Theme of the music in N. P. Gronsky’s poetry
- DOI
- 10.5922/vestnikpsy-2026-1-5
- Pages
- 53-69
Abstract
The article examines musical motifs in the poetry of N. P. Gronsky, a representative of the first wave of the Russian diaspora, drawing on mythopoetic and hermeneutic approaches. It identifies the connection of his works with the concept of Pythagoreanism and the idea, characteristic of world art, of dividing the cosmos into Musica Mundana, Musica Humana, and Musica Instrumentalis, a concept particularly prevalent in Silver Age lyric poetry. In Gronsky’s lyrics, music is primarily associated with ancient motifs, as well as pagan and Christian themes. The poet-singer figure is considered separately; in Gronsky’s émigré poetry, this figure appears in the archetypal images of David and Orpheus, with the former serving as a hero bridging biblical and archaic epochs, while the latter represents the pagan singer. In Gronsky’s poetry, however, both poles are united within a single Cosmos, and Christian motifs coexist organically with ancient ones, manifested in the integration of multiple musical motifs within a single poem or lyric. The article also examines the most common musical symbols in Gronsky’s work, including bells, trumpets, brass instruments, and “singing luminaries.” Special attention is given to the analysis of the poem “Alla,” where, alongside musical symbolism related to the theme of the creator’s vocation, the musicality of the poem itself is explored, expressed at the levels of phonetic composition, rhythm, and syntax.