TO THE PROBLEM OF INTRA- AND INTERLINGUISTIC RHYTHMICAL INFLUENCE: PUSHKIN (THE SONGS FROM PIR VO VREMYA CHUMY) AND BLOK (V ETOJ ZHIZNI SLISHKOM TJOMNOJ…)

Abstract

While literary scholars frequently discuss the issue of rhythmical influence, there is still a need to establish clear criteria for determining such influence. This article suggests examining the processes for developing hypotheses about rhythmical influence within and across languages to initiate a discussion on the methodological principles of comparative rhythmics. Examples are provided, such as songs from Pir vo vremya chumy by Aleksandr Pushkin, where the rhythmical inf luence of possible sources is highly hypothetical, and Aleksandr Blok’s equimetrical translations of Heine’s 4-stressed trochees, including V etoj zhizni slishkom tjomnoj… (1909), which is a clear case of rhythmical borrowing. With Pushkin’s works, the discussion focuses on hypotheses regarding the presence of rhythmical reminiscences from Zhukovsky and Baratynsky in the songs of Mary and Walsingham, as well as a possible influence of English verse rhythm. With Blok’s trochees, his translations of Heine are considered in comparison with the rhythm of the German source and the poet’s original trochees. To assert the fact of rhythmical influence is crucial not only to identify a complex of historical, semantic, and rhythmic factors that support the hypothesis of its presence in the text, but also establish a connection between these factors. It is imperative when dealing with small poetic fragments or fragments with strong rhythmic polarization. When making cross-linguistic comparisons, it is also necessary to consider that independent linguistic factors may fully explain the similarity of individual rhythmic tendencies.