The Image of Nature in Ivan Franko’s Lyrical Introspection «Bezmezhneie Pole v Snizhnomu Zavoiu» (Symbolic Projections and Parallels)

Abstract

The article examines in detail
the poetic reflection «Bezmezhneie pole v snizhnomu zavoiu» («Boundless field in a snowstorm»),
the best example of Franko’s intimate lyrics, in which nature appears as a space of imaginary journey
of a self-absorbed individual who suffers from strong existential torments. The genre of the work is
determined as intimate-personal meditation with introspective-monological structure and features of
folk song, romance. The artistic imagery and composition of landscape miniature are investigated.
Symbolic projections of images of nature (field – horse – whirlwind) and psychosomatic images-concepts of «heart» and «pain» are singled out and analyzed. Parallels to other poems by Ivan Franko
are given in the paper. These are in particular «Nochi bezmirnii, nochi bezsonnii» («Immeasurable
Nights, Sleepless Nights»), «Syple, syple, syple snih» («It is snowing, snowing, snowing»), «Dushe
moia! Dushe dushi moiei!» («My soul! The soul of my one!»). The prehistory of the hero and the
genesis of the lyrical situation (loss of a loved woman), which provoked reflection and «exposure» of
feelings, were reconstructed based on the inner plot of the lyrical drama «Withered Leaves» (1896).
The poem «Ne raz bezsonnomu zdaietsia» («It Seems Sleepless More Than Once»; according to the
author’s dating it is written on December 12, 1883), which is considered to be the first unpublished
edition of this work, is analyzed. It is argued that this verse resonates with the content, senses and
mood of Franko’s miniature. Both texts are qualified as lyrical visions, night thoughts, inspired by the
collisions of psychic life.
Images of nature are interpreted as markers of the inner landscape of the individual; verbal
and figurative equivalents of the states of his existence; the emanation of the psychic being; the projection of unconscious impulses and desires. The poem emphasizes the soul-cordocentric sensuality
of the hero, the leitmotif of the heart.