a derivation. This invariant derivation will be called the author's poetic world (PW). Let is take a more detailed look at the model's basic concepts. 1.

Text.

In our frequent use of this apparently unambiguous word we do not always mean one and the same thing. First, by text we understand either the

26

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

sign as a whole, or just its signifier. Thus, when we talk of the "expressive structure of the text", we have in mind the "text as a whole" — a complex sign with a content plane and an expression plane. But when we say that the "text is derived from the theme" we have in mind the "text proper" = the result of the derivation = the expression plane of the "text as a whole". And then, since the text is a sign, the problem arises as to its mono- or polysemy. It is well-known that the range of possible readings of a single work is in principle infinite. It depends on the code employed by the reader, which is determined by the cultural context (historical, geographical, social etc.) and by subjective psychological factors. A good illustration is provided by Soviet Academician N.I. Konrad (1932:65), who has shown that in Japan the novels of Dumas-père were once perceived as anti-despotic, and Hamlet as a ghost story (Yurei monogatari). Also, the perception of an author's text by his contemporaries can differ sharply from that by later generations. From the semiotic point of view it is natural to regard a single "text proper" with a multiplicity of admissible interpretations as a set of different "texts as a whole" whose expression planes coincide1. The sign formed by the pair "theme—text proper" we will call a reading. It is the correspondence between the content plane and the expression plane of one such sign that constitutes the typical elementary object of modelling in PE. This formulation of the problem is by no means an over-simplification2. The more complex problem of describing the multiplicity of possible readings of "great" works of art (such as Hamlet, or Pushkin's Bronze Horseman, new interpretations of which are advanced practically every year) can in principle be reduced to this formulation. Furthermore, there are many times fewer individual readings of one text than there are readers (particularly within the confines of a single culture): the same episodes in a Chaplin film arouse laughter in different movie-theaters, countries and parts of the world. Even in different readings there is a large area which is common to all, enabling one to talk of an "average" reader. Finally, it is only worthwile to model those readings which respond to the majority of the elements in a text, and not just any reading. Examples of incomplete readings are the "Japanese" treatment of Dumas' novels that regards the gallant adventures so abundant in these novels as superfluous, so that they could as well be omitted from the translation; read­ ings which ignore the philosophical debates in Thomas Mann or Dostoevsky, hunting, fishing and drinking scenes in Hemingway, and all that is not "com­ mon sense" in Xlebnikov; and so on.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

2.

27

Theme.

Technically speaking, "theme" can be defined as the initial element of derivation. In content terms, the theme is a value statement "diffused" in the text by EDs; i.e., it is the common message of all the levels, images, fragments and other components of the text. As examples of themes we can take the following: the theme of the ancient Babylonian "Pessimistic Dialogue between Master and Servant" (Pritchard 1969:437-438): (1)

the futility of all human endeavor (see also Chap. 3, §5, formulas (91), (92));

the theme of War and Peace (according to Bocarov 1971:15): (2)

the essential in human life, the simple, genuine, not artificial, values, whose meaning becomes clear in moments of crisis;

or the theme of Krylov's fable Triska's Caftan (see analysis in §4 below). All these themes are pronouncements about (situations in) "life". We will call them Class I themes. But themes can be constituted also by messages concerning not "life", but the very tools of art, by pronouncements about literary language, about genres, plot structures, styles; these we call Class II themes. For example: -- themes of tongue-twisters (e.g. She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore has θ = 'difficult combinations of sibilant consonants'); -- themes of literary parodies (= 'such-and-such is characteristic of such-andsuch a poet or genre'); -- themes characteristic of founders and reformers of literary languages, such as Dante or Pushkin (≈ 'when writing about such-and-such things, such-andsuch language or artistic means should be used' 3 . Usually the theme of a liter­ ary text is a combination of Class I and Class II themes. In particular this is true of works which do not only reflect "life" but also respond to other methods of reflecting it.4 Evgenij Onegin is at one and the same time an "en­ cyclopedia of Russian life" (Belinsky) and that of styles of Russian speech and of modes of artistic thought. 5 Thus, a theme is a comment on "life" and/or the "language of art" which permeates the entire text and whose formulation serves as the point of departure for its derivational description. This formulation should explicitly state all the messages contained in Τ and not derivable by means of EDs from other messages already included in the Θ. Ideal for stating explicitly these messages would be a special metalan­ guage. Such a metalanguage is gradually being evolved by modern poetics on

28

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

the basis of natural language. In fact, the very recognition of the metalinguis­ tic nature of any formulation of a theme is already an important step. Even if such a formulation consists merely of natural-language words, they are now components of a description, not of the described text. (Incidentally, this is why it would be absurd to demand from the formulation of a theme that it should be euphonic or have stylistic affinity with the real text.) Sometimes one has to go a step further and define more precisely — or even redefine — the meaning of the words used, thus creating special artificial concepts. Thus when we speak (in Chap. 6) of the theme of 'impassivity' in Pushkin, we have in mind not just any phenomenon covered by the meaning of this word, but a particular, narrower concept, specific to the poet. The definition of such concepts is quite possible within the semantic bounds of natural language; only it sometimes requires cumbersome paraphrases in which terms like 'impassivity' serve as conventional abbreviations. As can be seen from the formulations given above, themes usually consist of several semantic units6 thematic components, or subthemes. These, and also the results of any application of EDs to them, we will call thematic entities, or just themes. Thematic entities and relations between them vary widely. The themes of literary texts form an open class: authors may express any themes. If, however, we assume that literature only embodies messages of a certain type, then the entire set of potential themes can probably be defined by some sort of rules — the way linguistics has learned to generate (=enumerate) all the possible syntactic structures. G.L. Permjakov (1968,1979a) has performed a similar feat with proverbs. He identified all the thematic entities encountered in the world's proverbs, the rules of their combination and all the transformations applicable to the resulting "initial" themes. It is interesting that one of the main transformations proved to be the transposition, as it were, of a proverb into its negative form: every culture has, for each theme, a "straight" proverb {Many hands make light work) and a "reverse" one (Too many cooks spoil the broth). It is not inconceivable that the themes of more complex types of poetic discourse could be enumerated in an analogous way. 3.

Expressive devices.

EDs are a set of elementary operations in terms of which the correspondences between θs and Ts are formulated. Like themes, EDs are constructs: in an actual text we encounter not EDs themselves, but only something which can be regarded as the result of their combined activity. The value of such a

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

29

system of elementary correspondences clearly depends on their applicability to literary texts of various types. The universal validity of our set of EDs seems to be corroborated by descriptions made of texts by a fairly wide range of authors (Ovid, Molière, La Rochefoucauld, Pushkin, Leo Tolstoy, Conan Doyle, Ilf and Petrov, Mandel'stam, Akhmatova, Tsvetaeva, Pasternak, Okudzava, the Archpoet of Cologne, see Bibliography). In referring to EDs three implicit concepts should be kept distinct: (i) a concrete step in the derivation of a particular text, as for example the transfor­ mation: 'household object' /caftan' (in the derivation of Krylov's fable discussed below); (ii) a particular rule permitting such a step, e.g. the same transformation as stored in the systemic list of rules — the dictionary of reality; (iii) a rule type, i.e. the generalization of a certain class of particular rules, e.g. X , so to speak, the heading under which all the rules of the corresponding type are stored in DR. It stands to reason that the number of concrete steps in derivations is infinite. The number of particular rules is extremely large, but finite, since the knowledge of reality contained in human consciousness is finite. Finally, rule types are few in number, and it is precisely the set of EDs as rule types that forms the universal grammar of expressiveness. The following elementary EDs are employed in the model: CONCRETIZATION (CONCR); REPETITION (REP); DIVISION (DIV); AUGMENTATION (AUGM); VARIATION (VAR); CONTRAST (CONTR); PREPARATION (PREP); COMBINATION (COMB); CON­ CORD (CONCD); REDUCTION (RED). This empirically established set can probably be modified and perfected, but the definitive list of EDs is not likely to be much bigger. The rich variety of artistic means is created by sub­ types of elementary EDs and the diverse and numerous particular rules and stable combinations of EDs, or constructions. Constructions either CONCRETIZE certain thematic entities or per­ form purely expressive functions. The first are called figures, and the second simply type combinations of EDs (for examples see Chaps. 2-5 below). Type combinations of EDs account for the method, long familiar in art, of supple­ menting the effect of one device with that of others. For instance, the effect of contrast can be stressed, i.e. CONTR can be supplemented by AUGM; an illustration can be made more vivid with the aid of a metaphor, i.e. CONCR can be supplemented by VAR and COMB ; and so on. A number of type com­ binations is called forth by the following common relationship between EDs. Some EDs increase the number of components in the structure and thus

30

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

"load" it (VAR, CONTR, DIV, etc.); others reduce the number of components, 'lightening" the structure (COMB, CONCD, RED)7. "Loading" is naturally counterbalanced by "lightening". For this reason, derivations often follow the "ramification-convergence" pattern, built into a number of type combinations of EDs (VAR + COMB; CONTR + COMB; etc.). This is supposed to account for the way the text manages to project the theme onto a variety of situations, phenomena and attributes, at the same time remaining compact, organic, "digestible". We mentioned the importance of distinguishing between EDs and themes: a theme is conceived as "non-expressive content" and EDs, as "contentless expressiveness". This principle, implicit in any statement of the type: "A artistically embodies B", often yields sound results without forcing the intuition. Yet, such complete mutual independence of themes and EDs is merely the simplest, idealized case. More often than not, there is a complex interpenetration of the two, which, however, far from undermining the distinction, can only be described after a preliminary separation of θs from EDs has been made. Let us consider the three major types of interdependence. A. CONCRETIZATION of themes via EDs. The expressiveness of devices is based on each ED having certain inherent (very abstract) expressive effects (); e.g.: 'forcefulness' (brought about by AUGM, REP, VAR); 'economy, conciseness' (COMB, CONCR, RED); 'clarity of design, lucidity' (VAR, REP, CONCD, PREP); 'naturalness, harmony' (COMB, CONCD).8 In a sense, EEs are thematic overtones accompanying the application of EDs and reflected in various clichés about art, which is said to be a "magnifying glass", to "create its own self-contained world", to "make the unexpected natural", to "say much in few words", to "engage", to "create harmony", and so on. In the ideal case the effects of different EDs "cancel out" one another, resulting in "pure", "contentless" expressiveness the way the colours of the spectrum together produce white. Our first case of inter­ dependence between themes and EDs has, on the contrary, to do with the predominance in a particular text of one or several EEs, i.e. when it is, say, 'natural, harmonious', but not 'forceful' or 'paradoxical'. In such cases, it is natural to specify the corresponding EEs in the theme, i.e. to regard EEs as thematically relevant. The corresponding EDs will then be shown to perform not merely a general expressive function, "indifferent" to the theme, but also one of CONCRETIZING a thematic entity, namely, the given  (Fig. 1). An  included in the theme of the entire text is one instance of a thema­ tic entity CONCRETIZED with the aid of EDs. In fact, the rule is at work at

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

31

Figure 1 all levels of a derivation; whenever a thematic entity, say, 'all, everything' is CONCRETIZED into VAR (or CONTR), or 'monotony, automatism', into REP, the derivational pattern is the same as in Fig. 1. We will call this pattern CONCR via EDs; in characterizing individual EDs, we will specify some of the themes that predispose to CONCR via this ED. Such thematic entities are often parts of authors' invariant themes: cf., for instance, 'the unity and magnificence (COMB, AUGM, REP, CONTR) of the world' — Pasternak; 'juxtaposition of epochs, turning point of history' (CONTR, COMB) — Cervantes, Ilf and Petrov; 'ambivalent interaction...' (COMB, CONTR, VAR) — Pushkin (see Chap. 6). Among the themes CONCRETIZED via EDs are 'ecstasy', 'making strange', 'ridicule' and others peculiar to the artistic worldview and built into proven genres, forms and constructions. Their CONCR often comes about not via elementary EDs, but through complex figures. For instance, 'ecstasy' is embodied through a corresponding figure (first described in Eisenstein 1964, II: 72-233, who called it the "template" of ecstasy, — an interesting parallel to T.S. Eliot's "objective correlative"), consisting of VAR, CONTR, AUGM and PREP. As a matter of fact, themes CONCRETIZED via EDs predominate in artistic texts. Art, as a mechanism for translating themes into texts with the help of EDs, is probably drawn towards such themes and as a result presents us with a world seen through the prism of expressive devices. An ED can also serve to CONCRETIZE another ED: e.g. CONCD sometimes comes about via REDUCTION (see below, Chap. 2, §10).

32

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

B. Non-theme-preserving EDs. Another type of Θ-ED interdepen­ dence is when an ED (above all, CONCR) fails to keep intact the theme's identity. CONCRETIZATION, by definition, supplements theme X with increment A. The "new" thematic entity A might, theoretically speaking, turn out to embody also some "undesirable" alternative theme A (Fig. 2a). Such blurring of the original theme can be neutralized by other EDs (VAR or COMB). For instance, instead of using an arbitrary thematic element A, one could use — as an inevitable increment — some element CONCRETIZING part of the same initial theme, say,  (Fig. 2b).

C. EDs in the formulations of "elusive" themes. Ordinary ("graspable") themes are formulated in concepts placed at the critic's disposal by his natural language and culture. There are, however, themes which cannot be formulated in terms of such "ready-made" abstractions without substantial loss; we will call them "elusive". It is a priori obvious that such themes are prominent in art, whose role it seems to be to enrich human experience by penetrating into areas of life not yet explicitly reflected in the categories of language and rational thought. If the critic is to provide an adequate formulation of such a theme, he has to coin a new abstraction. One way to do so is to record it in the form of an operation (in fact, an ED) on extant concepts. Then an "elusive" theme θ can be recorded via "graspable" entities, e.g. : θ = 'that which has as its VARIATIONS θ', θ", Θ'" '. Compare the method of writing irrational numbers in the form of operations on rational numbers, e.g. √2. Without recourse to EDs, an "elusive" theme can only be recorded approxi­ mately (i.e. not as √2, but as 1.414...)9. 4.

Derivation. Let us begin with examples. Example 1. "Triska's Caftan" by Krylov (see pdi) is remembered

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

a acti­ vity

R contr in Q Q = expectation of result/lack of result

COMB of poles

COMB (AUGM Rcontr) (5) (a) improvement of the object

(b) destruction

R''contr

augmented Rcontr

of the object

CONCR (in the household sphere)

i (6) (a) improvement of household object

R' contr

(b) destruction of household object

CONCDmut (7)

(8) person N improves and destroys one and the same household object  with one and the same act A at one and the same moment T CONCR (9) Triska cuts off part of his caftan to repair another part COMB (= RED (9)) (10) "Triska's caftan"

Figure 3

33

34

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

by every Russian reader, perhaps because its by now proverbial plot has a simple, but very effective structure. Let us write it down in derivational form (see Fig. 3)10 and comment on its main points. I. First let us formulate the theme. Let it be formula (3), which com­ prises the "situational" component (3a) 'inane activity' and two "keys" that determine the way this situation is treated: (3b) 'paradoxicality' and (3c) 'symbolic character'. This theme is purely informative, i.e. non-artistic; it is the task of the derivation to gradually enhance expressiveness, producing in the end the plot (9) 'a man cuts off parts of his caftan in order to repair other parts' and the proverbial image (10) 'Triska's caftan'. II. The primary CONCRETIZATION of theme (3) yields formula (4). Component (3a) 'inane activity' is a Class I theme; it is CONCRETIZED by highlighting the relation of contrast (Rcontr), inherent in it, between the 'expectation of a result' (natural for purposeful activity) and the actual 'lack of result'. The "keys" ((3b) 'paradoxicality' and (3c) 'symbolic character') are Class II themes; they are CONCRETIZED into objects of the code sphere (see §6), namely, into sets of EDs, (4b) and (4c). III. The application of one of these, AUGM, to formula (4) results in the sharpening of the contrast between 'activity' and 'futility' into R'contr between the 'improvement' of the object and its 'destruction' in (5). IV. This intensified contrast is then CONCRETIZED in one domain of reality — the household — and is represented in (6) as the 'improvement and destruction of a household object'. The subsequent CONCR of (6) could yield a pair of separate actions, 'improving' and 'destroying' a household object respectively. For example: (6') (a) a man improves one household object and destroys another; or (b) one man improves, another destroys; or (c) by day they improve and by night they destroy.

Such situations abound in literature and folklore. As an example of (6'c) we can take Penelope's shroud. However, alternative solution (6') remains unrealized (on such solutions see below). V-VII. The final step in the creation of the paradoxical COMBINATION of contrasting elements (6a) and (6b) also serves to further AUGMENT their mutual contrast. (This is shown by the arrow marked "CONCR via EDs" between AUGM and COMB in (4b)). The COMBINATION is also dictated by θ 'symbolic character' (see (4c)): the entire construction is to form a single compact object. The COMBINATION is performed in three steps. First, (6a) and (6b) are subjected to mutual CONCORD: 'destruction' and 'improvement' are

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

35

each arranged according to a common pattern (see (7a) and (7b)). Then a term-for-term superimposition of the two similar patterns produces (8), an abstract schema of 'a household activity closely COMBINING improvement and destruction'. Finally, (8) is CONCRETIZED: a real household action is selected which meets the description, namely, (9) 'cutting off one part of a caftan to repair another part'. VIII. Following the principle of 'symbolism', the actions performed on the caftan are subjected to REDUCTION. This results in a symbolic object freed of plot details (which are to be remembered by the reader but are not actually given in the symbol): (10) Triska's caftan', which gave the fable its title and was thereafter proverbialized. (If we are concerned only with the plot of the fable, the derivation should stop at formula (9).) The "moral" of this description is that the reader's intuition of a theme permeating the events has assumed the form of a logical inference.

Figure 4a Example 2 is from graphic art. In his book Montage, S.M. Eisenstein analyzed the structure of an Indian miniature (Fig. 4a) that depicts with a peculiar metaphorical twist "a procession of heavenly maidens bearing the god Vishnu... the contour followed by the line of girls... forms the silhouette of an elephant" (Eisenstein 1964,11:345).u We present his analysis in derivational form (Fig. 4b).

36

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

Figure 4b

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

37

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

37

I. As in the preceding example, a prominent role is played by CONCR via EDs: Class II theme (11a) 'a poetic image' is CONCRETIZED through the CONCRmetaph construction (see Chap. 2, §1), which includes several devices (VAR, CONCD, COMB) applied at various stages of the derivation. II. The thematic entity (11b) 'the carriage of Vishnu' is CON­ CRETIZED as (12b) 'the ceremonial carriage (of Vishnu)', which, in its turn, is VARIED through the referential and code spheres of artistic rep­ resentation (on the two spheres see §6). This results, respectively, in (13a) 'carriage by heavenly maidens' and (13b), as yet a very abstract formula. III. The next step of CONCRmetaph is the selection of a vehicle (the pun is involuntary) for (13a), i.e. a situation to which 'ceremonial carriage by maidens' could subsequently be metaphorically equated. This operation can be described in terms of VARIATION employed in a special way (see Chap. 2 §1, and Fig. 7). An element implicit in (13a) the 'ceremonial carriage' is VARIED, resulting, on the one hand, in the same 'carriage by maidens' (now (14a)), and, on the other, in 'carriage by an elephant', (14b), which will serve as a metaphor for 'carriage by maidens'. IV. At this point preparation for the metaphorical equation (COMBid) of (14a) and (14b) begins: first (14a) is CONCORDED with (14b) in some new, as yet unspecified feature (let us call it A), characteristic of 'carriage by an elephant'. CONCD results in the pair (15a) and (15b). Besides A, they have another element in common, developed at an earlier stage: 'ceremonial carriage'. V. The last step of CONCRmetaph is COMBid (of 'carriage by maidens' and 'carriage by an elephant') into (16) — a single construction of the type 'similar to, like'. VI. REDUCTION of 'carriage by an elephant' in (17) implements metaphor's essential principle that the resulting hybrid should read quite distincly as the tenor, whose identity with the vehicle is only imaginary. The metaphor should read: 'maidens... similar to an elephant' (and not 'an elephant... similar to maidens'). Accordingly, in the pictorial "text" the pic­ ture of the elephant is reduced to its 'property A'. VII. The final CONCRETIZATION of this abstract property concurs with the final selection of a code sphere CONCRETIZATION for (12b) 'ceremonial carriage': 'silhouette' is taken as the 'property A' of an elephant and it also becomes the contour of the 'maidens' (formula (18)). Thus at one and the same point the miniature's composition and its metaphorical con­ struction are fused (COMB). 12

38

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

The description of a text structure in the form of a derivation θ Τ is based , broadly speaking, on the analogy with TG and MT linguistic models, also dealing with systematic transitions from deep to surface structures (see above, pp. 22-24). As has been said, such descriptions involve no assumptions about the psychology or actual history of the creative process. Although it is convenient, in presenting the descriptions, to use such expressions as "first we obtain such-and-such", "in the next step it yields such-and-such", derivation presupposes neither anteriority of the theme to the text in the creative act, nor even the very existence of the theme apart from the text in the artist's consciousness or subconsciousness. Theme is a construct and so is derivation, representing the complex correspondences between theme and text. The correlation between the steps of the derivation (from the general outline to the intermediate constructions of increasingly detailed levels) is not temporal, but logical and hierarchical. To be sure, historically the composition of a text may well begin with details, around which more general aspects of the text are gradually organized. It is known, for example, that the occasion for the writing of Molière's comedy Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme was the arrival in Paris of a Turkish mission. However, in a derivational description the elaboration of the "Turkish" elements would most probably only come at a late stage first of all, the generic, "Molièrian" framework of the comedy would have to be generated, i.e. all those components in which it is similar to Le Malade Imaginaire, Les Précieuses Ridicules, etc. (see Chap.6). Moreover, in the actual course of writing, the creative design itself can be altered (viz. the marriage of Tatjana, which took Pushkin "by surprise"13). Zigzags of this sort in the creative history of a work should not be recorded in its derivation, which reflects the synchronic structure of the finished text. The derivation, which describes competence, moves from an artificial entity (Θ) to a real one (T), while the actual work of the artist's imagination (performance) goes from one real entity (whether a concrete detail or a general plan) to another (the text). It is precisely this difference we have in mind when we maintain that "Theme Text" is not a structural but a functional model of artistic processes. As can be seen from the examples, the metalanguage of elementary EDs makes it possible to record independently every minimal effect of increase in expressiveness en route from θ to T. In writing out a derivation, the scholar, as it were, "counts the tricks", moving from θ to Τ by gradual approximations, careful not to make any leaps, which would leave unexplained "how it turned out so well".

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

39

Each step in a derivation is based on information contained in the dictionary of reality, such as, for example, the fact that 'household work' is a particular instance (CONCR) of 'activity', and that 'clothing', and specifically 'caftan', is an instance of 'household object'. The lexicographic nature of such pieces of knowledge, which are nothing other than particular CONCR rules, is especially evident in the second example, taken from a different culture. Note the way Eisenstein, in his analysis, specially cites those "dictionary entries" essential to the understanding of the miniature: the artist, he writes, "knows that the transition to heaven is connected with the act of mounting the elephant" which carries the rajah "on ceremonial occasions". A derivation puts into effect some of the possibilities for realizing the initial theme Θ. Its objective is to describe not all conceivable embodiments of Θ, but only text T, which has already embodied it in a particular way. For this reason, to ensure that the derivation properly describes this T, each of its steps is "fixed" to the qualities of T14. However, in order for it to be universal and have explanatory power, the derivation is so constructed that each of its steps reflects the corresponding properties of the entire set of potential realizations of the same theme. Possible alternative solutions are not recorded in the derivations, and are only occasionally mentioned in their exposition, in order to show the preferabihty (or, on the contrary, the non-uniqueness) of the solution represented in T. However, in the process of analysis (= in devising a derivation for T) the consideration of hypothetical alternative solutions is a fruitful heuristic method. It makes it possible to ascertain whether the selected sequence of EDs does actually produce the text under analysis, or one sufficiently similar to it. In the definitive derivation, the alternative solutions are only reflected in the abstract form of a hierarchy of approximations to T, which represents the hierarchy of sets of other potential texts with the same theme (synthematic texts). An interesting area for the study of alternative solutions is the paremiological material collected and classified according to themes in Permjakov 1968, 1979a. A narrow thematic heading (= theme), say: (19)

First one thinks, then acts (speaks),

covers a set of proverbs which differ in either the set of EDs applied to the theme or EDs as particular rules. Cf. First think properly, then speak (Tibetan), First cook your word, then take it out of your mouth (Tatar), Think twice, speak once (Bashkir), Man has two ears and one mouth, so listen twice and speak once (Turkish) (Permjakov 1968:232).

40

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

5. "Subir action" of EDs This procedure is the reverse of derivation; it might be harder to formalize, but is nonetheless of considerable heuristic value. Since the theme is that invariant of which everything in the text is an expressive variation, the scholar can search for the theme by subtracting from the text the devices which he knows. Theme, so to speak, equals text minus devices. A simple example will serve to demonstrate the process of subtracting the devices from the text. We will take as our "Text" two episodes from Molière's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme: one of these involves the relations between M.Jourdain and a secondary character, the tailor; the other, his relations with Count Dorante, a main character. We will subtract the device of VARIATION, i.e. realization of a single theme through various situations, in this case, through episodes (20) and (21): (20)

(21)

[Relations with the tailor] J.: What the devils this? You ve put the flowers downwards. T. : All the people of quality are wearing them that way these days J.: Ah-ha! Mr. Tailor, here s my stuff of the last suit you made me. T.: Well, you see, the stuff appeared to me so handsome that I had a mind to cut a coat out of it for myself. [Relations with Dorante. J., who is paying court to the Marquise, sends her a diamond through D., who, himself courting the Marquise, presents the diamond to her as being from himself. Accompanying the Marquise on a visit to J.'s house, D. flirts with her in his presence, J. wants to bring the conversation round to his gift. ] D. (sotto voce to J. ) : Take special care you don't ask her how she likes it. 'Twould be most discourteous of you; and to act like a man of gallantry, you should make as if 't were not you that made the present.

In order to subtract from these two episodes the device of VARIATION, we must try to establish the maximum that they have in common — their richest common denominator, that is, discarding the differences, we should try to retell them both as fully as possible in exactly the same words. Superimposing, so to speak, (20) on (21), we get: (22)

Jourdain's partner (tailor/aristocrat) receives something valuable from him (material/diamond) and undertakes to transform it into another thing of value — an attribute of upper-class distinction (a gown/the society of the Marquise) intended for J. The partner appropriates this thing of value (sews himself a gown/wins the attentions of the Marquise) and brazenly turns up with it in J.'s house (in the gown/with the Marquise), leaving J. with "defective" goods (a ruined gown/an imaginary romance with the Marquise). Jourdain's attempts to assert his rights (as to the quality of the tailoring and the material/as to the diamond) are deflected by the partner, who plays on J. 's snobbish pretensions

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

41

(appeals to fashion, praising J.'s taste for material/points out the importance of etiquette).

We have reduced the two episodes to a single, more abstract plot, an 'archiepisode', and thus "abridged11 the text of the play for further analysis. The resulting archi-episode (22) may be considered the theme of episodes (20) and (21). If we continue in a similar way, consistently condensing the text by deleting from it the devices (which cause one and the same thematic motif to appear in the text in various guises), we may eventually arrive at the most abstract pattern — the theme of the whole text. This example has taken up a good deal of space (mainly because of the need to quote) while the analysis proper was quite elementary. In the next example the proportions will be reversed: an incomplete line from Ovid's Metamorphoses : (23)

inque tuo sedisti, Sisyphe, saxo (X.44) "you too, Sisyphus, sat down on your stone [absorbed by Orpheus singing]"

is a subtle combination of devices which have to be subtracted one by one in several moves. At first glance, this laconic phrase appears to be its own theme, not reducible to any simpler form. But might not some of its details be counted as devices? For instance, in the "micro-plot" implied by the phrase the stone actually figures twice: as the proverbial 'stone of Sisyphus1 (note the pronominal reference tuo saxo) and as a 'seat1. If an object appears twice in an artistic structure we may assume that one of two devices has been used: an emphatic REPETITION of a situation, or a COMBINATION of two functions (particularly contrasting ones) in a single object. A frequent case of COMB is the plot pattern where some object plays a key role first in one situation and then in another, oppositie situation.15 Obviously, it is the latter ED that is used in (23): 'you sat down on the stone' is not a repetition of 'you rolled the stone', but the very opposite (the same stone first as an instrument of toil and then of idleness). If we give up the fact of the sameness of the stone, i.e. subtract the COMBINATION, we get the hypothetical situation: (24)

Sisyphus, who has been rolling his stone, stops doing so and sits down to rest on another stone.

But 'stone' still appears twice in (24), albeit as two different entities. This produces an artistic effect: the congruence of Sisyphus' two states in the element 'stone'. By subtracting the device of CONCORD we get (25) (25)

Sisyphus, who has been rolling his stone, stops doing so and settles down to rest (sits down on a tree-stump, lies on the ground, or the like).

42

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

If we compare (25) with other reactions to Orpheus's singing, we find that there, too, some activity ceases, but there is no mention of any transition to a directly opposite state, as with Sisyphus resting (cf. stetitque Ixionis orbis "and the wheel of Ixion stopped", nec Tantalus undam/Captava refugam "and Tantalus no longer reached for the fleeing water", etc.). We can "equalize" formula (25) with these parallel situations by subtracting from it the AUGMENTATION of a contrast: (26)

Sisyphus, who had been rolling his stone. on hearing Orpheus's singing stops doing so.

Now that we compare (26) with the similar situations involving Ixion and Tantalus, we can see that, like the two Molière episodes, they contain a significant common element and some differences. As we know, one can get rid of these differences by subtracting VARIATION. This operation gives (27): (27)

Orpheus's singing has such a powerful effect that it distracts its listeners even from activities which are by their very nature uninterruptable or eternal.

In our transition from (26) to (27) we have stepped for the first time outside the original Sisyphus fragment (23): in order to subtract a device we had to refer to a wider context. Similarly, to subtract some devices from (27) we will consider an even wider context — that of Ovid's poem as a whole. Comparing (27) with other situations in The Metamorphoses, we can recognize in (27) a COMBINATION of two components which are basically independent of each other. One is'Orpheus'sbeautiful singing', one of those proverbial situations from ancient mythology which enter into all of Ovid's plots (as indeed do our Sisyphus and Tantalus situations). The other is a more abstract situation central to Ovid's poem: 'the breaking of the immutable laws of nature through some powerful force' as instanced by all the extraordinary 'metamorphoses' brought about by fire, plague, frost, floods, the will of the gods and so on. If we subtract the device of COMBINATION 16 of these two components (and some further EDs) from situation (27) (see Fig. 517), we will eventually get a formulation of the theme for the entire episode around Orpheus's singing: (28)

Orpheus's beautiful singing in a world of norms and standards.

This theme (like formulation (27), only more clearly so) consists of two components: a local and an invariant. Thus, our process of subtracting devices from texts has illustrated not only a dismantling of a text's expressive structure, but also an analytical separation of the specific theme of a particu-

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

Figure 5

43

44

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

Figure 5 (cont'd)

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

45

lar episode from the poet's favorite motifs and the central theme of his entire oeuvre. (For more details see Chap. 6.) 6.

Dictionary of Reality

The 'Theme - Text" model, like linguistic models, relies as on one of its most important components, on a dictionary. If in linguistics the dictionary contains words and set expressions, poetics needs a dictionary of reality (DR), i.e. the set of all the objects and phenomena of the world. The mastery of them and the relations between them precedes any act of artistic creation or perception. At the same time, as we have seen in the example with the elephant, the DR models knowledge about the world with respect not to "man in general", but to a particular cultural (psychological, etc.) code. Correspondingly, not just one, but a number of different DRs should be envisaged, the way linguistics has not just one dictionary, but a number of types of dictionaries. A change in the DR, i.e. the model of the reader's code, also changes a text's reading (and with it the derivation that describes it). It is clear that relations among objects should be stated in the DR in explicit form and in terms oriented towards the establishment of θ ↔ Τ correspondences. A natural means of recording this information is in the form of EDs as particular rules directly insertable at appropriate points in derivations. Thus, the particular CONCR rule which allows for the move (13a') → (14b) in Fig. 4b will look like this: (29)

solemn carriage

carriage by an elephant.

CONCR rules are a basic, if not the only type of particular rule used in the DR. Particular CONTRs, AUGMs and certain other EDs are also essential, but not all: for instance, sufficient for the realization of VAR are the particular rules of CONCR and the information contained in the definition of VAR as a rule type. Quite often the object needed in the course of a derivation is just there in the DR; in such cases we talk of the realization of the ED through a readymade object.18 In other cases, to effect a particular step of derivation it is necessary to devise a composite construction out of ready-made DR items. This distinction is particularly important for ED COMB (see Chap. 2, §8). Of course, the compilation of a complete DR would be a cosmic undertaking. It seems sufficient to rely, in practical work, on the mere idea of a DR, simulating its fragments on an ad hoc basis.

46

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

When we talk of DR, we have in mind objects relating not only to reality in the usual sense of the word (i.e. to the referential sphere). We have already encountered themes realized in the code sphere: recall the CONCR of 'ceremonial carriage1 through the compositional contour of a miniature and cases of CONCR via EDs, i.e. elements of the artistic code. The code sphere of verbal art comprises two types of objects: units of natural language — phonemes, syllables, grammatical categories, syntactic constructions, and so on; and specifically artistic means — EDs and their combinations, set verbal and compositional formations (meter, rhythm, poetic figures, — anaphoras, tropes,... etc.). In other words, if the referential sphere of the DR is similar to an encyclopaedia, the code, or stylistic, sphere is, so to speak, a special kind of dictionary of linguistic and literary-critical terms. It is special in the sense that the DR is to provide each code item with a description of ail its properties that can be used in an artistic text, or rather of those that are necessary and sufficient for the automatic derivation of the rest. Take, for example, the final two lines of Pushkin's poem "On the hills of Georgia...": I serdce vnov' gorit i Ijubit - ottogo, / Čto ne Ijubit' ono ne možet. "And my heart again burns and loves - because/ It cannot help but love". These lines are notable for the striking counterpoint between the 'passion' depicted in the referential sphere and the 'restraint' which moderates it, effected through the code sphere. In fact, the exposition is marked by a pointedly rational argumentation (with the causal conjunction ottogo "because" in the most conspicuous position) and in addition the syntax and meter of the first line require a pause after every word. Let us take a close look at the braking effect of the pauses. In order to be able to reflect this in a derivation, it is sufficient to introduce into the code part of the DR the particular rule (30): (30)

braking

pause.

In its turn, the message part of the DR will obviously contain the rule (31)

restraint, subduing

braking.

Now, the successive application of rules (31), (30) will forge a path from the thematic entity 'restraint' to the stylistic entity "pause'. (Then REPT will turn one pause into many.) In another example, Pasternak's poetic world contains the motif 'excessive quantity'. In the line V gromax drugix otcizn "In the thunders of other motherlands'" it receives a fairly accurate code sphere equivalent. In order to

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

47

account for this stylistic CONCR by means of dictionary information it would be necessary to state in the DR that: (32) (33) (34)

a great number oplural category excess violation of the norm in the direction of surfeit violation of the category of number the use of ungrammatical forms of number, i.e. of pluralia tantum (e.g. vorota "gates'", trousers or scissors) in the singular and of singularia tantum (e.g. Ijubov" 'love', grom 'thunder1, otcizna 'motherland', justice) in the plural.

One of the problems of DR compilation has to do with the difference in the expressive potential of objects of the two spheres as to the expression of Class I themes. Cf., for example, the theme of Pushkin's poem "I loved you..": (35)

altruistic subduing of passion.

This theme, and in particular its component 'altruism', has an accurate CONCR in the referential sphere: (36)

renunciation of all claims on a woman's love and acceptance of her happiness with another.

The language of the code sphere is, as a rule, inadequate for such themes. How indeed would one convey 'altruism' through stylistic means? In such cases only certain components of the theme are projected into the code sphere, namely, those susceptible to such translation. Theme (35) has such a component in 'subduing'. On application of rule (31), 'subduing' is trans­ formed into 'braking', which is subsequently CONCRETIZED in the code sphere with the aid of rules similar to (30). As for the 'altruistic' interpreta­ tion of this 'subduing', it is induced by the referential context — situation (36). Thus, those units of the code sphere which are "remote" from Class I themes can only partially be correlated with them — via fairly abstract fea­ tures like 'braking', 'plurality', 'violation', etc. It is therefore apparent that one and the same code construction can serve as the CONCR of quite a broad range of Class I themes, Thus, 'braking with the aid of pauses' could in prin­ ciple be employed to express other themes than (35), such as, for example, the 'burden of life', 'clumsiness', etc., but, of course, not just any theme. While the language of referential situations can convey a theme more thoroughly and definitely, the language of poetic and grammatical means is more suitable for an imperceptible, sometimes subliminal and therefore all the more irresistible suggestion of the theme. This difference between the expressive possibilities of the two spheres can be said to assist the effect of

48

POETICS O F EXPRESSIVENESS

VARIATION, which is achieved by conveying the theme through both. It is evident that the division of the artistic resources into two spheres is analogous to the division of themes into two classes. Class I themes can be cal­ led referential; Class II themes, stylistic. Correspondingly, the realization of Class I themes is drawn towards referential means, that of Class II themes, to stylistic means. Thus, in the mixed theme (3) of "Triska's Caftan", the Class I component (3a) 'inane activity' is embodied by means of referential situa­ tions (4a), (5) etc., and the Class II entities 'symbolic character' and 'paradoxicaliy' are CONCRETIZED via sets of EDs; the Class II theme we assigned to the tongue-twister about sea shells (see §2) unfolds into a series of difficult combinations of the sounds s and sh, i. e. into a sui generis confron­ tation between units of the code sphere. The ties of the two types of themes to the respective spheres of the DR are not, however, all that rigid. We have already examined cases where vari­ ous Class I thematic elements were conveyed through the code sphere. See the transformations: (12b) → (13b) → (18); (30); (32); (33); (34).19 An elementary example of a Class II theme conveyed through the referential sphere is provided by mnemonic verses of grammatical rules and exceptions, in which primitive plots are made up from necessary words and forms. An artistically less questionable example is Lomonosov's poem "On the disputed pronunciation of the letter r ' g ' in the Russian language" ("Bugristy berega, blagoprijatny vlagy..." "Rugged the banks, propitious the waters../'). 20 But usually thematic elements of both classes are included in the theme and con­ veyed through the material of both spheres, creating obraz mira ν slove jαvlennyj "an image of the world manifested in the word" (Pasternak).

NOTES 1) In linguistics this phenomenon is known as the homonymy of signs. 2) It can be compared to the problem, sometimes posed in modern linguistics, of describing a single idiolect (i.e. the dialect of a speaker). 3) Pushkin consciously set himself the task of evolving poetic means for depicting the psychol­ ogy of love (/ repeat again;/ as yet a lady's love/ has not expressed itself in Russian,... — Evgenij Onegin. Chap. 3. XXVI; Nabokov 1964:166). 4) Cf. the Bakhtinian concept of dialogue with "others' voices". 5) A similar idea is expressed in a different connection by L.N. Stillman (1958). 6) In Lomonosov's words, themes are "complex ideas made up of simple ideas" (1952:100, 116-127).

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

49

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS 7) The ability of a particular ED to increase or lessen the "weight" of a structure can be consid­ ered a special aspect of its inherent expressive effect. 8) The EEs characteristic of a device are virtually contained in its formal definition or in the informal description of its expressive logic (for which see Chap.2). 9) On the use of EDs in the formulation of "elusive" themes see 1976b: 235ff. 10) This derivation is a simplified account of an analysis by L. Vygotsky (1971:145-165). 11) As has been shown by V.V Ivanov (1967b), this miniature is the subtext of Xlebnikov's poem "Menjapronosjat na slonovyx..." "They carry me on elephant's...". 12) A looser — and therefore less clearly metaphorical — fusion would characterize such an alternative COMB as: 'in the center the maidens carry Vishnu, while the frame of the picture is made up of small figures of royal elephants'. 13) This information about Pushkin's surprise came from E.N. Meščerskaja (Karamzina), whose account Leo Tolstoy was fond of repeating (Gusev and Misin 1955,I:344; II:179). 14) The formulation of θ is also contrived so as to fit T, for a theme, by definition, is nothing other than a construct from which everything observed in Τ is derived. This pivotal point, which marks the intersection of all the ties between the components of T, is like the keystone, holding up the arch beneath it. For this reason the idea that a derivation is the record of the correspondence between θ and Τ can be reformulated as follows: a derivation is the record of the correspondences between the components of T, and this record uses, for the sake of explicitness, a conventional point of departure — θ. 15) Thus in Grimms's fairy tale "The Gallant Tailor", the unicorn's 'horn' first terrifies everyone and then contributes to the beast's capture (by getting stuck in a tree); in "The Widow of Ephesus", the 'crypt' serves as a 'refuge', first for piety and then for love : in Deržavin's line Gde stol by ljastv, tam grob stoit "Where there was a table [full] of food, a coffin stands", the 'table'sym­ bolizes first feasting and then death; and so on. The contrast between the initial and final states is intensified by being embodied in a single object. Examples of this kind can be described in terms of ED CONCORD (see Chap. 2, §9). 16) As for the practice of subtracting COMBINATION and other devices in traditional criti­ cism, the subtraction of the simplest of all EDs, CONCRETIZATION, is familiar to literary critics of all schools, including even those who reject the notion of device and are far from suscribing to the concepts being developed here. Whenever a critic says that some episode or image "expresses" or "embodies" something, he is unwittingly subtracting CONCRETIZATION. As for CON­ TRAST, it is often said to be present, but critics rarely go so far as to subtract it, since this logically results in an "impoverished*" text. COMBINATION is subtracted even more rarely, since this involves breaking up whole objects into their distinctive features. 17) Fig. 5 states the correspondence between theme (28) and text (23) in the same geometrical order as Figs. 3 and 4b: the EDs are represented by arrows pointed downward from thematic entities to their expressive manifestations. In other words, it reads as derivation from top to bot­ tom and as subtraction vice versa. Note also that some of the links in the chain of correspondences are shown in the diagram, but omitted from our protocol of subtraction. 18) On the concept of "ready-made object" see 1967b, 1978f, 1984a. 19) Obviously, conveying an entire Class I theme exclusively through the code sphere would be a tour-de-force, possible only in trans-sense poetry or music. For a more detailed discussion of the difference between the expressive possibilities of units of the two spheres see Chap. 3 and 1978d, 1980e.

