CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN RUSSIAN LITERATURE The poetic imagination of Vyacheslav Ivanov Vyacheslav Ivanov, poet, philosopher and critic, played a key role in the formation of early twentieth-century Russian literature as leader of the religious branch of the Symbolist movement, and his influence spread to Europe after his emigration to Italy in 1924. Pamela Davidson explores Ivanov's poetic method, relating his art to his central beliefs (in particular his interpretation of the ancient Greek religion of Dionysus and of the teachings of Vladimir Solovyov), and considering the ways in which he attempted to embody these ideas in his own life. She focuses on Ivanov's interpretation of Dante, and in so doing opens up new perspectives on the wider question of Russia's relation to the Western cultural tradition and Catholi- cism. Detailed analyses of Ivanov's pre-revolutionary poetry and of his translations from Dante form the basis of the second part of the study, and extensive use is made of unpublished archival materials from the Soviet Union and Italy. CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN RUSSIAN LITERATURE General editor MALCOLM JONES In the same series Novy Mir EDITH ROGOVIN FRANKEL Three Russian writers and the irrational T. R. N. EDWARDS The enigma of Gogol RICHARD PEACE Word and music in the novels of Andrey Bely ADA STEINBERG The Russian revolutionary novel RICHARD FREEBORN Poets of Modern Russia PETER FRANCE Andrey Bely J. D. ELSWORTH Nikolay Novikov W. GARETH JONES Vladimir Nabokov DAVID RAMPTON Portraits of early Russian liberals DEREK OFFORD Marina Tsvetaeva SIMON KARLINSKY Bulgakov's last decade J. A. E. CURTIS Velimir Khlebnikov RAYMOND COOKE Dostoyevsky and the process of literary creation JACQUES CATTEAU translated by Audrey Littlewood Vyacheslav Ivanov: portrait by A. S. Glagoleva-Ulyanova, 1915-16 The poetic imagination of Vyacheslav Ivanov A Russian Symbolist's perception of Dante PAMELA DAVIDSON The right of the University of Cambridge to print and sell all manner of books was granted by Henry VIII in 1534. The University has printed and published continuously since 1584. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS CAMBRIDGE NEW YORK NEW ROCHELLE MELBOURNE SYDNEY CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao Paulo, Delhi Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www. Cambridge. org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521114554 © Cambridge University Press 1989 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 1989 This digitally printed version 2009 A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data Davidson, Pamela. The poetic imagination of Vyacheslav Ivanov: a Russian symbolist's perception of Dante / Pamela Davidson. p. cm. - (Cambridge studies in Russian literature) Bibliography: p. Includes index. ISBN 0-521-36285-7 1. Ivanov, V. I. (Viacheslav Ivanovich), 1866-1949 - Criticism and interpretation. 2. Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321 - Influence - Ivanov. I. Title. II. Series. PG3467.18Z64 1989 891.71'3-dcl9 88-20319 ISBN 978-0-521-36285-6 hardback ISBN 978-0-521-11455-4 paperback For E.V.K. Contents List of illustrations pagex Preface xi Notes on the text xiii List of abbreviations xiv Introduction i PART i: APPROACHES AND THEMES 23 i Ivanov's Dionysiac ideal and Dante 25 Ivanov's spiritual ideal 25 Dante's attitude to pagan antiquity 35 Ivanov's image of Dante 43 2 Vladimir Solovyov and Dante 53 Solovyov's teaching on Sophia 53 Solovyov's approach to Dante 62 3 The Symbolist view of Dante as a poet of Sophia 72 Blok 73 Bely 82 Ivanov 89 4 Ivanov's ideal of mystical love IOO Ivanov's experience of love 100 Eros and Amor 123 PART II: TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS 135 5 Dantesque images in Ivanov's poetry 137 Pilot Stars 137 Transparency 164 Cor AYdens i 173 CorArdensw 190 6 Ivanov's translations of Dante 229 The Symbolist background 229 Vita Nuova 234 Convivio 248 Divina Commedia 261 Notes 274 Select bibliography 303 Index 313 IX Illustrations Vyacheslav Ivanov: portrait by A. S. Glagoleva-Ulyanova, 1915-16 frontispiece Vyacheslav Ivanov with a portrait of Lidiya Zinoveva, Pavia, late 1932 page 18 Vyacheslav Ivanov, Lidiya Zinoveva-Annibal and Vera, Zagore, October 1907 121 The frontispiece of CorArdens, 1911 196 Preface Vyacheslav Ivanov and Dante Alighieri, although six centuries apart in time and representatives of completely different cultures, are linked by a surprising inner affinity of spirit. Both were poets of an intellectual and philosophical cast of mind who sought to inter- pret their experience and art in the light of a religious world-view. Both tried to relate the events and cultural trends of their time to a wider spiritual perspective; Dante's world was medieval Florence, Ivanov's world was early twentieth-century