The Structure of the Poem "Kоли тебе здолає тлум смертей" by Vasyl Stus Cover Image

Структура стихотворения Васыля Стуса Коли тебе здолає тлум смертей
The Structure of the Poem "Kоли тебе здолає тлум смертей" by Vasyl Stus

Author(s): Mykola Verbovyi
Subject(s): Studies of Literature, Ukrainian Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Sklodowskiej
Keywords: Vasyl Stus; Palimpsests; poem; "Коли тебе здолає тлум смертей"; the structure of the poem;

Summary/Abstract: This article attempts to analyze the structure of the poem Коли тебе здолає тлум смертей written by famous Ukrainian dissident poet Vasyl Stus (1938–1985). The poem undoubtedly reflects the essential features of Stus’s poetic style of the 1970s as the poet had been working on the text for at least three years (1972–1975) before he was arrested for the first time. The characteristic features of the construction of the form and the semantics of the analyzed text enable the author of the article to argue that the structure of the poem demonstrates not only formal similarities or textual coincidences with other poetic texts of the Palimpsests collection (as well as his earlier poems), but also reveals a deep inner connection with Stus’s two critical essays (1970–1971) on Volodymyr Svidzinsky and Pavlo Tychyna, which undoubtedly indicates that the problems and issues raised in the poetic text are of significant importance for the poet. It is necessary to note that one of the central elements of Stus’s poetic world is the traditional Ukrainian language (in particular, a literary one), since the poet neglects the Soviet version of the Ukrainian language in the second half of the 20th century considering it Russified and “alien”.

  • Issue Year: 39/2021
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 69-87
  • Page Count: 19
  • Language: Russian