50

POETICS O F EXPRESSIVENESS

20) It is of incidental interest that these plot (i.e. referential sphere) effects are matched by cer­ tain phonetic and compositional (code sphere) effects, cf. the way the variant pronunciations of r (as [g] and [h]) are arranged in the poem (Uspenskij 1973a).

2 ELEMENTARY EXPRESSIVE DEVICES

1.

CONCRETIZA

TION

CONCR is the substitution for entity X of entity X containing X plus a certain property (increment) A or several such properties (i.e. the substitu­ tion for X of a "graphic example" or "particular instance" of X) (Fig. 6).

Figure 6 Properties of two types can function as increments. In some cases the increment is an additional property, not contained in X as such, but joined to it to form a particular X: 'dog' .'poodle1; 'death' 'death of a man') ; in others, the increment is a constitutive quality of X, inherent in any X. A CONCR of this sort does not enrich X with a "new" quality, but rather "revives" an old one, already implicit in it: 'dog', 'dog, a possessor of a good sense of smell'; 'death' .'death, destroying that which is alive'. The expressive logic of CONCR is based on the fact that a graphic illus­ tration has a more direct effect than an abstract idea. CONCRs often function in derivations as modest transitional links ('plant' .'tree'; 'soldier' 'soldier with rifle'; etc.). But CONCR can also play an independent artistic role, developing X in an original way by supplying it with "unex­ pected" qualities, not assigned to X in the DR, or by highlighting "fresh" con-

52

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

stitutive qualities in X which usually pass unnoticed. There are many exam­ ples of original CONCRs in, for example, Ovid's Metamorphoses {longo cor­ pore serpens "long-bodied serpent") and the Soviet prose of the 20's (Ju. Olesha''s ρ los kaj'a stajka vorob'ev "a flat flock of sparrows"). The reason for the existence of some type combinations of CONCR with other EDs is that the increment may either lack a designation in natural lan­ guage or consist of several qualities too cumbersome to enumerate. In such cases the naming of the properties can be replaced by demonstrating them ostensively with the aid of tropes, in particular, similes and metaphors, which are, in fact, concatenations of CONCR and COMB. As examples of such "metaphorical CONCRETIZATION" (CONCRmetaph) we can take expressions like eyes the color of ocean waves, where we can observe - CONCR of the initial X ('eyes') into 'eyes + color A'; - CONCR of the increment A into the object 'ocean waves' (or, alterna­ tively, a special type of VAR of A into two objects: 'eyes the color of A' [al­ ready obtained above] and 'ocean waves'); - COMB of this last with the object 'eyes the colour of A' (COMBid).

Figure 7

ELEMENTARY EXPRESSIVE DEVICES

53

This CONCmetaph was required to identify a chromatic shade which lacks an exact denomination in English.1 On the other hand, the metaphor gipsovoe bel'e "plaster-of-Paris laundry" (Ilf and Petrov) is intended to embody increments which can be described verbally, but at too great a length (Fig. 7). The final COMBid of 'laundry' and 'plaster-of-paris' demarcates, and by the same token emphasizes, both what they have in common and what is unique to each of them. The highlighting of all the common properties ( = increments to the initial element 'laundry') is kept laconic thanks to their COMB in a ready-made object ('plaster-of-Paris'). 2.

AUGMENTATION AUGM substitutes for X its increased version X1 (Fig. 8).

Figure 8 As an example of AUGM we can take S.M. Eisenstein's proposed method of emphasizing the thematic entity 'disarming the hero in the guise of a social reception': "'But where does the adjutant take the sword?' S.M. asks. T o exit C...! The nearest exit!' prompt the students quickly. 'On the con­ trary. .. ! to exit A! The furthest away... to display to the interested officers the fact the weapon has been removed'" (Nizhny 1979:51). The two major types of AUGMENTATION are AUGM proper, when some parameter of X (size, loudness, duration) is enlarged, and positional AUGM, when X is placed in a "strong position", advanced into a visible place (a character on the stage is spotlighted, a word in a poem is put into a rhyming position, a figure placed at the point of a golden section, etc.). Other EDs may be used to create strong positions, in particular REP, CONTR and PREP.

54

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

A distinction should be made between AUGM and hyperbole, the equating of a "normal" object with a similar, but incredibly enlarged object. In other words, hyperbole consists of two EDs: (a) CONTR: the initial X is supplemented by an AntiX which differs from X in the feature 'normal dimensions and proportions'; (b) COMBid: X is "renamed'* AntiX. Certain themes naturally suggest CONCR via AUGM, e.g. the themes of'abundance and Renaissance power' (Rabelais) and of'heroism, might' (in the epic). 3.

REPETITION

REP substitutes for entity X several entities X, X1 Χ 2 ,... Χ , each of which reproduces X without substantial change (Fig.9).

Figure 9

The expressive logic of REP is twofold: it emphasizes the theme by mul­ tiplying its realizations and by creating a clear configuration in which the repeated element finds itself in a key (e.g. rhymed) position, and is thus stres­ sed. In "weaker" instances multiplication performs the modest technical function of fixing the necessary thematic elements in the memory of the perceiver (such is the REP of the "givens of the problem" in a detective story). Too energetic a REP can lead to ponderousness and overstatement. These undesirable effects are partly compensated for by the 'constructive clarity' (i.e. an  from the class of "lightening" effects) of the resulting configura­ tions. REP forms the basis of a large range of rhythmical laws of the code sphere (meter, rhyme, stanzaic structure, sound repetitions, grammatical parallelism et al.). But R.EP also plays an important role in the referential sphere, cf. the REPETITION of plot situations (e.g. actions repeated three times in folklore), of characters (pairs of indistinguishable characters — doc­ tors, servants, scholastics, etc. in Molière: Gogol's Dobcinskij and Bob-

ELEMENTARY EXPRESSIVE DEVICES

55

cinskij), of leitmotifs and so on. Pure REP (with an exact replication of X) is typical of simpler construc­ tions, as, for example, in folklore. In more complex texts REP involves alter­ ation, bringing it close to VAR; reinforced REP (REP + AUGM = INCR) which marks the path to the culmination, is virtually equivalent to PREP­ ARATION. Of combinations of REP with other EDs we can mention the plot motif 'performance of a difficult task after a series of unsuccessful attempts' (represented e.g. in the Russian tale of the speckled hen, Skazka  kuroche rjabe, and in numerous more complex plots): CONTRAST (be­ tween 'failure' and the 'expectation of success' invested in the 'attempt'), REP (of the 'unsucessful attempt') and RECOIL ('a series of failures preced­ ing the final success'). If the 'failure' is moreover COMBINED with a hidden PRESAGE of 'success', a step is taken towards a more complex ED — SUD­ DEN TURN (see Chap. 5). CONCR via REP is predisposed by such themes as 'monotony', 'obses­ sion', 'regularity'. The repetition of one character in several dramatis per­ sonae the distinction between whom is illusory is typical of Gogol with his invariant theme of 'monotony' (Ivan Ivanovic and Ivan Nikiforofvic; Ivan Ivanovic and the other Ivan Ivanovic). Also predisposed to REP are certain 'comic effects' which can be evoked by the repetition of identical gestures, words, etc., e.g. in a La Rochefoucauld maxim, the hero of which relates the same petty details from his life many times over to the same person (№ 313; see 1978a). 4.

DIVISION DIV substitutes for X the set of its components X , X ,..., X (Fig. 10).

Figure 10

56

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

The expressive logic of DIV (like that of REP) is in its emphasis of X by prolonging and intensifying its display and by creating a pattern. Elementary DIV is characteristic of folklore. In the Swahili epic, phenomena and things are segmented into their self-evident, "dictionary" components. Here is an example of DIVISION of 'boat putting into port': Then the pilot arose and said to the helmsman, "Claw off or you will have us on the rocks; turn us into the deep water. " The helmsman did not disobey the pilot. He promised to avoid the rocks, so when he reached the entrance, he turned the vessel skilfully and sailed inside. When they were inside, the sail was lowered and on reaching the stream the vessel dropped anchor (Utendi of Adversity, see Allen 1971:238). Of the EDs that combine with DIV let us mention AUGM, which so to speak, is "prescribed" for it, since AUGM neutralizes the undesirable effects of the object's fragmentation. Thus in posters and slogans words are some­ times broken up into separate letters, which are then greatly enlarged. On the other hand, AUGM can be applied not so much to the parts of X as to the very Tact of segmentation', emphasizing it, for instance, by a spatial distancing of the parts from each other, or by inserting other elements between them, etc. An example of the combination of DIV and both types of AUGM is provided by D. Xarms's children's verse: A vy znaete, cto U? / Avy znaete, cto PA? / A vy znaete, cto PY? / Cto  papy moego... " Do you know that DA? / Do you know that D ? / D o you know that DY?/That my daddy has..." Note the dis­ tancing of the parts of the word papa "daddy" and their AUGM in three

Figure 11

ELEMENTARY EXPRESSIVE DEVICES

57

respects: graphic (capital letters), positional (at the ends of the lines, at the ends of the questions), and informational (it is these parts which advance the information). A similar principle forms the basis of acrostics. In another characteristic combination of EDs, DIV + VAR, the parts of X are assigned the role of those "different" elements through which Y is con­ veyed (see definition of VAR in §5), Y being part of the theme alongside X (Fig. 11). Many descriptions in Ovid's Metamorphoses are constructed in this way. Two objects (beings), one of which must be turned into the other, are subjected to DIV, and the entity 'transformation.' is conveyed through each pair of corresponding parts (for more detail see Chap. 3, §6). Themes which can be CONCRETIZED via DIV are approximately the same as those predisposed towards REP and VAR. 5.

VARIATION

VAR substitutes for X a series of its sharply differing CONCRETIZATIONSX1,X2,...,Xn(Fig.l2).

Figure 12 VAR acts according to the principle: "Look: each time completely dif­ ferent, but nonetheless basically the same". The 'plurality' of CONCRETIZATIONS quantitatively emphasizes the identity of the theme X, while their 'heterogeneity' sets this off qualitatively, by contrast. At the same time the heterogeneity "camouflages" the undesirable consequence of plurality — the monotonous plugging of the theme. VAR has a number of different forms and borderline cases linking it to other EDs. Since VAR is considered in detail in Chap. 3, we will only men­ tion here one important type of VAR, called contrastive VARIATION (VARcontr) and based on highlighting the contrast inherent in VAR. Con­ sider two examples:

58

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS (37) (38)

... Netpravdy na zemle.lNopravdy net i vyše."There is no truth on earth./ But there is no truth above either" (Pushkin); On [Dante] iz ada ej poslal prokljat'e/1 v raju ne mog  zabyf. "He sent her a curse from hell/And in paradise could not forget her" (Akhmatova).

In (37), VARcontr exhausts all (= the two) values of the feature it involves in the contrast ('earth/heaven'); in (38), it uses only the two polar values ('hell and 'paradise', between which, at least for Dante, there is 'purgatory'). An important type of VARIATION is VAR of theme X through the entire text Y and its part Ζ (VARpart/'whole, Fig. 13).

Figure 13 Themes CONCRETIZED via VAR usually contain entities like 'plural­ ity', 'heterogeneity', 'everything'. The latter is often CONCRETIZED via VARcontr, which in this case often combines with CONTR, capable of CON­ CRETIZING the same theme (according to the principle 'even...', see §6); cf. the expression of the theme 'all people are mortal' in Derzavin's line (39)

Monarx i uznik — sned' cervej "Monarch and prisoner [alike] are the food of worms".

The pair 'monarch and prisoner' COMBINES two constructions: 'all people, even tzars' (the result of CONTReven) and 'all people starting with tsars and ending with prisoners' (the result of VARcontr). 6.

CONTRAST

CONTR is the substitution for an element X of a pair of elements X and AntiX which stand to one another in a relation of contrast (Rcontr) in feature Q (Fig. 14). CONTR emphasises the theme by the rule of contraries. (Unlike in AUGM and REPT, this emphasis is qualitative, not quantitative.) By sub-

ELEMENTARY EXPRESSIVE DEVICES

59

X CONTR

Figure 14 stituting two thematic elements for one, CONTR "loads" the construction, and therefore willingly combines with "lightening" EDs (COMB and CONCD). A certain compensation for "loading" can also be found in CONTR itself: a pair of elements (X and AntiX) connected by Rcontr forms a clear and easily perceived construction. As an example of CONTR we can take the method used to emphasize the 'gullibility' of Molière's characters: 'gullibility' is projected onto a background of 'mistrust0' (only natural under the circumstances), resulting in the situation 'trust despite blatant and exaggerated lying'. Typical combinations of CONTR with other EDs are, as a rule, designed to assist in some way or other the emphasis of Rcontr. Let us examine some of these in Tolstoy's story "The Shark" (discussed, along with others, in Chaps. 7 & 8). Here is the way the 'death of a shark', or rather, the contrast 'live shark/dead shark' is realized (Fig. 15). To CONCRETIZE the initial Rcontr (in the feature Q = 'live shark/dead shark') two new features are taken (VAR) : Q1 = 'position of body' and Q 2 = 'character of movement'. As a result, the contrasting pair (40) takes the form of two more concrete pairs, (41) and (42), in which the initial feature Q is supplemented, respectively, by two increments ('live': 'upright position', 'dead': 'inverted position'; 'live': 'active, purposeful motion', 'dead': 'passive, purposeless motion'). Let us look at the (41) → (45) part of the derivation. The Rcontr is sub­ jected to AUGM via a mutual CONCD: an identical element A (for the moment, abstract) is introduced, see (43), into both terms. The CONCR of this element, or, which amounts to the same thing, of the CONCORD just introduced, is then effected via an identical RED of both terms of Rcontr; in both the upright and the inverted position the shark is REDUCED to 'the part of the body protruding from the water and visible from the boat' ('back'

60

POETICS O F EXPRESSIVENESS

Figure 15

ELEMENTARY EXPRESSIVE DEVICES

61

and 'belly' in (44)). This combination of EDs CONTR and CONCD has as its effects: AUGMENTATION of Rcontr (which contrasts with the relationship of identity, Kid, resulting from CONCD) and the heightening of the symmetry and the clarity of the construction (CONTRAST with identity, CONTR/W). Note the elegant COMBINATION of the results of VAR of 'dead shark' in (45) (the belly of the dead shark rocked on the surface): it is both a referential COMB — in the plot situation, and a stylistic one — in the syntax: the belly rocked is a single syntagm (Subject + Predicate). Among themes CONCRETIZED via CONTR are those containing a 'contrast', such as 'miracle' (= 'realization of the unrealizable'), 'struggle' (= 'opposed interests') and so on. Another rhetorical pattern underlies the CONCRETIZATION via CONTR of the theme 'everything' — according to the principle: 'X and even that which is farthest away from X' (CONTReven?). 7.

PREPARATION

PREP of X substitutes for X two (or more) elements: PreX (or PreX , PreX 2 ...,PreX n ) and X connected by the relation of a "path" leading from PreX to X. Let us comment on the definition of PREPARATION and its expressive logic. Since X is not given to the reader ready-made but emerges before his eyes, he is, as it were, engaged in the process of X's coming into being, and participates in its creation (this  we may call 'involvement'). The "path" relation (Kpath) links PreX and X in a clear construction, which "lightens" the structure of the text. Kpath consists of two elementary relations: PreX precedes X in the text and is in a sense a "flawed" version of X. Depending on the form of the "flaw" — the absence of X, its "weak" presence, or the pre­ sence of an AntiX — three varieties of PREP are distinguished: PRESEN­ TATION (PREST), PRESAGE (PRESG), and RECOIL (REC). The latter two devices are discussed at length in Chapters 4-5. The expressive effect of PREST is much the same as that of "generic" PREP (the effect of PRESG is based also on the relations of identity and increase; in RECOIL, an Kcontr is superimposed on Kpath). As an example of PREST we can take the construction "Gathering a Group" (Fig. 16), typ­ ical of works with a collective hero (such as Conan Doyle's stories, many fairy-tales, Dumas's novels, Ehrtnburg's Julio Jurenito, etc.). Let us illustrate combinations of PREST with other EDs with artificial examples from Eisenstein's films and classes on directing. He compared three

62

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

Figure 16 methods of presenting the hero's appearance amongst his future antagonists: (46) (47) (48)

hero enters room where his enemies are present; hero enters empty center of room, enemies are against walls; before hero's appearance enemies disperse, leaving an empty space in center, into which hero walks (Nizhny 1979:37).

While (46) is a case of simple PREST, in (47) it is subjected to AUGM: the absence of X (the hero) is emphasized by the empty space, which creates a sense of 'something missing'; in (48) the empty space is in its turn subjected to PRESENTATION (PREST + PREST + AUGM). In an interesting example of PREST + REC, the coronation scene in Ivan the Terrible shows Ivan at first from behind. Then he sharply turns around, his eyes flashing. The PREST of 'flashing eyes' (the sequence PreX = 'expression of eyes not visible' — X = 'eyes visible and flashing') is inten­ sified by RECOIL (AntiY = 'back to the viewer' — Y = 'facing the viewer'). PREST is superimposed on REC by the natural respective COMB of PreX with AntiY, and of X with Y. 8.

COMBINATION

COMB substitutes for X and Y a single entity Ζ which contains all the essential properties of X and Y, i. e. represents a simultaneous CONCR of X and Y (Fig. 17). In its "technical" function, COMB is a way of ensuring the organic unity and succinctness of the structure: it is the only ED which reduces the number of elements, gathering together different "branches" of the derivation. In this

ELEMENTARY EXPRESSIVE DEVICES

63

Figure 17 way it helps counterbalance the weight and relative incoherence that result from "loading" EDs. In its "creative" function, COMB is responsible for such a fundamental property of art as its ability to rearrange the elements of reality in an original way and to create a "new reality", representing the artist's worldview. The Soviet musicologist L.A. Mazel', who apparently was the first to give a systematic analysis of the expressive role of COMB, wrote: "An artistic discovery, like a technical one, can nearly always be represented as the combination in a single object of certain essential properties previously only encountered apart (thus, the aeroplane combines the property of being heavier than air with the ability to fly...). The further apart the combined properties and the less it was believed possible to combine them..., the great­ er... the creative impact of the discovery" (Mazel' 1966:22). Thus COMB is pivotal in fulfilling the cognitive function of art: it engineers that confrontation and fusion of apparently incompatible phenomena and concepts, so beneficial to creative thought, which Lomonosov called the "harnessing together of distant ideas", Coleridge, the "reconciliation of opposites", and Arthur Koestler, "thinking aside" (Koes­ tler 1967:145-177). Let us consider some of the essential parameters of COMB. A. In terms of the tightness of fusion (of X and Y), one can distinguish between COMBINATION into a ready-made object and COMBINATION into a composite construction (see Chap. 1, §6). An example of the former can be found in Ilf and Petrov's sketch Kak sozdavalsja Robinzon "How [the Soviet] Robinson [Crusoe] Was Created". Its theme is the ridicule of a Soviet literary cliché into which a hack editor forces an adventure story, demanding that its hero work for the cultural good of the masses, chair collective meet­ ings, etc. Application of CONTRAST to θ = 'recasting in accordance with a

64

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

cliché' results in a 'character incompatible with such a recasting', who is then VARIED as 'character incompatible with precisely this cliché', and 'charac­ ter incompatible with the very principle of recasting'. CONCR of these two entities gives, accordingly: 'an individualist' and 'a classic archetype' (as the classics are, by definition, not subject to change). Robinson is a ready-made object for the COMBINATION of these two properties, as both of them are inherent in 'Robinson Crusoe' in the dictionary of reality. COMBINATION into a composite construction can be examplified by the 'maidens = elephant' hybrid of the Indian miniature and the operation of 'mending = destroying the caftan' in Krylov's fable. B. The mode of existence of the resulting object distinguishes between real and mental COMBs. In the former case, COMB results in an object which "really exists" in the (imaginary) world of the work; in the latter, in an object which only "appears to exist" to the reader and/or (some of) the characters. As examples of real COMBs we can take the operations on Triska's caftan and the character of Robinson. Mental COMBs are those of the equating type (COMB/d), e.g. the metaphor plaster-of-Paris laundry (see §1), and of the type 'appearance/reality' (ap). C. As for the role played by the combined entities X and Y in the struc­ ture of the whole, one can distinguish between the following characteristic correlations: - X and Y are contrasting poles (such COMB often follows VARcontr); - X and Y belong to different levels of the text or even different spheres of the DR (for example, X may be a plot entity and Y, a metric or syntactic one) ; - X is a theme, and Y, an ED applied to it (in derivations this application is written as COMB, see Fig. 1); - X is the realization of a deep thematic entity, and Y, of a purely auxiliary, surface element; - X is the realization of one of the author's invariant themes, and Y, of a local theme. Let us consider some of the already encountered examples of COMB in light of features Α-C. The COMB of 'maidens...' with 'elephant...' is a closely-knit composite construction (not a ready-made object); it is a mental equation (not a real fusion); there is no Rcontr between X and Y, but they belong to different spheres (plot arrangement/composition); both objects go back to a thematic element, and, moreover, a deep one ('ceremonial car­ riage'). An effective COMB both in the plot and the syntax has been observed in the phrase... the belly of the dead shark rocked... (see §6). Instances of a simultaneous COMBINATION of contrasting subthemes

ELEMENTARY EXPRESSIVE DEVICES

65

('passion' and 'restraint') and of entities from the two different spheres have been analyzed in connection with Pushkin's love poems (in Chap. 1, §6). We have already mentioned some combinations of COMB with other EDs. As a "lightening" ED it is often applied to the results of VAR, DIV, and CONTR (Chap. 1, §3). In conjunction with CONCR, it helps neutralize undesirable increments. The AUGM of a contrasting relation can be CON­ CRETIZED via COMB. As a component of figures (Chap. 1, §3), COMB often performs the function of equation. Often COMB is an obligatory con­ cluding step after a series of EDs which have had as their objective the detailed elaboration of components artificially isolated for this purpose. Ambivalent themes (e.g. Pushkin's thematic invariants, see (128) in Chap. 6) highly predispose to COMB, as an orientation towards COMB is inherent in the very nature of a dual attitude toward things. Among other themes CONCRETIZABLE via COMB are such entities as 'confrontation', in particular, 'collision of epochs' (themes of this kind are typical, for instance, in Cervantes and Ilf and Petrov), 'unity of the world, contact of dif­ ferent spheres' (an invariant in Pasternak), as well as those CONCRETIZED via figures containing COMB ('ridicule' and the like, see Chap. 1,§3). 9.

CONCORD

CONCD of X with Y in feature A is the substitution for the pair of entities X and Y (Y contains A) of a pair X1 and Y (both contain A); in other words, CONCD is the introduction into X of a certain element contained in Y (Fig. 18).

Figure 18

66

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

For an example of CONCD we can refer to that part in the derivation of the Indian miniature where a similarity with 'carriage by an elephant' is attached to'carriage by maidens' (Chap. 1, §4 and items (14), (15) in Fig. 4b). By introducing an element of identity into different segments of an artis­ tic construction CONCD performs a "lightening" function. Although CONCD (unlike COMB) does not reduce the number of entities, it decreases the overall amount of difference, thereby working towards the effect of organic unity. Rid, introduced by CONCD, can also perform other functions, in particular, it may emphazise Rcontr (such is the role of CONCD in the derivation of "The Shark", Fig. 15) or prepare the ground for subsequent COMB of Y and X. There is a special "mutual" subtype of CONCD (CONCDmut), intro­ ducing into X and Y a common property A which is new to them both (see for­ mulas (43)-(44) in Fig. 15). In effect,this is a combination of CONCR of one of them, say Y (as a result of which Y acquires increment A), with regular CONCD (of X and Y in A). 10.

REDUCTION

RED of entity X to entity X ] is the substitution for X of its part X1 from which X can be reconstructed (Fig. 19).

Figure 19 The expressive logic of this ED is based on creating the effects of: 'suc­ cinctness' (RED is one of the "lightening" EDs) and 'involvement' (in recon­ structing X from X ] the reader becomes, as it were, a co-author of the artistic

ELEMENTARY EXPRESSIVE DEVICES

67

process). The first of these EEs has more of a "technical" character, the sec­ ond is more "artistic". We have already encountered instances of RED per­ forming both functions simultaneously (cf. Triska's caftan, the elephant and the shark). In a sense, RED is the reverse of CONCR, which serves essen­ tially to supplement the processed entity with an increment. The symmetry, however, is not complete. The increments in CONCR are concrete, whereas the omitted material in RED is abstract. As we can see from (49): ( 4 9 ) d e a d s h a r k d e a d shark floating belly u p s h a r k floating belly up belly [of a shark] above the water,

RED does not nullify the result of CONCR, but rather continues its action in the same direction. RED is similar to PRESG: both involve a reduced representation of the theme. The difference is that with PRESG we are not expected to be able to reconstruct X from PreX and a complete X is itself featured in the text. With RED, the "path" from a reduced to a complete X (which, with PRESG, is traced explicitly,along the text) is traced only mentally. A typical method of combining RED with other EDs is by applying it (particularly in figures) as a "lightening" concluding step. Predisposed to CONCR via RED are thematic elements of the type 'hint', 'mystery', 'conciseness'. Thus, in the derivation of "Triska's Caftan" (see Fig. 4b), entity 'symbolic character' is subjected to CONCRETIZA­ TION via RED (since a symbol's typical feature is conciseness). Not only themes but also certain EDs as well may be CONCRETIZED via RED. One of these is CONCD, which may, for instance, come about as follows: those parts of the objects under CONCD which are different are omitted from the text (RED), while those which are the same are retained. As an example we can take the Somali proverb: (50)

Milk which is gulped down and words which are uttered rashly both hurt the ribs.

Its derivation, from a theme we have already encountered (see formula (19)), includes the following intermediate state: (51)

Milk which is gulped down causes pain in the stomach near the ribs; words which are uttered rashly may lead to a fight, including blows to the ribs.

The application of RED in the function "CONCD via R E D " turns (51) into the final text (50) of the proverb. 2

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POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

NOTES 1) Thus CONCRmetaph is one of the means of formulating an "elusive" theme by means of EDs (Chap. 1, §3, case C). 2) For a more detailed analysis of this proverb see 1978g, 1984a: 99-111.

3 ON VARIATION

1.

General remarks

1.1. The rhetoric of VARIA TION. If the system of expressive devices (EDs) as a whole can be said to account for artistic variation in its broadest sense, there is one ED that is charged with variation proper. This ED par excellence is naturally called VARIATION (VAR); it substitutes for the thematic entity X a series of entities X , X , X , etc. (see Fig. 12) linked by the relation of 'simple differ­ ence' (as distinct from more complex and meaningful relations produced by other EDs, such as 'identity' (REP), 'contrast' (CONTR), 'incompleteness', 'linear precedence' (PREP), etc.); for instance: 'the idea of deity' fig­ ures of different gods and idols' (the "Gods" sequence in Eisenstein's October)', 'an item of modern, commercial technology' 'electric razor, tape recorder, motorcycle, turntable' (the beginning of Andrzej Wajda's The Innocent Magicians); 'contact' 'embrace, inflicting a wound' (Paster­ nak). The contribution of VAR to the overall effect of a text's structure is based on two principal aspects of this device, reflected in its definition: the 'multiplicity' and 'diversity' of CONCRETIZATIONS of theme X. Each of the two has an expressive role of its own, with its own "pluses" and "minuses". 'Multiplicity' makes for the strong suggestion of the theme; in Mazel' 1966, apparently the first systematic consideration of VARIATION in the context of other principles of expressiveness, it is called "the principle of mul­ tiple and concentrated suggestion". Moreover, multiplicity of CONCRs is sometimes a basic prerequisite for the correct perception of the theme by the reader. A single CONCRETIZATION is apt to warrant a number of interpretations, many of them quite irrelevant, for it can in principle express not only the "desired" theme X, but also the "undesirable" themes Y, Z, etc. The danger of reading "parasitic" thematic entities into the text diminishes if

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the theme has several CONCRETIZATIONS: those entities occurring in all of them are then perceived as their common theme. 'Diversity' of CONCRs also helps neutralize "parasitic" themes: the non-recurrent components of the various CONCRs are naturally dismissed as candidates for the status of theme; the very differences, especially contrasts, between CONCRs tend to set off their common features, i.e. the theme. 1 On the other hand, 'diversity' performs the opposite function of camouflaging the theme, preventing its obtrusiveness, which could inadverently result from 'multiplicity'. This camouflaging of the theme is tantamount to its "defamiliarization" , enhancing the reader's response, which hinges largely on his quest for unity and cohesion. In pursuit of cohesion, the reader follows basi­ cally the same route as the critic, although more intuitively and less consis­ tently. By correlating various fragments and aspects of the text, he tries to transcend the differences and reach an invariant which would shed some integrating light on the sometimes bewildering diversity of surface facts. This invariant — the theme — grasped with great difficulty from among the elusive variety of shapes, is, of course, perceived with greater intensity, excitement, and sharpness than if it were obvious from the start. 2 As for the "minuses" of the two main aspects of VAR, 'multiplicity' is a potential source of overstatement, redundancy and heaviness, while an unbounded 'diversity' threatens to make the structure loose, amorphous, and lacking in organic unity. Both deficiencies are sometimes compensated by COMBINATION of VAR's results. 1.2. Examples of VARIATION TION,

— pure and compounded with

COMBINA­

Instances of VAR abound in the comedies of Molière, famous for his inventiveness in providing a wide range of manifestations of one and the same character or situation. A representative case of this kind — two episodes from Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme — was discussed in Chap. 1, §5 (in connection with "subtraction" of EDs from the theme, an operation to which VAR, again as the ED par excellence, lends itself easier than the other EDs) 3 . Sim­ ple examples of VAR can be found in the illustrated Russian Azbuka "Al­ phabet Book" by Alexander Benois. As is usual in such books, each letter is represented by a series of objects or notions whose names feature that letter. Thus, the letter  (the "hard sign") is illustrated by the words  'cat',  'cheese',  'oak', 'entrance', and appropriate pictures. The first step in the derivation of these "texts" from the theme (see Fig.

ON VARIATION

71

20) relies exclusively on VAR. The second step, however, which replaces words with pictures, uses two elementary CONCRs of 'cheese' and 'entrance' and a COMBINATION: 'cat' and 'oak' are linked into the ready-made lukomor'e, lit. 'curved seashore, i.e. bay' situation. 4 On pages devoted to other letters, COMB is used even more consistently (see Figs. 22,23)5; this joint action of VAR and COMB is based on their complementarity: while the former multiplies structural units, the latter reduces their number, making the structure more compact and natural and concealing the device.6 Another example from graphic art is the Soviet commercial wrap for "October" biscuits, ornamented with red maple leaves. As the name suggests, the theme of the design is 'October', i.e. we are dealing with the popular genre of the 'seasons', as in illustrations in ABC primers and calen­ dars, conveying, for instance, the idea of 'autumn' by a sequence of pictures: 'falling leaves', 'harvest', 'children with satchels going to school', and the

72

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

Figure 21

ON V A R I A T I O N

Figures 22 a, b

73

74

POETICS O F EXPRESSIVENESS

Figure 23 like. In our case, the designer chose to elaborate his theme along two dissimi­ lar lines: (52) (53)

October = autumn, withering of plants; October = anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution.

The derivation of the final text from the theme is represented in Fig. 21. The solution, for all its simplicity, is not commonplace: — It is faithful to the ornamental aspect of the design, favoring abstract

ON VARIATION

75

motifs; note that (53) is represented simply by the color 'red' and that leaves' (another time-honored ornamental motif) are treated geometrically; ~ Not contenting itself with mere VARIATION (one can easily envisage a wrap alternating, say, 'red flags' and 'yellow leaves'), the design supplements it with COMBINATION: 'red color' + 'falling leaves' = 'maple leaves' 7 . 2.

Organization

of'diversity'

2.1. Single feature. For several reasons (to enhance expressiveness; to neutralize superflu­ ous themes; to convey the theme of 'totality' etc.) the differences produced by VARIATION are usually in need of some kind of structuring. The first step in this direction is the selection of the features through which the theme is to be expressed8 ; in elementary cases there will be just one feature. For instance, the statue Aux Morts (two nude figures, a man and a woman, at the entrance to the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris) can be said to VARY the theme 'human being' through the feature 'sex', i.e. its two values — 'male/ female'. The status of a special feature should also be accorded to what can be cal­ led 'the set of objects and phenomena of reality', a feature so broad that it almost amounts to the absence of any organization at all, since its values include virtually all possible data (for an example, see Fig. 22). Here, as in other cases, help often comes from COMBINATION, which heightens the cohesion of the structure, saving it from amorphousness. 2.2. Several features. More often, VARIATION resorts to several features. Two-feature VAR (with subsequent COMB) is instanced by the picture illustrating uragan 'hurricane' and ulica 'street' in Benois' Alphabet Book (see Fig. 22a). To be sure, the expressive structure of this picture is somewhat simplified in this fig­ ure: the differences between 'street' and 'hurricane' are not limited to their being just two individual objects of the physical world; rather, they involve two quite specific features: 'process/thing', 'nature/culture' (see Fig. 23; the dotted lines indicate an alternative COMB of the same features.) 2.3. The values of one feature: polarity, dispersion. There are two ways of stressing diversity within a single feature: by using the polar terms of a feature or by selecting terms evenly spread over a scale. "Polar terms" 9 are in evidence in the 'man & woman' sculpture, where the

76

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

two poles are all that the scale ('sex') has to offer. "Even dispersion" under­ lies, for instance, the clichéed structure of those posters where the idea of 'mankind' is VARIED through 'race', with three human figures representing the principal races (cf. §5 below on CONCR of 'totality'). Note that, in this case, the three "evenly spread" items exhaust the values offered by the fea­ ture (just as in the case of 'man/woman' above). 2.4. One value per feature. When several scales are used, each of them can sometimes be rep­ resented by just one of its values. In Ovid's Metamorphoses (X, 90-105) the singing of Orpheus works miracles and, among other effects, sets immovable things in motion; various trees leave their places and come to listen to his songs. The list of the trees that join Orpheus' audience includes such species as tiliae molles 'soft lindens', innuba laurus 'the celibate laurel' (an allusion to Daphne), coryli fragiles 'fragile hazel-trees', fraxinus utilis hastis 'ash-tree, useful for spears', acerque coloribus impar 'and the maple with foliage of uneven color', amnicolae salices 'riverside willows', etc. Note that the diver­ sity of the set is due to the wide range of features involved ('softness/hard­ ness', 'place in mythical history', 'solidity/fragility', 'use by man', 'color', 'typical habitat'), but from each feature the poet selects only one term: on his list there are no pairs like 'riverside willows/mountain cedars', 'fragile hazeltree/solid oak' or the like. 3.

Sources of diversity: qualitative

3.1. The two spheres. The case where a feature provides only one term is quite common — especially if themes are expressed through "remote" features, i.e. not easily related to these themes. If, in addition to enlisting a far-fetched feature, the author contrived to project his theme on more than one value of this feature, the effect would very probably be one of expressive acrobatics rather than of organic artisticity. One important case of VARIATION through something "remote" concerns the distribution of features between the two major spheres. In most of the above examples VAR was purely referential, with both themes and their various CONCRs belonging to the referential sphere. If, however, the feature chosen to convey a referential (i.e. Class I) theme belongs to the stylistic or code sphere, then the feature may prove to be "re­ mote" from the theme, and establishing their correspondence may challenge both the author and the critic (cf. Chap. 1, §6).

ON VARIATION

77

3.2. Examples. Consider the following line from Pushkin's Poltava: (54)

On ves',  bozija groza "He is all like a divine thunderstorm".

It depicts (55)

Peter the Great full-length.

This theme — 'entirety, wholeness' — is realized on three different planes: (i) direct representation; (ii) modes of poetic discourse (literal/figurative); (iii) relations between syntax and meter (no conflict/enjambements). The first plane belongs to the referential, the other two to the stylistic sphere. On the representational plane, this line has the first picture of Peter's entire figure {On ves'...), after several references to particular details of his person (... Ego glaza/Sijajut. Lik ego užasen/Dvižen'ja bystry... "His eyes shine. His face is terrifying, his movements — quick..."). As for the modes of discourse, theme (54) resorts to a trope, the only one in the entire fragment (as opposed to exc­ lusively literal descriptions of Peter in the surrounding lines) ; in other words, the importance of this summary image is marked by a switch from a plainly descriptive to a more figurative style. Finally, this line is the only one in which syntactic and verse articulations coincide: the theme of 'wholeness' is echoed by a phrase structure not fragmented by verse boundaries (i.e. enjambe­ ments, as in Ego glaza/Sijajut) and a verse structure not fragmented by syn­ tactic boundaries (i.e. periods, as in Dvizen'ja bystry. Onprekrasen)10. Thus theme (54) is expressed by an ensemble of poetic means ranging from direct portrayal to almost imperceptible ("musical") suggestion. As is usual in such cases, the results of VAR obtained on different planes are synchronized and coordinated (COMB). VARIATION through referential and code spheres received much attention from Eisenstein. Comparing two sketches of a film sequence featur­ ing a barricade, he gives preference to the one which does not limit itself to representation proper, but puts to use the language of the medium as well. The sketch, he says, "suggests the idea of struggle literally in every dimen­ sion: (i) In purely representational terms, it is a picture of a barricade. < . . . > (ii) On a more abstract level, it is a conflict of flat surfaces and lines (iii) the linear contour can be interpreted as a trace of a long process of struggle < . . . > (iv) The same theme will also have to pervade the light and color structures, if these are to provide their own version of the metaphor of struggle instead of being mere imitations of reality." As in the

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POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

Poltava example, VARIATION is followed by COMBINATION of all the heterogeneous manifestations of the theme into a single image. "All these features intertwine and in no way disrupt the life-like representational unity of the phenomenon as such" (Eisenstein 1964, II: 346-49). Sometimes the notion of 'code', i.e. means of expression, is actually crys­ tallized in the tools of the art, e.g. the camera, as in an Eisenstein draft of the Dessalines episode (see [1984a] and Nizhny 1979). Looking for such a raskadrovka 'mise-en-shot' that would ensure the optimal image of the theme of 'conflict between one man (Dessalines) and a group of men (the French)', which is parallel to its referential expression, he comes up with (56) in the ref­ erential sphere and (57) in the code sphere: (56) (57)

Dessalines runs, brandishing the candelabre, the officers draw their sabres; separate shots show Dessalines and the sabres, the former from above, the latter from below.

"The pictorial separation of Dessalines from the officers with the further emphasis by means of camera angle will give the spectator the necessary sense of Dessalines's clash with the officers; and allow also to be achieved in the editing the solution of the task... to show distinctly the conflict between one man and a group of men..." (Nizhny 1979:74). 3.3. Limited translatability and ambiguity. Comparing the examples of VARref/cod, we can see in what sense the code sphere is remote from "reality-oriented" Class I themes. While in the referential sphere it is often quite possible to achive a one-to-one correspon­ dence between theme and text units, elements of code can only correlate with Class I themes through the intermediary of rather abstract features they may have in common, e.g. 'plurality', 'regularity', 'size', 'similarity/difference', 'symmetry', 'form/formlessness', 'dominant/subordinate position' and so on (see Chap. 1, §6). To elucidate this point let us once again examine the hard sign picture from Benois' Alphabet Book. The description offered in § 1.2 is a simplified one, proceeding from the assumption that its theme is '(mere illustration of the) hard sign '. As a matter of fact, the theme, as well as its pictorial reali­ zation, seem to be more sophisticated: they are concerned with the inherent duality of the hard sign, which has two phonetic values, [j] and [0] (zero) 11 . The signs ' [j]' and '[0]' contrast in several features: (58)

(a) Q1: quantity of sound ([j] full, [0] zero); (b) Q2: position in the word ([j] only in the middle, [0] only at the end);

ON VARIATION

79

(c) Q3: letter status in relation to convention ([j] reflects a phonetic reality, [0] is an orthographic fiction).

Let us see how these contrasts are projected onto the code sphere of the picture and shape its graphic and compositional structure. Since they do not have exact graphic counterparts, the structure singles out those components of the theme (i.e. of the three phonetic oppositions) which are abstract enough to be CONCRETIZABLE in the code sphere of the visual arts, namely, Q'1: 'quantity', Q'2: 'position', Q'3: 'conventional status'. CON­ CRETIZED with the help of specifically visual increments, they yield, respectively: (59)

(a) Q": relative size in the picture; (b) Q"2: place in the composition; (c) Q3": style of representation.