Russia. Ivanov was aware of this affinity and felt strongly drawn to Dante throughout his life-time. This study uses a comparative approach to explore Ivanov's perception of Dante as a way of reaching a deeper under- standing of the creative method of a leading Russian Symbolist. The research for this study could not have been undertaken without the support of several institutions. While studying at St Antony's College, Oxford (1976-9), I received a series of scholar- ships from the British Council which made it possible for me to spend over a year working in the state literary archives of Moscow and Leningrad. My subsequent tenure of a travelling research fellowship at The Queen's College, Oxford (1979-81), enabled me to make further research trips to the Soviet Union, to America to participate in the first international symposium on Ivanov at Yale University, and to Rome to work in the poet's archive. Further grants from the University of Birmingham (1981-4) and the Uni- versity of Surrey (1984-7) made it possible for me to take part in the second and third symposia, held at the Universities of Rome and Pavia in 1983 and 1986. I have also benefited greatly from the encouragement and help of many individuals. My original enthusiasm for Dante was kindled by the excellent teaching of Patrick Boyde while I was a student at Cambridge. My interest in Ivanov owes a great deal to the stimu- lating company of many friends in Moscow and Leningrad, par- ticularly to the generous guidance of two Ivanov scholars, Nikolai xi xii Preface Kotrelyov and Sergei Averintsev. I am most grateful to Dimitry Ivanov and the late Lidiya Ivanova for their warm support and invaluable practical assistance in Rome. Many helpful suggestions were made at different stages by Henry Gifford, Sergei Hackel and Mark Everitt. I would also like to thank my typist, Linda Guess. Closer to home, I owe a special debt of gratitude to my sister, Caroline Davidson and husband, Edward Kissin, for their helpful criticism. June I987 PAMELA DAVIDSON London Notes on the text TRANSLATIONS All the translations from Russian in the text are my own. Verse passages are first quoted in the original, and then followed by a literal prose version, designed to reproduce the meaning of the original as closely as possible. The translations from the Divina Commedia are taken from Charles S. Singleton's version. All other translations from Italian are my own. TRANSLITERA TION The British system of Cyrillic transliteration has been adopted, omitting diacritics. In proper names, y has been used for final HH and bin, yo has replaced e, and the apostrophe for h has been omitted. Abbreviations The following abbreviations have been used in the text and notes. ANSSR Arkhiv Akademii Nauk SSSR, Leningrad 'AF 'Avtobiograficheskoe pis'mo' CA Cor Ardens Con. Convivio ed. edited by ed. khr. edinitsa khraneniya 'ER' 'Ellinskaya religiya stradayushchego boga' GBL Gosudarstvennaya biblioteka im. Lenina, Otdel ruko- pisei, Moscow GLM Gosudarstvennyi literaturnyi muzei, Moscow GPB Gosudarstvennaya publichnaya biblioteka im. Saltykova-Shchedrina, Otdel rukopisei, Leningrad IMLI Institut mirovoi literatury im. Gorkogo, Moscow Inf. Inferno k. kartori KZ Kormchie zvezdy LN Literaturnoe nasledstvo Mon. Monarchia NP Novyiput' NS New Style NT Nezhnaya taina op. opis' Par. Paradiso Purg. Purgatorio 'RD' 'Religiya Dionisa' SS Sobranie sochinenii tr. translated by TsGALI Tsentral'nyi gosudarstvennyi arkhiv literatury i iskus- stva, Moscow XIV Abbreviations xv VFP Voprosy filosofii i psikhologii VN Vita Nuova VZh Voprosy zhizni ZOR Zapiski Otdela rukopisei Introduction ciascuna cosa riceva ... secondo lo modo de la sua vertu e de lo suo essere Dante (1304) ... And so, Dante is a Symbolist! Ivanov (1912) Some writers are chiefly remembered for their active contribution to the literary life of their day. Others seem to stand outside this process, and only assume their true importance after death. Vya- cheslav Ivanov (1866-1949) was both. As a major poet and the leading theoretician of the Russian Symbolist movement, he played a key role in shaping the literature of his time, and received wide recognition from his contemporaries. His deeper significance, however, goes far beyond this. In the long term, he is most likely to be remembered for the unique voice which he developed in his poetry and prose to convey a mystical and teleological vision of human life, history and culture. He believed that 'in every place ... there is a Bethel and a Jacob's ladder - in the centre of every horizon', and devoted his life's work to the creation of just such a ladder.1 The present study concentrates more on the nature of this 'ladder' than on the surrounding plane; it is not a work of literary biography, but an attempt to explore the way in which the poet's vision took form and expressed itself through his art.