5 - Dantesque images in Ivanov's poetry

Summary

PILOT STARS

The opening section of Ivanov's first collection of poems, Pilot Stars (1902), is headed The Impulse and the Limits’ {Poryv i grani). As the title suggests, it deals with the twin aspects of the Dionysiac mystic experience: the soul's impulse {poryv) or urge to self-transcendence, and the limits {grani) which it encounters in its striving to overcome its boundaries. Three poems in this section are of particular interest and deserve detailed discussion: The Spirit’ {‘Dukh’), ‘La Selva Oscura’ and ‘At the Coliseum’ (‘V Kolizee’). Each of these poems uses imagery drawn from Dante's Commedia to illustrate different aspects of the Dionysiac experience.

‘The Spirit’

‘The Spirit’ {‘Dukh’) is an early poem by Ivanov which treats the subject of mystical love by describing the spiritual journey of the soul through the cosmos. It reads as follows:

L'Amor che muove il Sole e l'altre stelle

Dante, Parad, XXXIII

Над бездной ночи Дух, горя

Миры водил Любви кормилом;

Мой дух, ширяясъ и паря,

Летел во сретенье светнлам.

И бездне – бездной отвечал;

И твердъ держал безбрежным лоном;

И разгорался, и звучал

С огнеоружным легионом.

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