Indeed, the pictures for words with different phonetic values of the hard sign are opposed to each other in Q", Q"2 and Q"3: the picture for vjezd 'entrance' is large (Q1"), occupies the center of the page (Q"2) and is executed in a realistic style (Q"3), while the pictures for 'cheese', 'cat', and 'oak' are smaller (Q"1), occupy marginal positions (Q2") and look like stylized ("conventional") vig­ nettes, enclosed in circles (Q"3). Thus certain components of the theme (in this case, Q'1, Q'2, Q'3) lend themselves to translation into the "remote" language of the code sphere, while others remain untranslated (in this case, all that bears on phonetics and orthography proper) or, rather their CONCRETIZATION is confined to the more immediately accessible referential sphere (in this case, to words and corresponding pictures). In other words, a fairly specific Class I theme can, as a rule, be represented in the code sphere only by one or two of its distinc­ tive features, and not necessarily the most important or prominent ones. 12 One consequence is that the same stylistic entity (or combination of entities) can serve as a projection of a variety of Class I themes. For instance, Eisenstein's rugged contour of the barricade could well be used to express themes other than 'struggle', say, 'capriciousness, changeability'. The ambiguity of this correspondence, however, does not in itself undermine the very principle of such correspondences; the rugged line in question could hardly serve to express such themes as 'idyll' or 'classical clarity'. Thus, the thematic ambiguity of stylistic entities, great as it is, has its limits; the key to the correct reading is usually suggested by the context provided by other ele­ ments, both stylistic and referential, pointing toward one and the same theme (cf. the remarks on the role of VAR in identifying the theme in §1.1).

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POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

In Pushkin's lines: Ja utrom dolzen byt' uveren,/Čto s vami dnem uvizus' ja "I must be certain in the morning/That I will see you during the day" tne vowel  marks the beginning of three words, including two closely similar sound sequences (uveren, uvízus'). This sound repetition is a stylistic CONCR of the theme (60)

action recurring with absolute regularity,

quite unambiguously stated in the referential sphere by such words and ideas as (61)

certain; must; daytime (follows) morning.

That distinctive feature of the repetition which warrants its correlation with theme (60) is 'regularity, recurrence'; but, of course, this very feature is per­ fectly capable of serving other themes as well.13 As we have pointed out in Chapter 1, §6, the difference in the expressive potential of the two spheres has yet another aspect. If referential language is better suited for conveying themes with complete accuracy, the language of the code sphere has the advantage of suggesting themes in an unobtrusive way, often subliminally, thus disarming the reader in the face of the work's magic and message. As a result, the joint performance of the two spheres in elaborating the theme largely accounts for the ability of art "to instill the con­ tent of the work by every conceivable means This bringing home of the work's content tends to be rather subdued and latent than explicit, since the means of artistic expression form a multi-level system and are located, as it were, on different planes of perception < . . . > Art addresses man in all his complexity, impacting on diverse layers < . . . > of the psyche — intellect as well as emotions, the depths of the subconscious and heights of conscious­ ness" (Mazel'1966:25). 4.

Sources of diversity: quantitative

So far we have discussed such VARIATION in which the diversity of shapes assumed by the theme depended on the qualitative difference between the two spheres of artistic expression, which can be seen as parallel channels or media simultaneously transmitting the same message. Another major source of diversity is concerned with the size of the text's component parts — features like 'part/whole', 'big/small', etc.

ON VARIATION

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4.1 VARIA TION through whole and part. In this kind of VAR a part of the text CONCRETIZES the theme, as it were, in two ways: besides expressing it to that limited extent which normally falls to its share as a member of the ensemble, it also conveys the entire theme "in a nutshell". Fig. 24a shows "regular" CONCR: theme 'A', which includes components 'Χ', 'Ύ', and 'Z', is developed into text A1 whose parts X1' Y1' and Ζ CONCRETIZE the respective components of the theme ('X' → X1 Ύ ' → Y1' etc.). As can been seen from Fig. 24b, VARpart/whole differs only in one point: the text element Z1 CONCRETIZES simultaneously 'Z' and the whole of 'A'. Also, VARpart/whole implies COMB, since element Z1 must COMBINE 'Z' and 'A' (see also Fig. 13) In a typical case of VARpart/whole in the referential sphere, the theme is expressed by the entire plot as well as by some of its smaller episodes. Let us take as an example Jurij Tynjanov's novella Maloletnyj Vitusisnikov "The Juvenile Vitusisnikov" (see Fig. 25).

Figures 24a, b

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POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

Figure 25 Its theme can be formulated as (62)

satire of the stagnation and pettiness of the social and court life in the Russia of Nicolas I.

CONCRETIZED through the figure of ironic "Embellishment" (see 1978a), theme (62) yields (63)

(a) Trifles are treated as events of national importance; in particular: (b) the Emperor himself gets involved in them, considering them a worthy object for his statesmanship.

Entity (63b), which involves the person of Nicholas, is VARIED through archisituations (64) and (65).

ON VARIATION (64) (65)

83

The Emperor with ambition and pride takes charge of the trifling matters of palace and administrative life; the Emperor comes up against the baser aspects of reality, fights them as a for­ midable foe, but ends up defeated by them.

In (65) the contrast that underlies (63) is sharpened (more than in (64)) along two distinct lines: the object to which the monarch's immense power is applied is not merely trivial (as in (64)), but base, i.e. diametrically opposed to that power; and the low trivia of life manage to inflict a humiliating defeat on the demi-god. Both archisituations are then further VARIED. In particular, (64) is represented by the more concrete situations (66)-(69), where the Emperor (66) (67) (68) (69)

invents a uniform for the palace's wet-nurses; discusses with a minister a miniature uniform cap for railway officials, made expressly as a specimen and a yellow cord for the edging; inspects a small can of black paint for sentry-boxes submitted to him for approval; strikes the blanc-manger off the menu and orders the reduction of the number of candles in the candelabra to cut spending.

In its turn, (65) is VARIED as (70)-(73): (70)

(71)

(72)

(73)

Riding through the streets of St. Peterbourg, the Emperor is vexed by the horse's defecation. ("It's indecent... this snorting, cette pétarade of the horse... and the dung! Jakov! How many times did I tell you to feed him with refined oats".) Personally inspecting the custom-house, the Emperor discovers that his minister of police smuggles in underwear for his mistresses in official parcels; embarrassed, he lets the cargo pass. The Emperor orders stone posts erected in the streets; they are installed in a slipshod way; when the Emperor, angered by the custom-house incident, kicks one of the posts, it falls. The Emperor pursues two AWOL soldiers into a pub; they slip away through the back door.

All these events are presented as light sketches of the Emperor's day and are not elaborated into full-fledged plot episodes. But one CONCR of archisituation (65) — episode (74) — furnishes the central plot line of the story. (74)

The Emperor arrests the wine merchant responsible for the goings-on in pubs, but the wine-trading community, lobbying through the mistress of Nicholas, obtains the release of the prisoner.

Thus, thematic entity (65) is VARIED through the sub-episodes (70)-(73) as well as through the overall plot (74), which encompasses these sub-episodes.

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POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

In the last two acts of Molière's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Cleonte and Covielle, dressed as Turks, perform the "knighting" of M.Jourdain in order to arrange the marriage between Jourdain's daughter and Cleonte, who poses as a Turkish prince. In doing so, the practical jokers (75)

take advantage of Jourdain's (a) fascination with things aristocratic, (b) thirst for knowledge, and (c) credulity.

These three elements are realized, among others, in an episode (IV, 5-6) which can be summed up as: (76)

Jourdain believes that the son of the Turkish Sultan has arrived in Paris with the express purpose of meeting him.

One of the components of (76) involves (77)

conversation with the phony prince through an "interpreter" (Covielle), in the course of which Jourdain takes obvious gibberish for genuine Turkish and displays keen interest in it.

As (77) successfully embodies thematic entities (75b) 'thirst for knowledge' and (75c) 'credulity', they are manifested both in the whole plot (76) and in its part (77). Indeed, 'interpreting' is a normal part of any 'diplomatic transac­ tion', but one can well imagine an alternative solution where 'interpreting' would not be charged with the expression of theme(75): for instance, the "Turkish" conversations of Cleonte and Covielle could be held out of Jour­ dain's hearing range, without the abracadabra and Jourdain's insatiable lin­ guistic curiosity that it provokes. Note that this hypothetical version would still retain such motifs as 'phony exotic language' and 'phony translation'. But they would convey theme (75) only in an unspecific manner, as parts of situa­ tion (76) and not as direct CONCRETIZATIONS of thematic entities (75b,c)(as is the case in the actual episode (76), represented in Fig. 26a; our alternative solution is shown in Fig. 26b). 'Covielle's interpreting' can, in its turn, be regarded as a "whole", divisible into smaller segments (e.g., 'transla­ tion of individual phrases'), thus creating a possibility for further VARpart/ whole (see Fig. 26c). For an example of VARpart/whole in the code sphere we can turn to the analysis of Bunin's "Gentle breath" by Vygotsky (1971), who formulates its theme as (78)

the opposition between the gentle, light (conveyed by stylistic means) and the banal, muddy (conveyed by referential means).

This theme is manifested by the structure of the entire story, as the opposition

ON VARIATION

Figures 26a, b, c

85

86

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

'manner of presentation/events as such', and, by the construction of indi­ vidual sentences — as the opposition 'syntax/meaning'. Vygotsky cites a sen­ tence whose key word (zastrelil "shot dead") is lost in a maze of descriptive clauses and placed in an inconspicuous position. He says that this phrase structure "muffles the shot" just as the story's composition "suppresses the atmosphere of banality produced by the subject matter". 4.2 VARIA TION through large and small (VARlargel small). The 'part/whole' relation is a particular case of the opposition 'large/ small'. A convincing example of VARIATION through large and small com­ ponents of the story is the case of War and Peace as seen by Bocarov (1971), who shows how its theme (he calls it "the deep situation") is manifested in the lives of individuals (e.g., Nikolaj Rostov's card loss, Pierre's captivity, the wounded Prince Andrej under the sky of Austerlitz, etc.) and in the fortunes of entire nations (Russia in 1812).14 A characteristic case of VARlarge/'small is that of a thematic entity realized in a single sentence and in a plot episode. Thus, the ironic motif (79)

physical and bodily experiences passed off for spiritual ones is represented in Ilf and Petrov's novels in numerous Benderisms (quips of their hero Ostap Bender), e.g. "I have quenched the spiritual thirst..." (of the American tourists by selling them a recipe for moonshine vodka), but also in episodes like the one with the ksendzys (priests), who camouflage their desire to get hold of the car "Antelope" as concern for the soul of its driver Adam Kozlevič.

The same is true of the thematic element (80), which underlies both the wit­ ticism (81) and the plot sequence (82): (80) (81) (82)

craving for money described as love; "He loved and suffered. He loved money and suffered from its lack;" Bender's "romance" with the widow Gricacueva, undertaken in order to get hold of the chair which presumably contains the treasure.

Similarly, in Molière's Le Bourgeois (83)

Gentilhomme,

beating to which Jourdain willingly submits in exchange for ostensible nobility

appears first as a sentence in a dialogue: (84)

Mme Jourdain. "Maybe you would like to reenter school one day, to be whip­ ped there in your old age?" M. Jourdain. "And why not? I would submit to whipping right away, provided I learn what they teach at school;"

and later as the knighting ceremony during which Jourdain is ritually beaten

ON VARIATION

87

with sticks (Dara-dara-bastonara, Act IV) 15 . 4.3 VARIA TION through a predetermined limited set (VARlim). In most cases 'diversity' can choose with complete freedom among the objects and phenomena of the world. The sets of objects are infinitely open in Bénois' "Alphabet" (see §§1,2), in the fragment from Ovid cited below (§5); or in the poem "Liberté" by Paul Éluard, where the poet writes the name of liberty on a great number of things. However, quite often the author finds himself compelled to convey his theme through objects whose range is rigidly restricted in advance. A typical case is VAR superimposed on the results of DIVISION (see chap.2, §4 and Fig. 11) The limits of variety are then preset by the articulation of a given fragment of reality. In the short story "The Poet" by Arkadij Avercenko, the theme of 'im­ portunity' is CONCRETIZED by the situation (85)

poet imposes his poem upon editor.

VARIATION of this motif gives rise to a series of episodes in which a poet pesters the editor of a literary magazine with his mediocre creation. He first mails it to him, then personally brings it to his office. When the editor rejects the manuscript, the poet recites it to him and tries to leave the text on his desk. Later the editor finds it in a book and in the pocket of his overcoat. At home, he receives a piece of paper with the familiar lines from the maid who has picked it up from the floor and from the janitor — as a love letter brought by an unknown lady; he finds the manuscript in his chicken, in his shoes, under his pillow etc. Thus, 'importunity' is projected not on a random set of situations, but on a strictly circumscribed, if varied, one: (86)

typical activities of an editor in the office and at home,

which can be presented as CONCR of thematic entity (87)

a day in the life of an editor.

As a result, the material offers a certain resistance to the theme, whose pro­ jection onto it presents an interesting problem in COMBINATION (cf. Note 8); for instance, one of the domestic scenes ingeniously COMBINES the 'poem's ubiquity' with the archetypal motif of 'marital jealousy': (88)

the editor angrily tears up the poem, his wife picks up the shreds with the words lock, kiss, etc., takes this to be a love letter and makes a scene.

Less freedom for VAR does not necessarily diminish 'diversity' or weaken the overall effect of the device. To be sure, Avercenko deals with the

88

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

small world of editorial offices while Ovid (see §5) embraces the entire uni­ verse. But the degree of diversity is determined by the parameters of each individual text, so that the distance between 'home' and 'office' in Avercenko's story is no smaller than that between heaven and earth or the arid Ethiopia and the frozen Scythia in Ovid. The artistic structure (story line, composition, and the system of characters), which is already in place at the time VAR is to be applied, both restricts the choice and assumes the task of organizing the diversity. 5.

Themes CONCRETIZED

via VARIA TION

VAR is suggested by such thematic entities as 'plurality', 'set', 'variety', 'universality', 'totality'. We will dwell at some length on CONCR via VAR of themes that include the universal quantifier. It is natural that such themes should resort to VARIATION with the additional requirement that all possi­ ble diversity be used, exhausting the entire range of phenomena in the given sphere. This is achieved either by enumerating all the objects of the given set or by even dispersion (see §2.3). The latter case is exemplified by a fragment from Ovid'e Tristia (IV, 6). Its theme (89)

time is capable of smoothing out and bringing to normal all that is sharp, wild, violent, rough etc.

is projected onto four different domains of reality, which, in a sense, cover the "entire" universe (animals — plants — inanimate world — man). Inside each domain the objects are diversified in several dimensions at once, see §2.2; for instance, in the animal domain (90)

bull gets used to the yoke — horse to the bridle — lion loses his ferocity — elephant learns to obey his master.

The four animals form an unspecified number of oppositions: 'domestic/ wild', "Europe/exotic countries', 'swift, mobile/slow, heavy', 'dangerous/ innocuous' etc. The same principle governs the choice of objects in the other domains: maximum diversity in all respects except one — the common sub­ mission to the law of time (= (89)). The theme of 'universality' is also expressed in the code sphere of Ovid's text — on the planes of grammar, vocabulary, rhetoric and poetic figures, etc. Identical and parallel constructions are carefully avoided: a similar idea is rendered now by an active verb, now by a passive one, at one moment by a direct description, at another by a metaphor or circumlocution, in one place

ON VARIATION

89

by a long and elaborate sentence, in another by a short one; repetitions of words are avoided by the use of synonyms; and so on and so forth. This is an instance of what has been said in §3.3 about the limitations of the code sphere in conveying Class I themes. In Ovid's poem the element translatable into the code sphere is just 'universality, all', stripped of the more concrete specifica­ tions it has in (89): 'time', 'smoothing, normalizing', etc.16 Another interesting example of 'universality' CONCRETIZED via VAR is the Babylonian "Pessimistic Dialogue Between Master and Servant" (Pritchard 1969:437-38). It consists of some ten stanzas, all following the same pattern: (91)

first the master discusses with his slave a plan of some action (going to the palace, starting an uprising, courting a woman, etc.) and then he relinquishes it, deciding it offers more risk than gain.

This motif, CONCRETIZING the "Dialogue's" theme (92)

futility of all human endeavor (= formula (1), see p. 27).

is projected onto various spheres of the private and public life of a Babylonian nobleman; in each stanza the theme is developed into a contrasting pair of propositions: "Let us do it/There is no point in doing it", with the first term forming a RECOIL to the second. In the final stanza there comes a SUD­ DEN TURN that brings together (COMBINES) the two and further stresses the idea of 'all-ness': the discussants finally decide to act, but the action they decide upon is suicide, i.e. an end to all activity.17 The examples considered above make it clear that VARIATION typi­ cally serves as a means of CONCR for themes containing the universal quan­ tifier. Whether the thematic entity 'all' in each particular case belongs to the theme proper or to some intermediate stage of derivation, introduced for greater expressiveness, is, however, another question. For instance, in the Avercenko story, 'all' is hardly part of the overal theme ('importunity'); one seems better advised to generate it later on: (93)

6.

'importunity' .'pestering someone with something". ing at all times and places'.

pester­

VARIA TION and other EDs

6.1 Typical concatenations. VAR + COMB. This is a frequent construction (Fig. 27), called for by the contrasting and mutually complementary expressive effects of the two EDs.

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POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

Figure 27 It occurs in most theme-text derivations (see, e.g. Figs. 20-23) and underlies the typical pattern of a writer's poetic world, which usually branches out as a result of VAR and then narrows down as a result of COMB (see Chap. 6). Some of the multi-feature VARIATIONS discussed above (e.g. in §2.2, and especially in the Ovid example in §5 with its set of animals and objects opposed in many features) are in fact, concatenations of VAR and COMB: the theme first breaks up into a multitude of oppositions which then converge into clusters forming several objects. VAR + CONTR (+ COMB). This construction (VARcontr, Fig.28) underlies the use of polar values of a feature (see §2.3). The derivation of two contrasting CONCRs of theme X, involving VAR, CONTR and COMB, can be schematized as follows:

DIV + VAR + COMB. In this case the role of the different items CONRETIZING the VARIED thematic entity (Y) is assigned to parts of another entity (X) contained in the same overall theme (see Fig. 11). Consider, for instance, the official title of Russian czars: Tsar of all Great, Little and White

ON VARIATION

91

Figure 28 Russia, tsar of Poland, Grand Duke of Finland, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. The theme 'monarch of the whole empire' is expressed in the following way: (i) the empire is broken down (DIVIDED) into its parts (Russia, Poland, Finland...); (ii) each part is combined with the element 'monarch' (COMB of 'monarch' with 'Poland' and 'Russia' yields 'tsar', with 'Finland', 'grand duke' etc.). Note that one of the parts (Russia) is subjected to further DIVI­ SION. The same pattern is used in many of Ovid's metamorphoses: when an object is transformed into another, the poet DIVIDES them into their parts, and the 'transformation' (which, for purposes of the present discussion, can be viewed as a thematic entity) assumes various forms in accordance with each new pair of respective parts. For instance, the transformation of people into lions is described as follows: (95)

...modo levia fulvae/Colla jubae velant,digiti curvantur in ungues, /Ex humeris armi fiunt, in pectora totum/Pondus abit.../ ham vultus habet, pro verbis mur­ mura reddunt,/Pro thalamis celebrant silvas... (X, 699-703) 'and so tawny manes covered their necks but now smooth, their fingers curved into claws, their arms changed to legs, their weight went chiefly to their chests... Harsh were their features, rough growls they gave for speech, and for marriage chamber they haunted the wild woods' (Ovid 1958:115).

Several of Molière's comedies include situation (96)

Character A unsuccessfully tries to involve character  in some business or activity (e.g., to force a peasant to act as a doctor, to elicit a piece of practical advice from a scholastic etc.).

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POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

The COMBINATION of the entity 'unsuccessfully' with the various stages of the process of 'involving' results in the following sequence, recurrent in Molière's comedies: (97)

A appears on the stage —  does not see A; A starts a conversation with  —  does not hear or won't answer; A explains his business to  —  does not understand A; finally, A makes himself understood by  —  refuses to be involved.

6.2 Bordeline cases VAR vs. REP, CONCR. If the difference between X1' X 2 etc. is not suf­ ficiently pronounced, VARIATION tends to be indistinguishable from REPETITION. If 'diversity' is clear but not "organized" (in the sense of §2), it is sometimes preferable to speak of multiple CONCRETIZATION rather than of VARIATION, especially, where different texts by the same author are concerned. For instance, in the two novels by Ilf and Petrov, the theme (98)

failure to obtain service under highly favorable conditions (rich client, only basic service required, institution specially intended to provide this kind of service etc.)

underlies two similar sequences (99)

(a) Bender, rich after having extorted money from a group of monarchists in a provincial town, fails to get to a restaurant as a result of ideological changes and general scarcity in Soviet life (The Twelve Chairs); (b) Bender, who has become a millionaire, discovers that wealth is useless in the Soviet context — to the extent that he cannot even buy himself a bowl of cabbage soup in a workers' mess hall (The Little Golden Calf).

As far as the organization of diversity is concerned, there is an interest­ ing case straddling the boundary between VAR and CONCR. If the theme includes several components, some (or all) of them can be elaborated sepa­ rately (CONCR/part, cf. Note 12) ; the resulting diversity of CONCRs usually lends itself to some kind of organization along the same lines as in VAR, the difference being that the number of entities does not increase (see Figs. 29a, b). An example is provided by Bunin's "Gentle Breath" as analyzed by Vygotsky (1971, Ch.7), where the organization of diversity in CONCR/?ariis based on the opposition between the referential and code spheres. In our terms, one part of the theme ("theme proper" : 'gentle, light breath') is CON­ CRETIZED in the code spere (of composition, syntax etc.), while the other part ("anti-theme": 'muddy, vulgar wave of everyday life') is CON­ CRETIZED mainly in the referential sphere (the plot events); see Fig. 30. In

ON VARIATION

Figures 29a, b

93

94

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

other cases similar diversification of CONCRpart can rely on other opposi­ tions in either sphere.

Figure 30 VAR vs. PRESG. VARIATION is hard to tell from some types of PRE­ PARATION, especially PRESAGE: when, in VARlarge/small, the "small" item preceds the "large" one, the former is bound to look like an "incom­ plete" version of the latter, a correlation typical of PRESG. There is, how­ ever, a difference of principle: if the "small" tends to replicate some external characteristics of the "large" without involving deeper levels, the structure should be described in terms of PRESG; however, if both the "large" and the "small" entities represent a deeper, thematically important entity, we rather have to do with VAR. A pure example of PRESG is the death of a railway worker in Part I, Ch. 18 of "Anna Karenina", which resembles in several ways the heroine's eventual suicide: one would be hard put to trace the two episodes back to a plausible ideological invariant. On the contrary, the fol­ lowing example from the short story "'Victory'" by Vasilij Aksënov seems to offer a clear case of VARlarge/small which, so to speak, doubles as PRESG only insofar as this is inherent in the definition of this kind of VAR. We have in mind

ON VARIATION (100)

95

(a) the culmination scene where the grandmaster, playing an amateur, checkmates him, but does not declare the checkmate, letting him revel in an imaginary victory; (b) a detail of the grandmaster's portrait given at the very beginning of the story: nobody but the grandmaster himself knew that his simple ties were labeled 'The House of Dior . In a strange way this little secret always warmed and comforted the young and taciturn grandmaster.

The common denominator of (100a,b) is an abstract theme such as 'undivulged triumph'. In literary works with a deliberate emphasis on form (i.e., on conven­ tions of genre, plot, narrative etc.), the theme (of the entire text or a particu­ lar plot line) is often made conspicuous at important compositional junctures, such as the opening scene, the culmination, the dénouement, the epilogue and the like, which thus become charged with symbolic meaning. Predicta­ bly, VARIATION has a prominent role to play in this type of construction. For instance, if the theme associated with a character is to manifest itself spec­ tacularly in the culmination, the first appearance of this character may be accompanied by a reduced, hidden and largely symbolic image of the theme. To work the theme into the initial sequence may prove to be a challenging exercise in COMBINATION since at this early stage the character is unfamil­ iar to the reader and unlikely to be involved in any significant action (cf. Note 8). This kind of VAR more often than not will double as PRESG. Consider Ilf and Petrov's The Little Golden Calf, where relations between Korejko, the underground millionaire, and Bender, who is after his millions, are based on the following recurrent pattern: (101)

Bender tries to solve the problem of singling Korejko out among the mul­ titude of colorless, ordinary Soviet clerks,

since the theme embodied in Korejko is 'mimicry, complete assimilation to the Soviet mass'; e.g., he keeps his treasure in an ordinary suitcase among thousands of identical suitcases in a big station's baggage room; he serves as a rank-and-file employee in a large Soviet enterprise; etc. Among the VAR­ IATIONS on (101) are (102a,b): (102)

(a) the scene where Korejko flees from Bender, donning a gasmask which makes him indistinguishable from the other participants of the mock gas alert and dissolves in their crowd; (b) the scene of a mass rally where Korejko is shown sitting on a platform in the midst of thousands of workers, so that Bender, who has finally closed in on him, has to identify and extract him from there; etc.

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Formula (101) is also at work in the two initial encounters of Bender and Korejko, preceding their personal acquaintance. The first takes place when Bender and his chums drive into Cernomorsk: noticing a solitary passer-by crossing the street, who is, in fact, Korejko, Ostap shouts out to him: "Greet­ ings to the first Černomorskian". The theme of 'mimicry' is expressed here by the familiar motif of 'the n-th X' (first resident, one-millionth visitor, thousandth newborn baby etc.), which presents a human being as a stereotyp­ ical statistical obj ect ; note also the symbolism of numbers — the first — befit­ ting an opening scene. The second encounter is staged in the "Hercules" office where Korejko earns his accountant's daily bread. Bender, at the sight of a group of employees working in front of him behind a bar, bets that he will guess which of them is Korejko and fails, since the underground millionaire has the least conspicuous appearance of all {the white-eyed toady, the gray Soviet mouse). As we said earlier, this kind of VAR is by definition a PRESG, given its role as a twofold foreshadowing — in the plot and in the characteri­ zation.

NOTES 1) In a sense, VAR can be described as a combination of two EDs: REP, responsible for 'mul­ tiplicity' and 'identity, similarity', and CONTR, responsible for 'diversity', which is the opposite of 'identity'. On the way contrasts bring out similarities, see 1973a, §7.3. 2) This aspect of VAR (and of other EDs providing variation) is in full agreement with the doc­ trine of the Russian Formalists concerning the "impeded form" (zatrudnënnost' formy) as the fun­ damental device of all art. 3) On subtraction, see also 1975a,b, on Molière, Chap. 6, §2, and 1977d, 1979h. 4) This textbook image goes back to the opening lines of Pushkin's Ruslan and Ljudmila: "There is a green oak by the bay,/On that oak there is a gold chain,/And day and night a learned cat/Goes around and around the chain", which have become a sort of Russian nursery rhyme. 5) This camouflaging of VAR by COMBINATION is typical of the more artistic "Alphabets" as distinct from the purely didactic ones, which illustrate letters by separate pictures (e.g. cat, comb, and crow for  etc.), not counting on children to "subtract" COMBINATION. 6) On expansion/compression and on the various expressive effects inherent in EDs, see Chap­ ter 1, §3, and 1976a. 7) For a more detailed and sophisticated analysis of the "October" wrap see 1983a. 8) We use the expression "theme X is conveyed (expressed, manifested, etc.) through distinc­ tive feature (sphere, object) F" in the following sense: "X is CONCRETIZED (in accordance with the definition of CONCR) into X + a, where the increment a (or X + a as a whole) is a value of feature F (or a component of sphere F, or a state of object F)". Roughly speaking, this amounts

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to COMBINATION of theme X with feature (sphere, object) F, since the result represents both X and F. 9) This case has much in common with ED CONTRAST, as the theme is expressed through two opposite entities. 10) Note that the theme ('a full-length portrait of Peter') affects not merely the choice of lan­ guage (figurative instead of literal) but the very contents of the metaphor as well: Peter is com­ pared to a "divine thunderstorm", i.e. to something literally and figuratively 'high'. Our remarks on the Poltava fragment go back to Eisenstein's (1964, II: 180-183) analysis. 11) This phonetic interpretation of the Russian hard sign is probably not the best one of all pos­ sible, but it underlies the artistic structure of Benois' illustration in the sense that it provides the most comprehensive explanation. 12) This account of the theme's manifestation in the two spheres does not fully conform to the definition of VAR: while VAR is a multiple CONCR of one and the same theme X, in this case CONCR is applied, on the one hand, to X as a whole, and, on the other, to some of its components (see §6.2 of this Chap.) This discrepancy can be avoided if we recognize in the latter case a special variety of CONCR (compounded with RED), which is generally known as pars pro toto (see 1973a: 19-24). Referential pars pro toto CONCRs underlie the well-known figure of synecdoche; replacing the theme with some of its components to be eventually CONCRETIZED in the code sphere is another technical possibility of the same general strategy. On the complex interrelations of pars pro toto with CONCRpart and DIV, see 1973a: 14ff. 13) The function of the sound repetitions in these lines is treated differently in Lotman 1977, Ch.6, and Saljamon 1971:108; on CONCR via REP see also 1973a:28-31]. 14) Cf. Chap. 7, esp §2.1, referring to Bocarov's formulations. 15) The last example is, in fact, a borderline case between VAR and PRESG; cf. §6.2 and also Chapter 4, §5.2. 16) For more detail see 1967c. 17) The CONCR of 'all' via VAR in this text is supported by two other techniques aimed at the same effect: CONTRAST (see above concerning the opposition 'life, activity/death, end of all activity') and 'transfer to the frame'. On the expressive potential of CONTR see 1973a:73-75 and Chapter 2, §6; on 'transfer to the frame', 1978d and 1984a:233-235.

4 ON PRESAGE

PRESAGE (PRESG) was defined in Chap. 2 as a particular case of PREPARATION: PRESG is a PREP of X where PreX is an incomplete ver­ sion of X (sometimes it is a REDUCED X) 1 , e.g. in Pushkin's The Bronze Horseman'. X = 'equestrian statue pursues hero' PreX = 'poet's apostrophe about the statue's hooves' — X = 'statue pursues hero'. PRES­ AGE can be said to occupy a middle position between PRESENTATION, where PreX is a kind of "zero", and RECOIL, where PreX is the opposite of X: in PRESAGE, PreX is not a "zero", and at the same time it is in direct, not inverse ratio to X. If in the case of RECOIL the "path" to X is ornamented with CONTRAST, in PRESG it involves the effects of VARIATION and REDUCTION/AUGMENTATION. Still, elements of CONTRAST are not alien to PRESG: by definition there is always a more or less pronounced dif­ ference between PreX and X in 'explicitness', 'size', 'completeness', etc. Thus, PRESG is the most "classical" type of PREPARATION. The expres­ sive potential of PRESG comprises, along with the effects of 'involvement' and 'structural clarity' (characteristic of all PREP), those inherent in the rela­ tions of 'identity', 'contrast' and 'increase'. This constellation of effects makes PRESG one of the most successful and widespread devices. It has many subtypes differing in several parameters that determine the particulars of the two major aspects of PREPARATION: 'reduction' and 'path'. 1.

Parameters of PRESA GE

1.1 Reduction is aimed at producing an "incomplete", "small", etc. version of entity X. The two principal ways of reduction involve the entity's 'size' and its 'position' in the text. 2 To be sure, a particular PreX can result from both types of reduction COMBINED. A. Reduction in size has several variants: [1] Dimensions: PreX is physically smaller than X. [2] Completeness of representation: irrespective of the dimen-

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sional correlation between PreX and X, the latter can be represented in the former either completely, i.e. by the totality of its relevant features, or par­ tially , i.e. by just one or a few separate features. [3] Real/mental mode of representation: a "real" entity (object, event,...) X can be foreshadowed either by an equally "real" PreX, or by a purely mental, imagined one, e.g. by a dream, a guess, by the events in a song, a framed story, etc. [4] A slot for X: if PreX has such a slot, the absence of X is per­ ceived as a lack. This parameter is, in fact, a peculiar combination of parameters [2] and [3] : X is represented in PreX completely, but in such a way that only part of it is really there, while another part is present mentally, as a slot for X. [5] Visibility: PreX can be either clearly identifiable in the text as a separate entity or perceivable only subliminally (cf. parameter [7]). B. Positional reduction usually goes hand in hand with reduction in size, but one should bear in mind the mutual theoretical independence of the two: one can imagine a PreX that is not less than X in dimensions, complete­ ness, etc., but is made "incomplete" solely by being placed in a weaker posi­ tion. [6] Rank demotion: PreX occupies a secondary position in the structure, inferior to that of X. Some characteristic instances are: X occurs in connection with a major protagonist, while PreX, with a peripheral charac­ ter; X occurs in the main plot, PreX in a secondary plot line, in the prologue, in a framed story, in a dialogue...; X deals with a human character, PreX, with an animal or an object (when these, as is usually the case, are assigned a subordinate role); X is manifested in the referential sphere of the text, PreX, in the stylistic sphere; or, finally, X occurs in one type of position and PreX in another and is thereby distanced from X, so that from the perspective of X, entity PreX appears in a sort of foreshortening (this last case is con­ nected with the "path", see [8]). 1.2 The structure of the "path" from PreX to X determines the effect pro­ duced by the PRESAGE pattern as a whole. The "path" parameters, although logically independent, often interact with each other; some of them are similar to reduction parameters. A. Mode of existence of the "path". [7] Perception. The reader either realizes at some point that PreX is a version of X, or the connection remains subliminal (cf. [5] and [9]: the ree-

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ognition is only possible if PreX itself is visible and it must be either pro- or retrogressive). [8] Real/figurativ e "path". PreX can either be a link in the chain of events actually leading to X, or prefigure X in a purely mental, symbolic way, i.e. alluding to it, but not bringing it about (cf. [3] 'reduction via mental rep­ resentation' ; cf. also [6] 'rank demotion' : a PreX existing on a different plane from X can hardly claim to "cause" X) 3 . B. "Direction" [9] Progressive/retrogressive linking of PreX and X. In the former case PreX is immediately perceived as a foreshadowing of X and makes us expect its appearance; in the latter, the connection is established retroactively. once faced with X, we "recall" that it was, in fact, "predicted" by PreX. Note the theoretical independence of this parameter from [7] 'perception': both pro- and retrogressive perception of the "path" can be subliminal. For instance, in the preparation of a final rhyming word (see 1979d), the average reader does not as a rule consciously perceive PRESAGES, which are quite 'real' [8], and 'progessive' [9]. But of course in most cases, especially in plots, pro- or retrogression characterizes "paths" that are recognized by the reader. As for correlations with other parameters, cf. [4]: 'progressive path' presup­ poses a 'slot' ; cf. also [10] : 'definite expectation' is by definition 'progressive'. C. Intensity [10] Definiteness — greater, lesser or nil — with which PreX makes us expect X to appear at a certain point in the text (cf. [4] 'slot', [9] 'progressiveness'). [11] Number of PreX-s. It can vary from one to many. [12] Patterning. PreX-s (if there are more than one, see [11]), can be either heterogenous or arranged in a single chain, leading up, often with an increase, to X. (Such a chain will, as a rule, result in 'visibility' [5], explicit 'perception' [7], 'progressiveness' [9], and sometimes 'definiteness of expec­ tation' [10]; cf. also [2]: the chain arrangement can be seen as a sort of 'com­ plete path', "filled", as it were, with PreX-s.) 2.

Examples of PRESA GES

2.1 PRESG often borders on or combines with other expressive devices. It is, however, preferable to start with possibly "pure" cases. 2.1.1 In Eisenstein's Battleship Potëmkin there is a detail which was noticed by the German psychoanalyst H. Sachs and later commented on by the direc-

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tor himself. While preparations are being made for the execution of the mutineers, one of the sailors standing in formation turns his head to follow the canvas sheet intended to cover the condemned men as it is carried along. "Dr. Sachs observed correctly that this motion already contained in a nutshell [...] the future scene of mutiny, because a sailor standing in formation may not turn his head [...] The turning of the head was no doubt emotionally per­ ceived by most (if not all) viewers. But hardly any one of them could state that in this inclination of the head he foresaw the mutinous collapse of the forma­ tion. To translate this motion into a conscious formulation, it took Dr. Sachs, a psychoanalyst, that is a specialist in unconscious processes [...] I will say more. Even the author [...], while making this scene did not plan it as a foreshadowing, but just felt emotionally that it was necessary" [Eisenstein 1966, IV: 294-303]. In terms of the parameters introduced in § 1, this instance of PRESG can be described as follows. The 'dimensions' are 'reduced' [1]. PreX is a fairly 'complete' representation of X [2] (as it contains the two most important fea­ tures of the film's culmination: (i) refusal to submit to the existing order of things; (ii) solidarity with "brothers". 4 The representation (of X in PreX) is also 'real' (not 'mental') [3]. There is no 'slot' in PreX for X to fill [4]. PreX as such is 'visible' (cf. Eisenstein's comment on its emotional perception) [5]. There is no 'rank demotion' (the sailor is one of the future mutineers) [6]. The link with X is 'subliminal' [7], although it is 'real' (the turn of the head is a first manifestation of disobedience) [8]. The 'path' seems to proceed 'progres­ sively' (it is not that the subsequent mutiny brings back the memory of the turning head, but rather that this image is perceived subliminally as a first break-up of the formation) [9]. There is 'no definite expectation' [10]. A cer­ tain 'number' [11] of other PreX-s follow, and they form a 'chain' [12] that leads to open disobedience, the 'refusal to shoot at brothers'. The example is especially remarkable for the interesting combination it offers: the PreX is 'visible' and 'real' and the path to X is 'progressive' and 'real', and yet the path remains 'subliminal'. 2.1.2 Subliminal foreshadowing is particularly widespread on the phonetic plane of verse. In one type of such PRESG, sounds and sound combinations which are components of an X (say, of the final rhyming word of a quatrain) accumulate gradually, while scattered in various words in the preceding frag­ ment. 5 Such phonetic PRESGs bear a strong structural resemblance to cluetype foreshadowings in detective plots, which are also spread all over the text

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preceding the denouement. But clues are perceived as such by the reader, at least retroactively [9]. Of course, even phonetic PRESAGES can be quite explicit and therefore realized by the reader. 6 On the other hand, even semantic and lexical PRESGs can be very subtle and remain subliminal. 2.1.3 According to Slonimskij's (1922:174) keen observation, in Pushkin's "Queen of Spades" there is an interesting PRESAGE of the magical set of three cards (3,7, ace) named to Hermann by the ghost of the countess. In Ch. 2 he dreams of learning which three ensure success: "Why not try my luck? perhaps become her lover; but she is eighty-seven years old, she could die in a week < . . . > No! Calculation, moderation, and industriousness — they are my three sure cards, that's what will increase my capital threefold, increase it sevenfold... " (Proffer 1969:87-88). The motif of 'three' is represented by the word threefold, the motif of 'seven' — in the words eighty-seven, in a week and sevenfold. This is an instance of PRESG where not only the 'path' is not perceived consciously by the reader (it took a sensitive critic to realize it was there) [7], but even the PreX itself goes unnoticed (most probably, in relating the episode the reader would not retain the exact figures 3,7,87)7 [5]. 2.1.4 PRESAGES that are skillfully woven into the text and not supposed to be noticed by the reader, whether pro- or retrogressively, seem to be charac­ teristic of Pushkin's style. Thus, in the final chapter of Evgenij Onegin we have the following lines: Ona sidela u stola S blestjascej Ninoj Voronskoju, Sej Kleopatroju Nevy; I, verno b, soglasilis' vy, Čto Nina mramornoj krasoju Zatmit' sosedku ne mogia, Xot' oslepitel'na byla. (8:XVI)

She [Tat'jana] sat at table With brilliant Nina Voronskoj, That Cleopatra of the Neva; And, surely, you would have agreed That Nina with her marble beauty Could not — though dazzling — Eclipse her neighbor. [Nabokov 1964:299]

It turns out that the episode is in a sense foreshadowed in Ch. 5: XXVII: Mez vetxix pesen al'manaxa Byl napecatan sej kuplet ; Triquet, dogadlivyj poet, Ego na svet j avil iz praxa, I smelo—vmesto belle Nina Postavil belle Tatiana.

