Hryhoriy Skovoroda's texts in the context of the European emblematic tradition

Abstract

Aim Emblematic types of signification, their sources and possible variants of adoption in the works by Hryhorii Skovoroda have been studied in the paper. The aim of the article is to identify, to compare and to interpret the emblematic forms and patterns in the 16th-18th century European collections and the texts by Hryhorii Skovoroda.

Methods In the article there has been applied the systems approach alongside with the cultural-historical and genetic methods. The author bases himself upon the methodology of semiotics and structuralism and employs the tenets of literary hermeneutics. This is due to the special nature of the study, its object and subject of inquiry. Semiotic and structural similarities in the texts by Hryhorii Skovoroda have been concluded by virtue of genetic tracking of symbolic meaning production modifications in the 16th-18th century European literature and culture and the emblematic collections review.

Results The history of Hryhorii Skovoroda’s «emblematic» style studies has been observed in the paper. The early and the most influential scholars, whose achievements have become the basis for singling out certain urgency of the aforementioned issue, have been listed. The pictures’ comparison from the dialogue «Razgovor, nazyivaemyiy Alfavit, ili Bukvar Mira», particular symbols and emblematic patterns culled from other works and from the European emblematic collections are the foundation on which we have determined that the majority of Skovoroda’s emblematic constructions were borrowed from the Amsterdam edition Symbola et еmblemata selecta in the first place. Some of these loans are modified variants from the books by Andrea Alciato, Daniel de la Feuille, Henricus Engelgrave, Diego de Saavedra Fajardo, that were reconstructed from memory or from the enlarged painting replicas. It is emphasized that Hryhorii Skovoroda has freely construed the emblematic patterns, adjusting symbolic schemes under his own semantic statement. He has creatively modified iconic-conventional patterns and introduced them into new contexts. Hryhorii Skovoroda semantically manages significant visual-graphic «universals» through the agency of biblical text, frequently intertwining various figurative and verbal contexts.

Scientific novelty In the article the accomplishments of scholars of different periods, who studied the influence of emblematics on Hryhorii Skovoroda’s works, have been generalized. The originality of the Ukrainian philosopher’s emblematic style self-expression has also been emphasized.

The practical significance The article can be used to further study the presence of the European emblematic literature traditions in the 16th-18th century Ukrainian culture and in the works by Hryhorii Skovoroda in particular. The scientific results of the study may lay the basis for writing term and qualification papers.