The formation of a unique paradigm of religious Existentialism in the poetry of Fyodor Tyutchev

Abstract

The philosophical nature of Tyutchev's poetry was noted by researchers of his work during the poet's lifetime. The study of Tyutchev's work makes it possible to trace the origin of a unique direction of philosophical thought in Russian poetry of the XIX century – religious existentialism. The research carried out within the framework of this article allowed us to trace the genesis of the original direction of religious existentialism in the poetry of F. Tyutchev, who interpreted Nature in his work in philosophical categories. In his poetic works, Tyutchev does not just depict the splendor of Nature, but shows his own idea of the essence of the universe and tries to solve the riddle of human existence through the knowledge of the secrets of Nature, which is presented as proof of the existence of God. Thus, Tyutchev's poetry of Nature is regarded as existential poetry, since it gives a person an answer to the question of the meaning of his existence. In Tyutchev's poetry, the tragedy of human existence correlates with a similar theme developed in the philosophical treatises of the founder of existentialism, S. Kierkegaard, and subsequently continued in the works of the German existential philosopher K. Jaspers. Kierkegaard imagined a gloomy reality where a person is doomed to exist, plunged into the abyss of despair. At the same time, the founder of existentialism offered man a way out of tragic existence through the process of self-improvement, that is, the formation of his own personality, and striving for God. However, the process of becoming a personality is also a path to the tragedy of being, as it leads to a violation of harmony between man and Nature. It is this existential problem, which is related to the borderline situation of Jaspers, that lies in the focus of Tyutchev's attention, who described in poetic form the relationship between man and Nature and showed the only possible way out of this situation through making an existential choice in favor of accepting faith in the true God.