Among an almanac's decrepit songs This stanza had been printed ; Triquet — resourceful poet — Out of the dust brought it to light And boldly — in the place of "belle Nina" Put "belle Tatiana". [Nabokov 1964:222]

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In both cases a 'Nina', who occupies a "codified", sanctified position in a well-established system, is, as it were, eased out by Tat'jana. In Ch. 5 this happens in the 'mental mode' (in a poem), in Ch. 8, as 'actual fact' [3]. The PRESG can be considered fairly 'complete' [2], for both in X and in PreX we see the very important motif of 'preference for a natural, rather than tradi­ tional, conventional type of heroine and name' (cf. Vpervye imenem takimi Stranicy neznye romana/My svoevoV'no osvjatim "For the first time a novel's tender pages/ With such a name / We willfully shall grace" (2: XXIV [Nabokov 1964:141])).8 2.1.5 To continue with examples from Pushkin, he did not avoid more con­ spicuous foreshadowings either. Let us consider, in terms of our parameters, the PRESG of the climactic episode (= X) in The Bronze Horseman, where the statue pursues the hero. The PreX is in the lines: Kuda ty skaces', gordyj kon ,/ I gde opustis ty kopyta? "Whither art thou galloping, proud steed,/ And where wilst thou put down you hooves?" This PreX is smaller in dimen­ sion than X (the horse gallops in place) [1], and incomplete (totally absent is the motif of 'pursuit and suppression of the individual', so that only the phys­ ical motif 'movement of the equestrian statue' is foreshadowed) [2]. The mode of PreX's existence is mental (the first galloping occurs in the poet's rhetorical fantasy, while the second, X, is "real", even if it only takes place in the hero's imagination, which, in the poem, is part of "reality") [3]. PreX is demoted in rank: it belongs to the series of the poet's digressions (apos­ trophes addressed to the city of Peter), and not to the plot dealing with Evgenij [6]. As a result of thus being placed in another line, PreX is linked to X by a purely figurative path [8]. The detail itself is quite visible (it is, in fact, one of the popular quotes), but probably only a professional critic (see Jakobson 1979) can see the PreX - X connection [7], and that only retrogressively [9]· 2.1.6 In Molière's Tartuffe the title character, appearing for the first time on the stage, says to a servant so that others can hear: "Laurent < . . . > , if any­ body comes to see me, say that I am gone to the prisons to distribute my alms" (PreX). In the denouement of the play Tartuffe is denounced and taken to prison (X). Here PreX is incomplete: it does not contain the very important element of 'punishment' (Tartuffe first goes to prison not as a convict, but as a benefactor) [2]. In fact, the necessary similarity between PreX and X ('going to prison') is accompanied by a contrast: in the PreX Tartuffe is the 'convicts' protector', in the X he is a 'convict' himself.9 The mode of PreX is

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mental (Tartuffe says he is going there) [3]. Although PreX and X are the very first and last things Tartuffe does in the play, the pattern is hardly recog­ nized by the spectators [7]. PreX itself is quite visible [5]. The reduction involves also the actual dimensions of PreX [1] and its rank (the opening words are for the benefit of two servants, while the final arrest is the spectacu­ lar denouement taking place in front of everybody) [6]. 2.1.7 Special mention should be made of the animal motif in PRESAGE constructions. In most cases it seems to fall under reduction type [6]. The fre­ quent use of animals in PRESAGES is due to their more general capacity to serve as substitutes, doubles or extensions of man. Animals are often fea­ tured as metaphorical or symbolic projections of humans; e.g. in Zola's Nana the horse race scene contains an analogy between a beautiful horse and the heroine of the novel. In the Old Curiosity Shop Kit fights for a bird belonging to Nell, thus displaying in an indirect way his willingness to defend the girl herself. The pet's fate may echo that of the master, as in David Copperfield (Dora/Jip: as the mistress ails, the dog grows decrepit, and both die at the same moment), in Oliver Twist (Sikes and his dog), in Dostoyevsky's The Humiliated and Wronged (the old man Smith/Azorka) etc. As an extension or a "detachable part" of man the animal figure can be used in those plot sequences in which the author's aim is to prolong or render gradual the pro­ cess of the hero's involvement in some activity or relationship; e.g., in Chekhov's "The Lady with a Lapdog" Gurov starts his acquaintance with Anna Sergeevna by patting her pet dog. Pain or damage inflicted on the pet may be a disguised form of attacking the master, as are demands to destroy or remove it (e.g. in the film The Wizard of Oz or in Jurij Trifonov's short story "The Death of a Dove"). In all these cases the animal sequence will become a PRESAGE of the human one if it precedes it. There is a type of adventure plot that involves the following situation: the characters are traveling across an unknown terrain (desert, jungle,...) and become the object of hostile actions. Quite often the "main" assault X is preceded by several PreX-s, most characteristically by the slaying of animals (dogs, camels, etc.); see for instance, Jules Verne's Les Enfants du Capitaine Grant or P. Benoit's L3Atlantide. In an episode of Denys de la Patellière's film Le Tonnerre de Dieu "God's Thunder" (1966), the protagonist (Jean Gabin), a maverick castle owner and veterinarian, meets in a café a lady of easy virtue, takes her to his estate, makes her renounce her occupation and way of life (living in the big city with her pimp; using make-up; wearing high

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heels; etc.) and start a healthy new life close to nature. This turn in the plot (= X) is foreshadowed in the very first scene in the café, where Gabin picks up the girl's lapdog, takes off the fancy ribbon it is wearing and lets it run around freely (PreX). The link between PreX and X is quite noticeable [7], at least in retrospection [9]. Another role of animals in PRESAGE, quite distinct from those described above, is based on their proverbial flair; animals, especially dogs, are usually the first to get scent of anything strange or menacing and to warn man (e.g., in Dombey and Son the dog Diogenes barks when he scents the approach of his master returning in disguise from a long voyage; in Bul­ gakov's "The Fatal Eggs" dogs howl as the monstrous snakes are about to hatch from what everybody thinks to be hens' eggs). 2.1.8 A classical example of a non-human PreX to a human X is in the begin­ ning of Leo Tolstoy's "Hadji Murad", where a tenacious Tartar thistle epitomizes the character of the title hero. Rank demotion is used here twice: (i) PreX is a plant, X, a man; (ii) PreX occurs in the prologue by a first-person narrator, X occurs in the "historical" third-person narrative. 2.1.9 Ernst Lubitsch's silent film Rosita opens with a prologue that is sepa­ rated from the main plot in several respects (different place, time and people, no direct link to the main action). In the main plot a king tries to seduce a street singer, Rosita, who "leads him by the nose" and makes fun of him, while the queen wants to return him to his familial obligations. To get rid of his rival, Rosita's lover, the king signs his death sentence, but the execution is blocked and Rosita rejoins her beloved. In the finale the king gets into a carriage, where, to his displeasure, he finds the queen; he returns to the palace in her company. This entire X is represented in the prologue by the fol­ lowing PreX: the king is in his study and is about to sign a death sentence, when a cerceau hoop flies in through the window and lands on his neck. Look­ ing out the window, he sees young maids-in-waiting playing cerceau and swinging. He goes down into the garden, flirts with them and joins one of them on a swing. From on high on the swing he sees the queen; he has to descend ("from heaven") and accompany her to the palace. This example is remarkable for an exceptional completeness of PRESG (the maids' easy treatment of the king, the unimplemented death sentence, the wife instead of a fling with a common woman) [2]. The reduction relies on rank demotion (prologue vs. main plot) [6], figurativeness of the path [8] and the courtship's smaller dimensions (in the prologue he only tries to flirt) [1].

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2.1.10 One widespread type of foreshadowing involves omens. Consider the first encounter of Anna and Vronskij in Anna Karenina (P. I, Ch. 18). They meet at the station, where a man gets killed by a train; a sense of foreboding sets in. Thus, PreX foreshadows, progressively, certain properties of X ('one can expect something tragic')[9], but so far it is not a complete prefiguration of the denouement [2]. In retrospect, however, it turns out that PreX, in fact, represented X with considerable accuracy, as regards the circumstances of death (under a train) and Vronskij's reaction to it (his urge to "pay" for the death: in PreX he gives money to the man's widow, in X he goes to war as a volunteer). These similarities are overshadowed by a number of differences — in the causes of death, the specific details of the event, the social standing of the victims and their role in the plot [6],[8]. 2.2 Multiple

PRESAGE.

So far we have concentrated on single PRESGs, where the PreX -X path is not filled with other PreX-s. If the PRESAGE is multiple, PreX-s either do or do not form a chain that brings us ever closer to X (see parameter [12]). 2.2.1 Disparate PreX-s are, so to speak, equidistant from X and point toward it from different angles. For instance, in detective plots, the accumulation of clues that will eventually justify the solution of the mystery, does not as a rule bring us closer to the solution until the last moment. 10 Consider also the foreshadowings of the final episode of Molière's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, where Jourdain is being given the title of a Turkish mamamouchi and "ritually" beaten in the course of the ceremony. One PreX to this X is in a conver­ sation between Jourdain and his wife: he professes an enthusiastic willingness to be whipped like a schoolboy in exchange for knowledge (Act III). Another PreX is a lesson in fencing, during which the master-at-arms hurts Jourdain with his sword. Although the episode with the master-at-arms precedes the conversation with Mme. Jourdain, the two do not form a single path along which proximity to X increases. One reason for this is that both PreX-s are demoted in rank [6] and their links to X are figurative [8]. Besides, they are products of different types of reduction: the 'pain' in the episode with the swordsman is 'real', in the other case it is 'mental' [3]. In Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men almost everything that takes place serves to predict the final episode in which the simple-minded giant Lennie unwittingly breaks the neck of a woman who tried to get him to make love to her, after which his friend and protector George has to shoot him in order to save him from lynching. In the

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preceding narrative there are the following PRESAGES of this sequence: (a) Lennie is threatened with lynching for disturbing a girl and is saved by George; (b) Lennie unintentionally kills small animals (mice, pups etc.) he tries to caress; (c) he dreams of breaking the neck of the cat who will come to harrass his future rabbits; (d) a secondary character, the old man Candy, reluctantly agrees to shoot his old dying dog to save him from unnecessary suffering. In the culmination scene all these features are intertwined and appear "full size", while as PRESAGES they are separated and reduced in various ways (animal instead of man in (b), (c), (d); side line instead of main line in (d); threat to life instead of death in (a); moreover, (a) and (b) do not actually figure in the story but are related by the protagonists as part of their former experience). In general, disparate PreX-s tend to be dispersed among different parts, planes and aspects of the structure, from which they foreshadow X each in its own way without forming a single chain. 2.2.2 Chains consist of PreX-s that are selected and arranged in such a way that each subsequent element is "closer" to X and resembles or predicts it more clearly. In such cases, the expressive effect of PRESAGE is accom­ panied by the effects of AUGMENTATION and REPETITION (and some­ times CONTRAST), which naturally brings us to the next section (for the dis­ cussion of chains see in particular §3.3). 3.

COMBINA TIONS of PRESAGE

with other EDs

3.1 PRESG + NTR ( = P R E S G + REC). We have already encountered examples of this widespread combination of EDs: recall Tartuffe's 'going to prison', the 'kiss of plague' in Note 9. Anticipating §3.3.4, let us also refer to instances of CONTRAST between the pro- and retrospective reading of the 'path', frequent in detective plots: PreX first appears to represent 'care for and protection of the (eventual) victim', but then turns out to have been 'a preparation for the crime'; and, finally, to PreX that CONTRASTS with X in one of PRESG's constitutive features — 'explicitness' or 'size'. 3.2 PRESG + PREST. This combination of EDs also involves an interplay of two readings of a PreX. Progressively it reads as a 'mere lack of something' (i.e. PRESENTA­ TION), but in retrospect PreX proves to have contained all along a definite

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"picture" of X 11. There are various means to this end but the basic strategy is always the same: PreX first looks like something incoherent that eludes understanding, but when the complete X is shown, the hidden connections among the components of PreX come to light. Such is the case of detective plots which begin with chaotic clues, creating the sense of a 'lack (of under­ standing)', but only in the end are they pieced together into a meaningful pic­ ture — the solution of the crime. Within a short episode, a similar technique is often used for PREPARING an important message. The character who has the message is so agitated (or stupid, or otherwise handicapped) that he liter­ ally cannot put two words together. As a result, he produces a fragmented speech and only later on is the information presented in a coherent way. The same pattern underlies one type of a film's opening shots carrying the credits: first a pile of letters rolls onto the screen and then it rearranges itself into the appropriate words (the title, the names of the cast and so on). 3.3 INCREASE:

PRESG + REP + AUGM (+ CONTR).

The combinations discussed so far involved "punctual" superimposition on PRESG (i.e. on PreX) of the product of another ED. We now proceed to "linear" combinations, where the ED(s) superimposed on PRESG create additional entities that are inserted in and lengthen the PreX-X path, result­ ing in a multiple PRESG. 3.3.1 In That Hamilton Woman (dir. by Alexander Korda, 1942), Admiral Nelson (Lawrence Olivier) comes to in an unfamiliar place, which he (and the viewer as well) eventually identifies as 'the house of Emma Hamilton' (= X). The chain of PreX-s that leads up, with an INCREASE, to X is as follows: 'a close-up of a bedspread with the monogram E.H.' — 'a picture of Lady Hamilton on the wall' — 'she in person'. Note that this sequence of PreX-s is at the same time a series of VARIATIONS on the theme 'house belonging to Emma Hamilton' (cf. §5.2), selected and arranged in the order of increasing explicitness. 3.3.2 In Conan Doyle's "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" INCREASE leads to X = 'a menacing person invades the life of the hero' ; a series of PreXs points to the elements 'person' and 'menace' with a growing certainty. Every PreX is composed of what the hero (Holmes' client) sees and the wayhe and his wife react to it. First the client discovers on a windowsill a drawing of the dancing men, wipes it off and then tells his wife about it; they assume it is a kid's drawing. Later the dancers are found in a note left on a sundial; on reading it the wife faints. Then at night the client sees a man drawing the

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POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

dancers; after reading the message the wife falls into prostration and despair. And so it goes on, building up to the actual appearance of a stranger and the ensuing fatal shoot-out. The sequence hammers home the realization that the dancers are a meaningful — and menacing — message from someone. Unlike the previous example, this one involves practically no VARIATION: the numerous PreX-s are all very similar. 3.3.3 In Part I of Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible, INCREASE underlies the episode where the apparently dying czar asks the boyars to swear allegiance to his son Dimitrij (Eisenstein 1970, VI: 263ff). First he merely 'tells them his wish' (stage I), then he 'humbly asks them, kneeling before them ' (stage II), and finally he 'entreats them, literally crawling at their feet' (stage III) 12 . The episode can be described in different ways: (i) The theme of the fragment is, roughly: 'Ivan beseeches the boyars', and it is CONCRETIZED into the third stage (the 'crawling'), which, as X, is then foreshadowed by the two preceding stages. (ii)The theme is more neutral: 'Ivan persuades the boyars'; it is AUGMENTED into stage III, after which the order of derivation is as in case (i)· (iii) The theme is the same as in case (ii), it is CONCRETIZED into stage I ('the telling'), which is then REPEATED with AUGMENTATION into stages II and III. The alternative descriptions (ii) and (iii) are linked by an important equ­ ation: INCREASE, which is based on PRESG, can be technically rep­ resented as "reinforced repetition", i.e. AUGM + REP, 13 not involving PRESG. As for the interchangeability of descriptions (i) and (ii), it follows from the partial overlap in the definitions of PRESG and AUGM: the reduc­ tion in 'size' of X into PreX is the reverse of AUGM. Note that in practical criticism the choice among alternative descriptions (especially such as (i) and (ii)) is often dependent on the author's poetic world: some formulations are more likely candidates for themes than others, because they are his invariants. 3.3.4 Sometimes INCREASE starts with a pointedly diminished X and reaches a hyperbolically AUGMENTED one, as, for instance, in Ravel's Bolero or the first movement of Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony, where the main theme starts in a barely audible pianissimo and via a long crescendo reaches a fortissimo. As a result, an important additional effect emerges: the INCREASE is accompanied by a special kind of RECOIL. This REC is not

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qualitative, as is usually the case (PreX, after all, does not become an AntiX); it is quantitative: PreX contrasts with X in a quantitative feature that is con­ stitutive for PRESG — as 'extremely small vs. extremely large'. Literary texts abound in examples of this type of PRESG cum CONTR, cf. for instance the sequence 'a slight hurt — a terminal desease it causes' in Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilych" (1971). The contrast between an insignificant beginning and a grandiose ending is a pattern that fits the expression of a certain type of theme, as in Gogol's 'The Story of How Ivan Ivanovic Quarrelled with Ivan Nikiforovic", Tynyanov's Podporucik Kize "Lieutenant Likewise" (the two share the common theme 'the absurd power of trifles'), or the English nursery rhyme about a city falling for want of a nail ('the absurd' is a theme of the genre). 14 Another constitutive feature of PRESG that is often blown up into a CONTRAST is the 'explicitness' of the resemblance between PreX and X (see parameter [7]). For examples we can once again turn to detective plots with their initially very obscure clues. As a rule, this CONTRAST ( = RECOIL) between 'PreX = implicit X' and 'obvious X' has to rely on qualita­ tive means: the 'implicit X' is made to look like an AntiX, e.g. PreX is pre­ sented not just as a 'non-crime', but as 'the opposite of a crime', for instance, 'protection of the victim', or some 'pointedly innocent occupation, like catch­ ing butterflies' (see Conan Doyle's "The Speckled Band" and the "Hound of the Baskervilles"); cf. also the motif of 'the wolf in sheep's clothing' (see [1975a,b]) 3.3.5 To conclude the section devoted to INCREASE, let us point out that its expressive impact on the reader is one of a spiraling emotional upsurge. This effect comprises several components, the most important of which is 'in­ terest, involvement of the reader in the text as a process' (see Chap. 1,§3). It is accounted for by the fact that INCR is a particular case of progressive PRE­ SAGE. Other components of the "spiraling effect" are brought about by the EDs that are combined with PRESG in the INCREASE pattern: AUGMENTATION (responsible for 'force', 'spectacularity') and REPETI­ TION ('multiplicity', 'length', 'regularity') (on regular REPs see 1973a:281). 3.4 Interrupting the path: PRESG +

RECIPREST.

So far we have considered sequences of PreX-s that form a straight path to X stressed by quantitative means (REP, AUGM). Another way of emphasizing the path is based on elements of CONTRAST, which block the path and change its direction.

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POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

3.4.1 PRESG + REC. This means that somewhere along the path there is a detour to an AntiX. The resulting pattern is equivalent to RECOIL MOVE­ MENT, as the transition from PreX to AntiX is a reversal of the subsequent AntiX—X transition.15 In the examples that follow RECOILS interrupt INCREASES, i.e. the more interesting type of multiple PRESAGE. An episode in Molière's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (Act II) develops its theme — 'the greed and mutual hostility of Jourdain's teachers' with an INCREASE that culminates in X = 'the teachers fight'. X is preceded by: PreX 1 = 'an argument between the master-at-arms and the music master' and PreX 2 = 'a quarrel between them'. Then an AntiX follows: 'the pilosophy master appears who preaches moderation and arranges a reconciliation'. Only after that comes the turn to X = 'all three engage in a fight started by the philosophy master incensed by the others' disrespect of his profession'. A similar pattern underlies the story of Dorante's debts in the same play (Act III): Dorante keeps borrowing from Jourdain (PreX 1 PreX 2 ... PreX n ); then 'he asks J. to add up the entire debt as if he planned to pay it off' (AntiX), after which 'he postpones payment and borrows more to round off the sum of the debt' (X). Cf. also Molière's Dom Juan, where the hero, who has been sinning ever more boldly (PreX 1 , PreX 2 ,...), suddenly announces that he has decided to "think of amending his life" (AntiX) and then adds, "Yes indeed. Twenty or thirty more years of this kind of life and then we will think of reforming-(X)· 1 6 3.4.2 Retardation: PRESG + PRESG + REC. In the pattern traditionally known as retardation, a certain event is expected to happen at a certain time, but is delayed and takes place later. In PE terms, we have a progressive PRESG [9] involving 'definite expectations' [10], that involves a 'lack of X' [4]. Let us see how these familiar properties of PRESG are combined to pro­ duce a very intense effect. Inherent in any PRESGprogr is a latent contrast between 'the absence of a "complete" X and its partial, reduced presence'. In the case of 'X's absence at an expected point' this contrast is sharpened by AUGMENTING one of its terms, 'presence', which is CONCRETIZED as a 'slot for or predisposition to X': at the moment when X is expected with complete definiteness the predisposition (i.e. 'presence, albeit mental') reaches its maximum. As a result of the contrast, the opposite term, 'ab­ sence', is also set off. The pattern as a whole, comprising two PreX-s (the 'in­ itial expectation' and the 'heightened expectation once the deadline has come') and X itself, combines the characteristics of both INCREASE ('par­ tial presence — more pronounced presence — complete presence') and

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RECOIL MOVEMENT ('partial presence — pointed absence — complete presence'). The 'absence of X' which interrupts the sequence PreX—X can be CON­ CRETIZED in various ways as regards its relation to the narrative line it interrupts. A. The interruption can draw on the material of the same line. An interesting case is the "Eclipsing" device, used for example, in Pechorin's duel with Grushnitsky in Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time. PreX = 'P. shoots at G., who is standing at the brink of a precipice' ; NonX = 'The ledge is enveloped in smoke'; X = When the smoke dispersed, Grushnitsky was not on the ledge (Lermontov 1958:171). Crucial for this pattern is the fact that while the "curtain" (= NonX) conceals the scene, the development from PreX to X continues so that once lifted, the "curtain" reveals the anticipated X, especially since "Eclipsing" is usually inserted right before the last and most dramatic stage of the INCREASE. Thus it COMBINES a gradual INCR from PreX to X with a pointedly sudden transition from "zero" (= 'ab­ sence of X') to X, complete and set off by the contrast.17 B. The PreX—X path can be interrupted by material from another line, i.e. by some independently existing Y. In adventure plots a line of action is often interrupted "in the most interesting place", say, by the end of a chapter; then, in the following chapter, the narrative focuses on a different line and only later picks up the original thread. In Chs. 32-33 of The Twelve Chairs by Ilf and Petrov (1961) the protagonists get hold of one of the coveted chairs and open it. After a spectacular PreX ("Got it!" said Ostap in a hushed voice; p. 311), a NonX follows, drawn from other lines ("Father Fyodor's letter", end of Ch. 32; update on life in Stargorod, beginning of Ch. 33). Only after that the interrupted line is resumed (with a repetition of Ostap's excited words — " ( Got it"...) and there appears a mysterious flat wooden box extracted from the chair (p. 313).18 C. An intermediate case involves, in the role of NonX, a Y belonging neither to the PreX—X line nor to any other independent line extending beyond the NonX episode. Cases in point are: framed stories (see Don Quix­ ote, The Pickwick Club), lyrical digressions (see Byron's Don Juan, Pushkin's Evgenij Onegin), philosophical, historical, social-critical reflections of the narrator (cf. the novels of Hugo, Balzac, Tolstoy), and so on. An extreme case of retardation by means of framed stories is in Arabian Nights, where the telling of tales keeps postponing the narrator's death. The PreX—X line becomes secondary while the line of NonX-s assumes the central role. This is,

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in fact, a COMBINATION of a PreX—X path playing the role of external form with what is actually a cycle of framed stories (of the Decameron type). 19 D. To conclude the section on retardation, let us mention as a special case such drawn-out sequences of PreX-s that create the impression of 'mark­ ing time, not approaching X'. The sheer number of PreX-s turns them, paradoxically, into a NonX (cf. the famous Achilles-and-turtle sophism). For example, in Molière's Le Marriage Forcé (1,2), Sganarelle goes to consult a neighbor on his intended marriage. The question proper (= X) is preceded by an endless series of preambles (PreX-s), like / want to consult you about a cer­ tain matter, It is about a thing of great importance to me, Can you be frank with me, etc., which play the role of retardation. 4.

Themes CONCRETIZED

via PRESAGE

4.1 Progressive PRESGs are natural elicitors of emotions concerned with 'looking forward', fear', 'alarm', 'foreboding', 'hope',etc. Compare Eisen­ stein's observations on the way to convey 'alarmed concern for hero': there must be a gradual transition from unclear indications that something is wrong to more and more definite information about the danger (see [1970a] and Nizhny 1979). This is one reason why PRESG (and especially, PRESGprogr) techniques are so abundant and elaborate in plots designed to instill fear (see above on "The Adventure of the Dancing Men"). PRESAGES which are perceived only in retrospect (PRESGretr) are, in their turn, good for convey­ ing 'revelation', 'recognition', 'epiphany' and similar themes. 20 Both types of PRESAGE — PRESGprrogr and PRESGretr— are appropriate for detective plots, which call, on the one hand, for evoking in the reader fear', etc., and on the other hand, for impressing him with an unexpected 'discovery' of the hidden meaning of the facts he has been exposed to. 4.2 Advertising as a form of "applied art" also calls for the use of PRES­ AGE. We will consider in some detail an advertisement where PRESG is compounded by VAR and COMB. The ad in question (see Figs. 31,32) pro­ motes the Elseve shampoo as good for split ends. Printed at the top of the page in big letters is the question : Miss, what do split ends mean to you? Below it there are four black-and-white photos of four different young women being interviewed by a pollster with a mike; they differ in the color of hair, angle of the shot, the spatial positions of the interviewer and the women and so on; under each photo the woman's answer is given. All answers reflect a negative

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115

Mademoiselle, pour vous, des cheveux qui fourchicottent, qu'est-ce que'est?

"...des cheveux qui "fourchicottent" tristes, en mauvais état"

?

ce sont des cheveux

"Fourchicotte" ? c'est une façon de parler des cheveux qui se coupent en deux au bout, des cheveux qui rebiquenr."

"...les cheveux qui "fourchicottent" ce sont des cheveux pas beaux, usés, impossibles"

"...des cheveux qui ne se laissent pas coiffer, qui sont difficiles et récalcitrants"

Le nouveau shampooing Elsève fait du bien aux cheveux qui "fourchicottent" et les protège des racines jusqu'aux pointes. Avec Ie shampooing Elsève aux protéines, vous aurez de beaux cheveux, des cheveux brillants, dociles et vigoureux.

shampooing ELSEVE pour les cheveux qui fourchicottent.

Figure 31

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POETICS O F EXPRESSIVENESS

Figure 32 attitude to split ends. Still lower there are pictures in color of bottles of the shampoo and the usual advertising information about it, in particular — in big letters — about how good it is for split ends.

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117

In what sense does PRESAGE fit the demands of advertising? Crucial for an advertisement is to arouse in the consumer a 'desire, anticipation, hope' — just the type of theme that calls for CONCRETIZATION via PRESAGE. In fact, advertisements often proceed from the picture of a lack of a service (one has to wash a sink, go somewhere, relieve a pain, and so on) to that of the promoted object that liquidates the lack (a detergent, a car, a painreliever, ... ). In our example, this strategy has the display of the shampoo pre­ ceded by the discussion of split ends. But the expressive structure of the ad is not limited to this PRESG. Another characteristic theme of the advertising genre is 'objectivity, impartiality, unobtrusiveness, fair play, truthfulness'. To convey 'objectivity', (i) the description of an item is often couched in busi­ ness-like, or "scientific", idiom, emphasizing causal relations; or (ii) the opin­ ion of the press is quoted; or (iii) praise of the item is put in the mouth of people who are known to be impartial or even hostile to the product and/or the producer; or (iv) the producer's indifference to praise is stressed (cf. the famous ad for Volkswagen "Bug": Ugly as ever). In our case, the theme of 'objectiveness' is CONCRETIZED through the 'polling of the public opin­ ion', which, in turn, results in such CONCRETIZATION as 'the interviewer with a mike; questions and answers; black-and-white photography (connot­ ing 'documentariness, factuality, newspaper news, not magazine ads'); the crowded street (= 'life itself); "scientific" discussion of the semantics of "split ends".' 'Polling' (i.e. 'objectivity') is COMBINED with 'splits ends' (i.e. PreX = 'lack') into the following situation: 'lack of a remedy for split ends becomes apparent in the course of a public opinion poll'. This COMB is effective in two ways: it looks quite natural and lends itself to a visual CONCRETIZA­ TION. To appreciate this particular COMB one can compare it with other (weaker) possible variations on the same themes — either involving no COMB at all (e.g. quotes from the press or public opinion statistics, appear­ ing separately from the pictorial part of the ad), or using a less compact COMB (e.g. quotes or statistical figures placed close to the picture of PreX and/or X, sometimes forming a clear geometric pattern or enclosed in a com­ mon frame). Note also that the sequence that CONCRETIZES 'objectivity' (i.e. the 'polling') is COMBINED with PreX, and not with X. The opposite solution is also theoretically possible — with a 'poll' which, instead of estab­ lishing the 'lack', would promote the advantages of the shampoo itself. This, however, would contradict the set towards 'objectivity, in particular, unob­ trusiveness, i.e. understatement in delivering the central message X'. (Some

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of the other typical manifestations of 'unobtrusiveness' are: fine print used in direct recommendations of X; glossing over the unpleasant element 'money, payment', e.g. by saying drink, smoke, switch to, read and so on, instead of buy, subscribe, etc; by omitting the price, and so on). To return to our ad, the COMBINATION of 'poll' with X would have resulted in undesirable 'blatancy' As it is, the impression of 'objective promotion', introduced in con­ nection with PreX, unobtrusively spreads to X as well. Note that PRESG is also accompanied here by VARIATION (four different women are polled). This ED, predisposed by the motif of 'publicness, polling', makes for still greater emphasis on the PreX ('lack'). 4.3 A group of themes, such as 'upsurge, elation', 'expansion , 'build-up', predispose to the construction PRESG + AUGM 4- REP, which amounts to INCREASE (cf. Note 13, about the composition of the Battleship Potëmkin, and also the observation in §3.3.5 about the expressive effects inherent in INCR). The theme of 'competition calls for two parallel INCREASES; cf. for instance, the fable about the proud frog and the ox (Aesop and Krylov), the "Auction" episode in The Twelve Chairs (see 1967d), and other similar plots. 4.4 Retardations and other interruptions of the PreX— X path are natural vehicles for the theme of 'delay, postponement'. An example from Evariste Parny's À mes amis will illustrate. In that poem 'postponement of the end, old age, death' is expressed iconically by the addition of one more line rhyming with the preceding one and inserted immediately before the concluding line of the last stanza, i.e. by switching from the abba pattern to abbba. This ''extra" line is, in fact, an extra PreX (similar to the one before it) that both interrupts the sequence (resulting in "retardation") and INCREASES it. This latter effect, too, is an icon of the theme, for 'postponement of death' has as its underside 'extension, continuation of life\ for which INCR is a natural CONCRETIZATION. 5. 5.1

EDs bordering on PRESA GE PRESG/PREST.

Among the subtypes of PREPARATION, PRESG is naturally closer to PREST, breeding borderline cases where it is uncertain whether PreX is a lack of some unknown quantity, i.e. a zero, a NonX' (PREST), or specifi­ cally a lack of X' (PRESG). Since 'lack' is based on the paramenter [4] 'slot', the distinction between PRESG and PREST depends, in such cases, on the

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way the definition (in the "dictionary of reality") of the PreX and its slot com­ pares with the definition of the X that is supposed to fill the slot — in other words, on how specific the constraints on the filling are. For instance, a 'trunk' is a 'container for anything' (clothes, books, documents, money...'), while a 'case for glasses' or 'wallet' unambiguously predict their contents. Therefore, the sequence 'trunk — money (in the trunk)' is a pure PREST, whereas 'wallet — money' is a PRESG. Another example: the "dictionary information" for 'stupefaction' will have a slot for its cause, which can be fil­ led in by any 'unexpected strong impression'; the "cause" slot of 'fear', how­ ever, will call for a more concrete filling, 'something dangerous". Accord­ ingly, the sequence 'stupefied face — the muzzle of a gun' is a PREST, while 'grimace of fear — the muzzle of a gun' is a PRESG (because PreX is in this case a partial X). To be sure, the distinction between more or less specific pre­ diction of X by a PreX with a slot for X is tenuous and requires further consid­ eration. 5.2

PRESG/VAR.

This is a frequent borderline case, due to the relation of 'incomplete identity', which is by definition common to the two EDs. We have discussed this problem at length in connection with VAR (see Chap. 3) and will only briefly refer to what was said there. One typical case is when VARIATION through 'large' and 'small' produces in the text the sequence 'small CONCR— large CONCR', for instance, if the first appearance of a pro­ tagonist involves some of his leitmotif characteristics. Or, compare Jourdain's conversation with his wife about his readiness to be whipped at school: the 'whipping' reflects, in miniature, his general thirst for culture (VAR), on the one hand, and, the future episode of mock knighting (PRESG) on the other. Evidently, all such instances of VARlarge/'small quite automatically correspond to the definition of PRESG. Sometimes discrimination is promp­ ted by an important difference in the expressive functions of the two EDs: while VAR serves primarily to vary the surface manifestations of a deeper thematic entity, the role of PRESG is basically to prepare the appearance of a surface entity (X) with the help of another entity (PreX), also belonging to the surface level. It is, therefore, characteristic of VAR that its surface pro­ ducts share a certain very abstract quantity, preferably of considerable thematic relevance. PRESG, on the other hand, tends towards pure "copy­ ing" of a concrete textual manifestation of X. With these rules of thumb in mind, one can talk of greater or lesser presence of VAR and PRESG in par­ ticular cases. For instance, the conversation about whipping is a good

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instance of the "Jourdain complex" and thus a rather clear case of VAR; but the surface element of 'beating' endows it also with the functions of PRESG. On the other hand, a man's ominous death under a train in Anna Karenina deals mostly in surface details rather than in deep thematic links and thus is a clear case of a PRESG that does not involve VAR. 5.3 In a similar way one could discuss cases intermediate between PRESG and RED and AUGM, determined by the properties which these EDs by definition share with PRESG ('incompleteness'; 'reduction'; 'size'). Another interesting problem concerns the relations between PRESG and REC, RECMOV, and S-TURN (briefly touched upon above; see also Chap. 5). All this is however beyond the scope of this chapter, which is only intended to offer a general outline of the expressive device of PRESAGE.

NOTES 1) In fact, the analogy between PREP and RED is a far-reaching one. REDUCTION, by definition, replaces X with its part from which the whole X is reconstructible. The synecdochal relation between the part, present in the text, and the whole, whose image looms behind it, is simi­ lar to the "path" from PreX to X, the main difference being that in PREP the ''path" is beaten across actual time and text, while in RED it exists in the purely mental space of the reader's percep­ tions. This kind of imaginary path, linking the textual manifestation of X with its "complete, cor­ rect"' mental image, must also be postulated for the elementary ED AUGMENTATION, and for tropes and most other figures (i.e. combinations of EDs. see Chap. 1 and 1978a), e.g. "Embellish­ ment" (see Chap. 10, §1). 2) Cf. the two similar subtypes of AUGM: AUGM proper, i.e. in 'size', and positional AUGM, see 1973a: 25 and Chap. 2, §2. 'Reduction' as a parameter of PRESG should not be confused with ED REDUCTION; cf. Note 1. 3) Note that the concept 'to cause X, really to prepare X' need not coincide with the commonsensical notion of 'causality' and is defined differently for different types of poetic structure. If in plots the two notions are more or less equivalent, in verse 'real causation' will also cover, for instance, alliterations PRESAGING the final rhyming word (see 1979d). 4) Of course, the evaluation of 'completeness' is always dependent on the importance one attaches to the omitted properties. For instance, in the Potëmkin example, PreX does not reflect such aspects of X (= the future mutiny) as 'violence' (the throwing of the officers overboard) and 'repression' (Vakulincuk's murder). Note that the 'violence done to the officers' can be seen either as a mere AUGM of 'disobedience' or as a separate thematic entity, invariant in Eisenstein (com­ pare his other films). 5) Cf. Saljamon's observations on the subliminal accumulation (1971:108), and a similar study by Dell Hymes (1960). 6) For a detailed discussion of phonetic, semantic and lexical PRESAGES, both pro- and retrogressive, of the final rhyming word in verse, see 1979d.

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7) Curiously enough, even such a sophisticated scholar and translator as Carl Proffer, from whose translation we borrowed the English version of the example, omitted one of these details: instead of eighty-seven years old, he actually has eighty years old (see Proffer 1969: 87). 8) Love of such internal correspondences, well hidden in the text, is one manifestation of Pushkin's famed stylistic subtlety, which calls for repeated and very attentive reading. Some of these effects are probably intended exclusively for the author's private consumption. 9) Thus, PRESG is, in fact, compounded here with CONTR (on combinations of PRESG with other EDs, see §3). Moreover, the sequence 'goes to prison first as a benefactor, then as a convict" can be perceived as RECOIL — by those who will realize that these are the two symbolically and compositionally salient points in Tartuffe's career, the beginning and the end: they will experience the "psychological zigzag" ("this is how he started and here's how he ended" ) specified in the defin­ ition of RECOIL (see Chap. 5). A similar case of PRESG + REC is found in Pushkin's "A Feast during the Plague". X = Walsingham's song that glorifies enjoyment on the brink of death and culminates in the image of 'drinking in the breath of the rose-maid, perhaps, full of plague'. This motif is foreshadowed in the only other song in the play, sung by Mary, where, on the contrary, the idea of contact with a plagued lover is rejected. This dual — positive and negative — PREPARATION is also, like in Tartuffe, made noticeable by structural means: the two songs are clearly set in relief in the play's composition and thus invite comparison. 10) Sometimes PreX-s stake a path towards a false solution. 11) This COMBINATION in a PreX of contrasting elements ('apparently there is no evidence for predicting X/ in actuality there is such evidence') is practically equivalent to one of the two major variants of REC-MOV — the mental one (REC-MOV ment. see Chap. 5). 12) The paradoxical situation 'the czar crawls at the feet of his subjects' is made natural by CONCORD with Ivan's 'illness': 'Ivan, exhausted by illness and the argument, kneels down, then falls onto the ground'. 13) A classical case of "reinforced repetition" underlies the structure of Battleship Potëmkin as analyzed by Eisenstein himself: X = 'the sailors' refusal to shoot at their "brothers" on the same battleship'; X! = 'the battleship's final passing through the entire fleet, which refuses to shoot at it' (Eisenstein 1964, III: 47)ff. The structure conveys iconically the theme 'the mutiny expands, as mutineers and their potential executioners realize they are brothers". 14) This type of PRESG + CONTR underlies "amplification", which is a subtype of SUDDEN TURN (see Chap. 5, §5). 15) By definition, REC-MOV is just such a combination of the two RECOILS: X is reached in a curved line Anti(AntiX) — AntiX — X (see Chap. 5). 16) In fact, in all three examples from Molière in §3.4.1, REC-MOV is itself not "pure"', but developed into a construction where X is causally motivated by AntiX, i.e. into SUDDEN TURN (see Chap. 5). 17) On "Eclipsing" see Chap. 8. §1.10 and also 1979k. 18) In fact, this particular episode involves an additional effect: later on it will turn out that an apparent X is an AntiX: the box contains not the sought-after treasure, but merely a trade-mark of the maker of the chairs (REC-MOVment). 19) Like the example from The Twelve Chairs, this construction is not a pure case of the PreX— X pattern: since in the end Sheherazade is not executed and this outcome is prepared by numerous

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delays of the execution, the whole pattern is in fact rather like a SUDDEN TURN. 20) On the technique of PRESGretrr, which involves the concealment of the clues to the future solution, as well as on its connection with the theme of 'revelation', see 1984a, Chap. 4.

5 ON RECOIL

1.

RECOIL proper

1.1 Elementary

RECOILS.

We adopted the term "recoil (movement)" from the theoretical writings of Eisenstein, who, in turn, owes it to his mentor, Vsevolod Meyerhold. In Meyerhold's biomechanical exercises and stage practice were "meticulously elaborated the moments of otkaz 'recoil': stepping back before moving ahead, raising one's hand before striking, squatting before rising, etc. Some­ times 'recoil' was interpreted in psychological terms, sometimes as a compos­ itional device. But each time its purpose < . . . > was to strengthen and high­ light the scenic action." According to Meyerhold, "prior to strangling Desdemona, the actor playing Othello should enact boundless love for her. Only then will the final scene of the performance reach genuinely tragic heights" (Varpaxovskij 1967: 475). Note that while Meyerhold and Eisens­ tein used the words 'recoil' and 'recoil movement' indiscriminately as synonyms, we have given them different meanings (reserving RECOIL MOVEMENT for a specific, 'dynamized', variety of RECOIL; see §2). RECOIL (REC) is, along with PRESENTATION and PRESAGE, a variety of PREPARATION (see Chap. 2, §7): a PREPARATION where PreX is an AntiX, i.e. the opposite of X; thus REC is a PREPARATION compounded by CONTRAST, whence many of the expressive properties of RECOIL. Meyerhold's design of the Othello-Desdemona scene mentioned above is a typical case in point. The device of RECOIL can hardly pass unnoticed here for it marks the culmination of the entire play. But RECOIL can well be less conspicuous, for instance, when it is applied to minor details of the plot. In the beginning of a scene in King Henry W (Part I, Act III, Scene 2) cour­ tiers fill the stage, only to be summarily dismissed by the king, whose opening lines are: "Lords, give us leave; the Prince of Wales and I/Must have some pri­ vate conference..." (Exeunt Lords). The sole function of this rather simple

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move is to stress the 'confidentiality' of the king's conversation with his son. This effect is achieved by staging a shift to 'confidentiality1 from the opposite state, 'a pompous court gathering' (Fig. 33).

Figure 33 A graphic example of RECOIL is provided by the Moscow Taganka the­ ater production of Brecht's The Life of Galileo. In Scene XII friends inter­ cede for Galileo before the new Pope Urban VIII, an allegedly enlightened sympathizer of the astronomer. But the Pope disappoints them, assuming a dogmatic stance, in accord with his post. The sequence, as elaborated by the director Ljubimov, opens with the Pope displaying a 'human face', an AntiX that is to precede his hardening into X = 'the Pontiff as incarnation of official power'. His very first words on stage express an energetic refusal, thus con­ veying iconically the RECOIL character of the episode: The Pope (very loudly). "No, no and once again no. I will never allow the [Galileo's] calcula­ tion tables to be destroyed. No!" As the conversation goes on, however, he grows less tolerant and ends up adopting the rigidly official hard line. The dialogue is accompanied (VARIATION) by a pantomime expressing the same idea visually: the Pope is being dressed in his magnificent robe, a RECOIL sequence which starts from complete nakedness. The effect is again that of Tope the human being' as opposed to 'Pope the dignitary', who emerges at the end of the scene fully armored in his uniform, complete with tiara and golden staff.1 Some dramatic RECOIL situations have become stock motifs; for instance, the one in which the hero is asked to help overcome the enemy (X) while he is immersed in peaceful and private activities (AntiX). This is known as the "Cincinnatus motif", after one of its earliest occurrences, the story of

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the Roman general told by Livy: Cincinnatus was diverted from his plough and oxen to become the dictator and lead the army against the hostile Aequi tribes advancing on Rome (Ab urbe condita, III, 25-26). In the East African epic poem Utendi of Herekali (Swahili, early XVIIIth century) the Muslim forces are headed for defeat unless the great folk hero Ali, the son-in-law of the prophet Mohammed, comes to their rescue. The messengers find him chopping wood in front of his house, a long distance from the battlefield, tamely taking orders from his wife, who reproaches him for not working hard enough. He sets out at once, joins the battle and sways the military fortune. In addition to RECOIL proper, this sequence offers a VARIATION of the contrast between 'heroic' and 'non-heroic' conduct: (a) 'peaceful occupation/ fighting', (b) 'obeying a woman/commanding men'. In Eisenstein's Alexan­ der Nevsky the messengers, who arrive in the small lakeside town of Pereslavl-Zalessky and ask the thirteenth century Russian prince to head the popu­ lar resistance against the invading German knights, discover him standing up to his knees in the lake, dragging a fishnet. Incidentally, the very choice of the setting is also involved in highlighting the contrast between 'peaceful occupa­ tion' and 'military feat': the historic Battle on the Ice, resulting in the total defeat of the Teutonic knights by Alexander's troops, will be fought on a lake. A similar pattern can shape plots dealing with non-militarity activites (artistic creativity, politics, crime detection, etc.). Alexander Dumas' novel Twenty Years Later starts with d'Artagnan trying to prod his former friends, the three musketeers, smugly settled down on their estates, into a joint strug­ gle against the sly Mazarini; here RECOIL is compounded with the PRE­ SENTATION pattern of "Gathering a Group" (see Chap. 2, §7, Fig. 16 and also §1.2 below). In some of the Sherlock Holmes stories, the great detective is asked to undertake a new investigation while he is busy studying exotic lan­ guages or writing a treatise on medieval music. Fishing is another humble occupation (AntiX), remote from the great deeds that are to follow it (X), — in the Gospels, as well as in Pushkin's poem Otrok "A Youth" about the young Lomonosov, who was a fisherman's son (Pushkin, III: 241): Nevod rybak rasstilal po bregu studënogo mor ja; I Mal'čik otcu pomogal Otrok, ostav' rybakall Mrezi inye tebja ozidajut, inye zaboty:/ Budeš' umy ulovljat', budeš' pomoscnik carjam. "A fisherman was spreading his net along the shore of a cold sea; a boy was helping his father. Youth, leave the fisher­ man! Other nets are awaiting you, other concerns, you will be catching minds, you will be a helper of czars."

