THE GOSPEL OF JOHN IN MARINA TSVETAEVA’S POEM “V PUSTYNNOY KHRAMINE...”

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of M. I. Tsvetaeva’s poem “V pustynnoy khramine...” (1922). The rejection of Mark Slonim’s opinion about the lack of religiousness in M. Tsvetaeva’s poems became a starting point for the analysis. An initial perception of the text as that one belonging to “love lyrics”, has been disproved due to analytical reading. The ambiguity of interpretation is possible by virtue of the fact that M. I. Tsvetaeva creates multilevel system of the hints, which darkens the message of the poem. Only some artistic details such as “incense”, “Logos”, “earthly hands” are mentioned, thus expanding the boundaries of the semantic field of the poem. For instance, “earthly hands” are seen as a symbol of Jesus Christ praying in the garden of Gethsemane, and refer to the Gospel of John. It is this way of interpretation that makes possible the opposition “the Divine” and “the Earthly”. Thus, the poem “V pustynnoy khramine...” embodies M. Tsvetaeva’s world perception and expresses her ideas of essence of poetic work.

Keywords

• M. Tsvetaeva
• the Gospel of John
• "V pustynnoy khramine..."
• biblical allusions
• sacrifice
• motif