Mythology in the poetry of Maksimilian Volosin: The metaphor of consciousness

In this dissertation the poetry of Maksimilian Volosin is analyzed in terms of its mythological implications. Volosin deviates from Russian Symbolism due to his emphasis on human consciousness which he regards in Hegelian terms as an unindividualized quality, as the capacity of the mind to embrace the Absolute. The evolution of human consciousness is traced in mythological terms: its stages are personified chronologically by Orpheus, Laocoon, Oedipus, Odysseus, Icarus, and Zeus. These references to Greek mythology allow us to trace the path of Volosin's poetic persona: acceptance of the limitations of the human predicament, quest for self-knowledge, departure from the native land, wanderings, and return to the source of origin. The scientific phenomenon of the defraction of the ray of light receives in Volosin's poetry a metaphoric orchestration, which allows him to use the image of light as the symbol for the origin of all things. Like the divine messenger in the Theosophical myth of the Fall, Volosin's protagonist accepts the fragmentation of the world of matter in order to uplift it in his own elevation as he returns to the domain of light. In Volosin's poetry the mind, as the reflection of divine reason, perceives the unified source of all things, and thus, in Hegelian terms, the Absolute Idea comes to self-awareness through man.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Slavic Languages and Literature

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Roklina, Natalie

Contributors dc:contributor

• Pachmuss, Temira A.

• Literature, Modern
• Literature, Slavic and East European

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 1989 Roklina, Natalie

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

AAI9011000
(UMI)AAI9011000

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/20559