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The contrast between X and AntiX, inherent in RECOIL, is echoed here on the lexical plane (nevod-mrezi; mal'čik-otrok)2 and set off by two con­ comitant semantic similarities: 'assistant (of father/of kings)', 'catcher (of fish/of souls)'. The Cincinnatus motif is parodied in Tynjanov's Maloletnyj Vitusisnikov "The Juvenile Vitusisnikov", satirizing the 'stagnation in the Russia of Nicholas Γ (see Chap. 3, §4.1, formulas (62)-(74) and Fig. 25). The comic fig­ ure "Embellishment" (see 1978a: 583ff) applied to 'stagnation' results in the depiction of trivial events as significant and even glorious in terms of historic and heroic clichés. For instance, Nicholas I postures as a kind of Peter the Great (who made it a point to supervise personally the activities of adminis­ trative institutions) by inspecting a pub and pursuing two AWOL soldiers found there. The Cincinnatus motif is precisely one such cliché ; in Tynjanov's story it is applied to the notorious literary hack and police informer Bulgarin. The police department seeks his help in publicizing the "exploit" of the infant prodigy Vitusisnikov (which in fact consisted in showing the emperor his way out of the pub). Faddej Venediktovic Bulgarin was disturbed in his solitary retreat... In summer he lived in his country house, in winter in his spacious St. Petersburg apartment, where he had installed an immense cage occupying half of the room, in which he kept singing birds... He was pondering over aplan of his memoirs (Ch. 30). The ironic treatment of this situation alongside other originally heroic motifs, testifies to its having become part of the vocabulary of stock literary patterns. 3 1.2 Borderline cases. RECOIL/CONTRASTI contrastive VARIATION. Since the literary text is mainly linear, any two contrasting elements have to be arranged in a certain sequential order. Therefore, the question often arises whether a given pair of successive elements represents REC, simple CONTR, or VARcontr. The decision is guided by two considerations inherent in the definition of RECOIL. First, it involves the notion of 'path' from AntiX to X, i.e. a sense of passage, or "zigzag": in RECOIL, AntiX and X are perceived as two stages of one and the same process (e.g. amelioration/deterioration in the fortunes of a hero in a tale; intensification/weakening of emotion in a lyric; and so on); CONTRAST, on the other hand, calls merely for a temporal arrangement of the material (for instance, in a didactic poem extolling a good ruler, the author can begin with a description of a bad ruler and then go on to the good one, or vice-versa). The second criterion (serving to distinguish REC and

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CONTR from VARcontr) concerns the relative structural importance of X and AntiX (cf. the argumentation in Chap. 3, §6.2 & Chap. 4, §5.2). In REC (and CONTR in general), one term of the pair (X) is the "main", or dominant one, in the sense that it belongs to a deeper level and is thus closer to the theme, while the other (AntiX) is "auxiliary", or "derivative", designed to set off the main element. In VARcontr, both items belong to the same level of derivation, forming two parallel CONCRETIZATIONS of a single thematic element. Still, if the psychological "zigzag" is there, the construction borders on RECOIL: for instance, there is a definite sense of deterioration when the hero of Gogol's Dead Souls, Cicikov, who visits every landowner in the dis­ trict, finds himself a guest of the violent bully Nozdrev shortly after his idyllic stay with the mellifluous Manilov. RECOIL/PRESENTATION. The problem of distinguisthing between these two modes of PREPARATION arises when the contrast between PreX and X is not very pronounced. For example, the entity X may be such that the dictionary of reality does not contain two distinct opposite entities, NonX and AntiX, but only one, which can alternatively be interpreted as either NonX or AntiX. The following two examples will illustrate. (i) "Gathering a Group" (see Chap. 2, §7, and Fig. 16). This is a clear case of PRESENTATION (and not RECOIL), since 'the concerted action of the protagonists' (= X) has two negative counterparts that can precede it: either 'protagonists are merely dispersed' (PreX = NonX; this is what actu­ ally takes place in this motif) or 'protagonists quarrel' (PreX = AntiX; this occurs in the motif of "Friendship through Quarrel", see below, §4.2). (ii) "Breaking a Set", e.g. of the twelve chairs sought by the heroes of Iff and Petrov (see §5 below): the set could have been presented as broken from the very beginning, but due to PREPARATION, this situation takes shape before the reader's eyes. Whether this process should be described in terms of PRESENTATION or RECOIL depends on the way we regard 'completeness': as mere 'non-brokenness' or as 'anti-brokenness', a question not easily answered. 2.

RECOIL

MOVEMENT

RECOIL MOVEMENT (REC-MOV) is a RECOIL whose AntiX is, in its turn, PREPARED by a RECOIL, so that there is a contrast between the developments Anti(AntiX) — AntiX, on the one hand, and AntiX — X, on the other (Fig. 34)4.

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Figure 34. RECOIL MOVEMENT The plot of a French science fiction movie Le ciel sur la tête " T h e Sky Over­ head" (1965, dir. by Yves Ciampi) provides a conveniently clear example. The movie is about the 'state of emergency caused by an extraterrestrial threat'. However, it does not start with the alert itself (i.e. without PREP), or with a transition from a peaceful life to the alert (PREST or REC). The opening scene of the film is the end of military maneuvers: the protagonists (military pilots) are packing to go home on leave, so that when the state of emergency is declared, we see the characters being reached one by one in their homes, diverted from their peaceful occupations and brought back to the base. Here, X = 'state of emergency'; AntiX = 'peaceful life'; transition from AntiX to X = 'return to the ranks'; Anti(AntiX) = 'military maneuv­ ers' ; transition from Anti(AntiX) to AntiX (which is the reverse of 'return to the ranks') = 'end of maneuvers and going on leave'. Note that REC-MOV is compounded here by two other EDs: (i) the contrast between 'state of emergency' and 'peaceful life' is further CONCRETIZED as a contrast between 'togetherness' and 'dispersion' of the characters5 ; (ii) owing to 'dis­ persion' (the pilots are engaged in a number of 'different occupations'), 'peaceful life" is VARIED, as is 'return to the ranks' (each pilot has to be recalled from his particular pursuit in a particular way). Another instance of REC-MOV, as distinct from simple REC, is in the behavior of Cromwell in Ken Hughes' film of the same title (1970). The future lord-protector (Richard Harris), is called upon to head the antiroyalist forces at the moment when he is about to sail to America with the intention of resting from Britain's political turmoil. He at first refuses to rise against the king; only later, prompted by other motives, does he give his con­ sent. Here the familiar Cincinnatus motif is developed into a full-fledged RECOIL MOVEMENT by the addition of a second RECOIL segment. Not only is Cromwell unwilling to act, but he is preparing to put an ocean between himself and the action: mentally he has already landed in America, and it is from over there, as it were, that the has to be called to arms. Predictably, the stage productions of Meyerhold provide excellent mate­ rial for the study of RECOIL MOVEMENT. "Recoil, was at the base of one of the most powerful scenes of La dame aux camelias — that of the death of

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Marguerite. The recoil technique was used by Meyerhold in this scene on var­ ious levels — in the text, in the mise-en-scène, in the atmosphere, and so on. The last words of Marguerite were changed by the director and went as fol­ lows: 'I am not suffering any longer!... It seems that life is returning to me... I have never felt so wonderful... So I am going to live after all? Look, I am smiling, I am strong... Life is coming back! It is its approach that makes me tremble so...' Having uttered these last words, Marguerite suddenly rose from her armchair, straightened out, and, clasping the window curtain with both hands, opened the window. Bright sunlight burst into the semi-dark room and inundated the stage. Marguerite, still holding on to the curtain, sank back into her armchair, her back half turned to the audience. General consternation. After a pause her left arm slid down from the elbow-rest, as a sign of death. Each of those present stepped back a little; only then did they all approach her, while Armand, with a cry: 'Marguerite, Marguerite!' — knelt before her. At this point the curtain fell" (Varpaxovskij 1967:475). Let us begin with the central REC-MOV of the sequence. A few moments before her 'death' (X), Marguerite feels 'life' (AntiX) returning. The 'transition to life' is CONCRETIZED on various planes: (103)

Marguerite says life is returning to her, rises from armchair, forcefully (with both hands) opens window, trembles, lets in light.

The 'turn towards death' that follows is also VARIED: (104)

Marguerite sinks back into armchair, is silent, clings to curtain, arm slides down, onlookers are shocked.

The 'life' and 'death' sequences (103), (104) are well CONCORDED. The contrast between them is represented on several planes (VAR): 'speech behavior' (monologue/silence), 'body movement' (rises/falls). 'way of handl­ ing curtain' (energetic pulling/feeble clinging to). The sliding down of the arm can be regarded as REPETITION (or even AUGMENTATION into a "close-up"6) of the body's collapsing shortly before. In analyzing the episode we deliberately concentrated on the main RECMOV that underlies it. As a matter of fact, RECOIL MOVEMENT is not represented here in its pure form, but is elaborated into a SUDDEN TURN construction (see below, §3) by means of an important factual link between AntiX and X. The absence of such a link, rather unusual in dramatic plots 7 , is more or less typical in lyrical texts. Poetry abounds in pure RECOILS and RECOIL MOVEMENTS, that is, in sequences of the Anti(AntiX) — AntiX — X type which are not compounded by causal or other factual connections

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between the three terms. Cf. Mandel'stam's short lyric (1967:150). (105)

Kuda kak strašno nam s toboj, Tovarišč bol' šerotyj moj. Ox, kak krositsja nas tabak, Scelkuncik, druzok, durak! A mog by žizn' prosvistat' skvortsom, Zaest' orexovym pirogom... Da, vidno, nel'zjanikak.

How scared we are, you and I, Oh, my large-mouthed comrade. Oh, how crumbles our tobacco, [You] nutcracker, friend, fool! And only think that [one] could have whistled all life like a starling, Munching away a nut cake... But there doesn't seem to be a way.

Lines 1-4 are an Anti(AntiX) — 'no good', lines 5-6, an Anti-X — 'a possibil­ ity of the good', the last line, X — 'no chance of the good at all'. It is these ring - like sequences that Zirmunskij (1975:502-18) regards as one of the principal types of lyrical composition; for instance, "...in Fet's Davno l pod volsebnye zvuki... "Is it long since to the magic sounds..." the opening lines are a remembrance of young and happy love, a picture of a waltz danced in a brightly lit hall [Anti(AntiX)]; at the end of the poem, after we are told that the beloved is dead [AntiX], the same picture returns as a dream or hallucina­ tion [X]" [ibid, 505-6; the bracketed symbols are ours - Yu. Shch., A.Zh.]. 3.

SUDDEN

TURN

SUDDEN TURN (S-TURN) is a complex construction underlying a great variety of literary structures and particularly typical of short story and dramatic plots. It can be defined as a RECOIL MOVEMENT in which the two contrasting lines "Anti(AntiX) — AntiX" and "AntiX — X" are linked in some "factual" way by means of either COMBINATION into a cause-andeffect construction (COMBcaus) or COMBINATION into an "appearance — reality" sequence (COMBapp). To clarify the definition, let us turn once again to the Meyerhold example. The initial segment Anti(AntiX) — AntiX, i.e. 'return to life' is CONCORDED with the final (X= 'death') in several ways. In fact, most of the features of 'returning life' (listed above) are easily interpreted in terms of 'approaching death' as well, serving as its PRES­ AGES. This is particularly true of the gesture with the curtain, which Margu­ erite clasps with both her hands: it may suggest will and energy, but actually is indicative of extreme weakness ; it takes an effort of both hands just to draw the curtain, and she has to hold on to it in order not to fall. The tremor is also ambiguous, being common to joyous excitement and agony, as are the other signs of ostensible recovery displayed in this scene. All these symptoms-ofdeath-looking-like-symptoms-of-life follow each other in the order of their

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increasingly sinister interpretation, as is generally typical of S-TURN plots. A new element in this description of the episode (compared with its treatment in §2 as simple RECOIL MOVEMENT) is the use of two addi­ tional EDs: CONCORD and COMBINATION, which introduce numerous foreshadowings of the end into the episode's initial stages. But the mere pre­ sence of such PRESAGES 8 is not sufficient to transform REC-MOV into STURN. It is essential that the COMBs and CONCDs be "factual": the PRE­ SAGES must not just hint at the future developments, but "really" be part of them. This requirement is met in our example by the COMBapp of 'ap­ proaching death' and '(apparently) returning life' into the ready-made situa­ tion 'last throes of death agony involving false signs of recovery'. The difference between S-TURN and a regular REC-MOV com­ pounded with PRESAGES of the final X is best exemplified by a set of artifical situations. First of all, note that at least one PRESG is included in RECMOV by definition (cf. Note 4): Anti(AntiX) is, in a sense, a reduced X. Consider (106)

the hero is ill (Anti(AntiX)) — his condition improves (AntiX) — but, due to some external cause (infection, poisoning,...) he ends up dying (X).

Although this sequence includes a PRESG, it remains an instance of "pure" REC-MOV as there is no "factual" connection between AntiX and X: death takes place independently of the convalescence. Cf. this construct with the following passage from Chapter 1 of Vladimir Nabokov's The Real Life of Sebastian Knight: Nor is it exact... that his father was killed in the duel he fought in 1913: as a matter of fact, he was steadily recovering from the bullet wound in his chest, when — a full month later — he contracted a cold with which his half-healed lung could not cope (1959:6-7). A similar sequence (but with an inversion: 'recovery' instead of 'death') is found in the short story "A History of my Illness" by Mikhail Zoshchenko: Nevertheless, my organism was not subjected to any other illnesses, and it was only just before I left that I came down with a children's disease — whooping cough. The nurse says: "You must have gotten this infection from the neighboring wing. That's our chil­ dren's section. And in all likelihood you incautiously ate off the same tray that a child with whooping cough had been eating off. That's why you came down with it". All in all, the organism mended itself, and once again I began to get beiter (1980:156). To return to our artificial constructions, the introduction of more PRES­ AGES into the sequence will transform (106) into

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POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS (107)

the hero is ill — his condition improves while he keeps thinking about death (or reads a novel where death figures prominently; or learns about the death of his brother; etc.) — his condition deteriorates and he dies.

Sequence (107) does not form a SUDDEN TURN either, since the middle segment is merely a symbolic foreshadowing of the lethal outcome having no "factual" connection with it, required by the definition of S-TURN. The "fac­ tual" linking can be achieved in either of two ways. The first possible type is COMBapp, as in the Marguerite episode: (108)

the hero is terminally ill — he seemingly gets better in a last upsurge of energy, characteristic of death agony — he dies.

The other type is COMBeaus, as in (109)

the hero is ill — he actually improves and returns to active life — but being too active for a convalescent, he gets into trouble (catches a cold, is run over by a car. etc.) — and dies.

The two varieties of "factual" COMBINATION, COMBapp and COMBcaus, define the two principal types of SUDDEN TURN — the men­ tal and the causal (respectively). Let us again use very simple test cases (this time taken from cartoons). (110)

Causal SUDDEN TURN (S-TURNcaus): (a) a man is stranded on a desert island — a ship appears on the horizon, a rescue boat is lowered and heads for the island — while the boat is approach­ ing the island, the ship sinks; (b) a man and his wife are on an island — rescuers land — on seeing the wife, they hit the man on the head with an oar, take the wife and leave.

In both (110a,b) the plot unfolds from Anti(AntiX) ('the plight of those stranded on an island') to AntiX ('rescue') to X ('non-rescue and deteriora­ tion: increase of the number of sufferers; beating, loss of wife'), with AntiX and X forming a cause-effect pair: the process of rescue involves something that eventually aggravates the misfortune. (111)

Mental SUDDEN-TURN (S-TURNment): (a) a man languishes on an island — a small ship is seen — coming closer, the ship turns out to be a toy. (b) a man is on an island — he sees a distant ship, it comes nearer, men come on shore — they install a missile and sail off, leaving the hero alone with the missile.

In (111) the COMBINATIONS are not based on the "cause-effect" linkage of AntiX and X but on their misleading similarity; objects that have all along represented X ('misfortune') seemed, up to a point, to be manifestations of

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AntiX ('rescue'): a toy ship or a ship transporting missiles seemed to but in fact never did carry salvation. 4.

SUDDEN TURNS: some varieties

4.1 Mental S-TURNS. The two principal subtypes of S-TURNment are "False Turn in Interpre­ tation" and "Delayed Realization". In ''False Turn", no real change from the initial state (Anti(AntiX) — X) takes place; in fact it may even harden (into X!), but in the hero's/reader's perception there is a turn to the opposite (AntiX), which later proves false (XÜ), see Fig. 35.

Events

X

X!

X!!

Interpretation

X

AntiX

X!!

Figure 35. "False Turn in Interpretation" In "Delayed Realization" the relation between facts and perception is as follows (Fig. 36)9.

Events

AntiX

X

X(!)

Interpretation

AntiX

AntiX

X(!)

Figure 36. "Delayed Realization" Let us consider some literary examples. In Wilhelm Hauff's tale "The Dwarf Long-Nose" the hero (Jakob) is put into a long sleep during which he is tranformed into a dwarf with a long nose (X). On awakening he persists in interpreting the changes he discovers in his person in terms of sleep and its effects (AntiX). His neck has disappeared and his head will not turn — he attributes it to numbness caused by long sleep; he bumps into things with his long nose — and explains it away by his not being fully awake; he has spent seven years in the service of a witch — and takes it for a surprisinglsy long and complex bad dream; and so on. The failure to admit the actual change from AntiX to X continues in the following scenes, as does his obstinate clinging to interpretations of X (his 'dwarfishness') in "normal" terms. When a passer-by

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POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

shouts "What an ugly dwarf' , Jakob looks around for some dwarf that must be following him; when his mother fails to recognize him he decides she has gone mad; etc. Thus the middle segment of the sequence (the COMBINA­ TION of event X with its interpretation AntiX) is stressed by REPETITION, prolonging the delay, a frequent additional effect of this construction. In Conan Doyle's " T h e Beryl Coronet 1 ', the first appearance of the client, the usual harbinger of unrest and adventure in the stories, is interpreted by Watson as just another amusing aspect of the street life he is comfortably watch­ ing through the window: "Holmes, here is a madman coming along. It seems rather sad that his relatives should allow him to come out alone." In another story, the famous dancing men drawn on the window sill are at first dismissed as a bad practical joke or a children's prank. in Goethe's "Erlkönig" the appearances of the forest king and of his daughters, their calls, promises and gestures are explained away by the father as ordinary natural phenomena. The COMBINATION of appearance (elements of landscape) and reality (the hostile actions of the forest king) is facilitated by the introduction of a number of psychological, mythological and landscape "vaguenesses": the sleepy child, the dark night, etc. Incorrect perception of events is by definition a COMBINATION of an 'old interpretation' (the belief that AntiX is still there) with a 'new fact' (X, that is now a reality). This means that AntiX is modified to some extent, so that, strictly speaking, the middle segment of Fig. 36 is not the same AntiX as in the first segment, but rather a certain AntiX'. Such an adjustment, or shall we say, passing off of one entity for another, is effected by a special vari­ ety of COMBINATION — COMBid, an operation by which two different objects, having some points of similarity, are pronounced identical. The techniques of passing off vary: some are used in metaphors (see Chap. 1, §4, Fig. 4b; Chap. 2, §1, Fig. 7). others in comic "Embellishment" (see Chap. 10, §1.4, and also 1978a: 583ff) etc.. In "Embellishment", as well as in the COMEid of the "old" and the "new" perceptions in "Delayed Realization", different modes of identification of the two opposite entities are possible. Depending on what is required, the discrepancy between X and AntiX can be either heavily stressed or, on the contrary, glossed over. In the former case, the most striking and specific manifestations of the actual state of affairs X will be chosen to pass off for manifestations of AntiX; in the latter, the symptoms of X will be given some modest role in the shadow of a completely illusory AntiX. The first case is illustrated by the episode where the inconveniences of

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'dwarfishness' taken by the Dwarf Nose for effects of 'sleepiness' are selected from among the typical and specific features of both states. This specificity sharpens the contrast, as does the identity (the very same features represent 'sleepiness' and 'dwarfishness') ; the inadequacy of interpretation is set in still greater relief by multiple REPETITION (there is a whole series of 'X-s mis­ taken for AntiX-s'). A similar example is offered by the central scene from Perrault's "Little Red Ridinghood", where the symptoms of X = 'the wolf has devoured the Granny and is about to devour the girl' are consistently mis­ construed as proofs of AntiX = 'the kind Granny is eager to caress the girl'. A different type of effect is achieved when "Delayed Realization" tends to muffle (rather than to sharpen) the contrast between X and AntiX. In the short story "The Sorrows of Werther" by Mikhail Zoshchenko, as far as events are concerned, there is a clear passage from an 'idyll' (AntiX: bicycling in the park, the narrator meditates on humane relations in future society) to 'harsh reality' (X: for a minor offence he is seized by the park guards, grossly abused and all but beaten up). The hero is typically slow to decode the symptoms of the coming trouble (distant whistling, curses and the like) and thinks they are directed at someone else {somebody must have made a mis­ take... looks like they are pursuing someone... etc.) Note, however, that although the narrator misinterprets the new development, he does not read it as one more confirmation of the 'idyll' (unlike the Dwarf Nose, who clings to his 'sleep' version) but rather as minor inconveniences disturbing that idyll. (In the future, I think, such annoying things will not occur... We will hear no more of these shrill whistles, these unpleasant words... ). To appreciate the dif­ ference between the two strategies of passing off, let us imagine a hypotheti­ cal alternative version of the same episode: (112)

the hero manages to explain to himslef the shouts and whistles, the stampede of the chase, the manhandling, etc. in terms of his idyllic vision of the world, for instance, as signs of gaiety, athletic exercise, outdoor games and other healthy entertainments.

In fact, this more extravagant treatment of the contrast X/AntiX is not alien to Zoshchenko, as is seen from his story "The Art of Melpomene" (also known as "The Actor"). There the cries of the amateur actor who is being robbed of his wallet right on the stage by his fellow actors are joyously hailed by the audience as a perfectly life-like treatment of the role of 'merchant assaulted by gangsters'. The same technique is employed by Zoshchenko in his small story "Science Hindered", in which the hero is observing the stars through his telescope. When the vision darkens, he believes it to be caused by

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a new exciting scientific phenomenon (it must be that some planet has obstructed the view); as it turns out, however, an unknown figure has snatched from the tube the little piece of glass through which to observe cosmic words. Sometimes the new situation X is COMBINED (or CONCORDED) not with the latest manifestation of the previous state (like 'sleep' in 'The Dwarf Long-Nose" or 'idyll· in "Werther"), but with AntiX in a more general sense, i.e. some "normal" and 'maturai" state of affairs, which excludes the "abnor­ mal" X. Such is the case in the later part of the Dwarf Nose sequence ("there must be some dwarf following me, to whom all these cries refer", "my mother must have lost her reason"), where Jakob no longer invokes 'sleep/dreams' as the explanation although he still persists in not admitting his transfiguration. A pure example of CONCORD with the "normal world in general" (rather than with the immediately preceding state of affairs) is provided by the begin­ ning of the episode in Pushkin's "The Queen of Spades" where Hermann clings to a reassuring interpretation of the ghost's visit: At that moment some­ one looked in his window from the street and immediately walked away. Her­ mann paid no attention to this. In a minute he heard the door to the anteroom being opened. Hermann thought that his orderly, drunk as usual, was return­ ing from a nocturnal carousal. But he heard an unfamiliar walk: someone was walking, softly shuffling slippers. The door opened. Λ woman in a white dress entered. Hermann took her for his old wet-nurse and was amazed — what could bring her here at such an hour? But the white woman, gliding, suddenly appeared in front of him — and Hermann recognized the Countess! (Ch. V; see Proffer 1969:99). The "Delayed Realization" pattern does not necessarily extend over entire plots or episodes; it can be used to shape smaller fragments of plots as well. In yet another short story by Zoshchenko, "Personal Life", there is a series of episodes in which the hero is trying his best to attract the attention of women. The last of these episodes, taken as a whole, is based on the "False Turn" variety of S-TURNment (when a lady's attention is finally attracted by the hero elegantly dressed in a new overcoat bought at the black market, he takes it as an improvement in his fortunes with women; but, in fact, it is a deterioration, since all the woman cares about is the coat stolen from her hus­ band). One segment of this sequence is, however, based on "Delayed Realization". The romantic reading of the woman's interest in the hero col­ lapses when she asks him unequivocally about the origin of his coat (X occurs instead of AntiX). But the hero, unwilling to part with his illusions, persists in regarding the lady's behavior as proof of his success ("Of course, she must

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be looking for some pretext to strike up an acquaintance"). "Delayed Realization" is a pattern used in Leo Tolstoy's tales for chil­ dren (see Chap. 8, §1.4 on "Belated Reaction to Danger"). The pattern is also widespread in other temporal arts, as in film; cf. the clichéed comic device of double take: the hero is smiling — he is told bad news, but goes on smiling — as the news dawns on him, the smile gives way to a frown. 4.2 Causal S-TURNS. We will mention only two of the various subtypes of S-TURNcaus: one ("Overdoing") is a rather abstract pattern, while the other ("Friendship through Quarrel") is a more specific plot motif. In "Overdoing" the AntiX—X reversal is brought about by AntiX being pushed too far. For instance, in "The Widow of Ephesus" by Petronius (see [1970b]), extreme mortification of the flesh weakens the heroine's capacity to resist carnal temptation; in an Aesop fable, the frog trying to grow as big as the bull bursts and dies; the old fisherman's wife in a Pushkin tale loses the wealth she has amassed when her insatiable demands exhaust the patience of the magic gold fish; the peasant in Tolstoy's story "How Much Land a Man Needs" is undone by his greed; and so on. In all these cases the causal mechanism ensuring the turn is one of exceeded limit. It is no wonder that "Overdoing" fits particularly well themes like 'risks of intemperance', 'the golden mean' etc.

Figure 37 "Friendship through Quarrel" (Fig. 37) is illustrated by: the duel between d'Artagnan and the three musketeers or the brawl of Rodolphe and Le Chourineur (in the beginning of Dumas' and Eugène Sue's novels); the

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violent clash between Professor Challenger and the reporter Malone (Conan Doyle's The Lost World); the single combats between Robin Hood and each of his future followers in the old English ballads; Maljuta Skuratov's service to/friendship with Ivan after his participation in a riot against the Czar (Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible); and innumerable other plots. In all these cases there is a RECOIL MOVEMENT: before the protagonists strike up a friendship their relationship deteriorates. Moreover, the transition from con­ frontation to friendship is based on COMEcaus: mutual sympathy arises due to something that comes into existence or is revealed as a result of the quar­ rel.Thus, in Dumas' novel, the causal link is provided by the 'illegality' of the duel, which unites the antagonists in the face of the intervening police. 5.

S-TURNS compounded with other EDs.

5.1 SUDDEN TURN

+·

AUGMENTATION.

Both causal and mental S-TURNS can be augmented by sharpening the contrast between X and AntiX. One recurrent means to this end is the con­ struction we call "Reversal of the Irreversible". The turn to X is all the more stunning if AntiX is presented as something final and stabilized: the goal towards which the AntiX line was directed has been attained, no further development is expected, and it is then that X happens. The presumably final, irreversible state AntiX may be either favorable or unfavorable, result­ ing in two kinds of "Reversal": "Loss of the Achieved" and "Recovery of the Lost", respectively. To illustrate "Loss of the Achieved" (of the causal type), let us start with an artificial modification of ex. (110b): (113) the protagonist and his wife are rescued from the island and taken aboard the ship, but then the man is thrown overboard. A full-fledged plot of this kind is developed in Pushkin's "Ballad of the Wise Oleg". The PreX = Anti(AntiX) is the magician's prophecy that the prince's death will come from his horse; the AntiX line is represented by Oleg's efforts to ward off the danger (his horse is taken away and later dies) ; the unexpected X is Oleg's death (he steps on the bones of his dead horse and is bitten by the snake hiding in the skull). The turn towards X, however, does not occur until a stable and deeply entrenched result is achieved in the AntiX line: ( 114) the horse is far away, dead, reduced to bare bones, which have merged com­ pletely with inanimate nature (They are washed by rain, strewn with dust/And the wind ruffles the feather-grass that grows over them): Oleg's words and ges-

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tures over the remains of his horse have a clearly "summing-up" ring (The prince quietly stepped on the skull of the horse, I And said: "Sleep, my lonely friend!/ Your old master has survived you ",... etc. ).

The S-TURN is causal — due to the COMBcaus: Oleg's visit to the horse's grave and his gesture of stepping on the skull COMBINE a symbolic demonstration of the irreversibility of AntiX with the actual cause of the reversal to X. Our next example illustrates a mixed, causal-and-mental "Loss". In the denouement of the auction scene in Ilf and Petrov's The Twelve Chairs (1961) (Chap. 21, pp. 192-204), the protagonists lose the precious chairs they have just aquired. First (115)

the consummation of the purchase is emphasized by: the auctioneer's announcement: "Sold"; the saleswoman's question "Is it you who have bought the chairs?" and her intimation that the furniture can be taken out at once; Vorobjaninov's triumphant mood (in his imagination he already sees himself on a train approaching Saint-Gotthard); and by a variety of smaller details.

The reversal that snatches out of the heroes' hands the property they already "own" (and even are using, as far as Vorobjaninov's daydreams are con­ cerned) is based on both main types of SUDDEN TURN: — causal: Bender, who has a taste for theatrical effects, stuns the audience by naming a sum far exceeding the previous bid (200 rubles after 145); as a result, the money he has in his wallet is just enough to pay for the chairs ('Overdoing", see above); — mental: unaware of the 10% commission and of his partner's amorous adventures in which he has lost his share of the money, Bender does not know he has not actually bought the chairs.10 The following example is that of a mental "Loss". In Mandel'stam's poem "I drink to the military asters..." (1967:165-66) a series of anaphoric repetitions suggests that the poet is actually drinking to some values dear to him. In the final couplet, however, it turns out that the wine has been imagi­ nary all along: I drink, but I have not yet thought up, out of the two I am going to choose one:I The joyous Asti-Spumante or the wine of the Pope's Castle. The disappointment here is greater than a mere slip betwixt the cup and the lip: the shock is, as it were, one of losing the wine already consumed and relished.11 The inverse counterpart of the "Loss of the Achieved" is "Recovery of the Lost". It underlies, for instance, narratives based on the resurrection motif, e.g. the Gospels' stories of Christ disappearing from his coffin. First,

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the irreversibility of AntiX = 'death' is stressed in several ways: (116)

death in itself is a typically final result, where no reversal is expected; Jesus is not only dead, but taken from the cross, buried, and the tomb is closed off with a slab of stone; there is a noticeable lapse of time—calendar (the Sab­ bath) and narrative (new chapter) — between death and resurrection.

It is only after this that the incredible reversal materializes. Resurrection-like reversals abound in Tolstoy's stories for children, where the invariant chain of events is as follows: (117)

in the course of a rescue operation the hero is exposed to an even greater danger; he finds himself in a death-like state; the uncertainty of his fate is pro­ longed by a "curtain'1 screening the scene of action; when it is lifted, he is seen to be alive (see Chap. 8, §§1.9,1.10).

In most of the stories, real death does not take place, so that the "Recovery" is of the mental type; the Scriptures, on the other hand, seem to involve a real reversal. "Amplification" is another typical way of AUGMENTING the AntiX/X contrast. "Amplification" emphasizes the quantitative aspect of an AntiX which either triggers off the transition to X (in the causal variety) or is X in disguise (in the mental variety). The reversal then owes part of its effect to the sheer gap in quantity between, let us say, the want of a nail and the resulting fall of a seemingly invulnerable city in the English nursery rhyme (cf. Chap. 4, §3.3.4. and also §4.2 above, "Overdoing"). Literary plots abound in neg­ ligible causes leading to dramatic consequences: e.g., a slight oversight dur­ ing the hero's bathing in magic water results in his undoing (the heel of Achil­ les; the tree leaf sticking to Siegfried's back; etc.), or, on the contrary, a small medallion worn on the chest saves the hero from certain death and enables him to kill the formidable adversary (the duel in Merimée's Chronicle of the Reign of Charles IX) ; a modest gift offered a vagabond saves the hero from execution when the vagabond turns out to be the dreaded chief of the peasant revolt {The Captain's Daughter by Pushkin); the sleuth reconstructs the pic­ ture of the crime from a burnt match or a glass splinter (Conan Doyle). 12 5.2 SUDDEN TURN + SUDDEN

TURN.

An interesting COMBINATION of two mental S-TURNs underlies the plot of Victor Hugo's poem Sur une barricade "On a barricade" {D'Année ter­ rible cycle): (118)

A boy of twelve is taken prisoner together with a group of Communards, admits to having fought on their side and is ready to share their fate. But as

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his turn to be shot approaches, he suddenly asks the soldiers to let him go home to give his watch to his mother, promising to come back. The soldiers let him go, laughing at such a clumsy attempt to camouflage cowardice. Amid general laughter, the boy returns and stands up against the wall to be shot.

In accordance with the theme (≃ 'child-hero') the plot unfolds on two planes of behaviour: the 'child' plane (a boy about that age tends to avoid the super­ vision of parents and seeks the company of adult males outside the family, see Spock 1976), and the 'heroic, or adult' plane (sharing the fate of one's com­ rades). Each of the two planes is elaborated as a "False Turn" and the two resulting plot lines are COMBINED. Let us first consider each of the lines separately on the planes of "events" and "interpretation" (cf. Fig. 36). Heroic line. On the event plane, 'heroism' INCREASES: (119)

first, the boy announces his readiness to die side by side with the rebels (X); then, in the face of death his thoughts are not about himself but about another person (X!); finally, he actually exposes himself to the bullets (XÜ).

On the interpretation plane, however, the middle segment (X!) looks like AntiX = 'an intention to slip away'. COMBINATION (COMBapp) of X! and AntiX yields the sequence: (120)

a temporary departure from the place of execution to help another person is perceived as abandoning the imperiled comrades.

Child line. On the event plane, manifestations of the boy's interest in adults outside the home INCREASE: (121)

first he expresses the wish to stay in adult company (X); then, in a move con­ trary to the idea of parental protection, he himself extends protection to a parent (X!); finally he effectively joins the adult males (XÜ).

On the interpretation plane, the middle segment is again misconstrued — as AntiX = 'seeking parental protection and shelter'. The actual events X and their incorrect reading AntiX merge into: (122)

The temporary shift of the boy's protective attention from the outside adult males to his parents is interpreted as his intention to accept parental protec­ tion and abandon the males.

The two mental SUDDEN TURNS are now COMBINED in each of the three segments, the crux of the plot being, of course, the COMB of the two middle segments. (122a) Shifting his attention temporarily from his adult comrades to his parents, whom he wishes to protect, the boy leaves the place of execution; this is inter-

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POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS preted as a trick designed to escape death, on one hand, and to accept paren­ tal protection, on the other (for a more detailed analysis see 1981d).

5.3 S-TURN+VAR

+ AUGM.

Elaborated in this way, SUDDEN TURN yields the figure of "Ecstatic Development", which was first described by Eisenstein (see 1964, III: 37433) as "a course of events that accumulates tο an explosion and then passes over into a contrary course but on a broadened scale" (Nizhny 1979:15-16; see also [1970a]): the reversal is carried out simultaneously in different dimensions, including the quantitative (cf. remarks about "Amplification" above). For examples Eisenstein drew extensively on narrative prose, drama, painting (El Greco, Leonardo da Vinci) and his own films. In a detailed study of Battleship Potëmkin he showed the way the film as a whole and its indi­ vidual episodes (notably the famous one on the Odessa stairs) follow the ecs­ tatic formula in that each of them is made up of a series of explosions followed by leaps into the opposite on a larger scale. Another illustration is the Dessalines episode meticulously elaborated in the course of Eisenstein's seminars at the Cinema Institute: an attempt by a handful of French officiers to encircle and capture one man, the black leader of Haiti, whom they trick by inviting him to a party, triggers off the uprising of the island's black mas­ ses, who, led by Dessalines, end up encircling the Frenchmen (Nizhny 1979).13 As has been said, "Ecstatic Development" is a figure, i.e. a complex ED devised for the expression of a certain type of literary theme, in this case, that of 'ecstasy, pathos', and as such is of special interest for the next section. 6.

Themes CONCRETIZED

via RECOIL

Generally speaking, the rhetoric of sharp reversals, inherent in RECOILS, fits well themes that contain such elements as 'unexpectedness', 'unpredictability', 'abrupt change', 'catastrophe' etc. Thus, in the section on Tolstoy (see Chap. 7, §2.1), we establish a link between his theme of 'good fraught with evil (and vice-versa)' and his predilection for S-TURN plots where the characters' peaceful existence is brutally interrupted by some nat­ ural catastrophe, only to be restored after an incredibly daring rescue opera­ tion which first brings the heroes to the brink of death. Mental S-TURNS are naturally predisposed by themes involving 'reve­ lation', 'discovery' etc. See, for instance, 1970c, where the theme 'revelation of the laws of the universe' is shown to motivate the recourse to a mental STURN in a Somali folk narrative. Similarly, what can be called the

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"gnoseological" theme of Sophocles's "Œdipus-Rex" is closely connected with the epiphanetic peripeteia that shapes the plot of the tragedy. "Delayed Realization", with its clinging to a reassuring version of events is particularly apt to render themes like 'conservatism of perception', 'fear of truth' and so on, and more generally, 'stupidity', 'inadequate reaction', 'con­ centration on one's self, etc. The moral and intellectual inadequacy of the hero's perception of reality is likely to arouse in the reader the feelings of 'superiority', 'sympathy', 'concern' and 'protectiveness', provided he is aware of the impending catastrophe. Compare, in particular Eisenstein's observations on the effects of the temporal lag between the reader's and the hero's realization of danger (see Nizhny 1979 and [1970a] ; cf. also the applica­ tion of this principle to the study of Tolstoy's tales for children in Chap. 8, §1.4). Among the themes fostering some type of S-TURN or other are 'mod­ eration, golden mean, etc.' (see "Overdoing"); 'teasing' (CONCRETIZED via "Loss of the Achieved", as is the case in the Mandel'stam poem discussed in §5.1); and the theme of 'pathos, ecstasy' (which is, in fact, the raison d'être of the figure "Ecstatic Development").

NOTES 1) Note that the opposition 'naked/dressed' belongs simultaneously to the referential sphere of the artistic structure (as one of the many possible kinds of contrast between 'man' and 'public figure') and to its code sphere (costume, dressing, makeup and the like being staples of the theat­ rical medium). In this respect Lj ubimov's production is in line with the tendency of laying the code bare, characteristic of twentieth century art (cf. such effects as assembling and dismantling sets and changing costumes before the spectators' eyes). 2) One aspect of this lexical contrast is intertextual: the twice repeated shift from modern Rus­ sian to archaic Old-Church Slavonic brings to mind Lomonosov's reform of the literary language, one of the major issues of which dealt with the distinction of the three styles ("high", "middle" and "low"), i.e. with preference for an archaic or modern lexicon. 3) Cf. also the heavily stylized early poem "Suvorov" by the Soviet romantic poet Eduard Bagrickij, where the aged field marshal receives a Jetter from the Empress saying: "You, like ancient Cincinnatus, have withdrawn to your village..." 4) Note that since the first phase of REC-MOV, Anti(AntiX), is more or less close to X, the pattern by definition includes PRESAGE. Thus, in the example from Le ciel sur la tête, the pilots' initial presence at the base is clearly a PreX of their return there during the emergency. 5) The transition from 'dispersion' to 'togetherness' is equivalent to "Gathering a Group", typ­ ical of plots with a "collective" hero (see Chap. 2, §7).

