ANNELI MIHKETEV IMITATION in the POETIC TFXT It

ANNELI MIHKETEV

IMITATION IN THE POETIC TFXT

has contrccted d:iffc'rent , r , Ll , rl i()lt is an old inter-semiotic phcnomenon which arrd diffcreni works of art, so wc may say th.rt , . rl |t,li6d5, diffcrent cultures ,,,,r ,lr,)il is a cr-rltural crossroacls in a diffcrent sense. Althor'r[5h imiti'rtion can ,, , r rregi,rtive mcanings, for cxample plagiarisrn, copying or counterfciting, it ,l (,,il] activc hurnan mot'lelling pr()ccss which htrs generated and coutit]ut-s , r('ratc variegated ancl changing ctrltttrtrl fonns I6, 128l' lt!'roots of thc treatmcnts of in-ritation c'xtend ttl anticluity and are key cle- alsrr ,,, r,1,, itr P1.rto',s and Aristotic's work. As we know, thc- tcrm'imittltion'is ,rrrr|t.tecl with thc term 'mimc'sis" r,r4rich was used by both philosophcrs. There ,r, t\\,o types of mimesis according to Plakr: the first rcPresents the physical 7, 2lJ2-3101' r,1, , ts artistically, and the sccond rcPrcsents thc'ideas inwardly lscc the , , ,,r.ding kr Plakr's paradoxic.rl opit-lio11 tl-rc artist who crc'ates imitations of somc. kind of decciver: "lmitation, then, is far from 1 trr,,ical objccts seems to be attacks 1,,. l[rth, and apparcntly it manages to rnake all things just because-'it ,,,,1r a small parrt of each, and that an irnagc' Thc painter, for exampie' will paint he has ncr r .. rVC safz a shocmakcr, a ctrrpentcr, aucl all other workmen, though L,,,ivlecigc whatcver of their crafts. But ncvertheless, if he is a good Paintcr, he chil- il,rV ptliltt a carpenter and show thc thing at some distatlce, trnd so cheat ,lr,,rr .rnd stupid mcn into thinking it is rcally a carPenter" [ibid., 286]. Plakn's antl ctrnst't1ut'Irtly art rr li'.r waS that trll re'Prcscntec'l things are already irnitatiotts, L l.rr from knowlcclge. Or as Worton and Still havc written: "ln the case of l,l,rtonic imitation, the 'poet'always copics an earlier act of cteation, which is itlera of rr.;clf alrcacly a copy" [12,31. So, an artist rcPresents orrly thc copy of the tlu' object, i.e. art is a double lie. Aristotle belicves that mimcs'is is governed by thc rtrlcs of its form raih€rl than differ i,v the accuracy with which it represents the object: he means that thc arts vcry rn the methocls through which they creatc imitations. Threc Phenomena ale the llr-rp()rtant for Aristotle, whcn he speaks of imitation: "those of thc mcans, n= )62 KULTURAS KRUSTPUNKI.I 2. ]aiL]ICilS I-I MIKIIEL!]V. IMIIATION IN THF] POE'IIC TEXl' 163

