“TO WRITE SO THAT POETICIZED TRUTH WAS OBVIOUS”: T. SHEVCHENKO’S LETTERS AS A FUSION OF NARRATIVE ELEMENTS AND LYRICS

Abstract

While analyzing the achievements of native literature studies, one cannot help but notice the fact that in the last decades the researchers increasingly pay attention to writers’ collections of letters. It is worth mentioning the studies by M. Kotsiubynska, O. Halych, Zh. Liakhova, V. Kuzmenko, H. Mazokha, A. Ilkiv and others. However, the epistolary prose of Ukrainian romanticists has not been studied sufficiently. This fact together with an attempt to analyze T. Shevchenko’s epistolary works from the point of view of romanticism esthetics was the driving force behind the choice of the topic of this study. The aim of the article is to analyze the ways and means of T. Shevchenko’s epistolary works lyrization.

In the paper, the author mentions that after the emergence of Romanticism, epistolary prose experienced revolutionary changes. There was an actual breakthrough in this field connected with a special role of lyric element in romanticists’ aesthetics and creative work. Needless to say, that romanticists’ epistolary works were abundant in facts. However, lyrical element is always predominant over epic one in romanticists’ letters, while their expressive nature has an advantage over a descriptive one.

In the article, the author emphasizes that when Western European romanticists wanted to enrich an epistle in lyrics, they mainly intertwined letters with lyric landscapes, which is demonstrated in H. Heine’s epistolary works. However, for this purpose Ukrainian romanticists made use of quoting Ukrainian folk songs (mostly lyric ones). It is noteworthy that this is a unique trait of Ukrainian epistolary tradition in general. The cause for this was national peculiarity of Ukrainian nation, our melodiousness and the need for music.

Quoting a folk song, as well as their own or others’ poetry was not a goal in itself for an addresser-romanticist. A song appeared in romanticist’s letter when emotional and psychological tension was extremely high. A song reflected author’s thoughts and emphasized every nuance of his feelings. A cited song amplified psychological and emotional integrity of the letter and occasionally it changed letter’s keynotes.

The author proves that T. Shevchenko writes his letters as a fusion of narrative elements and lyrics directed by the theory and practice of Romanticism. Therefore, this romanticist’s letters appear to be the lyrical fragments of the adresser’s spiritual confession. The means of T. Shevchenko’s epistolary text lyrization was the poems written by the author or by other poets (often it was a lyrical song) intertwined in the epistle text. This last tendency was absolutely in compliance with the national traditions and peculiarities of Ukrainian nation which is marked by an exceptional melodiousness.