Olfactory imagery in poetry by Innokenty Annensky

About the author:

Natalia A. Rogachova, Dr. Sci. (Philol.), Professor, Head of the Department of Russian and Foreign Literature, University of Tyumen; n.a.rogacheva@utmn.ru; ORCID: 0000-0001-8424-1861

Abstract:

In the article the smell poetics in I.F. Annensky’s lyrics is investigated. The structure and semantics of olfactory images is defined. Authors reveal odorical codes — the cultural traditions of judgment of smells which influenced formation of this kind of figurativeness in poet’s lyrics. “Switching” these codes in Annensky’s art world is dictated by cultural context of the text, plot, image. Heterogeneity of olfaktory space, shuffle of meanings cause the fluidity and synesthesia of images: metonymies transmitting anatomical wholeness through a separate corporal receptor, and metaphors based on combination of various nature signs (sound, flavoring) are typical for I. Annensky’s lyrics.

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