The article studies how the spatial and temporal characteristics of the world in a literary work are determined by the specific updating of artistic meaning. The specifics of the artistic meaning in the article are described using the concept of incarnation (embodiment). Using the example of the analysis of texts by A.E. Kruchenykh and M.Y. Lermontov, the author of the article shows how space and time are comprehended in the horizons of the heroes (in the internal semantic dimension of the work) and in the horizons of the author and recipients (in the external – aesthetic – semantic dimension of the text). The author of the article points out a number of significant differences between the semantics of space and time in the life and artistic contexts of comprehension. Characteristics of the vital understanding of space and time: 1) space and time are comprehended teleologically; 2) space and time semantically articulate a private life situation; 3) space and time are the coordinates of the comprehending relationship to the world. Characteristics of artistic understanding of space and time: 1) space and time are conceptualized ontologically; 2) space and time semantically articulate the whole of the characters’ lives; 3) space and time are the coordinates of the location of the heroes’ being as an incarnation of their (being) meaning