s b1 imitation tn lmrtate' Aristotle11, jl,,ff uy wrwIrICll' ri ch, whatwha t andan ,', ,,lrrctriiy thcre are different modcs and purposes for :T,ilT""--stresses: "To imitate*::. ::i::ord d r..,,,,,,hor't' llrt'l r,,l AII'T]:;l: ,"rirr.,], e ln man from Genctte strcsses thc rencwable energy of imita- men, likewise. nafrlr^ilr,.o-,-:-.^ " his infarrr't. t I ,, 1, r{ .)t difterent ttmes. -^, - of *ll#"J"|#'.T::T1J#:xi::*,."'tilili'.,TlTil,:il:':,Til,,l ,, ,,,,1 llte aspects of in'u'ention trncf imitatiorr in the pre'-modern sense : i'll iliTl ",',: "the discovery of arppropriate material to imitatc' Hil ll; Tli'ff : ,, L,,lr lsee 4,73-751, i.c. :',i:l 1 ilH::l',Tll ll"':::'ll ii,t"*' : : (for ' ----'-'"'-l' rtruluLiy ano rhythm yet in accordance with pre-dispose'd ,':'.":,'ll::iliilii'i,'#:*:y;ii:#;:l':T;'xl';ii'#l1llj'llil:as to metre, it is plai. ' being also nirtrrr,r ,rl,r rrr,tteriai is the'u trrrtrnged ancl'r', thosep"..o,',tnose two polcs are in contact in imrta- rraryIrally tlreserrrese o;o;,,;;;Y":.:i,::'::":::Ythm),propensiiies ;,;- Persons ui*r,n-",,,,,,,in whom .rrgr , ,,r,, 1,'r'S (tlispttsitio)" t6, 1081. [t seems the extemporaneousrxremporaneous -"* ";*::._::':.','""'':ttr ni:turallytl'ltural]y attempfcartemDrs ::,:ti"r^,r.j-r- .:jl:'lt::t.-- .were ledleci toro ruclt,rucrt, ,rr'l,rr '.tIr.'staticanclclynamicorthe.olc]arrdtht:rrew.Thectlntactbctwccn --"r'"' "vtttcrr' Hrddltally improvecl, thc'older I1bid.,226l. gave birth to prx,trr , t\\,{) poles also creartcs a tension betwecn old t-rnd new lt seems in the new agree rt'itrr Mary ,.', I lr,rs a static and balancing function, although it is changcd .I orr's opinion that, arthougrr prat.nic and Aristotelia. rlr, tl-hatbalancingirnclstaticftrncticlnptonrtlte.srecognition.I'dlikctcl :;il" ag, ,, 1r,rlt' this theorctlcal stattlment through Estonian poet Kristian Jaak uatesiiF:::ffffi":t7J::;iln5i*;;l :onlcr or:r",ro";; Aristotc'lian art respcctivc-ly as forn thlr5 ,,11 r r, | .(rn/s Poems. either an illusio' an tmitati.n Mimetic valrre is clicrr.torrrous, .f nature" 16, ,tr'l t; t;;;;r ancl false clependsnotoninnatt :*". "...because minrr,r,r: -l gth """;;;"-.-,;]-ill:" ', ,1(,rsol1 of thc century. He was born or qua, iryi ng u,,,,,, | wrote his poems at the beginning I {r^-".i.i,y, Hc are rheref.re ";il;ff::T:': il.:l,::l,llll ::i::"morntnt... (..) All crrlttrral ,, tr|t,r 1E01 anc'l hc was only 21 ycars old when hc diccl in 1822in ltiga in the rhrall of imitation,s;;i: for.rrn in Rlgn ("Kristiani Petcrsoni ,;i pr r,,t('only two collelctions of poc'ms: Sorrgs lr Jagc'r a to a n d o'-,,i* i,.ol ] laulud' :[T :i ?:llfi ::ifil r,rrlrrLl. Rialinnas", 1Blft) and Sorr,qs in'fttrtrt ("Kristiani Jago l)etersoni lff "; :illi: I ; I "Hf :,,' -l819"), lrrtrrlirtttt-ts, as wcll as some poems in German, which were publishcd ::**n;i',.,:*i;"-'1"iJ.:*'T:11ff il:iltilIif ,llrLrmously. "'i',tT,'.:',::ffi *:l: 1,, ' jffi lrnitation is a vcry important phenomcnon in Pcterson's ptlctic style. 5]il::t".fi than influence' as his m:l*ii::i*,:"JrF,i!:;{ I trlli'rc'flt preclccelssors infh-renced him. In fact, it was more thlluqh Iiteraryimitation: * il*iu:;l influence textuality' r.ro, )lP aitho,grr the term ,int.r, (.r.ics oftcn imitatecl the preclccessors'styles. Although imitation ancl the 1960s' the pl-renomenon perhaps "ri.r"a is , r in sclme ways, we c.ln still perceive the as oltl i' fact much I I ( connectecl and somctimes also simila as ,-'r-llo1societ)z and 'rt,rl. oldt,r, believe culturc Isee also l'erh;rps T.S. Eliot capturcd the essence tlrat inter-tex,tan rel;rtions *.rri,,r]ncr stirl ,lrilcrences betwec.n thc two phenomc.na. are characteristic greatness trf texts [ibid.]. aorl.".nr,-,t'ut of all cliscotrrses aborrl ,,t the cliffcrence clultc preciscly: ""'Poet of the slrPrL'me imitation' they write that "Every ,,,pptr.,rr,''j-ii;,:ilrt iiterary imitarion js ',lr.rkespcare can hardly iufluence, he can onlv be imitatecl: and thc differcnce ancl suppian,t ir tr.ns the original tl-rat cau fc'cundate, whereas imita- at times for,"r,.....t^orllTplete oio ruir.r-, r.rr-'. I ,,,i\veen influence ancl imitation is influencc 'origina' (..) Beside's, imitation j..:, r i rron - especially ur-rconscious irnitation - can oniy stcrilize. force :':: "".;;;;;;";',:;;,1:. ;f,Tfi:;:,n",l* lrerary_and socielinguistic",.i,,",,. oftcn bc profitable becausc we cannot st-tc- at the time .f i. *,,r_,.;.:l cocles in , rl a writer in a foreign languagc can - , i'cd" [2, 181. *,:.lll,;.''".i:tiii"il:;l'*:.T:*:;1j[.[:11*l*tsocrolects jl in an imitativc. text ConcerningKristianJaakl,ete.rsorr'spoetry,wecanseethatEliot,swtlrds libid.l. O, ,n..,o^" timc., the alnclcnt the,_rr"r,n,.',, ,ot ,rrc ;rt least partially applicable. of course, Peterson's moclels were or in terp reta t,.* or_,ty *it.i d epend s on trre etc. and thcre is morc imitirtion than influ- il'JXl'i},:::Ji:11",,il' tplies wriri n g ancl llreats, Pindar, Vcrgil, Anacrcon a'd depc.ds upon a time" tl-rere Iibid., 6J. p.o""r, ;;;;;;;-.;r."" t,nce that connects the ancient poets ancl Pcterson. But at thc samc and is imitation in the foreign lernguages (antique languages and Ccrman)' K U I-'f U RA S I(R 1b5 U STI'U N K I"1 I I i MIKIIFLEV. IMIl'AI'I(]N IN TIJE POF'IIC]'IF'X1'

