Michael Wachtel. Russian and literary Tradition: Goethe, Novalls, and the Poetics of Vyacheslav Ivanov. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995. xi, 247 pp. $47.50. Vjacestav Ivanov. Dichtung und Briefwechsel aus dem deutschsprachigen Nachiass. (Deutsch-russische literaturbeziehungen: Bd. 6). Edited by Michael Wachtel. Mainz: Liber Verlag, 1995. 317 pp. DM 48 paper.

If nothing else, these two volumes ought to rekindle interest in the key figure of the Symbolist movement and one of the preeminerit Russian of the this century. And further, anyone who has spent time with Ivanov's poetry will certainly appreciate the volume on Symbolism for the help it provides in illuminating his ars poetica. Wachtel shows how "a study of Ivanov's reception of Goethe and leads beyond Ger- mans to issues that lie at the very heart of : the theory of the sym- ' bol, poetry as theurgy, the relationship between literary creation and 'real life,' poetics and mythopoesis, the theory and practice of " (p. 6). Unlike most literary movements, the Symbolists viewed the evolution of from antiquity to the pre- sent as a contirnum. They admired the accomplishments of their predecessors and strove to integrate themselves into the literary tradition. For them influence is to be en- couraged. Ivanov embodies this viewpoint perhaps better than most. He readily ac- knowledged his admiration of Goethe and Novalis and reverently speaks of his debt and gratitude to them in matters both literary and personal. The book on Symbolism consists of an introductory overview, two parts of five chapters each, and a Conclusion. The first part concerns Ivanov's reception of Goethe, which evolved from youthful adulation to mature assimilation. From numerous sources we learn he regarded Goethe not only as a literary model but also as a model for living, since for him there was little difference between literature and life. During the troubled and guilt ridden years of his extra-marital relationship with Lidiia Zinov'eva- Annibal, for example, he finds precedents in Goethe's life and works which affirm his own modus vivendi. While his youthful efforts evince the profound impact of Goethe, his more mature works display a remarkably original treatment. Beginning with Goethe's enigmatic "Die Braut von Corinth," Ivanov ceases to imitate the slavishly. Rather he regards him as a source of inspiration and as raw material. Typically, he borrows the theme of the supernatural and the meter, but he produces something entirely unique. The author's comparative analysis of selected poems demonstrates the extent of Goethe's influence while clarifying the message of both. The third chapter addresses the importance of Faust. For instance, he prefaces "Morning Star" with an epigraph from the first scene of Faust II. In so doing, be invites the reader to regard his own poem as an interpretation and elaboration, which is char- acteristic. The following chapter selects other poems from the collection Pilot Stars and discusses them with reference to the Faustian epigraphs prefaced to each. Not only do the epigraphs illuminate the meaning of the poems, they further "testify to Goethe's role not only as personal model and poetic authority, but as a direct mythopoetical source" (p. 96). The fifth chapter illustrates the importance of Goethe's "Selige Sehnsucht" for a clearer understanding of Ivano�a's collection Cor Ardens. This poem had personal significance for him owing to its theme of death and resurrection. He maniplates the epigraphs so that they define his personal understanding of the immortality of the soul. Wachtel then proceeds to unravel for us Ivanov's quite complicated method of layering allusions. The theme of death and rebirth is synthesized with myth, biblical allusion, combined with Solov'evian Imagery and all united by reliance on archetypes. This procedure, it is shown, underlies his poetic system. Wachtel does not comment on the from Goethe because they reveal lit- tle about Ivanov's artistic interest in the poet. It is a different matter in the case of No- valis, for Ivanov saw in him a precursor in both personal and artistic terms. The death of Navalis' beloved Sophie, which inspired his "Hymnen an die Nacht," prefigures his own loss of Lidiia. In addition to the hymns, he went on to translate "Geistliche lieder" and most of the poetry in Heinrich von Oiierdingen. The renderings are also involved in Ivanov's artistic development, worldview, spiritual condition, and poetics. Ivanov allows himself astonishing latitude in the translations, remaining faithful only to the meter and the message. This is because Novalis serves primarily as raw material either for an interpretive translation or for an altogether original poem. He does not hesitate to make any change or addition for the sake of clarity or to add a Slavic flavor. He likes to adapt poems to the Russian religious and cultural context by employing Old Church Slavonic, archaisms, and other devices. He even incorporates expressions and motifs from his own work and then filters them through his personal poetic and philosophical convictions, all with the aim of making Novalis sound like a Russian Symbolist. Consequently, even though the translations remain true to the spirit of the originals, the latter are all but unrecognizable. In short, the ninth chapter, by means of a meticulous comparison of selected poems, demonstrates how Ivanov's work on Novalis greatly enhances our appreciation of his own poetry. Novalis was virtually unknown in until Ivanov's translations and public lectures did much to popularize him during the first decades of this century. His discovering and creating a Russian image of Novalis "is one of Ivanov's greatest poetic achievements" (p. 127). . The last chapter is a commentary on Ivanov's art of translation. In his rendering of Greek and German poets he strove to provide his countrymen with the sound of Greek or German. This is a formidable task since the three languages are so unalike. Yet, he brings it off. The remainder of the chapter is devoted to a comparison of Ivanov's renderings with the originals to Illuminate his theory of translation. In brief, he combines accuracy of translation and fidelity to semantics while at the same time creat- ing a different atmosphere by applying his own persona poetic style. By means of vari- ous techniques he gives additional meaning, tone, and substance to the verses. The poems are Russianized to the extent that Russian Symbolism and German Romanti- cism are hardly distinguishable. He transformed Novalis into a Russian. Wachtel's second volume is an edition of Ivanov's largely unpublished correspon- dence in the German language. It will be particularly welcomed by those interested in gaining an overall picture of the poet's last twenty-five years. Although he lived in , he maintained extensive contacts with the German intellectual community. The first part contains the correspondence with the theologian Martin Buber, the scholar Ernst