THE SYMBOLISM OF THE IMAGE OF ARARAT: THE SEMANTICS OF POETIC TITLES

Abstract

This article explores the symbolism of the image of Mount Ararat in poetic texts whose titles include the toponym of the mountain. The study is based on poems published in M.D. Amirkhanyan’s book “Armenia in the Mirror of Russian Poetry” (2022). The selection criteria used in the book allows for the inclusion of all poems in which the image of Ararat occupies a “strong position” within the text and holds a central place. Through the analysis of works by Bryusov, Mandelstam, Lugovskoy, Matusovsky, Dudin, Zvyagintseva, Nikolaevskaya, Sergeev, Trifonov, Chichibabin, and Lisnyanskaya, the article identifies the symbolic meanings of the image of Ararat in most of the poems, examines the system of motives therein, and outlines the specific features of their poetics. A key motive in poems titled with the oronym Ararat (or its derivatives) is the biblical theme of the Flood and salvation. In 20th-century Russian poetry, the image of Ararat is represented in diverse ways: as a sacred mountain, a “contemporary of Creation,” the cosmic axis of the world, and an anthropomorphic figure most fully revealed through such motives as the “mountain in mist,” the “golden dome” visible only to a few, and the soaring, floating, or flying image of a mountain reaching out toward its homeland—or casting a shadow upon it. The central role of the image of Ararat in these poems is formally reinforced through the title structure. This is confirmed by our analysis of nominal titles and poetic opening lines used as titles, as well as the artistic functions of subtitles and epigraphs as components of the title complex.