the resnlt of peterson,s . imitation is n r somett I t t' tl e r a c p r tt c m i a r o n t ttt discovered \1 t J ttc t n r u tr f ancl became uncr erstandabr",. nl'lliliT"uo"J,-*iffl llts tttisctttt sttparis: ne gt:lidunt rtcnttts ning of the 20th cerltllry. petc'rson I ;l ;' i r broke t t1 tr I t'zt c s c u r t r S tt t t1 r s cln i ground r n tr rt c for innovati.rr, N 1 t u p h r natio.al poetry, but trrose innovations 'ew rrr were rearized only in the 20th '',tct't'trrrrtt yoPulo ( .) d,ring the intermetriate c(,.rrrI years in the 19th century he was forgotten. Peterson imitated Altrr.rrgrt great and we,-kr-rown preclecessors, irr*r'r his work was n.r rr,r,rl q;rilri ;i ttrr I ttt i,i; , ti/llrtt. i' known to Estonian readers during rris rrre, a'd although :it['!ittti iLtttr ,irltt0 ,'r't litt Cerman, """"".'rr herrL' wrotewroL( ars, rrr lt't lris innovationq u/prp rn,r'rr-.-^.. . -__';.. Llortrt. Oc1. l, I [5, 33] rea d e r sh i p *r, i . n.l iJ L6; i:! ; :: iil j; "r. i:l,:;lTi,[ :i;": i,. : ; the poet did not conr ff*"]: ...loigraplrperfectlysttitsrrcltorrlyK.J.l'etcrstln,sidcirsirntlirrdividualisnr rh e tra ged y oo:T:il, ., .",",.'iL"il Jt'il:' iJ',T: :T:n a whole' lt is a sign of ronrantic rcbc'llion :: :l : I :: l , ',1111lt1 tttrLl L)rnttc ntotreme'nt as ership and maybe ffi * lf the to the poet,s own extreme indiviclualism. has been placecl on thc'same levcl iis God' At through Howt,r,r,r 1,, , .riise tl-rc poet ils a man imitation of the life styre it is my hypoth- or ancicnt creek cynics, hc crcated ,,,, til)rt, it is an .rllttston to ancicnt culture as a Palagoll and' inal figtrre of on ,,r,,11 romantic rebe'ion, for whom rebc-tion or in the sc'nsc of the early 19th cen- was a normal state, rrrrl , I ir.lv be an allusiou to pagan ctllture ;trst the rore.r the'figure of the and oihcr poet as the Romanticism of the ,,n kr thc extra-culturtrl spl-rcre' fromrvhich Peterson assumed. Iiebelrious lgth centrr\, , allusion indivicluarism became trre normal huma' state in rrrp .,l.irro[

