AKHMATOVA’S BOOK OF VERSES «VECHER» THROUGHOUT OF TIME: CYCLIC CONSISTENCY AND TEXTOLOGICAL PARADOXES

First Akhmatova’s book of verses “Vecher” (1912) is studied as a structural and semantic unit, the poet’s methods that determine the unity are analyzed. We track techniques by which semantic perception of “Vecher” as metacycle was consequentially renewed during the period of its “lethic” existence in the form of separate section in Akhmatova’s lifetime poetry collections.We state that some verses, which appeared within “Vecher” section in late collections in fact were created by Akhmatova in 1940s - 1950s. For one reason or another these verses couldn’t be put into later sections with later dates, so this strategy enabled them to get their place in a collection at all. “Aging” dates and mixing 1940s -verses with former ones took place due to Akhmatova’s frame of mind of those days; it allowed to overcome censorship as well. We prove that these verses along with new editions of “old” verses function as semantic anchors, mark out and link some key motives, that is why Akhmatova often set them to a “strong position” (for example, let them open a section or a collection).

book of verses, collection of verses, semantic structure, cycle, part of a book, semantics