Mystery metatext in the poem "Field Hospital" by Arseny Tarkovsky

Abstract

The article interprets the mystery codes in the poem “Field Hospital” by Arseny Tarkovsky. The research is based on the principles of mythopoetic and structuralsemantic analysis of the text, and provides a systematic approach to the work, taking into account the specifics of its plot-genre paradigmatics and figurative-symbolic language. The inner world of the poem is organized by the logic of the mystery topos with its key coordinates: frontier ontology; the evolving character of time and the reflection of its dynamics in the “dialectic of the soul”; existential self-reflection and detachment of the hero’s consciousness. The motivic complex of the border, repeatedly manifested in the text and culminating in the symbolism of the limb, becomes a meta-image, in the semantic field of which all the named parameters of the mystery continuum intersect. The model of reality recreated in Tarkovsky’s poem goes beyond mythological monism, but it clearly correlates with the mystery organization of the chronotope: the mystic is aware of the multidimensionality of the universe and the existence of boundaries between different spheres of reality – primarily profane-everyday and sacred – as well as the possibility of moving across these boundaries, which, ultimately, is one of the results of mystery initiations. The plot-forming meaning in “Field Hospital” is acquired by allusive references to the mystery texts of culture: the ancient Egyptian, Christian, alchemical mysteries are dialogically integrated in the act of birth – transfiguration – resurrection experienced by Tarkovsky’s hero. The central place in this paradigm is given to the mystery of Osiris and Isis, the symbolic codes of which are reflected in a number of iconic motifs, images, and details. The key among them are the motif of dismemberment and the semantic complex of the victim associated with it; the symbolism of death – resurrection; the archetypal dyad of a newborn – infant; a tree-natural code associated with the lyrical hero; the allusively designated image of Isis, personifying the female harmonizing principle of the universe. If the motif of dismemberment contains a specific reference to the theme of Osiris, then the other elements in this series also relate to the mystery of Christ and, accordingly, to the texts of culture associated with it, including the mysteries of the alchemists. The study leads to the conclusion that Tarkovsky’s “Field Hospital” is read as a metatext, where in a situation of semantic dialogue different culturological modes of mystery coexist, and the mystery consciousness itself enters into a relationship of mutual reflection with the mythological and tragic worldview. The logic of the myth is intertwined in the development of the lyrical plot with the logic of tragedy, which in turn is overcome through a detached view of the tragic situations experienced and the mystery-conscious acceptance of fate and life in all their manifestations.