3. L|,.'begirrnitrgoftlrclgtlrcenttrry,c]iffererrtsignstliculturewerecrossing.It There' IltimcrvlrenEuropcanculttrrelookcdiriclifferc-ntclirectiotrs. are 14 poems in his first cotection 'lgth ideas became widely tlis- of poems, written in Riga: I iic celltury wtrs tr time when J'G' Hc'rdcr's pastoral poems, two forrr j,.r";';1::T:'"il:T;:1".;-ffi"ilJ"jil:i,;,;_L:l;;ar ,jIlll.]tet:l.AccrlrdingtoJ.Ci.FIcrde'everycultttrc.anclevcrvagehtrsitsown rormorpi,,.ro. language is a , rr({ue charactcr ant-l distinctive way of thinking' For Ilcrder' 131' Peterson imitated and interpreted ptrrticttlar cui- previous ancrc.nt texts, an imrtati.rr nrg,,r.irm and hc considcrs it trlso inseparable frorn a wirich resurted from the influence ',,,,u with the of po"i, of who wcre petcrson,s contemp. r,,rr' Thcsc tiroughts of llcrcler's exPrcss the iclc.a of clialogism rarres (pocts who were connected with the Sturnr ,I_ht, Talvet dcscribes it' that Ettropean imitation und.Dmng movement). , lrt'r'or'forcign', which lncans, as Jiiri was clearry not unconscious culture discovcretl the because Ireters,n rrad hacJ a crassical Lril,.lrc trtlllsgresscs its tlwtl bottndaries; Liuropean education' which shapea nl, *o.t.trriew a.d understanding .'lirtr,inthcpcrioclofllonranticismirrtlrelgthcerrturytrnclthebotrnclary ot,lJlou*" .l thc'nattvc' anc'l'forc'igu' is ihe place whcre dialoguc and His first coliection lrr:,, bctween be'gins with a' epigraph from his Horatius, first ode, fronr ].rr.lt.lricproCL.SSL-Soccur.]-lrclseProCeSScSarc'alstlurrexpectedarrdsurpris- first b.ok of odes, where the poet,s po",ii. * ." ;;;";"1#i., ,n" ,r::19,380 3ull. ancient gocrs and it is "g.r, (.rnd importa.t that the poet gives prominence hierirrchy existccl whiclr, irr tlre Estonian trlstl the to himserf: in '\t tlrc strrne tirnc a cultural ancient poem the gods anci mankind'are Estot-tian litera- Jual: ,r the ljaltic) contcxt, ranked clermauliteraltttre as highculture; ll'lVrlSllOtSecnaSculturt.;rtallbecatrscitdidnotyt-tc.xist.Like'"visc,thc 166 KULTURAS KRUSTpUNKTI 2.taiorens l,i.l MlKHllLFV lMllAflON IN POET'IC TEXT 167 cerman language was a cuitural ranguage and Estonian was not a Der Mond culttrrai language. This hierarchy,,,r.pp.lit.ns wfir,,, ,r coulcl be further --Kafi;Cses Landes SPrache da The Cerman litera".;';.I1Ti:ruT,i:k:{"?l?il1ii,ili,',I;l.rji,:l,l;J,;elab.rirrrrl sclle maa keel bro,rghr - Lit'der i,,t,, r,,gi L,l,'ll rlcs ci r.'cti Nkht Win,l d,'r nature, "n fecling, fr1 lr erhilhrr. r.."S-" Shakespeare, human incJiviclualisnl toustes irllcs 7um 'it sought to overthrow"".",.1r., the ,rt*l Enlightenment cul'ture of llationalism. -tch-Hirnm.'l zu inspired Herder.s rrl,,,re ommale otsida l-ur rli.'iltgk-,1 'uthenl Goethe anci other ,rlembe.s ,rf th: ;, dnickc I IsJC;transltenbert J ff Tffijiil,.*l*:.*, wa s no t a m cmberJ,'r",il : # #:i #i':l l'il' poets' wh. u' examptt':' him. But as Jaan u.,ol,:1L::11:-Y.t*Tll '""'"'1 rr* imittrticln of anticluity in Estouian was an .centric )Lr llrc onL. hand, Peterson's compared and ci,, r I r, cr-rl- ro rakob a ncl to thc siime lcvcl as the high mH:"il'",Hll,.lll; ,. | | | [() riiisc Estonian latrguagc. cttltttrc iijili: ;1,;;f I 'l hr my opinion' he shourd hrlrrd his imitativc ptletry related to thc rather be ltil;"; to thc German ,, ,,t ,rntiquity, br-rt on tlrc'othcr Hcilderlin (1770*1843),becausc poet Frietrrr,rr a feirture of il both of the,mwere literaturel of lris tinrel. The last kilrcl clf imitation is lil

pP. ;*"#;:,tff""",1,il'f,rl1:tt"'or was even seen as exotic rrom the.r,r,,rr,*, t( Keelc Instituut, Underi ja Tuglase Kirjanduskeskus'