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6) The close-up effect is achieved: in the position, by the heroine's reclining in her armchair with her back half-turned to the audience so that only the arm can be seen; in the action, by the general immobility; and in the dialogue, by the pause separating it from the preceding action. 7) However, as is clear from Gasparov 1979, drama in its early stages relied on all types of PREPARATION: a simple one-step display of the result (X); INCREASE from a lesser "pathos" (PreX) to a larger one (X); RECOIL, setting off the final "pathos" (X) by an initial "anti-pathos" (AntiX = satisfactory state of affairs); RECOIL MOVEMENT: a lesser "pathos" (PreX = Anti(AntiX)) — "anti-pathos" (AntiX) —"pathos" (X); SUDDEN TURN of the causal or mental type with a "factual" ("causal" or "revealed") connection between AntiX and X. 8) The connection between PRESG and COMB (or CONCD), implied and taken for granted here, has not been spelled out where it should have been, namely in the description of the corres­ ponding EDs in Chapter 2. It is a connection of the type discussed in Chapter 1 (§3, subtype A): an ED (in our case, PRESG) is CONCRETIZED via other EDs (COMB, CONCD). 9) "Delayed Realization" was described in 1973b as "The New in Terms of the Old"; see also Chap. 8, §1.4 on "Belated Reaction to Danger" in Tolstoy's children's stories. 10) The S-TURN in the auction scene was described in detail in 1967d, where, among other things, it is shown how the initial stages of the developments leading to the purchase (AntiX) and the loss (X) of the chairs are intertwined (COMB): (i)

Bender sniffs around the furniture museum and finds out that the chairs will be auctioned, thus setting the stage for their purchase; his absence gives the womanizer Vorobjaninov an opportunity to court Lisa, which will result in the restaurant binge and loss of the money.

11) For more detail see 1979i. This example is also relevant for the discussion of various STURNs as a case where a factual COMBINATION is applied to a mere RECOIL (rather than to a RECOIL MOVEMENT, as specified by the definition in §3): the turn begins directly with an AntiX, and not an Anti(AntiX). To be sure, this is compensated by the way the AntiX is extended into a long-lasting static condition, an entire AntiX line (rather than a one-point AntiX), so that the reversal is preceded by a sequence "accustoming" the reader to AntiX. 12) This contrast in scale was first described in an early PE publication, 1962d, where it was unduly treated as a major universal of art, rather than as one particular variety of S-TURN. 13) For more detail on the Dessalines episode see 1970a. Note an interesting correlation between this and similar episodes and the cases of "Delayed Realization" discussed in §4.1. In the Dessalines episode the events themselves, as contrived by some of the characters (= the Fren­ chmen), provide a COMBINATION of X (= 'encirclement') and AntiX (= 'hospitality'). As a result, the COMBINATION of this twofold middle segment of the event plane with its counterpart on the interpretation plane boils down to the protagonist's letting his opponents conceal from him the X aspect of the events (rather than producing himself an imaginary picture AntiX of the events X). Cf. Fig. 36 (in §4.1) with Fig. 36bis:

Events

AntiX

X/AntiX

X(!)

Interpretation

AntiX

AntiX

X(!)

Figure 36bis, "Delayed Realization due to Deception".

6 ON POETIC WORLDS

1.

The concept of "poetic world" (PW)

We have said that a derivational description can cover not only a single literary text, but several texts at once. This is made possible by similarities obtaining in certain groups of texts. Even the ordinary reader has an intuitive sense of the unity of thought, of emotional threads, and of favorite themes appearing in different works by the same author. At the level of themes this phenomenon can be accounted for by the concept of theme which is invariant for a set of texts (θinv(T)); e.g. one such θinv in the poetry of Pasternak is the 'sense of the unity and magnificence of the world' [1984a, Ch. 7]. In terms of content, an invariant theme is an author's favorite way — voluntary or involuntary — of looking at things. The artist has been compared to a neuro­ tic obsessed by an idea or by a situation which once traumatized him and which he constantly reproduces, "reading it into" every event and cir­ cumstance. A more "normal" analogy can also be suggested. In every language, there are semantically full grammatical categories (tense, aspect and number in Russian; continuousness/non-continuousness, definiteness/indefiniteness in English; etc.), which, under certain conditions, must be expressed. It is impossible to use a Russian noun without indicating whether you are talking about one object or more than one. In languages with a dual form the "ques­ tion" is stated in even stricter terms; "one? two? more than two?" To quote Roman Jakobson, languages "differ essentially in what they must convey and not in what they can convey" (1971:264). Consequently, the meaning of each sentence consists, in a sense, of two components: what the speaker "wanted" to impart, and what he was "forced" to impart by the spirit of his language (Sprachgeist). Similarly, the theme of a particular text, Θ(Τ), may be taken to consist of a local component, θloc(T), i.e. what the author, as it vere, wanted to say in the given instance, and an invariant component ΘINV(), i.e. what he could not help saying, what he says in all his T. In other words, Θ(Τ) is the

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result of COMBINATION of the given author's θloc and θinv. This sort of COMB can be seen in acute form in parody. In the anthology Parnas dybom "Parnassus Rearing" (Anonymous: 1925) we can observe how the invariant themes of different authors are "read into" one and the same θloc (= 'story of the old lady's little grey goat devoured by the wolf): (123)

(124)

(125)

the ideology of the status quo: Do not run off into the woods if you're happy at home (the moral of a parody of Krylov; for the θinv of the fable as a genre see below, (126)); decadent sentiments: O, to be in the grasp of the wolf/ And to breathe in his smell!/ What in life is more ecstatic/Than the moment of lethality? (of Severjanin); irony directed at liberalism: Now, brother, in the forest the wolfs no chicken,/ He might question the inviolability of the individual (of Sasa Čërnyj).

Thematic invariance can also be observed in broader classes of texts. Thus, the θinv of the fable genre as a whole (starting with Aesop) is formu­ lated by M.L. Gasparov (1968:122) as 'the idea of maintaining the status quo', and its invariant plot is schematized as: ( 126)

a person wanted to upset the state of affairs in such a way that his own position would be improved, but it failed to be improved, and in fact became worse.

Invariant themes can be found in writers of the same literary trend, period, and even entire cultural age. Obviously the broader the class Τ we are considering, the thinner their shared value θinν(Τ). For example, all comic texts will have in common only their orientation towards 'ridicule'; the θinv of all tragedies (according to Aristotle) is 'pity and fear' (Poetics, Ch. 14). If we admit the presence of a common theme, θinv(T), in a set of texts  T, then Τ can be regarded as the set of realized alternative solutions of θinv(T) (on alternative solutions see Chap. 1, §4). Moreover, an author is usually consistent not only in his choice of themes, but also in his application to these themes of certain EDs and their combinations. In other words, Τ is the realization of not just any possible solutions of θinv(T), but of certain types of solutions. These type realizations we can call the invariant motifs, Minv(T), of the given author, and distinguish (in order of greater concreteness): invariant varieties of θinv(T), situations, objects. The entire system of an author's invariant motifs, i.e. all the permanent parts of the derivations of all the texts T, we will call his poetic world (PW) [1971; 1975a, b; 1976c; 1977b;1979g;1980g;1984a, Ch. 3] But in that case PW is a sort of invariant derivation, i.e. both an invariant, and a derivation. Indeed, PW is simultaneously: a system of invariants, i.e. of

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147

elements of a code; and a fairly definite (in terms of theme and expressive­ ness) artistic text (or, rather, an approximation of the real text), which realizes a certain theme (namely, θinv(T)). In other words, PW is an invariant message by a given author which forms part of his code. More pre­ cisely, PW is that part of the DR of an author which is specific for him alone; it accounts for his persistent employment of the same ("idiosycratic") con­ structions and even quite specific objects. PW, like any derivation, has a structure determined by the interaction of the principles of "loading" and "lightening". As a rule, most varieties of the central θinv, and especially most invariant situations and objects, are products not only of VAR, but also of COMB, and therefore represent the ΡW in its entirety, as if in a nutshell. Taking as our example the PWs of two different authors we will see how different PWs may be described as series of different answers to questions of essentially the same questionnaire, covering the concepts: theme, invariant theme (with its sub-themes and varieties), referential and stylistic spheres, expressive devices, ready-made objects etc. 1 2.

The PW of Molière We have included four components in Molière's central invariant theme: (127)

(a) Θ1: the principle of the golden mean, norm, order, balance, harmony, symmetry, structural clarity; (b) Θ2: the principle of healthy human nature, spontaneity, freedom of feel­ ing; (c) Θ3: the "optimistic" , "happy" tone of the plays; (d) Θ4: the farcical principle of comedy, based on equating the living with the mechanical, of man with inanimate object, the instrument, the primitively arranged automaton (cf. Bergson's theory of laughter).

The unfolding of this θinv in the referential sphere occurs along two lines (VAR): the amorous and the satirical. Along the amorous line, the CONCR of Θ1-3 (Θ4 is only weakly represented in it) finally results in the 'triumph of nature and of the golden mean', CONCRETIZED as 'marriage of young people, who are nice, but "standardized", deprived of individual features'. The application of REC-MOV to this situation results in 'growing obstacles to the marriage'. Along the satirical line, the theme is, as it were, proved by the rule of contraries. The COMB and CONCR of θ1,2 yield a 'character who embodies level-headedness, the golden mean, freedom of feeling, etc.' (Ariste in L'École des Maris, and all Molière's raisonneurs). By applying CONTR to such a hero we get a 'character who embodies the deviation from

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the norm, the growth of one of his features at the expense of the others, eccentricity' (Jourdain, the précieuses ridicules and others). In addition to CONTR, such a pair of characters also contains CONCD (through which 'symmetry' from θ1 is CONCRETIZED): the contrasting characters, raison­ neur and fool, are often similar in a number of features: age, position, sex (brothers, neighbors, the guardians of two sisters). 'Eccentricity', in its turn, is subjected to "Hyperbole' 1 , a figure (see Chap. 2,§2) favoured by our theme Θ4, yielding 'hypertrophied eccentricity, automatically activated on any pretext' (as Pushkin once observed, a Molièrian hypocrite "accepts the supervision of an estate — hypocritically, asks for a glass of water — hypocritically"). COMBINATION of 'eccentricity' with Θ3 = 'optimism' and Θ4 = 'farcical comedy' ultimately brings about the situa­ tion 'farcical defeat of eccentricity', further CONCRETIZED as 'practical joke' (one example being the Turkish scenes in Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme). The motif of 'practical joke' helps convey various aspects of 'farcical com­ edy'; in particular, the 'equating of man to an inanimate object' is realized in the motifs of 'dismemberment of the body' (Le Malade Imaginaire), 'putting a person in a sack1 (Les Fourberies de Scapin), 'using a person's back as a reading stand or a table' (Le Bourgeois Gentilhommme). The 'equating of a person to an instrument' from Θ4 can be observed in the way others attain their own goals through him. Thus a jealous guardian, or an intractable father, unwittingly gives his daughter in marriage to her beloved and takes steps himself to ensure that the marriage takes place (L'Ệcole des Maris, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme; 'passiveness' is emphasized here by CONTRAST with the apparent 'activeness'). The final 'defeat of eccentricity' is usually preceded by a 'successful development of eccentricity' (due to a RECOIL MOVEMENT). The amorous and satirical lines are thus COMBINED: 'suc­ cessful development of eccentricity' has as its corollary 'obstacles to the mar­ riage' and its 'farcial defeat' signifies the 'overcoming of the obstacles'. The CONCRETIZATION of Θ4 in the plot can be illustrated by situa­ tions of 'lying' (particularly in the course of 'practical jokes'). The manipula­ tion of the human soul, which takes place during a 'practical joke', is — ide­ ally — an extremely subtle, personalized activity, geared to the psychology of the target and the circumstances; but in Molière it assumes the standardized form of a primitive schema of deception "laid bare". For instance, in passing off character A for character  (e.g. a young bourgeois for an aristocrat, as in the Turkish scenes in Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme), all the basic elements of this deceit are patent: it is stressed that the person we see now is A (Cleonte

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is not made up) and that A and  do not look alike (this is achieved by an exaggeration of B: Cleonte is passed off not merely for an aristocrat, but for a Turkish prince). Finally, the actual operation of disguising A as  is emphasized (it is purposely given extremely long odds: the similarity between the prince and Cleonte is explained as miraculous coincidence). The victim's (i.e. Jourdain's) automatic acceptance of such a blatant lie makes us feel we are witnessing the mechanical world of marionettes. The 'primitive automatism' of the characters' behavior has another side too: an exaggerated 'structural clarity'. It can be regarded as rationalism taken to its utmost, as the hypertrophied antipode of the "chaos" of real human behavior; in other words, such situations CONCRETIZE Θ1, as well as θ4. The unfolding of θinv = (127) in the code sphere is concerned primarily with Θ1 and Θ4. The CONCRETIZATION of Θ1 in the composition is man­ ifested in a tendency towards symmetry and balance. In the words of the Soviet critic V.R. Grib (1956: 378), "every element in a Molière play always has a counterweight; the composition of the play rests on a strict equilibrium of its parts... Everything is arranged so that the intervals between the peaks of tension are identical... Molière is anxious that no corner should gain prom­ inence, that the spectator should not be fatigued by monotony..." One man­ ifestation of this tendency towards symmetry is the principle of 'twin charac­ ters', either opposite or parallel: fool and raisonneur; two lawyers; two physi­ cians etc. Θ1 is also realized in 'symmetrical dialogues', in which two charac­ ters exchange uniform replies, either with one another or with a third person, who then acts as their axis of symmetry (Don Juan's dialogues with the two girls; Jourdain's conversations with the two teachers; etc.). Yet another type of dramatic symmetry occurs in the so-called 'mirror scenes', in which the action first moves in one direction, and then in the opposite, in such a way that the two halves are contrasting and parallel (cf. the lovers' quarrel in Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme). In many instances, 'twin characters' and 'symmet­ rical dialogues' create, in addition to symmetry, the comic effect of automatism of behavior (COMB of Θ1 and Θ4). 3.

The

PWof'Pushkin

Pushkin's mature poetry, (1822-1836) can be shown to revolve around his central θinv = (128), with its two main sub-themes Θ1 and Θ2:

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objective interest in reality as the field of the ambivalently evaluated interac­ tion of changeability, irregularity and unchangeability, regularity (abbr. 'am­ bivalent opposition changeability/unchangeability'; (a) Θ1: the poles changeability/unchangeability; (b) Θ2: objective interest, ambivalent evaluation.

The major varieties of θinv result from COMBINATIONS of major types of CONCRETIZATION of Θ1 and Θ2. Subtheme Θ2 is CONCRETIZED in the tendency to try all possible com­ binations of 'changeability' and 'unchangeability' (and of their CONCRETIZATIONS); in this way the type methods of juxta- and contraposing the two poles of Pushkin's PW are formed. CONCR of the poles themselves (i.e. of subtheme Θ1) is VARIED by projecting them on the diverse material of the two spheres. The COMBINATION of the methods and the material results in Pushkin's invariant motifs (    ) , i.e. varieties of θinv as a whole. Let us begin with the material CONCRETIZATIONS of Θ1. In the ref­ erential sphere the following zones can be distinguished: physical, biological, social and psychological. In the physical zone, Θ1 results in the oppositions 'movement/rest'; 'destruction/durability'; 'lightness/heaviness'; 'heat/cold' and others; in the biological zone, in life/death'; in the psychological, in 'pas­ sion/impassivity'; 'immoderation/moderation'; inspiration/lack of inspira­ tion'; 'authorial ambition/indifference to the opinion of others'; in the social, in 'freedom/bondage'. Motifs that are separated in theory appear in actual texts in a variety of COMBINATIONS. Cf. the lines Kto, volny, vas ostanovil,/Kto okoval vas beg mogucij, / Kto v prud bezmolvnyj i dremučij/ Potok mjateznyj obratil?/Čej žezl volsebnyj porazillVo mne nadezdu, skorb' i radosf' / I dusu burnuju.../Dremotoj leni usypil? "Who, waves, stayed you,/ Who tamed your riotous flood/Into a still and somnolent pond? Whose magic wand in me struck/Hope, sorrow and joy/And spilled slothful torpor/Into my turbulent soul?". Here the physical motifs immobility' and 'movement' serve simultaneously as an embodiment of the psychological and social motifs 'im­ passivity', 'bondage', 'freedom'. The code sphere offers such CONCRETIZATIONS of θ 1 as 'lightness/ heaviness of syntactic constructions'; 'dynamic tenseness of intonation/slug­ gishness, pauses'; 'metaphorical mode/lack of imagery'; 'direct, "involved" portrayal/"detached" point of view' etc. Similar CONCRs can also be witnes­ sed in other zones of the code sphere (meter, rhythm, sound patterning, etc.). Of the COMBINATIONS of reference and code, we can note the counter­ point of 'passion' represented in the referential sphere and 'restraint' created

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by stylistic means (recall the analysis of the closing lines of "On the Hills of Georgia..." in Chap. 1, §6). As for CONCRETIZATIONS of Θ2, the description of every method of interaction involves the "correlation" between the participants in the interac­ tion (representing the two poles, 'changeability/unchangeability') and the "outcome". For the correlation, two characteristics are relevant: - in terms of the degree of mutual autonomy, the participants may be two separate objects (poet and crowd; wave and rock); two aspects or states of a single object (the poet's sadness and joy; a horse's motion and rest); a phe­ nomenon and its aspect; etc. - an important role is played by the presence/absence and degree of antagonism between the participants (duellists; horse and rider; passenger and cart; etc.). The following characteristics are important for the outcome of the interac­ tion: - the identity of the victor: the outcome may be in favor of either pole of Θ1 ; - the degree of preponderance: from a marked 'preponderance' of one of the poles to their 'harmonic equilibrium' ; two characteristic transitional cases are 'showing of the vanquished through the victor's control and 'superior peace' of the victor, who does not avail himself of the opportunity to use the fruits of his victory; - the mode of representation: 'preponderance' may be CONCRETIZED as a "real" victory; as a purely chronological 'replacement' of the vanquished by the victor; or as the 'author's approval' of one of the participants; COMBI­ NATIONS of the different modes are also possible. As we said, COMBINATION of 'methods' with 'material' yields the typical varieties of θinv as a whole. In the referential sphere they are as fol­ lows. Physical zone: 'joyful (or agonizing) rest'; 'alternation of motion and rest'; 'motion, showing through rest' (rečka podo l dom blestit "the river glints beneath the ice"); 'superior immobility at an exalted point'; 'admira­ tion of destrutive energy' (of the wind, of a storm), or, on the contrary, 'of miraculous indestructibility' (a cliff amid a storm); 'mutual equilibrium of heat and cold' ("frost and sun"). Biological zone: various 'intermediate states between life and death' (mertvyj...plyI, kacajas' ,  zivoj; ni žitel' sveta, niprizrak mertvyj"the dead man floated, rocking like one alive"; "neither dweller of earth, nor deathly shade"); 'dead, killing that which lives'; 'leaving the grave'; 'ebullient vitality

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on the brink of death' (night of love bought at the expense of life; devyrozy...dyxan'e...polnoe čumy "the breath of the rose-maiden, full of pesti­ lence"); 'love scenes in the presence of the dead'. Social zone: 'glorification of freedom, escape from bondage'; 'breaking of fetters'; 'sweet bondage'; 'harmonic union of bondage and freedom' (skvoz cugunnye perily nozku... "a foot through the iron rails"); svobodoj groznoju vozdvignutyj zakon "a law erected by awesome freedom"; 'accep­ tance (or non-acceptance) of the principle of moderation'; 'the superior posi­ tion of a detached onlooker'. Psychological zone: 'doleful (or sweet) impassivity'; 'pleasant (or bitter) memories of erstwhile passions'; 'love of deathly beauty'; 'rendez-vous with dead lovers'; 'unrequited passion in the face of impassivity'; 'indifference of the crowd to the poet and his indifference to the opinion of the crowd'; 'superior detached relation to impassioned involvement'; 'sudden shifts from passion (in particular, from poetic inspiration) to impassivity, and vice versa'; 'harmonic (or enforced) restraint of passion' ("love without hope and without desire"). At the intersection (COMB) of a number of invariant motifs we will find invariant objects capable (in various texts) of expressing one or another com­ bination of these    . In Pushkin's PW a whole series of motifs which have to do with 'motion', 'immobility' and 'superiority' are often expressed through the image of a 'horse'; 'immobility', 'superiority' and 'indestructibil­ ity', through the images of a 'cliff or a 'statue'; the motifs of 'death', 'bon­ dage' and 'leaving the grave', through the image of the 'vault of a grave or prison'; etc.

NOTES 1) For more detail on the concept of PW see 1984a; on the PW of Molière, see 1977d, 1979h; on the PW of Pushkin, see 1976d, 1977c, 1978e, 1979g, 1980d, 1981b.

PARTTWO TWO APPLICATIONS

I EX UNGUE LEONEM: LEO TOLSTOY'S CHILDREN'S STORIES AS AN ECHO OF HIS MAJOR WORKS (A study in thematic invariance) INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

The œuvre of an original writer is usually marked by striking artistic unity, both thematic and expressive. The same favorite ideas, situations and images pervade, in various guises, his different works: early and late, lyrical and dramatic, serious and entertaining, large and small. This invariance is the more natural when the works in question belong to one and the same period of the author's creative activity. In this case the application of the PE con­ cepts of poetic world, invariant motifs, invariant and local themes etc. prom­ ises to be especially appropriate. Tolstoy's stories for children, which form the subject of the present study, were written soon after the completion of War and Peace. At this stage of relative creative standstill, Tolstoy deliber­ ately rejected all kinds of literary canons and conventions and oriented his work, ideologically, towards the task of moral and practical education, and, artistically, towards the simplicity of folklore. It is at the intersection of these two orientations that his didactic stories for peasant children emerged. And yet the author of War and Peace (who at the time dismissed his great epic as "verbose rubbish") is unmistakably recognizable in these stories. Not­ withstanding the radical change of his artistic aims and audience, Tolstoy, whether he wishes it or not, continues to preach the same truths about life as in War and Peace. And although Tolstoy succeeded in attaining the plain simplicity of folk speech, his stories for children are far from folklore's primitivism and commitment to stereotyped structures. On the contrary, these stories, not unlike Pushkin's prose (which in these years also became a target of Tolstoy's criticism)1, are characterized by a sophisticated literary technique concealed beneath apparent artlessness.2

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The task of this study is, firstly, to isolate the thematic invariants within a selected group of Tolstoy's stories for children; secondly, to show the basic identity of these invariants with those of Tolstoy's major works and War and Peace in the first place (with all respect due to their adaptation for children's understanding); thirdly, to demonstrate the wealth of expressive means employed in these stories for developing their theme. In a word, to describe the Lion by his claws. The object of study will be some of the stories collected in Tolstoy's Novaja Azbuka "New Alphabet" and Russkie Knigi dlja Čtenija "Russian Reading Books" (see Tolstoy 1929-1958, vol.21:1-100, 101-329). The main corpus of texts selected for analysis consists of five stories whose structural resemblance to each other is particularly remarkable: "The Kitten" (K), "The Little Girl and the Mushrooms" (LGM), "The Shark" (S), "Two Friends" (TF), and "The Leap" (L). It is these five stories (FS) that will be examined in most detail. While discussing them we will often refer to several others, similar to FS in a number of respects, namely "The Mad Dog" (MD), "What Happened to Bulka at Pjatigorsk" (WHB), "The Boy's Story about How He Was Caught in a Storm in a Forest " (BSS)*, and one of the longer stories, "A Prisoner in the Caucasus" (PC). We will also use material from other children's stories, such as "The Little Bird", "The Cow", "The Fire Dogs", "Even Inheritance", "The Sparrow and the Swallows", "Ermak", "The King and the Shirt", "The Reed and the Olive". Although the description is in principle conceived of as derivation, what follows is not a derivation in the strict sense, but rather its outline, rep­ resented by the main stages on the way from the theme to the texts. First we consider an invariant theme of L.N. Tolstoy's works — θ(Tolst) — a central one in his poetic universe. Then we introduce the so-called local theme, another invariant complex, specific this time only to Tolstoy's children's stories. These two abstract units together form the integral theme of the five children s stories θ (FS). Apart from this theme, each story can have an indi­ vidual local theme of its own. But neither these individual local themes, nor those expressive peculiarities of particular stories which have no parallel in others will be given much attention here. Any individual detail will be included in the discussion only insofar as it is related to the invariant thematic structure of FS. In the subsequent sections we describe two groups of invariant constructs which develop the invariant theme of FS. The first group

Translations of these eight stories are provided in the Appendix.

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157

of constructs as a whole constitutes the deep structure, or archistructure, of the five stories. The second group consists of surface structure constructs (SCs), not directly connected with θ(FS), although used with relative regularity in elaborating the archistructure. Unlike the archistructure components, SCs are not always of Tolstoy's invention: some of them are taken from the com­ mon stock of literary motifs and devices (and are, accordingly, illustrated by examples from works by other authors).

7 DEEP STRUCTURE

1.

Tolstoy's thematic invariants

1.1. One invariant theme of Tolstoy and its principal aspects. Without claiming much originality, one can define one of the central themes of Tolstoy's poetic world as (1)

acceptance of life; awareness of Nature's power; irrationalism; orientation towards the "deep'' and "essential": the deep laws of life (Nature) are polyva­ lent, neither fully determined nor entirely open to human understanding; the course of events is unpredictable; life (Nature) with its spontaneity, simplic­ ity, earnestness and earthly power, as well as all that is congenial to it and takes its source in God, is beneficial; on the contrary, everything that departs from these principles, everything that is rationalistic, artificial, superficial, formal, conventional, toy-like, devoid of natural force, not God-ordained but thought-up by man, is false and bad.

Formulation (1) is somewhat diffuse. Without attempting to define more precisely the logical relations that obtain among the concepts included in it, we will isolate and develop some of them — those to be used in the following sections (speaking in more rigorous terms, this is a CONCRETIZATION of some of the parts of (1)). (2)

(3) (4)

The course of events ("the way life is"): (a) what is typical and authentic is the unpredictability of transitions from "bad" to "good" (bad is fraught with good and vice versa), not a smooth or "logical" course of events; (b) what is typical and authentic is life imbued with mighty natural forces, life that is in earnest, "no joke"; everything that is detached from the natural sources of power, that is toy-like, atrophied and sterile is non-authentic. The values: simple, natural, essential, God-ordained, spiritual values are genuine, whereas artificial, conventional, property-oriented ones are false. The strategy of behavior based on and imbued with the spirit of the natural laws of life: (a) cognition : it is by intuition, not by rationalistic reflection, that the truth can be discovered;

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POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS (b) behavior: (b') one should act "deeply'1, in a radical manner, on the level of and in con­ tact with the laws and forces of nature, discovering deep reserves of natural forces within oneself; it is futile to act "superficially", resorting to palliatives, out of touch with the natural forces in the surrounding world and/or in one­ self; (b") it is essential to behave flexibly, adapting to the changing and unpre­ dictable flow of events and not to adhere to rigid conventional rules fixed once and for all3; (b'") one is well advised to act "by the methods of" Nature itself imitating certain models from its repertoire; (c) one should act spontaneously, intuitively, relying on the benignity of the natural course of events and not hold on to the position or property which is already at one's disposal; it is pointless to try calculating in advance the pos­ sible consequences of every action.

In the strategy of behavior preached by Tolstoy an important role belongs to the following principle: (5)

correct, i.e. expedient and effective, behavior seems "unreasonable" and "foolish" from the point of view of accepted norms and common sense ; on the contrary, the incorrect and sterile behavior is based on accepted norms, reasoning and logic.

As it is easy to see, principle (5) sharpens some of the contrast relations contained in (4b, c): 'intuition/reasoning', 'unpredictability/rigid rules', 're­ liance on the events/calculating in advance', 'deep/superficial, apparent', etc. The sharpening is brought about by means of the widely used type of CON­ TRAST: 'appearance/reality' (CONTRapp). It is by this technique that the paradox 'correct that looks incorrect (and vice versa)' is produced. The use of CONTRapp is predisposed by such thematic entities as 'rejection of the gen­ erally accepted' (i.e. of what "seems to all", of the authority of logic, rules, norms, etc., cf. (4a, b")), and 'awareness of the unpredictability of the flow of events' (cf. (2a)). Another aspect of the elaboration of formula (4) concerns the 'relying on the benign influence of the natural course of events' (see (4c)), which, if understood literally and in isolation, may lead to an unwarranted stress on 'passivity' in Tolstoy's ideology. (Such a bias sometimes takes place, for example in the critical treatment of Tolstoy's Kutuzov). However, as shown by Skatfymov (1972:182-218), those of Tolstoy's characters who embody thematic complex (4), including Kutuzov, sometimes do behave quite actively. It can be said that there is a contrastive VARIATION (VARcontr) of formula (4) with respect to 'activeness/passivity'.4 As a result, "correct" behavior formulated in (4b', c), in CONCORD with the sharpening effected

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in (5), assumes the following form: (6)

the recommended strategy is either active or passive: (a) resistance to the deep forces: one should behave actively, "deeply", radi­ cally,. .., flexibly..., by the methods of nature itself,..., unreasonably..., rely­ ing on the natural flow of events..., discovering in oneself... etc. ; or (b) obedience to the deep forces: one should behave passively, "deeply"... etc.

Each part of formula (6) develops the whole of (4b', c), thus resolving the conflict between (4b') 'radically' and (4c) 'reliance'. However, they do so in different ways. In 'resistance' the emphasis is on the 'radical' element, CONCORDED with 'trust in the course of events' in the following manner: (6a)

resolute actions are undertaken in the hope of good luck.

In 'obedience' the stress is on 'trust', which, in its turn, is not reduced to mere inaction but is CONCORDED with 'radicalness': (6b)

a passive position is taken in direct contact with the deep forces; it is the result of a brave decision and is fraught with risk and adventure.

Related to this is another distinction between (6a) and (6b). The originality of (6b) is in its unexpectedness from the point of view of conventional ways of representing an active character ('resolution' is manifested by 'passivity'!). But within the framework of Tolstoy's PW and, in particular, in light of prin­ ciple (4c), the strategy of 'passive submission' seems the most natural variant of behavior. On the contrary, the interpretation of (6a) requires greater effort in terms of Tolstoy's ideology ('trust in Providence' manifested by 'risky actions'), but is more natural and understandable from the conven­ tional standpoint. Note that the opposition between the "normal" and the Tolstoyan outlook originates in formula (5). Let us now turn to one of the typically Tolstoyan modes of 'incorrect behavior': (7)

attempts to resist the course of events in rationalistic ways or to control it by superficial and palliative means, with inadequate forces and according to rules that are conventional and learned in advance are fruitless.

Formula (7) is a sort of negative counterweight to (6a), because it represents an "incorrect" variant of 'resistance to life and nature'. Being identical in this respect, (6a) and (7) contrast in a number of features known to us from for­ mula (4): in (7) 'resistance' is characterized by an almost complete set of the incorrect modes of behavior rejected by Tolstoy. Thus (7) sets off (6a) by CONTRAST, which is, in its turn, set off by certain similarities (CONTRid). One could also envisage an "incorrect" variant of (6b): a sort of 'wrong pas-

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sivity' (see below, in §2.3 and Chap. 8, §1.8, comments on Inadequate Activ­ ity and Shunning). 1.2. Some examples. Further realizations of the invariant theme. Even a cursory glance at Tolstoy's images, plots and direct authorial statements convinces us of the relevance of themes(2)-(7) to his poetic uni­ verse. We will now proceed to illustrate these formulas; but the reader should bear in mind the extreme difficulty of giving "pure" examples, since our themes are abstract entities whose manifestations in real texts are not iso­ lated, but, on the contrary, closely interwoven with one another. We will begin with theme (2a). Many of Tolstoy's plots can be regarded as a refutation of the smooth and logical course of events and a demonstration of their unpredictability. On the plane of historical characters and events of War and Peace, a vivid example is the episode where Napoleon expects the surrender of Moscow to develop according to a prearranged script (deputa­ tion with keys etc.); instead, he finds the city abandoned by its inhabitants and in flames (WP, III, 3, XIX). As regards the lives of private persons, (2a) can be illustrated by the relations between Prince Andrej and Natasa, which, instead of conforming to carefully prepared matrimonial blueprints, develop in a zig-zagged manner because of the uncontrolled interventions of fate (Natasa's infatuation with Anatole, the unexpected meeting of Natasa and Andrej at the moment of leaving Moscow). The only characters who manage to love smoothly are those who lack the genuine vital force and are out of con­ tact with its natural sources; such is the Berg family, whose prosperity, calcu­ lated once and for all, cannot be shaken even by the drama of 1812. Crises and sudden changes in the lives of nations and individuals are often caused and accompanied by eruptions of powerful natural forces, when everything nonauthentic and toy-like turns out to be unimportant (see (2b)). On the level of the epic as a whole this is exemplified by the breaking out of the popular war; in the framework of a particular episode, by the Moscow fire, the inevitability and spontaneity of which is pointedly stressed by Tolstoy. Theme (3) 'promoting the true values and rejecting the artificial ones' is expressed, in particular, in the typically Tolstoyan plot of 'a character's spiritual and intellectual progress', by the more or less clear division of the characters into bearers of 'artificial' and 'genuine' principles; cf. Napoleon, father and son Bolkonskij, Karenin, the protagonists of The Fruits of Educa­ tion, etc. (on the one hand); Natasa and the rest of the Rostov family, Karataev and other representatives of "the land and people", as well as by numerous didactic passages (on the other). To be sure, this pattern is some-

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what simplified. Firstly, Tolstoyan characters are usually not reducible to one trait and display those features in various forms and combinations; they often progress from one pole to the other (such is, for example, the moral develop­ ment of Prince Andrej). Secondly, the values themselves, both genuine and artificial, are manifested in a wide range of concrete variations, determined by social, historical, biological and other characteristics. Thus, the artificial values of Prince Andrej (ambition, devotion to the public good), of Karenin (bureaucratic fictions), of the peasant Paxom in the story "How Much Land Does a Man Need" (wealth) are fairly different. Of the typically Tolstoyan 'genuine' and 'false' values we shall mostly have to deal with (8)-(10). (8)

the principal genuine values are: life itself and its simplest, "minimal" manifes­ tations, such as health, work, rest, eating, human communication, love, etc.

This ideal is best formulated in the reflections of Pierre who, having survived captivity, regards satisfaction of one's natural needs as perfect happiness (WP, IV, 2, XII). The same values are stressed in "A Prisoner in the Caucasus", which is based on ''simple, primeval, natural relations and feelings, devoid of any morbidity or refinement; the essence of the story is elementary struggle for life" (Eixenbaum 1974: 73). 5 One way of sharpening motif (8) is thesis (9): (9)

the key to true happiness is to be found in poverty and simple life.

In WP this idea is embodied in Karataev; cf. also the examples of deliberate rejection of wealth for the soul's sake in "Father Sergius", "Posthumous Notes of the Elder Fyodor Kuzmich" etc. In the reading books for children the same motif is represented by the short story "The Czar and the Shirt" (the only happy man has no shirt) and by the untitled parable about the rich man and the tailor from the New Alphabet (the tailor refuses to accept the money because he doesn't want to give up singing). As for the 'false values', repudiated by Tolstoy, they include (10)

symbolic objects: word, art, etiquette, all sorts of rituals, etc.

The multifaced gallery of Tolstoy's idle talkers is well known. The opposition 'grandiloquence of the false/taciturnity of the genuine' pervades even the minor cells of Tolstoy's poetic universe; cf. the parable "The Reed and the Olive", in which the olive laughed at the reed, saying it bowed to every wind. The reed said nothing. (As will be shown later, it is precisely the reed that is the mouthpiece of the author's positive program.) The conventionality (and therefore, falseness) of ritual and art is laid bare and ridiculed by Tolstoy in two similar episodes where opera and liturgy are defamiliarized by being

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shown through the eyes of two women whose thoughts are at the moment focused on something entirely different (Natasha in WP, II, 5, IX; Katjusa Maslova in Resurrection, I, 39). 6 Theme (4).The idea of 'intuitive vs. rational cognition' is abundantly illustrated in Tolstoy's works. Pierre gets to know God not through words or reasoning, but through direct feeling (WP, IV, 4, XII); a Moscow lady (whose behaviour is approved of by Tolstoy) leaves the capital led by the vague idea that she is no servant to Bonaparte (WP, III, 3, V); while Barklay is blamed precisely for his rational method of thinking: He is no good at the present moment exactly because he thinks everything over thoroughly and neatly (WP, III, 2, XXV). Examples to this effect could easily be multiplied. There are many instances of 'radical action' in Pierre's behavior: e.g., possessed by anger, he suddenly discovers in himself the strength enabling him to directly influence Anatole's actions and disrupt his intrigue (II, 5, XX); in a similar state he rescues a child from a burning house and drives off a loot­ ing French soldier (HI, 3, XXXHI-XXXIV). 'Rejection of the routine rules; flexible behavior conforming to the course of events' manifests itself, among other things, in opposing the traditional methods of warfare based on conven­ tions and derived from books (cf. those who try to conduct the 1812 war by following the rules: the German-born generals with their die erste Kolonne marschiert, the French and the high-ranking Russians who see war as a kind of fencing art) to the popular war, fought contrary to the rules with the help of the first handy cudgel (V, 3,1). We encounter practically the same motif in the children's story "Even Inheritance", where the universally accepted way of passing one's property to one's sons, bequeathing, is rejected in favor of a basically different method: the disinherited younger son is forced by necessity to study crafts and sciences and becomes rich, while the elder gets the inheri­ tance, does not learn anything and finally goes bankrupt. It should be noted that both examples of motif (4b") give it the sharpened form represented by (5); 'correctness of the seemingly unreasonable'. An example of actions 'by the methods of Nature' is the extermination of the fleeing Frenchmen by the Cossacks and peasants, who killed these people as unconsciously as dogs do when they bite to death a mad dog (WP, IV, 3, III). Recall the comparison of the retreating French army to the snow­ ball which can be neither stopped nor melted earlier than the laws of physics permit (the warmer it grows, the tighter is the remaining snow — IV, 2, XIX). The principle of 'reliance on the natural flow of events' (4c) is at work in numerous motifs and Russian folk sayings of the type God will help, Two

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deaths are impossible, one is inevitable, One day it will all grind into flour etc. These aphorisms sum up situations of both active and passive behavior (see below on formula (6)). A typical example is in the short story "Ermak", where Ivan Kol'co says: To me, it seems best to go out to the shore and f all directly on the Tartars in a body; be what God will. The idea of "God's will" is sometimes sharpened into 'trust in Providence despite all', when a man deliberately renounces any extant advantages or resources (considering them illusory and man-made, not God-ordained), but nevertheless hopes for a happy outcome, relying on the benevolence of divine forces. This can be vie­ wed as a materialization of the idea that man, however rich, is naked before God, who is his only hope (cf. the story of Job). Such is the logic of the typi­ cally Tolstoyan motif (11)

salvation through "self-reduction to zero" , i.e. through totally giving up one's present position, material means etc. that guarantee safety, prosperity etc., while putting all trust in Providence.

A typical CONCRETIZATION of motif (11) is (12)

salvation through poverty.

If we compare (12) with (9), we shall see that 'poverty' is recommended by Tolstoy both as a 'true value' (9), and as a 'correct strategy' (12). For an example of (12) cf. the plot of "Even Inheritance", where the way to prosper­ ity lies through being disinherited. Another typical group of CONCRETIZATIONS of motif (11) is formed by the various instances of the characters' renouncing their goods or convenient positions, giving away their property etc. Recall the leaving of Moscow by the Russian army and people and the giving up of property by the Rostovs (for the transportation of the wounded). Yet another group of CONCRETIZATIONS of 'self-reduction to zero' projects it onto the plane of graphic images, resulting in the motif (13)

being "under and below" something, lying prostrate (examples will be cited in §2.3, under Rescue Action).

This tangible image of the 'zero position' is a symbolic embodiment of the abstract idea (11). To conclude our series of illustrations of formula (4), let us point out that 'word' is rejected by Tolstoy not only as a value (see (10)), but also as a method of action (in much the same way as 'poverty' is recommended in both these capacities), yielding motif (14)

futility, uselessness of verbal and ritual actions,

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which thus COMBINES the thematic entities 'superficial, palliative' from (4b') and 'generally accepted, conventional' from (4b"). Among the most notorious examples are Rastopcin's and Napoleon's attempts to influence the actions of the Moscow population by leaflets and proclamations composed in the style typical for their respective authors. Their language sounds patheti­ cally ridiculous in contrast to the scale and uncontrollable spontaneity of the events. Since formula (5) has already been sufficiently illustrated along with (4b"), we will pass directly to formula (6). As mentioned above, 'actions in accordance with the laws of life', prescribed by (4), do not necessarily mean absolute passivity. Thus, the actions of guerillas who audaciously attack the French are active, while at the same time conforming to the inner spirit of events ('resistance', see (6a)) ; cf also the examples of Pierre's active behavior quoted in connection with his 'radical' and 'intuitive' actions. Examples of passive 'obedience' to events are even more numerous. Such is the usual style of Kutuzov's behavior, in particular, when he decides to leave Moscow or refuses to attack the retreating French or to block their way. The same idea is developed, though by much more modest means, in the parable for chil­ dren "The Reed and the Olive": The storm came: the reed swayed, staggered and bent low; it survived. The olive strained its branches against the wind and broke. In commenting on formula (6) we have said that each of its two parts — (6a) and (6b) — combines, in its own particular way, 'radicalism' of action with 'trust' in the natural course of events. In addition to this, common enough are also COMBINATIONS of (6a) and (6b) with each other. A characteristic instance is the motif (15)

a forced decision: a decision to actively resist, taken as the result of passive obedience to necessity.

