| Abstract [eng] |
Object of this paper is Christian flower motives in the Lithuanian poetry. Problematic question of the research: what paradigm of Christian flower motives unfolds in the Lithuanian poetry. Sources of the research: poems by Lithuanian poets of 20th and 21st centuries. Important source includes „Eilėraščiai Marijai: XX amžiaus lietuvių mariologinės poezijos antologija“(2000) („Poems dedicated to Mary: anthology of the Lithuanian Mariological poetry of 20th mentury“), a book compiled by Jonas Šlekys. The research was conducted based on the principles of thematology and thematic criticism. Concepts of a topic and a motive allowing to compare writings by different authors are important to these theories. A motive is the smallest element of the content, general structural and semantic part of the text. A topic and a motive supplement each other. Genesis of Christian flower motives is related to the Bible, their repetition is also revealed by the Christian iconography, baroque heraldry and armorial poems. The important part of the context is the poetry by Motiejus Kazimieras Sarbievijus which influenced other Lithuanian authors. Motives of lily, rose, thorn, and violet bear the well-defined semantics. Analysis of Christian flower motives in the Lithuanian poetry revealed that these motives function in poetization of Mary and Christ. Motives of rose and lily arise in the poetry as the metaphors of Mary (in poems by Maironis, Brazdžionis), and reveal her appearance and inner characteristics. A crown is one of the ways to reveal the flower motives. One of the most standing topics revealing the poetic portrait of Mary is the Secret Rose. The picture of Mary is also revealed by other flower motives originating from the ethnocultural tradition: rues, peonies, chrysanthemums, and bluebottles. These motives function in the poems by Bronė Buivydaitė, Vytautas Čėsna, Apolinaras Petras Bagdonas. Spread of Christian flower motives is well-defined in the poems about Christ. The most striking motives are those of lily and thorn. Thorn is a symbol of Christ’s suffering. In the texts by Algimantas Mackus and Jonas Juškaitis this is included into some individual experience. A lily in poem „Dialogas („Dialogue“) by Bernardas Brazdžionis symbolizes Christ and inspires a subject of the poem with the joy of belief. Interesting variations of Christian flower motives are revealed through the holiness topic. Flower motives appear as the God’s manifestation in nature, a part of sacral surroundings, express subjects’ emotions, and inspire the feeling of holiness. In one of the poems by Bernardas Brazdžionis, the God lives and speaks through the flower of lily. This is related to the Franciscan conception of nature. Analysis of the poetry by Augustinas Dainys revealed functioning of Christian flower motives in the modern Lithuanian poetry. Their modifications showed through personal creative features of the author: rejection of religious dogmas, synthesis of Christian, aesthetic and philosophical discourse. Christian flower motives repeat in the poetry of a diverse level. From classics of the Lithuanian literature up to less-known authors, where a problem of non-creativity is encountered in the analysis of their texts. This is revealed in the Mariological poetry in the most intense manner. The varied flower motives are petrified, schematized, their semantics is not developed, platitudinous comparisons are used, and there are many repetitions. Beauty and honour are mostly poetized characteristic features of Mary. Sentimental natural elements, pathetic talk are prevailing. Influence of late postwar Lithuanian songs, romances is felt in some of the poems. Such texts also show the panorama of Christian flower motives, reveal the importance of Mary’s phenomenon in the Lithuanian culture and literature. Thematological analysis of Christian flower motives allows looking anew to the classical Lithuanian poetry, relating poems to the context, and looking for new modifications in the modern poetry. |