tema cesti kcel idcntiteet as' v,gadus Conclusion ,rnik, E. K. l. Peterson i0 - l.!1|l('l\,lllne12.-14.03.200lTallinnastoimtrnudrahvusvaheliselkeeltearen- Kristian Jaak petr : ,, ,.rr'ntsil "Eesti keel Euroopas"J. mcre p reci s e, "ff Practicas. Manchester; r,n"'iill;, l[ :::.rr: i:,::,T:,,i,+i.Ti,ili]:,, \\i,r l()n. M. and J. still. hrtdrtcxtl.talitLl.-I-hcorics and Although'eterson was . ^,,;";,r : ,: a great i'ritakr4 he was also Prcss, 1993, 208 p' his poetry a grcat innovat.r btr,rr,l. ' ,'1. : Manchester University connects very different high culturar ancl, if we trri'k witr-dn trrt, r'rr extra-cutrurar, signs. And thanks fJftJlli}:.even t. nr o.if-utity, rt,,,uu ,,''rr,'li a r Miheleva in rhe 20rrr a nd r,,i".::,*; j:..:,i:1il:*m fJ ;i: :"f,'Jlil: :J I r,r il.rcija teksta :: I I I ; poetiska - the imitation is not : total, but rather exists i' rhe il.';ilt"t; text as a fragrrr,rr t,'r's.rvilkums

References kas vientr t'r,rt,rcija jeb ertclarinaiana ir Joti scna intersemiotiska paradiba' darbus' .l' ,, kultarras pcrioclus, daladas kulturas un daZadus makslas Aristoile. Aristotrc's poritics poctics..riansr. ',lrrs maciba nnd by ,,r, ,rr' imitacijas (mirnOzes) problem-tiku Platona un Aristotela Thomas Twining Be'jamin Jowett irrrrl ,rpltrko with an Introduction by Linc.rn Editions press, Diamant. Clcverand : rii.r, .,,|'|..illterPretacijasmusdicrrusemiotikaun]iteraturzinatne.Imitacijanav 1952, 265 p. kas savukart saklo- ,, ,,1 ,rr.ia atdarinaSana, ta saistita ari ar interpretacijas aktu, T' s' To Criticisi' ,tt'critic nrrd o,rcr writings.Lond.n lasiSanas ,n;.t"r't : Faber & Falrr,r. , , r,rl.stiianas ttn Procesos' imitacijas veidi un I r,rzrrclos laikos po€tiskajos tekstos bijuSi sastopami daZadi 3. Errgdahl, H. Llksitdusc poliitika. Tallinn : Vagabund, "199g,795 divas galcjibas, divus polus: statisko un dinamisko, 4. palintpsests. p. ,trrl.i. Imitacija vir izs|irt Genette., G. Litcrature pastav zinims irt tha S;ccond Degree. l,incoln; , , ,, un jauno. Imitacijas procesa starp Siem poliem allaZ University of Nebraska press, Londorr 19g2, 50S apgalvoiumus autore ilustre' balstoties uz Iliga 5' I ;. ,',,,'*.t*r. $os teoretiskos AAK Krist in n r unk patarson2,' (1801-1822) literaro manto- = IAAK. Kristian petc-rson I rr oluia igaulu dzeinicka Kristiana Jaka Petcrsona seines 200. Ceburtstages. Jaak : aus Anr.ri Thllinn : Eesti Kecl, Autore parada K'J' Petersona c lnstit,ut' r bi.ia nozimrga viet.r viga dailrade' Kirja.duskesk"., underi ja Ttrglasr' r, rrr r - imitacijtri inoiinS o ' konteksta' r r rrl,rciju iuovativos aspektus igaugu kult[r;rs 6. Orr; M. IntutcxttLnlity. Dt,hatts rutd Contuts-Cambriclge; Oxford; Malclen Poltty,2003,246 p. : 7. Plato. Thc Repultlic. London : Everyman,s 8' schwidtal' Library, 1992,341 p. M' Komparativistlikke r.n t .,rtur.it"o.r.,rlikk" Baltimaade germanistikal ;irgrtusi e. Kct l j a Krr j a n tl t r s.^.., r, 200,l, pp.g j B_g2 1. Encla" piiride iiletamiscst oo'rff:;?t' luulc's. Kcer itr Kirinnthrs. No. 6,200r, l0 undusk, Kommentaare J' erul00dtratum'e. In: 200 IAAK. Kristian lnttk pt,rerson = 1446 Kristia. Jaak peterson : alls a'rina ."ir-,", 200. Geburtstages.