In PC, Žilin decides on the risky escape since, being poor, he has no other way of freeing himself from captivity (unlike the wealthy Kostylin, who can count on a ransom). In "Ermak", a story already mentioned, the title hero meets the adversary despite the odds because any other choice would obvi­ ously mean death {they will kill all of us). The compulsory character of the decision is quite clear in "The Eagle": the hungry nestlings oblige the weary eagle to go fishing for a second time. 7 Theme (7), the futility of 'attempts to resist the development of events in rationalistic ways or to control them by specific means' is most clearly man­ ifested by the character of Napoleon (WP), through which Tolstoy systemat-

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ically debunks the myth ascribing the ability to direct the course of history to a single man. Napoleon is compared to a child inside a coach who, pulling the toy strings, imagines that he is driving the vehicle (WP, IV, 2, X); recall the motifs 'actions disconnected from the forces of nature' and 'toylikeness'. In general, depicting various military leaders, Tolstoy emphasizes the impossi­ bility of directing military activity in a purposeful way and the fiction of a his­ torical science that describes events as the fulfilment of great statesmen's con­ scious decisions. Often attempts to 'influence the course of events in a con­ scious way' take the form of 'words' (see (14)), involving thereby the "nega­ tive" connotations of the 'verbal action'. Such is the function performed by Rastopcin's leaflets, Napoleon's proclamations, the German generals' dis­ positions, the bureaucratic orders promulgated by Karenin in the administra­ tive and private spheres of his life and other attempts to control life by using verbal formulas. To conclude our series of examples illustrating formulas (2)-(7), let us mention an episode that COMBINES several elements from (4) with (7): the behavior of the doctors in "The Death of Ivan Ilych" (chapters IV, VIII). It is satirized by Tolstoy along various lines: trying to understand the nature of the ailment, the doctors resort to comically complicated systems of syllogisms (4a); they stick to etiquette and conventions, dismissing as unimportant the patient's interest in the central question, i. e. whether he will live, and treating him with the traditional palliative means (4b', b") ; they pretend to control the course of the illness, and handle an object which is tremendously serious and quite unknown to them, the human organism, like a naughty child (cf. (2b) 'toylikeness'), who can obey verbal persuasion (4b'), (7): The question that came uppermost was of the kidney and the appendix, which were doing some­ thing not as they ought to do, and were for that reason being attacked by Mikhail Danilovich and the celebrated doctor and forced to mend their ways (Tolstoy 1971:58). 2.

Plot component: the five acts

This section concentrates on the most important part of the FS archistructure: its plot component, or archiplot, AP(FS). We consider it on three levels of abstraction: that of all-Tolstoyan plot invariants (§2.1); that of FS plot in its most general contours (§2.2); that of deep plot in complete detail, with its five standard constituents, or blocks (§2.3).

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2.1 A Tolstoyan archiplot. The archiplot discussed below — AP(18) — stems from Tolstoy's central theme (1) and from its more concrete derivatives (2)-(15). It absorbs motifs (l)-(5) and (8), (11), (14), (15), elaborated with the help of a number of EDs indispensable in the construction of an expressive plot. The main principle on which archiplot (18) is built is the COMBINATION of the three main branches of theme (1), i.e. motifs (2), (3) and (4). We will start by considering the way in which (2) and (3) are COMBINED. 'Unpredictability of transi­ tions' (from (2a)) favors the use of RECOIL, while 'mighty forces and ear­ nestness' (from (2b)) are quite naturally CONCRETIZED by featuring var­ ious kinds of catastrophes and repercussions. On the other hand, some kind of additional emphasis needs to be put on the 'simple, minimal values (life, health etc.)' from (3) and (8), since in everyday life they tend to be taken for granted precisely because of their elementary character. This purpose can be served by the RECOIL pattern, just derived from (2): (16)

significance of simple values is recognized as a result of or against the background of a situation of acute shortage of these values8 (the same shor­ tage helps the recognition of the falseness of the artificial and thought-up val­ ues).

The 'shortage' is often CONCRETIZED and AUGMENTED into 'catas­ trophe', which is also derived from (2): (17)

the significance of simple values and the falseness of artificial ones are recog­ nized as a result of or against the background of a catastrophe creating acute shortage of these values or threatening to destroy them completely.

Both (16) and (17) COMBINE (2) with (3) and represent two different variants of the intermediate stage on the way to archiplot (18). Motif (17) is analyzed in detail (with respect to War and Peace) by S.G. Bocarov, who calls it Tolstoy's "deep situation" : "At the times of severe trials and dramatic crises there suddenly become clear, disengaged from the complex tangle of allegedly important everyday problems man is usually absorbed in, the sim­ ple basic values — youth, health, love, the appreciation of art and the plea­ sure of human communication" (Bocarov 1971:15). Bocarov demonstrates how situation (17) is elaborated in WP on various levels and scales and pro­ jected onto different kinds of material; it is illustrated by the fate of Russia as a whole and by that of individuals. Among the latter are Pierre (see examples of (3)), Nikolaj Rostov (who suddenly realizes what is important and what is not while listening to Natasha's singing after his card loss); Prince Andrej

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Figure 38. The d

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(who, facing death, rejects false concepts of honour); Doloxov (who in the tragic situation of 1812, rises above his personal quarrel with Pierre). Motifs (16) and (17) are fundamental to some of the children's stories as well. There are three stories in which a RECOIL ('shortage' or 'catastrophe' threatening the heroes with death or hunger) makes them appreciate the simple pleasure of eating: "The Eagle" (the food for the nestlings is lost and, with difficulty, obtained for a second time); "The Cow" (a cow perishes, the children suffer without milk; after long pains the parents manage to collect the necessary money and buy a new cow; the children resume drinking milk); SS (having survived the storm, the boy enjoys eating the mushrooms). The next step of our derivation is the COMBINATION of (16), (17) (in which (2) and (3) are already brought together) with motifs (4), (5). This results in a typical Tolstoyan archiplot (Fig. 38). (18)

In a situation of acute shortage or catastrophe jeopardizing life and its basic values it turns out that rescue is possible through actions which appear unreasonable and absurd on the surface, but stem from an intuitive grasping of events, contact with their deep essence and discovery within oneself of inner reserves of natural strength; actions which take into account the unpre­ dictability of events, imitate nature's methods, rely on the benevolence of Providence, and are not chary of "self-reduction to zero". By contrast, rescue cannot be brought about by apparently reasonable actions that originate from logical cognition of reality, are palliative and superficial, conform to rigid rules and presuppose a prior calculation of all the possibilities. In the course of these events the basic, "natural" joys of life prove to be the only true values while artificial and thought-up aims are discredited.

The pivot of this COMBINATION of (16), (17) with (4), (5) is 'catastrophe'. In addition to its function as a 'shortage of the elementary values' constituting a RECOIL with regard to the subsequent realization of their significance, 'catastrophe' takes on new roles in the sphere of 'strategy of behavior'. On the most general plane, 'catastrophe' creates the need (i.e. another 'shor­ tage') for help or for remedying the situation; it thus serves as a PREPARA­ TION not only of the 'values', but also of the 'activity aimed at their restitu­ tion', instrumental in distinguishing between the 'correct' and the 'incorrect' strategies of behaviour. 'Correct actions' are those which help to survive the catastrophe; 'incorrect', those which do not. To put it the other way round, the situation of 'catastrophe' serves to CONCRETIZE the contrastive rela­ tion between 'correct' and 'incorrect' modes of behavior. Finally, the 'catas­ trophe' is easy to CONCORD with such a manifestation of 'correct behavior' as 'self-reduction to zero' (see (11) above), with which it forms an expressive

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construction of the CONTRid type (Rcontr in the feature '(potential) ruin/ rescue'; Rid in 'loss, deprivation'). As a result of all these links, 'catastrophe' becomes a major element of the story, bringing together a number of essen­ tial properties both on the plane of 'values' and on that of 'behavior* and creating an image of the 'powerful forces of nature, which can be destructive, as well as beneficial, to man'. Examples of AP (18) have been cited above under various headings (Kutuzov's actions, "The Reed and the Olive", etc.); more will be given in the course of our analysis of the children's stories. 2.2 The archiplot of the five stories (FS): a general outline. "Child" and "adult" components of the archiplot. In order to formulate the AP of the five stories (see (22) below), it is essential to have at our dis­ posal the theme of these stories, θ(FS). As we recall, it consists of two compo­ nents: the invariant, θinv(FS), which is common to all of Tolstoy's works, and the local, θloc(FS), specific for FS. In other words, θ(FS) is a COMBINA­ TION of θinv(FS) and θloc(FS). What, then, are the invariant and local com­ ponents of the theme of the five stories? We will assume that θloc(FS) is a theme characteristic of all of Tolstoy's stories for children (and thus enjoying an invariant status in these stories but not in other works by Tolstoy). This theme includes two kinds of elements: those connected with the functions of the children's literature in general and those reflecting Tolstoy's particular educational views: (19)

θloc(FS): (a) didactic and educational orientation (as distinct from mere entertain­ ment); conveying practical knowledge about a child's immediate environ­ ment; (b) simplified psychological and social picture of the world; optimistic out­ look.9.

As for θinv(FS), it naturally has its source in Tolstoy's central theme θ(Tolst) = (1);therefore, (20)

θ(FS)

= COMBINATION of (1) and (19).

We will for the moment limit ourselves to this abstract formulation of θ(FS) (and not write out the mechanical sum of formulas (1) and (19)). Elaborating the archiplot. At the deep structure level the invariant com­ ponent of θ(FS), i.e. theme (1), is represented as already developed in AP(18). Accordingly, the task of determining the general outline of AP(FS) is reduced to COMBINING the Tolstoyan archiplot (18) with the "child"

Figure 39. The derivation of archiplot (22) from the theme of the five stories

127 POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

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component (19). This COMBINATION will result in a kind of "children's edition" of AP(18) — archiplot (22) (see below and Fig. 39). Firstly, in AP(22) there are practically no 'artificial, thought-up values', sought after by many of the grown-up characters in Tolstoy's major works (and, accordingly, openly "negative" characters are not presented). 10 Secondly, the whole com­ plex of 'incorrect behavior' is manifested in a very moderate form and appears not as a deliberate program but as a result of excusable mistakes, routineness of thought or natural human inertia. In the children's stories this complex is usually expressed through motif (14) 'verbal action', which is thereby involved in the construction of this "children's" archiplot. Thirdly, social conflicts and psychological subtleties are excluded; their absence is compensated for by the depiction of various natural objects and phenomena (animals, elemental forces, etc..) and objects belonging to the children's world: the characters of AP(22) are usually simple folk and their children.11 The influence of the "child" component (19) suggests (along with the already mentioned amendments of the content of (18)) certain constructive modifications in AP(18). In (18) 'correct' and 'incorrect' actions are not yet arranged in a rigid linear sequence. AP(18) would therefore equally repre­ sent those plots in which both kinds of actions are committed simultaneously by different persons as well as those in which 'correct' actions, likely to bring about rescue, would be followed by 'incorrect' ones with their disastrous results. But in the actual New Alphabet stories, only one way of temporal arrangement is represented: 'incorrect' actions precede 'correct' ones, which they prepare as a RECOIL (owing to the contrast in 'correctness' between the two kinds of actions) and at the same time as a PRESAGE or PRESEN­ TATION (since the 'incorrect' actions, aimed at but never achieving rescue, increase the need for 'correct' actions): only after the failure of the 'incorrect actions' do the characters turn to the 'correct' line of behavior. Such a con­ struction, based on RECOIL, involving only one line of action, and ending up in a happy dénouement, is frequent in plot narratives. In this case it is especially appropriate, as it successfully COMBINES a number of elements of both the local and the invariant themes. The unilinear structure, i.e. the absence of counterpoint between the parallel "false and true versions", can be regarded as a CONCRETIZATION, in the sphere of the literary code, of the 'simplicity' from (19b).12 The happy end, i.e. the order 'first unsuccessful — then successful actions' is natural in view of such elements of theme (1) as 'acceptance of life' and its 'beneficial' character, as well as the 'optimistic out-

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look.' in (19b). Another constructive step to be taken in elaborating formula (18) is to determine the position of its final component ('the basic joys of life prove to be the only true values...') in the sequence of events. The two most natural positions seem to be: the initial ('possession of the simple values' as a RECOIL to the subsequent 'catastrophe') and the final ('possession' after the 'catastrophe', which latter in this case takes on the RECOIL role). Both posi­ tions can be filled or left vacant; in the latter case the entity 'true values' is not represented by any particular part of the plot, but is dissolved, as it were, in the general atmosphere of the events. The choice among these possibilities and the quantitative weight of the initial and final states in individual stories are determined by the stress laid on the various thematic entities in different stories (the 'values'; the 'strategy of behavior'; the 'simplicity'). In FS the ini­ tial episode of 'possessing the values' (the ''prologue") is, as a rule, developed in some detail, while the final (the "epilogue"), though present, is usually reduced to a minimum.13 Thus, the transformation of AP(Tolst) = (18) into AP(FS) = (22) includes a compositional rearrangement of (18) according to the following pattern: (21)

In situation (18): first, enjoying the elementary values; then, catastrophe, fol­ lowed first by incorrect and then by correct actions (the latter being motivated by the failure of the former); finally, regaining original values.

General outline of the FS archiplot. Let us write out, in a first approxima­ tion, the AP of the five stories. For clarity's sake, the description of each phase of the archiplot is supplied with examples of its realization in the actual stories. (22)

The following happens to a character from the child's world (the kitten; the little girl; the two boys; the two friends; the captain's son): 1. The hero carelessly indulges in the simple joys of life in contact with nat­ ural or other phenomena that have edifying value and/or belong to the child's typical environment (walking in the fields; gathering mushrooms; swimming in the sea; walking in the woods; playing on the deck). 2. Then he gets into trouble involving some objects or phenomena from the same sphere (dogs attacking the kitten: the train rolling over the little girl; the shark threatening the life of the swimmers; the encounter with a bear in the forest; playing with a pet, the monkey, who lures the boy to a dangerous height). 3. Unsuccessful attempts are made to cope with the crisis by actions which are incorrect in the sense of (18), chiefly by words (shouting "Come back!" to the dogs; the older girl's instructions to her sister crawling between the tracks; the orders delivered to the swimmers from the ship and the lowering of a

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boat). 4. Failure makes it necessary to resort to actions correct in the sense of (18): intuitive, "deep" etc., which, contrary to expectations, help save the victim (the boy hides the kitten from the dogs with his body; the girl lies down before the approaching train; the old gunner fires at the sharks and risks hurting the boys; the man attacked by the bear feigns death; the father threatens to shoot his son, thus forcing him to leap from the mast into the water). 5. Once again out of danger, the characters resume enjoying the simple routine of life they have now learnt to appreciate (the boy at home looks after the kitten; the little girl rejoins her sister; the boys are on board the ship again; the two friends reunite in safety and in possession of a new awareness about life; the boy is alive and in the company of his shipmates).

2.3 The five invariant blocks. Sections 1-5 in AP(22) are invariant plot constructs directly concretizing the theme of FS (cf. Introductory remarks). From now on these "five acts of the drama" will be referred to as archiplot blocks, or deep structure constructs (DCs), and assigned the following conventional names: DC1 - Peaceful Life; DC2 - Catastrophe; DC3 - Inadequate Activity; DC4 - Rescue Action; DC5 - Peace Regained. We will now go on to examine these DCs one by one, beginning with Rescue Action, which is, in a sense, central to the story, as it forms the culmination of the archiplot and is the focus of Tolstoy's positive program. The other four DCs will be considered in their natural order (1-2-35). Rescue Action, Thematically, Rescue Action CONCRETIZES the fol­ lowing (worked out before): 'correct and expedient, though seemingly "un­ reasonable" , behaviour' ; 'deep, direct contact with the source of danger' ; 'ac­ tion on the level of natural forces and discovering reserves of such forces in oneself'; 'active resistance or passive submission to the course of events': 'in­ tuition, non-reflection'; 'relying on benign Providence', 'self-reduction to zero'; 'imitation of the methods of nature'. In terms of expressiveness, DC Rescue Action can be regarded as an instance of the wide-spread plot pat­ tern, called SUDDEN TURN, based on CONTRAST (RECOIL) and COMBINATION (see Chap. 5, §3): Event X (here — the rescue) is preceeded by a contrary development (here — the "unreasonable" methods of rescue and the strategy of "self-reduction to zero"), which makes X improb­ able and is likely to result in AntiX; the developments first towards AntiX and then towards X are linked into a causal construction (COMBcaus), a con­ nection usually not revealed until the dénouement. For a parallel to FS, one could point to detective stones (in particular, those about Sherlock Holmes),

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where solution and rescue often come as a result of strange and, on the face of it, hardly serious behavior of the detective. 14 Let us point out how the thematic entities enumerated above are CON­ CRETIZED and COMBINED in the framework of SUDDEN TURN and determine the characteristic features of Rescue Action. The contrast between the final rescue and the apparently "unreasona­ ble" actions (including "self-reduction to zero") which bring it about is shar­ pened (AUGMENTATION) by the following. These actions not only fail to achieve their aim but in fact aggravate the danger to the point where a lethal outcome seems inevitable. As we know, the 'correct1 actions can be either passive or active, and in both cases the characters tend to give up the last ves­ tiges of security and salvation open to them. In the passive variant this aggra­ vation of danger may look like (23)

inaction which opens the way to danger:

the Russians leave Moscow (WP); the kitten doesn't run away from the dogs (K); the little dog, thrown into the lion's cage, falls on its back before the lion ("The Lion and The Little Dog"); the man encountering a bear in the forest falls down prone on the ground (TF) etc. In the active variant (resistance) the aggravation of danger takes the form of (24)

actions creating additional danger:

the old gunner shoots, risking hitting the boys (S) ; the boy leaps from the mast risking breaking his neck or drowning (L); the woman throws her children under the elephant's feet ("The Elephant"). The thematic 'trust in Providence' and 'self-reduction to zero' are often CONCRETIZED, as indicated before, through motif (13) 'lying prostrate under and below something'. The two main realizations of this in the chil­ dren's stories are lying on the ground' and Tailing': the old gunner falls flat on the deck after firing; the little girl finds herself lying under the train; the boy covers the kitten with his body in front of the dogs; the boy falls on the ground when caught in a storm (BSS); cf. also some of the examples illustrat­ ing (23), (24) above. The motif 'under and below' is usually COMBINED with 'aggravation of danger' and also with 'direct contact with the source of danger'. As a result, the following situation is typical of children's stories: (25)

position under the source of danger:

under the train, the bear, the dogs, the elephant's feet, the ice, the water. In view of its recurrence this COMBINATION might seem obligatory and be

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regarded as something quite natural. That this is not so is clear from S, where 'aggravation of danger & contact with danger' is presented separately from 'trust... = low position': the gunner first shoots and then falls flat on the deck covering his face with his hands; moreover, the 'trust' and even 'low position' are separated from the victim (with whom they are usually associated): it is the gunner that falls down and not the boys, who, at this moment of climax, are not shown at all. The 'forced character' of Rescue Action (see (15), which goes back to (6)) is expressed, first of all, by the place given to Rescue Action in the sequence of events: it follows Inadequate Activity, i.e. is not undertaken until the "reasonable" methods of rescue have been exhausted without yield­ ing positive results. Sometimes the idea of 'forced action' is made quite explicit: What could he do? Only fall on his face (TF). Rescue Action usually COMBINES 'forcedness' with the thematic entity 'intuitive, non-rational': emphasis is put on the 'absence of reflection and conscious decision-making' on the part of the hero, and also on the 'lightning-like swiftness of his actions': I felt a blow on my head. I fell down... (BSS); The little girl [the subject of Rescue Action] was crawling on the track. The engine-driver couldn't stop the engine. It... rolled over the little girl (LGM); That cry seemed to break the gun­ ner's spell. In a flash he sped to his cannon (S). Spotting his son on the mast, he at once levelled the gun at him and shouted: - Into the water! (L). As can be seen from the examples, in some cases the 'forced and non-rational' character of the action is expressed by the fact that the rescuer acts 'unconsciously': so do the children in LGM and BSS. In two cases (S, L) the rescuer, being a close relative of the victim, acts in a state of high 'emotional tension'. This emo­ tional, 'non-reflecting' mode of action is in both cases CONCRETIZED through a special 'gesture': in S the gunner falls flat beside the cannon, his hands on his face (this gesture is COMBINED with 'low position'); in L the father suddenly cried out as though he were choking, and ran back to his cabin, afraid the people might see him weep.15 Note that in both cases it is after the Rescue Action that this outburst of emotion occurs (the gunner first fires and then falls; the captain weeps when his son is already saved), emphasizing the idea of 'lightning-like swiftness, action forestalling deliberation'. Related to this complex of 'non-reasoning' is, in particular, the difference, mentioned above, between Rescue Action in Tolstoy and in Conan Doyle. The actions of Sherlock Holmes are quite rational (he is a scientist), not caused by neces­ sity, i.e. not 'forced' (the flavor of "queerness" about his solutions is due to his originality, and the aggravation of danger arising from his behavior, to his

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taste for deliberate artistic effects), and have nothing to do with emotional concern for the fate of a dear person: rather, they represent a purely profes­ sional, cold-blooded service rendered to a client. The thematic entities 'actions on the level of the forces of nature' and 'with the methods of nature' are manifested in at least three ways. Firstly, these actions are shown as 'commensurable with the "natural" danger (which they are intended to resist) in terms of intensity, strength, velocity', etc. This quality of Rescue Action is set off by a RECOIL in the form of Inadequate Activity which fails to match the danger in these respects. Direct CONCRETIZATION of 'commensurability' can be seen, e.g., in the fact that the boy, determined to rescue the kitten, runs faster than the dogs (K); the gun­ ner resorts to the cannon ball, whose speed is greater then the shark's (S); the captain urges the boy to leap, threatening him with a danger no less than that of breaking his neck, and the boy falls from the mast like a cannon ball (com­ mensurable, as we have seen in S, with Nature's forces) (L). 16 Secondly, 'commensurability with nature' is manifested in the fact that the hero discov­ ers in himself the moral strength required for the heroic deed (see (4b')). Finally, in some cases the action resembles certain natural phenomena in its visual pattern (see (4b'")): the little girl collecting the scattered mushrooms (LGM) and the boy caught in a storm (BSS) flatten themselves against the ground not unlike the reed bending under the wind in the parable "The Reed and the Olive"; the man feigning death in TF acts similarly to some animals (the spider, the tortoise, certain species of beetle). Peaceful Life. This deep construct serves as a RECOIL preceding Catas­ trophe. At the same time it CONCRETIZES the theme of 'genuineness of the basic natural values: health, eating, communication, simple pleasures in contact with nature etc.' Such a COMBINATION of the two functions is in no way inevitable. In some of Tolstoy's major works, such as War and Peace, "The Death of Ivan Ilych" etc., the catastrophe that convinces the pro­ tagonists of the all-importance of the true values is preceded by a RECOIL formed by some sort of "good life", which, however, is based not on true val­ ues but on false ones. But the children's stories are basically free of elements of satire and denunciation. Under these conditions and in conformity with the orientation towards 'simplicity', the COMBINATION in question (of RECOIL before Catastrophe with CONCRETIZATION of 'simple values') is a natural and, probably, the only possible solution. The repertoire of 'simple joys of life' in the "prologues" of FS is rather limited: the children pick sorrel leaves while the kitten plays with straw (AT);

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the girls carry mushrooms from the forest (LGM); the children bathe and race in the sea (S); the boy plays with the ape, amusing the passengers (L). Note that the entities 'game, play' and 'contact with nature', which form part of these innocent entertainments, contain the possibility of falling into a dangerous situation; sometimes the mechanism of danger is contained in the game itself (cf. Nikolaj Rostov's card loss with the boy's pursuit of his hat up the mast). In other words, there is a causal CONCORD of Peaceful Life with an eventual transition to Catastrophe. This, in its turn, is a CONCRETIZATION of (2a) 'unpredictability of transitions from good to bad, good being fraught with bad' and (2b) 'life and nature imbued with mighty forces'. Catastrophe. The expressive role of Catastrophe is as follows: firstly, it sets in relief, through CONTRAST, 'the enjoying of simple values' at the beginning and the end of the story; secondly, by creating the need for urgent action, it serves as PRESENTATION of Rescue Action; thirdly, it helps to distinguish between 'correct' and 'incorrect' actions. In its thematic function, Catastrophe CONCRETIZES (2b) 'life imbued with mighty forces, life that is "no joke'". Catastrophe demonstrates 'nature and life full-size', in all their spontaneous grandeur, and requires that man be on a level with them (his efforts to match nature fail in Inadequate Activity and succeed in Rescue Action). The most important property of Catastrophe, directly expressing (2b), is its 'avalanche-like and irresistible character'. Typical examples are the storm, the fire, the dogs, the shark, etc., i.e. wild animals or elemental forces that are beyond man's control. The 'spontaneous, unbridled, irresistible and avalanche-like' nature of Catastrophe is not always placed outside the Vic­ tim*: in some cases the function of creating 'irresistibility' is, at least in part, carried by the Victims themselves. Such is the case when the Victim is a crea­ ture incapable of sober reasoning and shares the irrationality of nature, e.g. a child or an animal. Characteristic examples are MD and WHB, where the Victim itself (the children and the dog Bulka respectively) runs towards the Menace (the mad dog, the convicts); thus, the irresistible mutual attraction of the Victim and the Menace is effected by the movement of both (cf. K, where only the Menace moves). This 'irresistibility' in the Victims is stressed by the CONTRAST with the unsuccessful efforts to control them, especially by * Victim, Victim-Rescuer, Menace, etc., are our conventional names for the archicharacters intro­ duced in §4; at this point, the term Victim is, for the sake of brevity, used to designate both the Vic­ tim and the Victim-Rescuer.

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POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

words' (the master shouts in vain "Come back!" to Bulka; the little girl finds herself on the tracks because of her failure to understand the words of the elder girl; etc.). These verbal actions will be examined in more detail in the section on Inadequate Activity. Another important thematic characteristic of Catastrophe is its 'physical scale', which challenges human capacities: the dogs' swiftness (K), the train's speed and size (LGM), the shark's speed and strength (S), the bear's huge­ ness (TF; in other stories the corresponding animal is a lion, an elephant etc.), the ape's superhuman agility and the height of the mast (L). It should be added that Catastrophe is also exploited for conveying to the peasant children some sort of educational information about the world: it involves certain objects belonging to the child's familiar environment as well as facts about nature and the life of other countries and people. COMBINA­ TIONS of these 'educationally useful objects and facts' with the 'superhuman scale' of Catastrophe are the 'familiar things' like the train, the bear, the storm, the fire etc., on the one hand, the 'exotic animals and phenomena', such as the shark, the ape, the elephant, the voyage around the world, the ship, the mast etc., on the other hand. (For more detail, see Chap. 8, §4.) Inadequate Activity. Thematically, Inadequate Activity is a CONCRETIZATION of the "negative" complex outlined in APs (18), (22): 'pal­ liatives, action out of touch with the deep essence of events', 'adhering to rigid conventional rules', '"wrong" activeness (efforts to control the flow of events by inadequate means)', etc. On the expressive plane, Inadequate Activity constitutes a RECOIL setting in relief the subsequent Rescue Action (to which it is opposed with respect to 'correct/incorrect strategy of behavior'), and a retardation (= PREPARATION) of the same Rescue Action. Also, it helps to emphasize the 'irresistibility' of Catastrophe, which it sets off by CONTRAST (with the efforts to influence its course). Let us consider one by one some of the ways in which this cluster of functions is realized by the various features and aspects of DC Inadequate Activity. As mentioned above, the thematic entities 'palliative', 'non-deep', and 'conventional' often COMBINE into 'fruitless verbal action' (see (14)), whose COMBINATION with 'unsuccessful efforts to control' Catastrophe now yields: (26)

fruitless attempts to cope with Catastrophe by means of words.

These "words' usually assume the form of 'commands, calls, instructions, etc.. addressed either to the endangered Victim or to the uncontrollable

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Menace': the shouts "Come back; addressed to a dog in either role: as Menace (K) and as Victim (WHB; this story is the only one where words of this kind are addressed both to the Victim and to the Menace: I shouted: — Bulka, come back! — and shouted at the convicts not to club Bulka); the inef­ fective instructions of the elder sister to the little girl who has gotten danger­ ously close to the tracks and the driver's whistles addressed to the same girl (LGM); the shouts "Come back! Come back! Λ shark!" (S); the master's shouts: Children, run quickly to the house — a mad dog! (MD). The 'fruitlessness of verbal action' is manifested by the fact that the person addressed either does not hear or fails to understand the words, by the obvious impossi­ bility of following the advice or obeying the command, etc. The little girl did not hear... The little girl thought she was being told to pick them all [the scat­ tered mushrooms] up (LGM). But the boys could not hear him and swam on... (S). The children heard the words their father was shouting, but did not see the dog and ran straight towards it (MD).17 But the convict saw Bulka, gave a laugh and with a deft swipe hooked him by the haunch... (WHB). The entities 'palliative actions failing to match the events' and 'sticking to the rules' are reflected in various (27)

actions aimed at rescue which would have been adequate under normal condi­ tions but are doomed to failure in the extraordinary circumstances created by Catastrophe:

the driver's efforts to stop the engine (LGM) ; the lowering of the boat by the sailors (a course of action foreseen by the rules of rescue at sea) ; and the boys' attempt to escape the shark by swimming hard (S). The everyday routine character of these operations, making them inadequate to the extraordinary situation, is emphasized by their being exact replicas of some of the actions in the Peaceful Life period (CONCORD); e.g. in S in both cases a floating device is lowered: The sailors leapt into water to receive a sail lowered to them. They tied the sail down, forming a swimming-pool inside — The sailors low­ ered a boat, climbed in and made for the boys; also in both cases, there is a swimming-race: The boys decided to have a race in the open sea — The terrified boys darted apart and tried to outswim the shark. The same parallelism can be observed in verbal behavior: the gunner shouts at his son Don t give up! Try a little harder! (Peaceful Life) and later Come back! (Inadequate Activity). A similar CONCORD of Inadequate Activity with Peaceful Life actions is also present in L, though in a somewhat veiled form, since in that story Inadequate Activity is limited to the mental sphere, taking the form of imagined possible actions: Even if he kept his foothold and reached his hat on

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POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

the yard-arm, he would find it hard to turn round and go back to the mast. Inadequate Activity here takes place in the narrator's mind: envisaging the only possible way of rescue for the boy, he realizes its hopelessness. Note that visually the imagined escape again repeats some of the playful actions from the Peaceful Life episode (walking on the spar). Evident in all these examples (as well as in those of 'verbal action') is the disproportion in 'scale' between Catastrophe and the steps taken to cope with it. The 'lack of contact with the core of events' is CONCRETIZED first of all by the fact that Inadequate Activity usually takes the form of 'actions from the outside, not reaching the epicenter of events'. This is supported by the spatial arrangement of Catastrophe (see §3), one of the functions of which is precisely to separate the potential Rescuers from the Victim. Thus, the elder sister gives her instructions to the little girl while remaining in the safety zone on the other side of the tracks (LGM); in S the advisers remain on board the ship, and the boat (as opposed to the cannon ball) cannot reach the place of Catastrophe in time. Another characteristic CONCRETIZATION of the 'lack of contact with the danger' is the way Inadequate Activity tries to return the Victim to the safety zone: it is oriented towards restoration of the status quo and is physically directed not into the epicenter of the danger but away from it. This can be seen in the persistent recurrence of the motif and the word 'back' in practically every episode of Inadequate Activity (see examples above), both in the direct speech and in the author's comments. Thus the con­ trastive relation between Inadequate Activity and Rescue Action is addition­ ally CONCRETIZED and AUGMENTED by creating a new opposition: (28)

moving back to safety from the midst of events and not forward, towards risk and into the midst of events.18

Peace Regained. The thematic function of this DC is CONCRETIZA­ TION of 'simple and natural values', that is, life itself with its elementary manifestations, such as human communication, parental love, etc. As an expressive unit, DC Peace Regained constitutes a CONTRAST to two earlier DCs (Catastrophe and Rescue Action) in the degree of dramatic tension; and a cyclical REPETITION of the initial state of affairs (Peaceful Life).19 This final tableau of a "lull after the storm" consists, as a rule, of the motifs 'being together in a safe place' (as opposed to Catastrophe in which the heroes are separated, some of them abandoned in the danger zone); 'wisdom acquired through experience'; and 'immersion in everyday occupations' (which are reaffirmed as adequate and laudable: "life claims its own").

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The motif of 'being together' is common to all the stories (on a slight deviation in L see Chap. 8, §1.11). 'Wisdom through experience' is present in  (Vasja... never brought z7[the kitten] with him to the meadow again), in TF (the moral lesson about false friends). The motif of 'routine occupations' is vividly exemplified by both stories about mushrooms: LGM (The girl...gathered her mushrooms) and BSS (I found my cap, picked up the mush­ rooms and ran home. There was nobody at home; I took some bread from the cupboard and climbed onto the stove. When I woke up, I saw from the stove that they had fried my mushrooms, put them out on the table and were about to eat them. I cried: "Are you going to eat them without me?" They said: "What are you doing sleeping? Come down quickly and eat"). As is easy to see, in BSS this block is developed in more detail than in any other story: here the motif of 'everyday occupations' is expressed by a number of elements (the mushrooms, the bread, sleeping on the stove, the fried mushrooms, the com­ mon meal) and elaborated into an entire plot construction comparable in inventiveness to Catastrophe and Rescue Action. This construction repro­ duces in a lighter vein certain characteristics of the dramatic and climactic episodes of the story (see Chap. 8, §1.11). Such a repetition of the motifs of Catastrophe within Peace Regained (CONCORD, not unlike that of Inadequate Activity with Peaceful Life) occurs in other stories too, e.g. in TF (the exchange of jokes about the hero's conversation with the bear). Its func­ tion is to set off, by CONTRid, the quiet atmosphere of the final episode as compared to the Catastrophe. In most of the stories, however, Peace Regained is reduced to a minimum. In particular, it is usually presented not as a static situation expres­ sing achieved peace and rest, but rather as a transition to such a situation from the turbulent events of Catastrophe. This transition can be described as PRE­ PARATION for Peace Regained proper, i.e. the sequence "PreX — X" with the peaceful situation X partially or completely omitted on the surface level (REDUCTION) .20 The realization of the PreX will be described later as one of the surface structure constructs belonging to this DC (Calming Down). Definitive archiplot. Let us bring together the results obtained in the course of elaborating DCs 1-5. For the sake of brevity we will omit explicit formulations of the themes elaborated and the EDs used in the process. For the same reason we will merely list the plot components in sequence without specifying their co-occurrence in particular stories. (29)

Peaceful Life: child or animals; games, entertainments, or useful occupa­ tions in edifying contact with nature.

184

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS Catastrophe: spontaneous, irresistible, avalanche-like calamity, incom­ mensurable in scale with human capacities; a Menace belonging to the famil­ iar environment or to exotic and educationally interesting spheres of reality; distribution of uncontrollability between Victim and Menace. Inadequate Activity: fruitless verbal action: advice, instructions, com­ mands, etc., addressed to the Victim or the Menace; unsusceptibility of addressees (children, animals) to these words; actions according to rules and out of proportion to the scale of events, similar to the activities in Peaceful Life; actions from outside by would-be Rescuers who remain isolated from the scene of Catastrophe and/or aim at bringing the Victim back out of the danger zone. Rescue Action: aggravating danger by inactivity or by actions adding new danger; actions in the center of danger; low position, lying prostrate under the Menace; forced "unreasonable" actions after all "reasonable" means have been exhausted; acting with lightning-like swiftness and without deliberation; emotions bursting out after a decisive action; physical parameters of human action comparable to those of Catastrophe; discovering in oneself mighty forces and capacities for a heroic deed; imitation of nature's methods. Peace Regained: condensed description of resumed peaceful life; being together in a safe place with friends and relatives; occupations similar to those of Peaceful Life; acceptability of former modes of behavior; replaying some features of Catastrophe in a lighter vein; wisdom acquired through experi­ ence.

3.

Spatial component; the two zones

3.1 The nucleus of the spatial archistructure. Along with the archiplot, an important role in elaborating the theme of FS is played by the organization of space, which emerges as a faithful projec­ tion of Tolstoyan invariants. Such spatial manifestation of thematic values makes the children's stories typologically similar to a wide range of mytholog­ ical, folkloric and mediaeval texts. In this section we concentrate on the deep spatial organization of FS, i.e. the spatial counterpart of archiplot (29) (on the surface realization of the spatial component see Chap. 8, §2). Central to the spatial organization of FS is the division of the scene of action into two distinct zones: the 'danger zone' and the 'safety zone'. This division pertains to the story as a whole, rather than to any particular part of the plot. It must be said, however, that it is in the central part of the plot (in­ cluding the three pivotal DCs, Catastrophe, Inadequate Activity, and Rescue Action) that the two-zone articulation is pronounced most clearly and per­ forms important thematic and expressive functions; in the marginal parts

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(Peaceful Life and Peace Regained) it is less marked; to put it more precisely, it is created at the end of Peaceful Life and removed in Peace Regained. The kernel of this "archisetting", AS(FS), can be formulated as follows: (30)

Victim (or Victim-Rescuer) is close to Menace and separated from the rest of the characters (Spectators, Spectators-Helpers and Rescuers), but remains within their sight; the Rescuer (if the story has one) breaks through to the Vic­ tim.

As is easy to see, AS (30) is based on CONTRid construction, COMBINING the necessary 'split' into mutually opposed zones with the 'unity' of place, time, and action. This gives the composition the simplicity and clarity desira­ ble in view of the general thematic orientation of the children's stories. The contrast (Kcontr) between the zones obtains in the following features: - 'spatial localization of the zones': the danger zone is "there", the safety zone "here" (this difference, being rather trivial in itself, is developed (CONCR and AUGM) into a series of further oppositions: 'above/below', 'ship/sea', 'house/street', etc.); - 'presence/absence of Menace': the danger zone is characterized by the pre­ sence of Menace, the safety zone by its absence; - 'presence/absence of Victim': it is present in the danger zone and absent from the safety zone; - 'presence/absence of other people': they are absent from the danger zone and present in the safety zone. 21 The other aspect of the CONTRid construction, the relation of identity (Kid) is provided by the following CONCORDS: - 'unity of place', or, rather, of the field of vision, encompassing both zones: the characters in the safety zone can see what is going on in the danger zone, and the reader sees the whole scene (the only moment when this is not so is Eclipsing, see Chap. 8, §1.10); - 'unity of time', or, rather, complete simultaneity of the events in the two zones; - 'unity of action': all that happens in both zones constitutes one event (ef­ forts to rescue Victim); the characters (Victim, Rescuer, Helpers, and Spec­ tators) are, in a sense, "one group" (friends, relatives, etc.); as a conse­ quence, what happens in both zones merges into one drama (see §4.2 below). On the whole, these contrasts and identities produce a solid, compact, and easily surveyable construction. Apart from these architectonic functions, CONTRid also plays its usual emphasizing role: the Kcontr and Kid emphasize each other and the relevant motifs.

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POETICS O F EXPRESSIVENESS

3.2 The spatial archistructure: definitive form and f unctions. Situation (30) represents the pattern according to which space is split into zones at the culminating stage of the plot. To consider AS(FS) in its entirety, we will follow and take down the spatial parameters of all the stages of AP(29). The deep spatial structure will then look as follows: (31)

Peaceful Life. The characters are together in the safety zone (the children with the kitten in the field; the sisters on their way back from the forest; the boys and the sailors first on deck, then swimming inside the sail; the two friends on the forest road; the boy on deck in the midst of people). Catastrophe. Gradually the Victim becomes isolated and brought close to the Menace, while remaining within sight of others (the children leave the kit­ ten and then see the dogs approaching it; the two sisters run in different direc­ tions, the bigger one sees the younger get on the rail track; the boys swim out from inside the sail, they and the approaching shark are seen from the deck; the two friends come across a bear, one of them climbs up a tree and looks down from it, the other remains on the ground; the boy climbs the mast, steps on a spar, the rest watch from the deck). Inadequate Activity. Others try to help the Victim without leaving the safety zone and call on the Victim to return there (the hunter calls the dogs from afar and on horseback; the bigger girl shouts instructions to her sister from across the embankment; warning cries and a boat are directed to the boys; the people on deck follow with sympathy the boy's movements on the spar, reflecting on the likelihood of his return). Rescue Action. The decisive link of the rescue is localized in the danger zone: Rescuer breaks through to Victim and/or Victim himself acts (the boy runs up to the kitten and shields it from the dogs with his own body; the little girl is seen lying flat under the train; the cannon-ball hits the shark; the man is lying prostrate under the bear; the captain's threat that he will shoot gets home to the boy, makes him totter and then leap down into the water). Peace Regained. The Victim is reintegrated with his relatives and friends in conditions of safety (the dogs are removed, the boy takes the kitten home; the train has passed, the little girl, safe and sound, with the mushrooms she has picked up in her hands, runs up to her sister; the sailors bring the boys on board the ship to their friends and relatives; the boy is saved from the water, brought back on deck and comes to among friends).

