The theme of the Black Sea in Georgian literature of the second half of the twentieth century and of today
The theme of the Black Sea in Georgian literature of the second half of the twentieth century and of today

Author(s): Nestan Kutivadze
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Geography, Regional studies, Human Geography, Studies of Literature, Georgian literature
Published by: Сдружение „Транспонтика“
Summary/Abstract: Reflection on the conceptual understanding of sea in Georgian culture does not have a long and rich history, despite the fact that the sea has long been associated with the national consciousness. Moreover, the peculiarities of artistic understanding of the phenomenon of sea in Georgian literary studies are not distinguished by an extraordinary tradition of research except for recent publications. Although the current situation has its reasons and explanations, it should also be noted that metaphorical conceptualisation of the sea can be found in the Georgian theological writings, the basis of which is the Bible. The theme of sea is cultivated in the Georgian literature of the second half of the twentieth century. Along with the mythological-folkloric layers, sea acquires a new content field and sometimes serves as the determiner of the ideological-artistic concept of a literary work (O. Chʼiladze, G. Dochanashvili, G. Rcheulishvili, J. Topuridze, G. Gegeshidze). The occupation of Abkhazia gave special importance to the artistic and symbolic conceptualisation of sea. Along with the artistic interpretation of the topic of ethnic conflict and war, an understanding of sea as a lost space and a lost territory has emerged (B. Khvedelidze, G. Odisharia, N. Shataidze, D. Tʼurashvili). The concepts revealed in the artistic interpretation of the notion of sea in the Georgian literature of the second half of the 20th century show important tendencies which had place in the aesthetics of landscape as well as in the symbolic and metaphoric comprehension of sea. The latter comprises the plane of content of the epoch and its moral and aesthetic aspects. At the end of the 20th century the conceptualisation of the notion of sea was closely related to the territorial integrity of the country.

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