J.W. Goethe’s “Faust” code in A. Akhmstova’s poem “Without a hero”

Abstract

A new aspect of intertextuality research of Anna Akhmatova’s “Poem without a hero” is suggested in this article. Authors identify quotational and reminiscent layers of the J.W. Goethe’s tragedy “Faust”. They also show that each of the many references to Goethe is a structure-forming principle towards the poem’s text. It structures the poem on different layers starting from motives and images ending in its composition. Artistic functions of Faust and Mephistopheles images who were intentionally included in the poem are considered. Interconnection with “Faust” opening plot is also presented. The situation when infernal powers come to the character who summoned them by the means of magic ritual (fortunetelling) is analyzed. The motives of devil carnival in “Poem without a hero” (with its references to “Night Brocken”) are compared with the motives of “Walpurgis night” in “Faust”. Leitmotivs of “poisoned wine”, “Golden Age”, “Dark Crime”, “pangs of conscience” in Akhmatova’s poem are conformable to the main story lines in Goethe’s tragedy. It is proved that Akhmatova’s appeals to Goethe were based not only on the original text but also on the translation by N.A. Kholodkovsky.

Keywords

• J.W Goethe
• A.A. Akhmatova
• “Faust”
• “Poem without a Hero”
• intertextual motive
• plot allusion
• reminiscence
• demonic imagery
• comparativistic
• reader-response criticism