Let us point out the main functions of such spatial arrangement. Thematically, the division into two zones serves to express the following important elements of Tolstoy's poetic universe: 'human communication, common entertainment as one of the simple joys of life'; 'contact with the deep essence of things and events as the correct, radical strategy of behavior, opposed to the palliative and superficial methods of action, failing to penetrate to the core of events' ; 'good being fraught with bad as a manifestation of the unpre-

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dictability of life' (see (3) and (8); (4b'); (2a)). The idea of 'communication1 is CONCRETIZED by the heroes' 'being together' in the initial and final blocks and stressed by RECOIL MOVEMENT, consisting in the temporary spatial dissociation of the characters. 22 The idea of 'contact with danger, penetration into the midst of it' is CONCRETIZED through the mise-enscène of Rescue Action, which involves either penetration from the periphery (= the safety zone) to the center of Catastrophe or actions (by the Victim himself) totally concentrated in the danger zone. This is stressed by the use of RECOIL in the form of (i) the actual division into zones, and (ii) actions which take place on the periphery of the drama (in the safety zone), fail to penetrate into the danger zone, are directed towards the periphery from the center and even avoid contact with the Menace (this RECOIL is rep­ resented by the spatial aspects of DC Inadequate Activity and SC Shunning). Finally, the idea 'good fraught with bad' is CONCRETIZED and stressed by the entire CONTRid construction responsible for the division into zones, as it results in the contiguity or close proximity of the two zones. The motif of 'spatial identity' is further elaborated in the creation of a non-discrete, homogeneous space lacking a visible boundary between the zones. This merging of the two zones promotes the gradualness of SC Drifting into Danger and thus makes palpable the thematic entity 'being fraught...' (see Chap. 8, §2). On the expressive plane, one should point out first and foremost the aforementioned graphic clarity of the pattern that translates plot oppositions ('danger/safety', 'Rescuer/Victim' etc.) into the language of spatial distinc­ tions. Similarly, in folklore the tests undergone by the protagonist involve travels from his own home or kingdom to the forest, another kingdom or some other special kind of "place of peril". The safety and danger zones of Tolstoy's stories can also be said, in a sense, to represent "one's own king­ dom" and "a place of peril", respectively. Among the many expressive roles performed by the CONTRid construction, on which the division into zones is based, is the important function of (32)

emphasizing the Victim's grievous situation by contrasting it with the absolute safety which the rest of the same group23 enjoy close by.

This opposition of the protagonist in trouble and the "uninvolved" spec­ tators 24 separated from him by some kind of physical boundary ("the foot­ lights") endow the whole scene with a theatrical quality, which enhances its drama. The impression of "theater" is promoted by the following two qual­ ities: (i) as befits theater, spectators are more numerous than the actors (the

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POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

spectacular 'One-Many" pattern is discussed in Chap. 8, §4.1); (ii) spectators ("the chorus") provide strong emotional response to what is happening "on stage". Finally, the division of space into functionally different but contigu­ ous zones stresses the motif of the 'difficulty and inefficiency' of palliative actions in the situation of Catastrophe (see (26), (27)), elaborated in a number of non-spatial ways, among them: the SC Series of Efforts (not just one, but several efforts to help, undertaken with increased zeal, fail to achieve their aim; see Chap. 8, §1.7); the contrast between the irresistible force of Catastrophe and the inadequate attempts to resist it; the contrast (of the type 'favorable conditions/negative result') between these seemingly reasonable and tested methods and their lack of succes. It is this latter type of contrast that is projected into the spatial sphere as well — in the form of situ­ ation: (33)

4.

"so near and yet inaccessible": the failure of efforts to help contrasts with the apparent simplicity of the task, considering the visual and acoustic accessibil­ ity of the danger zone to the potential rescuers.

Actant component.

The system of actants, or type participants in the action, is the third major aspect of the structure of FS. By the actant structure of a story we mean the distribution of the elementary anthropomorphic functions, or roles, rele­ vant to the plot among the characters (and objects); these bearers of func­ tions are called actants. The problem of actant structure has been given much attention since the appearance of Propp's Morphology of the Folktale (1958 [4928]), in particular in Greimas 1970, Rastier 1976, Bremond 1973). Like the other two principal components of the structure, the actant organization can be examined on two levels, deep and surface. The former corresponds to the level of the archiplot (29) and "archisetting" (31), the latter, to that of sur­ face plot constructs, SCs. In this section we will briefly examine the deep actant structure (= the system of archicharacters) of FS and some of its expressive modifications (on the surface system of characters see Chap. 8, §3). 4.1 The system of archicharacters. The set of archicharacters is formed by grouping certain important func­ tions from the deep formulas (29) and (31) into '"clusters": every "cluster" is assigned to a single archicharacter. Since one and the same function can

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appear in different clusters, the covering of the whole set of functions from (29), (31) can be achieved in many different ways, i.e. by different sets of archicharacters. In other words, archicharacters can be regarded as a set of tools at the disposal of the narrator; they can perform, in various combina­ tions , one and the same group of functions ; for the realization of the functions the narrator may choose different subsets of his tools.25 We found it best to work, in FS, with the following set of archicharacters: Victim; Rescuer; Vic­ tim-Rescuer; Menace; Spectator; Spectator-Helper. In terms of the plot and spatial archistructure (see (29), (31)) these archicharacters can be defined as follows (NB: only those elements of the formulas are selected which are con­ stitutive for the archicharacters). - 'Victim': the subject of Peaceful Life and Peace Regained, the object of Catastrophe, the addressee of Inadequate Activity and Rescue Action; can also be the subject of Rescue Action, but only in its "passive" variety ('delib­ erate inaction, absence of "unreasonable" actions and of mighty forces disco­ vered in oneself): the boy in BSS, the little girl in LGM (both are subjects of passive Rescue Action); the kitten in K; the children in MD; the boys in S. - 'Rescuer': the "resolute" subject of the active variety of Rescue Action ('"unreasonable" actions undertaken after the "reasonable" ones have been exhausted; discovery of mighty forces in oneself; penetration from the safety zone into the midst of danger') : Vasya in K; the dog Friend in MD ; the gunner in S; the captain in L. - 'Victim-Rescuer': the Victim who is also an active Rescuer: the dog Bulka in WHB; the protagonist in TF; the boy in L. - 'Menace': the subject of Catastrophe: the dogs in K; the train in LGM; the mad dog in MD; the shark in S; the convicts in WHB; the bear in TF. - 'Spectator': a person watching the Catastrophe from the safety zone: Katya in K; the passengers and the conductor in LGM: the people on deck in S and L; the tree-climber in TF. - 'Spectator-Helper': the Spectator who is also the subject of Inadequate Activity: the bigger sister and the driver in LGM; the squire in MD; the sailors in the boat in 5; Bulka's master in WHB. These constitutive properties of the archistructure, derived from the functions of the archiplot and the spatial archistructure, should be supplemented with certain human features, endowing them with a measure of psychological credibility and thus transforming mere clusters of functions into prototypes of real characters. These additional personal features are bes­ towed on the archicharacters in CONCORD with their primary functions and

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POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

the archistructure as a whole. Thus, the Victim naturally appears as 'nonadult and/or unreasoning'; the Rescuer and the Victim-Rescuer, as 'resolute persons'; the Menace, as 'non-human' (animal or machine) 16 and 'education­ ally interesting'; the Spectator, as 'incapable of resolute action'; the Spec­ tator-Helper, as 'sympathizing with the Victim' and 'capable of certain actions', but 'acting in a routine way'. Archicharacters as a system. Up to now we have spoken of the archicharacters as separate entities and described them from the point of view of the thematic functions they perform. Taken as a whole, they constitute a system, displaying a certain degree of internal artistic cohesion. This is based on the nature of the relations between them — contrasts set in relief by iden­ tities (the CONTRid construction), in the first place. Thus, the Rescuer and the Spectator-Helper are opposed in the mode of behavior and temperament ('"unreasonable" resoluteness/"reasonable" routine') and coincide in their 'sympathy for the Victim'; on the other hand, the Rescuer and the Menace contrast in their aims (= attitude to the Victim), but are similar with regard to the scale of the natural forces at their disposal ('Catastrophe is avalanche­ like, elemental', 'Rescue Action is commensurable with it', etc.). In addition to CONTRAST and CONCORD, some other EDs also contribute to the coordination of characters into expressive pairs. E.g., in the pair Rescuer— Victim (or Rescuer—Victim-Rescuer) the evident contrasts in age and strength, the identity in aims, and the fact of one rescuing the other add up to an artistically interesting relation of 'leadership and protection'. This kind of relation arises when one character, lacking strength, needs, while the other provides, protection and guidance. In terms of EDs this is a PREPARATION-type relation, namely, its PRESAGE variety, with 'need or lack' pre­ ceding 'fulfilment'. In the case of FS, the analogy is strengthened by the tem­ poral succession of 'lack' and 'fulfilment' typical for PREPARATION: first one of the protagonists gets into trouble and needs strength, support and gui­ dance, then the other provides his rescue.27 We will now return to the archicharacters of FS and try to show that every story is quite adequately characterized by the subset of its archicharac­ ters; in other words, every story has its peculiar "actant profile". The actant structure of eight stories (FS plus BSS, MD and WHB) is shown in Fig. 40. The pluses indicate the presence, the minuses and zeros, the absence of the archicharacters in question; the question marks denote dubious cases. A zero means that not only the archicharacter itself but even its constitutive function is absent from the story; a minus means that the archicharacter is absent, although the corresponding functions are present in the archiplot.

191

DEEP STRUCTURE

Figure 40 The actant structure of eight stories

Victim

Rescuer

VictimRescuer

Menace

BSS

+

0

0

9

0

0



+

+

-

+

+

+

LGM

+

0

0

+

+

+

MD

+

+

-

+

-

+

S

+

+

-

+

+

+

WHB

-

-

+

+

-

+

TF

-

-

+

+

+

0

L

-

+

+

-

4-

9

Archicharacters

Spectator Spectator Helper

Stories.

NB

The question mark in the Menace column for BSS refers to the difficulty of deciding whether to regard the storm as a character (like the shark, the dogs and the train). On the one hand, the storm is not embodied in a concrete and sizable object; on the other, it is obviously characterized by certain material manifestations (the thunder, the lighting, the falling branch, etc.). With respect to L the question mark expresses our doubts as to the presence of a Spectator-Helper in the story: if the considerations about the possibility for the boy to return to the mast can be regarded as a kind of (mental) Inadequate Activity on the part of the people on deck, the column should have a plus, if not, a zero. As for the zeroes and minuses, the latter are more informative stating something about the distribution of the present functions, while a zero specifies not an actant structure but the variety of the archistructure (29), (31)

192

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS represented by a given story. The absence of an archicharacter whose con­ stitutive functions are there is exemplified by L: in that story there is no Menace as a distinct person or object, while Catastrophe and prolonged Growing Danger do occur.

Figure 40 shows that almost all of the stories are distinguished by their archicharacter structures (only S and  have the same distribution of fea­ tures). It can also be seen from the columns of the table that no archicharacter is obligatory (there is not a single column consisting entirely of pluses). Let us point out some of the more important interrelations between the archicharacters reflected in the table. The Victim and the Victim-Rescuer never co-occur in the same story (for both of these archicharacters to be present, the object of Catastrophe should be split into two characters, an active and a passive). As for the Rescuer and the Victim-Rescuer, they are co-present in L — in accordance with the indi­ vidual theme of that story (portrayal of "an heroic breed of men", see Chap. 8, Note 39). The absence of either of these active archicharacters corresponds to another individual theme, rendered through the "passive" variety of the plot with a helpless Victim saved by Providence alone (LGM, BSS). The pre­ sence of both the Victim and the Rescuer constitutes a variety with a specific flavour of protection (K, S, MD), while the presence of the Victim-Rescuer alone signals independent self-rescue of a resourceful protagonist (WHB, TF). The set of archicharacters of  and S, with only the Victim-Rescuer absent, can be considered "classic" (its recurrence is possibly not accidental); the "plainest" case is BSS (all but the Victim are absent). 4.2 Modifications of the system. Under this heading we will be concerned with certain modifications of the system involving functions which are not constitutive for the archicharac­ ters in question. We will consider two types of modification. Firstly, a pair of archicharacters can be further elaborated by the use of EDs; as a result, it acquires new properties which enhance the expressiveness of the pair and of the whole construction. Secondly, an archicharacter on hand can be modified by the addition to it (by way of exception and with rather paradoxical results) of a property constitutive for another character. (The addition principle is also at work in forming the surface actant structure, see Chap. 8, §3.) Elaborating individual pairs of archicharacters. "Rescuer—Victim" (or "Rescuer—Victim-Rescuer") often appear as 'intimately related': father and son (S, L), master and pet animal (K), pet animal and its masters (MD). This plays a certain thematic role, contributing to the CONCRETIZATION of (8)

DEEP STRUCTURE

193

'human communication, love'; in particular, it emphasizes 'relations of kin and love for children and animals1. On the expressive plane, this relation between the characters can be viewed as their CONCORD with respect to 'unity of fate, aims and interests'. A collateral result of this CONCORD is AUGMENTATION of aforementioned identity relation between Rescuer and Victim and the scale of Catastrophe, since it now directly affects not just one person (the Victim) but two (the Victim and the person closely related to it), thus involving not the danger zone alone, but both zones and covering the whole scene of action (= VARIATION of Catastrophe). The 'emotional reaction' to Catastrophe is correspondingly increased, too. The pair "Spectator (or Spectator-Helper) — Victim (or VictimRescuer)" can be modified in a similar way, cf. the pairs Katja — the kitten (L), the bigger and the younger sisters (LGM), the father — the children (MD), the narrator — Bulka (WH). "Spectator (Spectator-Helper) — Menace". In two of the stories the Spectator-Helper arrives at the place of action together with the Menace (the hunter in K) or even on it (the engine-driver, the passengers and the conduc­ tor in LGM). This kind of spatial CONCORD of the characters, opposed in their aims, once again creates the effect of CONTRAST set off by identity. Adding to individual archicharacters constitutive functions of other archicharacters. This type of modification applies, in fact, to just one func­ tion, Inadequate Activity, usually performed by a special archicharacter, the Spectator-Helper. By the operation of "adding" it can be bestowed also on some other participants of the drama, for example, on the Victim or the Vic­ tim-Rescuer (cf. the clumsy actions of the little girl in LGM; the unsuccessful attempts of the children to swim away from the shark in S or to run away in MD; the first irresolute attemps of Bulka to escape from the hook in WHB) or even on the Rescuer (the first attempts of the gunner to help the boys by verbal action in S). If the character specially meant to perform Inadequate Activity (the Spectator-Helper) is also present on the stage, additional emphasis is laid on the CONTRid relation between the Rescuer (or VictimRescuer), on the one hand, and the Spectator-Helper, on the other. As we have already said, the CONTRid in question consists of a contrast in the 'methods of action' and a similarity (CONCORD) in the 'aims'; now an addi­ tional CONCORD in the 'methods of action' is introduced: (34)

the Rescuer begins by acting in a way similar to all other characters; only later does he turn to "unreasonable" actions.

In the line of the Rescuer this is a RECOIL; see, in this connection, Chap. 8,

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POETICS O F EXPRESSIVENESS

Note 31. Adding the function of Inadequate Activity to the Victim is less interesting because of the predominant passivity of the Victim.28

NOTES 1) "I am disgusted with this modern language and the literary tricks of ours...; even Pushkin is ridiculous to me, let alone our own elucubrations" (quoted from Eixenbaum 1974:17). 2) Characteristic evidence of Tolstoy's essentially uniform approach to his works for children and for adults is his comment, in a letter to Straxov, on the children's story "A Prisoner in the Caucasus": "It illustrates the devices and the language I use and will use in writing for adults" (Eixenbaum 1974:72). 3) This principle Tolstoy considered especially important for educational work. Cf. his disap­ proval of a "dry pedant who taught and brought up children according to unchangeable rules set up once and for all" (quoted from Gusev 1957:429), 4) Contrastive VARIATION (VARcontr) serves in this case to CONCRETIZE 'flexibility' from (4b"): the strategy of behavior ('active' or 'passive') cannot be prescribed once and for all in view of life's 'changeability'. 5) Not only 'true values' but also the 'correct strategy of behavior' are defended in PC, in par­ ticular, the 'radical' way of action and the 'discovery in oneself of natural forces', as opposed to 'palliatives, conventionality, artificiality, being out of contact with the forces of nature', etc. These oppositions (concerning both 'values' and 'strategy') are embodied in the contrast between the two protagonists, Zilin and Kostylin and even symbolized by their names: the word žila 'vein' (etymologically connected with žit' 'to live') is associated with 'life' and the circulatory system as its primary source; also with energy, effort and hardiness (dvužil'nost' 'extreme endurance', liter­ ally "having double veins'); while kostyl' 'crutch' evokes the idea of 'atrophy, artificiality, palliativeness' (cf. themes (2)-(4)). The reader is made aware of these etymological connotations of both names due to some devices typical of poetic discourse (the rhyming as well as the frequent jux­ taposition of the names Zilin and Kostylin in the text, cf. the principle of "density of the poetic series" (Tynj anov) serving to actuate semantic overtones of words). At the same time, the rhyme, i.e. a phonetic CONCORD of the two names, links them in CONTRid, emphasizing the thematic opposition. 6) In both cases Tolstoy disrupts the structure of the sign by fragmenting the plane of expres­ sion into disconnected units and separating them from the corresponding units of content (this dis­ ruption is motivated by a powerful emotion that prevents the woman from "decoding" conven­ tional behavior). Recall that it was precisely the episode of Natasha at the opera-house that served as a starting-point for Shklovsky's theory of ostranenie "defamiliarization". 7) In Tolstoy's works there is also a case where passive 'submission' to the flow of events involves not only the action itself, but decision-making as well, cf. the 'forced decision' of leaving Moscow made by Kutuzov at Fili because of the physical impossibility of defending it (WP, HI, 4, III). 8) On the 'lack' of a subsequently'supplied'object see Chap. 4, esp. §5.1, where it is described as a bordeline case between PRESENTATION and PRESAGE.

DEEP STRUCTURE

195

9) (19b) seems to be a "universal children's" component, while (19a) is more specifically Tolstoyan. It corresponds to his conviction that a story must not only entertain children but instruct as well, and that instruction should involve "practically applicable" aspects of nature rather than its abstract laws (cf. Eixenbaum 1974: 36-39). 10) It is probably due not only to the ideal of simplicity but also to the character of the intended audience of the stories. Peasants' children, in Tolstoy's view, were alien to falseness and even una­ ware of its existence. 11) The depiction of animals, natural phenomena and mechanisms such as train, ship, or can­ non corresponds to thematic requirements (19a) and (19b): on one hand, they are traditional objects of children's study; on the other, "devices of predetermined action", whose typical proper­ ties and moves are known in advance and thus fit in with a simplified view of the world. (In this lat­ ter capacity they are used here in the same way as in fables.) 12) The absence of temporal shifts and of parallel action is typical of folklore and the epic, e.g. Homer, who was one of Tolstoy's literary models during this period. 13) BSS instances a pattern considerably different from that of FS: it contains an elaborate epilogue (the humorous scene of the boy's sleeping on the hearth while others are about to eat his mushrooms). On the other hand, the whole line of incorrect actions' is left out; in fact, the prob­ lem of 'strategy of behavior' does not arise at all. As a result, a level of 'simplicity' common to the Alphabet stories is maintained (the story is less than half a page long). In the "adult" works a clearcut instance of 'appreciation of elementary values (eating, rest, etc.) after a catastrophe' is Pierre's mood after his captivity (WP,IV,2,I). 14) This parallel is limited to the purely expressive level of plot construction. As will be shown later, important thematic differences obtain between the rescue in Tolstoy and that in the Sherlock Holmes story. 15) In both cases the intensity of emotion is emphasized by CONTRAST with the protagonist's sex and age. 16) In this fragment the similarity between L and S is especially striking, although the shot at the son and the flight of the cannonball in S are a single real action, while in L they are imaginary and separated from each other (the shot is a threat, the falling cannon-ball, a metaphor). The sim­ ilarity involves also the sphere of surface structure constructs (see Chap. 10, §1.10, Eclipsing). 17) This example can be easily interpreted in terms of the Tolstoyan hierarchy of 'true' and 'false' actions: not only is 'acting' more "true" and "genuine" than 'seeing, hearing, deliberating', etc., but, within this latter set, 'seeing' is more "genuine" than "hearing' (cf. proverbs of the type "better to see than to hear", in Permjakov 1968: 316ff.) 18) That 'returning back' was, in Tolstoy's view, an incorrect way of action, is clear from his words, addressed to Herzen, that if the ice is cracking under your feet, the only way to save yourself is to go forward faster (see Shklovsky 1963:434). 19) This is a ring-like REPETITION, reproducing the initial state at the end of the story after an elaborate RECOIL MOVEMENT (cf. Chap. 5, §2). Ring-like plots widely occur both in narra­ tive and lyrical genres, cf. Zirmunskij 1975:502ff., Shklovsky 1929:69, 145. 20) The ending of the type "PreX — omitted X" (when X is certain to materialize) is wide­ spread; cf., for example, the final scene of Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls. 21) The last three features might appear self-evident too, but they are not. Firstly, alternative, "plainer" variants of the spatial organization can be envisaged that differ

196

POETICS O F EXPRESSIVENESS

from (30) in some of these features. For instance, the opposition "presence/absence of other characters' might be absent: the characters can either (a) not be represented in the story at all, or — what is more interesting from the spatial point of view — (b) be represented, and yet not opposed to each other in this feature. An "ideal" (artificial) example of case (a) would be a situa­ tion otherwise identical to that of L or S but without spectators and parents on the deck; something like this (but without any safety zone at all) is the case in BSS. An ideal example of case (b) would be a situation where the Spectator (-Helper), such as the hunter in K. would find himself at the Vic­ tim's side in the danger zone but not in danger himself. In the real stories (K, LGM, S) there is a certain degree of spatial convergence of the Spectator-Helper with the Victim in the danger zone, but the basic opposition of 'presence/absence of other people in the danger zone' is nevertheless preserved: it is CONCRETIZED not as 'distance' but as 'being divided by a physical border', cf. the hunter on horseback in K. the engine-driver on the locomotive in LGM, the sailors in the boat in S. An ideal illustration can be provided by Conan Doyle stories, where the detective is in the midst of dangerous events, protected not spatially, by distance or border, but by his professional immunity alone. Secondly, all four features help distinguish between the culmination and non-culmination scenes, the latter, as it were, paving the way to the former from the intital "completely safe" state of affairs; an example is provided by the scene in WHB where the convicts' dog hunt is already underway in the street (i.e. the opposition of the zones in the first two features is there), but Bulka is still in the room at his master's side (no opposition in the third). 22) The RECOIL MOVEMENT of the 'separation/reunification' type is a plot universal, espe­ cially in folklore (cf. the concepts of disjonction/conjonction in the works of Greimas's school, Greimas 1972). It is especially typical for texts developing the theme of 'warmth of human com­ munication, friendly company', etc. This is the case, for example, in the novels of Jules Verne and in Conan Doyle stories, where the protagonists often part to meet at a fixed time and place, so that the whole period of separation is colored by the emotional anticipation of the eventual reunion. Note that the "programmed" character of the reunion and the precision of its timing express the 'triumph of science over chaos, of a rationalistic mind over unpredictable natural forces', i.e. a theme quite alien to Tolstoy's PW (for a comparison of Tolstoy and Conan Doyle stories with regard to 'rationality/irrationality' of the Rescuer's action cf. §2.3) 23) In fact, this can be seen as a spatial realization of the contrast between the simultaneous Catastrophe and Peaceful Life, similar to the contrast underlying Belated Reaction to Danger, where it is realized on a mental plane. 24) The 'non-involvement' of the Spectators (a result of their virtual immunity) is diminished insofar as they are personally affected by the Victim's predicament, especially if they try to help him (e.g., in L the degree of 'non-involvement' is higher than in LGM). 25) Such looseness of the actant component, not requiring the presence of all the archicharacters in each story and thus presupposing a freedom of choice between them, echoes the organiza­ tion of alternative plot motifs in (29). Incidentally, this latter "freedom" can influence the former, since it is largely the presence/absence of certain motifs in (29) that determines the "demand" for the respective archicharacters. 26) The 'non-humanness' of the Menace is derived from its "elemental, avalanche-like' charac­ ter, as well as from the inherent 'innocence' of the child's universe, which rules out villains embodying social evils. A departure from this principle is represented by WHB, where the Menace is anthropomorphic (the convicts).

DEEP STRUCTURE

197

27) The relation of 'protection' and the corresponding pairs of protagonists belong to the repertoire of world literature: cf. such pairs as Virgil and Dante. Jean Valgean and Cosette, Holmes and Watson, etc. The motif of a weak person protected by a strong one seems to be especially typical of XlX-century literature (Dickens, Hugo, Dostoyevsky, etc.). Let us note in passing that an author's system of archicharacters can be described along the same lines as his deep plot structures, i.e. in the form of a derivation based on a general stock of expressive literary constructions. In plot derivation the constructions used are EDs and their regular combinations. The derivation of a deep actant system can also resort to stock configurations of type-agents (the hero, the rescuer, the villain, the assistant, etc.). The theme will influence the selection/rejection of items from the general stock as well as the specific coloring of the selected units and their adaptation to the author's needs. As a result, a very abstract stock archicharacter (e.g., a "Rescuer" in general) will be turned into its Tolstoyan (resp. Shakespearian, etc.) variety. The process of adaptation must be (mutually) CONCORDED with the parallel process of plot derivation. The method outlined here might yield descriptions of actant structures of considerable explanatory power. It was not adopted in the present work in view of the formidable technical difficulties it would involve. 28) Generally speaking, the cases of Inadequate Activity not performed by the SpectatorHelper could be accounted for by the introduction of special characters, e.g. Victim-Helper, Victim-Rescuer-Helper, Rescuer-Spectator-Helper, etc. We preferred, however, to assign an additional function to the already present archicharacters. In other words, we consider Inadequate Activity to be a relatively marginal role as compared to the other DCs. In fact, the secondary character of Inadequate Activity is corroborated within the actant sphere by its never being the only constitutive function of an archicharacter, as well as by its being performable by any one of them.

8 SURFACE STRUCTURE

1.

Plot: the 11 invariant episodes.

In this section we examine the plot moves and constructions whose func­ tion it is to further elaborate the invariant blocks, with special attention to expressive effects. The connection between the surface constructs (SCs) and the theme of the stories is rather indirect, although some of them do carry more or less definite thematic overtones. Many of the SCs are not specifically Tolstoy an, being used in literary works of various epochs, genres and schools. We will be concerned mainly with those occurring in more than one of FS. SCs are described in connection with the DCs they "service" and in the order of these DCs. When a SC serves more than one DC, it is usually discussed together with the SCs related to the first of the DCs. As a result, the order in which SCs are considered differs slightly from their linear succession: the SCs NN5-9 usually appear in the stories in the order N7-N5-N8-N9-N6 (see Fig. 41). Episodes of Peaceful Life 1.1 Calming Down. The function of this SC is PREPARATION of Peaceful Life. The situa­ tion of 'enjoying one's life' acquires a stronger emotional impact if it is made to emerge, as it were, before the eyes of the reader from something 'less quiet', e.g. something that involves effort or strain. This PREPARATION should be described either as PRESENTATION or as RECOIL, depending on the degree of "non-peacefulness" of the initial state. In view of the wider context, RECOIL seems more appropriate: the subsequent transition to Catastrophe makes the whole sequence look like 'a non-peaceful state — Peaceful Life — Catastrophe', which is a typical contour of RECOIL MOVEMENT (cf. Chap. 5, §2). It is natural to describe the initial state of RECOIL MOVEMENT as RECOIL rather than as PRESENTATION. This kind of contrastive Calming Down before a coming "storm" is wide-

Figure 41. NB: The names of SCs and DCs are abbreviated by their initial letters.

002 POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

SURFACE STRUCTURE

201

spread in literary plots. Cf. the logic of the initial stages of the narrative in The Odyssey and The Aeneid, where the beginning of calamities and adventures constituting the main body of the poem is preceded by the ending of the Tro­ jan war and the protagonists' intention to return to peaceful occupations. A similar prelude often opens Shakespeare's plays: In Henry IV the news of the bloody uprising in Wales closely follows the king's monologue announcing an end to civil wars: ...Find we a time for frighted peace to pant/.../No more shall trenching war channel her [England's] fields...ets. (I,1); the first words of King Lear display similar intentions: ...'Tis our fast intent /To shake all cares and business from our age;/ Conferring them on younger strengths... I ...that future strife/ May be prevented now...(I,1). In some of Conan Doyle's stories, the protagonist, who has led an adventureous life, retires in order to spend the rest of his days in peace but soon becomes the object of harassment on the part of his former foes. For more examples of similar REC-MOV see Chap. 5. In Tolstoy's stories Calming Down usually assumes the following form: (35)

the protagonsits' business over, their activity is winding down (they are returning home, settling to rest etc.), and no new developments are expected:

Two little girls were going home with baskets full of mushrooms (LGM). I reached the forest, gathered the mushrooms and was about to return home (BSS). Just before sunset the captain came on deck and shouted: "Rig the swimming pool" (S). One morning I came home after taking the waters and sat down to my coffee in the front garden (WHB). A ship had sailed around the whole world and was returning home (L). 1.2 Drifting into Danger. The function of this SC is to provide a dramatic transition from Peaceful Life to Catastrophe. The effect of such a transition is usually increased by COMBINING the two DCs into a SUDDEN TURN construction. In FS, AntiX (Peaceful Life) and X (Catastrophe) are connected as cause and effect (S-TURNcaus, see Chap. 5 ,§3): (36)

Peaceful Life contains a concealed mechanism unleashing Catastrophe; the protagonists, absorbed in Peaceful Life and blind to the danger, fail to notice this mechanism and get into Catastrophe.

Owing to the COMBINATION of contrasting states, prescribed by SUD­ DEN TURN, this SC makes the transition look both striking and natural. In addition to these purely expressive effects, Drifting into Danger conveys the important thematic entity 'irrationalism' (see (1)). In (36) there are at least

202

POETICS OF EXPRESSIVENESS

two different manifestations of 'irrationalism': (2a) 'good fraught with bad' (Peaceful Life, with Catastrophe); (4c) 'spontaneous behavior' (of characters absorbed in Peaceful Life and blind to the danger). 1 Formula (36) represents only the general framework of Drifting into Danger. One thematically important aspect of this SC is its spatial organiza­ tion. Recall that despite the contiguity of the two zones (safety and danger), return from the latter to the former is impossible (this 'irreversibility' CON­ CRETIZES the 'correctness of moving forward, into the midst of events, and not back to safety'; cf., on the contrary (28)). These spatial characteristics of Catastrophe naturally influence the character of Drifting into Danger. In CONCORD with the division into zones, it is realized as 'the Victim's getting into the danger zone', which, in its turn, can assume various forms, e.g.: 'spa­ tial displacement of the Victim' (the simplest and more frequent case); the 'split of space into the danger and safety zones as a result of the protagonists' own activity', with one of them, the Victim, left in the danger zone (a more rare and sophisticated case; it is represented in  where the division into zones consists in the distancing from the kitten of its potential Helpers). These observations lead to a more precise definition of Drifting into Danger: (37)

Peaceful Life of the heroes in the safety zone contains a concealed mechanism which brings about, by means of spatial displacements, their finding them­ selves in the danger zone; blind and absorbed as they are in Peaceful Life, they fail to notice this and get involved in Catastrophe.

Let us consider some of the aspects of the situation that contribute to the realization of the pivotal elements of Drifting into Danger — 'mechanism' and 'blindness'. 'Mechanism' (i) has a purely causal aspect, inasmuch as it is a physical (or other) device capable of producing successive shifts in the plot; (ii) it has a spatial aspect: as indicated above, the shifts should consist in the pro­ tagonist's moving into the danger zone; (iii) finally, it has an expressive aspect: the shift should take place gradually, in order to look natural and realistic (this effect is achieved by applying to (37) ED INCREASE). 2 The most typical case is that of the Victim's own passing into the danger zone. His distancing from the safe place and entering the dangerous one proceed step by step; moreover, at the initial stages of this movement the Victim does the same things and in the same place as the other participants of Peaceful Life (CONCORD of Drifting into Danger with Peaceful Life; for examples see 5 and L).3 In other cases, for instance, when the 'mechanism' of Drifting is realized as a 'split' of the previously undivided space into two zones with the

SURFACE STRUCTURE

203

Victim remaining in the dangerous one, the process can also be presented as gradual. 'Blindness' has two main aspects: (i) subjective, when the Victim's unawareness of danger is conditioned by his psychic state: either by a temporary 'agitation' or a permanent 'incapacity of judgement'; (ii) objective, when the unawareness is due to the circumstances, notably the 'imperceptibility' of the mechanism of Drifting. This 'imperceptibility' can result from: the alreadymentioned 'gradualness' of the shifts4; the 'apparent reversibility' of each suc­ cessive step (even if the step is deliberate, return to the previous stage seems quite easy); the 'physical camouflage', concealing both the boundary between the zones (e.g., in visually homogeneous environments such as the sea, the ship's rigging) and the danger itself (in opaque environments pre­ cluding visibility, e.g. the water, the forest, etc.). In light of the requirements outlined above let us now look at some of the plot motifs that CONCRETIZE Drifting into Danger. The most important of them is 'game, play', which COMBINES: - 'enjoying the simple pleasures of life': in the course of the game this some­ times attains high degrees of intensity (this is an AUGMENTATION CONCORDING Peaceful Life with Catastrophe in 'intensity'; due to this CONCD, the two DCs form a CONTRid construction which neatly sets off their opposition); - 'causality': 'game' involves 'rules', which are, in fact, "a ready-made plot machine" (cf. 1967b and Chap. 2, §8) - 'spatiality': many games, e.g. running or swimming race, involve displace­ ment; - 'gradualness': 'game' normally falls into separate phases or moves; - 'excitement': sometimes 'excitement' attains the point of 'gambling fever', providing a convenient motivation for 'blindness'. 5 Another motif (somewhat less rich than that of 'game') that is used to CONCRETIZE Drifting into Danger is 'childish unawareness'. Unlike 'game', it only accounts for the Victim's 'blindness', but does not provide a 'mechanism' for his getting into the danger zone. Nor does it express the thematic entities (2b) and (4b') ('earnestness' and 'eruptions of mighty forces'). As a result, in the stories where there is no 'game' but only 'a childVictim unaware of danger' instead (LGM, K, MD), both the transition from Peaceful Life to Catastrophe and the contrast between the two are somewhat different from the "classical" cases (e.g. Sor L). The difference is as follows. The stories with 'game' are characterized by relations of identity, causality

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and continuity of transition as regards 'intensity' and the 'eruption of natural forces' (CONTRid and AUGM). In the stories with a 'child-Victim unaware of danger', the Peaceful Life and Catastrophe episodes are, on the contrary, not identical in intensity' and lack the continuity of development with respect to that feature. This is compensated for by a contrast in 'intensity': a quiet and almost vegetative Peaceful Life is disrupted by the incursion of a mighty Catastrophe. 6 As for providing a causal mechanism of transition, this func­ tion is usually conferred on the Menace (the train, the dogs). Before we pass on to the realization of Drifting into Danger (and of all its properties just outlined) in every one of FS, it will be of interest to illus­ trate the use of similar constructions in world literature; cf. for instance, numerous cases of "violation of interdiction" (in folklore and other genres). In Wilhelm Hauff's fairy tale "The Stork-Caliph", the monarch and his vizier leave the palace in the guise of birds and get so absorbed in listening to a dialogue of herons that they forget about the interdiction to laugh. As a result, they lose the secret of the transformation back into humans performs functions appropriate to an entire group and < B > is the center of attention of 'many'. In  the "One - Many" construction is represented by its variety B.2: the kitten finds itself at the center of the activity of the dogs (& the hunter trying to hold them back) and Vasja. Much like in the 'good - evil' pattern (see above) the two main forces compete on the planes of plot and of values. The symmetry is underscored by the kitten's immobility. In LGM the "One - Many" construction (mainly variety B) is used twice, with an INCREASE from the first instance to the second. In the course of Growing Danger the little girl attracts the attention of two parties: the elder sister is worried and shouts to her, while the engine-driver of the oncoming train blows the whistle. The attention coming from the opposite directions is of the same, positive, kind (sympathy). The 'diversity of perspectives' is twofold: spatial (on one side there is the little girl's sister; from the other, the train is approaching) and plot-functional (the sister tries to help her; the train, in spite of the driver's efforts, threatens her life). In the culmination episode (Rescue Action with Eclipsing) the girl becomes the center of attention of a much larger number of people: the sister plus the people on the train. The passengers are a set of people < B . 1 > ; the number of different perspectives grows too (the elder sister; the passengers; the train guard) < B . 2 > . The "One - Many" pattern (in its variety A) also underlies the behavior of the people on the train. First there is a mere INCREASE in number: from one person (the engine-driver) to a mass of people (passengers); then the atten­ tion of the mass([all]the passengers looked out of the windows of the coaches) is replaced by the attention of one representative of the mass {the guard ran down to the end of the train to see...); in the finale all these perspectives are summed up {everybody saw her lying very still...). Let us point out the elegant way in which the transition from the actions of 'many' to the action of 'one' is arranged. It displays features of ECSTATIC DEVELOPMENT 47 by form-

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ing a rapid leap onto a higher level of presentation: from actions by many to the action of one; from passengers, that stay put, to a running guard. The lat­ ter element is, in its turn, underscored by the very long way (the length of the whole train) covered by the guard in order to see what had happened to the little girl.48 In S the role of 'one' is played in turn by the Victim plus the Menace (the boys plus the shark) and by the Rescuer (the gunner). In the beginning of the story a pattern similar to  is used: the shark and the boat with the sailors approach the boys from different sides. Later on, when the attempt of the 'many' proves unsuccessful, their functions are assumed by 'one' — the gun­ ner < A > , to whom the attention of everybody is now riveted < B . 1 > . Finally, after Eclipsing, general attention is attracted by the result of Rescue Action — the belly of the dead shark < B . 1 > . In WHB the "One - Many" pattern is not very explicit, partly because the scene is crowded. Still, it can be discerned in the episode of Bulka's (and, ear­ lier, of another dog's) encounter with the formation of soldiers and convicts . In L the "One - Many" principle is active throughout the story. In Peace­ ful Life, Drifting into Danger and Growing Danger general attention is riveted in turn to the monkey, the pair "the monkey — the boy", the boy alone < B . 1 > . The 'one' placed at the center is further set off by his top posi­ tion (on the mast). At the stage of Rescue Action, as in S, the actions by 'many' are succeeded by the action of 'one': the stupor of the boy's sym­ pathizers is replaced by the resolute action of the captain < A > . Here, like in LGM, certain elements of ECSTATIC DEVELOPMENT can be observed: the action takes a turn to the opposite not only in 'mass character', but also in the features 'active/passive', 'slow/quick', 'conventional/unreasonable'. Finally, after Extreme Deterioration through Rescuing, the boy becomes the object of the visual attention of everybody and of the practical attention of many (some twenty sailors leapt overboard... caught hold of him) < B . 1 > . In the end of PC, like in K, the protagonist, Zilin, finds himself at the compositional center: the intersection of the attention of the enemy (three Tartar horsemen) and the friends (Russian soldiers). A rapid approach of the two opposite parties to the hero follows; unlike in K, the pattern is compli­ cated by the movement of the hero, Zilin himself, towards the Russians. On the whole, the "One - Many" pattern is quite trans­ parent: there are both 'attention from different sides' and 'attention of large groups'.

SURFACE STRUCTURE

243

4.2 Detail of the surface structure: the train. As the reader recalls, the local component of the theme of FS includes (19a) 'didactic and educational orientation, practical knowledge about the world'. Accordingly, AP (22) includes 'joys of life in contact with... edifying and interesting phenomena', and the stories display 'interesting creatures and objects' (fire dogs, monkey, ship with tackle, cannon, sail, boat lowered into the sea, bear and his ways, etc...). The educational orientation is manifested, among other things, by historical and geographical comments included in or appended to the text of the stories; cf. for instance, the information about special dogs trained in London to rescue children from fire ("The Fire Dogs"). Sometimes these comments are quite openly given in footnotes, e.g. : London is the Englishmen's capital ("The Fire Dogs"); Monkeys' feet are like hands and Seagulls are sea birds (L), etc. More often, however, the properties of interesting objects are pointed out not by direct explanations, but by artistic means proper, the plot in the first place. One remarkable instance is the "image of the train" in LGM. The 'train' and its various characteristics are so thoroughly woven into the plot that the story's educational local theme can be said to equal in importance its programmatic invariant theme. The train is, so to speak, studied in the story the way school material is studied in class: the train's parts and their functions are pointed out one by one (as if by a teacher with a pointer). Moreover, since the display of the train's properties is COMBINED with the realization of the invariant theme (and thus of DCs, SCs, etc.), the simile can be developed further. One is reminded of a topical lesson in a foreign language textbook, where every element of the studied topic (e.g. family at breakfast; shopping; theater-going; etc.) finds its place in a rudimentary plot devised to make the lesson readable. As the study of the train is superimposed on the invariant plot of FS, a twofold effect is obtained. On the one hand, all the essential properties and parts of the train are dramatized, so that they "shoot" (recall Chekhov's pre­ cept that every gun there is on the scene should shoot). As a result, they are demonstrated quite vividly. At the same time, the demonstration is made nat­ ural, unassuming and inconspicuous, "motivated away" as it is by the plot: every property of the train seems to be there not for its own sake, but in response to the corresponding needs of the action, which, so to speak, overshadow it. Let us point out the properties of the 'train' in relation to the DCs and SCs that exploit them. - General properties: the train noisily moves on railway tracks laid on an

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embankment <used in Drifting into Danger and Growing Danger>; it car­ ries many people <used in an elegant solution of the problem of Spectators in Catastrophe and Rescue Action: they arrive on the train = the Menace>. - Train as Menace: it can run people down, has a warning whistle < Inadequate Activity>, a long braking distance . - Composition and hierarchy of its riders: it is driven by an engine-driver, whose position is fixed , and ridden by passengers, sitting in their seats by the windows; the train and the passengers are served by the guard who can move up and down the train <emotional reaction to Catastrophe and Rescue Action, "One - Many" construction:>49. - Physical-geometrical structure and size: the train is very long <Eclipsing; the guard's run in the scene of emotional reaction>; it is raised high off the ground by the tracks and the wheels ; it is very fast <Menace>; from it a view opens forward , on both sides of the tracks and backward ; the train's interior has a passage along all the coaches