Odes by V. P. Petrov and odes by M. V. Lomonosov: Word and rhythmic-syntactic formulas

Abstract

The proposition that V. P. Petrov used to borrow formulas from M. V. Lomonosov’s odic poetry has become generally accepted by literary critics since N. I. Novikov and his contemporaries. But still there is no detailed description and classification of these borrowings. The article focuses on the word and rhythmic-syntactic formulas in оdes by Petrov which traces back to Lomonosov’s poetry. The data for study are iambic tetrameter panegyric odes written by Petrov in 1766–1796. Four levels of probable borrowings are revealed: a single word, a combination of words, a single poetic line, and a text fragment. When describing the formulas in the single poetic lines, we analyze, following M. L. Gasparov, such phenomena as rhythmic cliché, syntactic cliché, rhythmic-syntactic cliché and rhythmic-syntactic formula (cliché incorporating recurrent lexicon). As a special form of borrowing we reveal Petrov’s poetic lines which copy the poetic lines from Lomonosov’s panegyric odes. When describing the borrowings in the text fragments, we show the examples when Petrov’s two adjacent lines correspond to Lomonosov’s two adjacent lines, borrowings of rarely recognized Lomonosov’s rhymes, similar big fragments of the panegyric odes which sometimes are in the same position in the text. Special attention is paid to Petrov’s strategies of intertextual borrowings: the construction of verse line from words of Lomonosov’s adjacent lines, preference of inversion, using synonyms as a means of dissimilation. The described data show that Petrov in his panegyric odes reproduce not only «ready-made» lexicon (words and word combinations) but also rhythmic and intonation models and composition structures typical to Lomonosov’s odic verse.