Two centuries of the Russian classics

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IWL RAS

https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2026-8-3-28-49

Research Article

Articles

Astral Symbolism in the Poetry of A. I. Gotovtseva in the 1820s

Koptelova

Nataliya G.

red@rusklassika.ru

25 09 2026

8 3 28 49

A. I. Gotovtseva poetry astral symbolism elegiac romanticism semantics functions poetics V. A. Zhukovsky A. S. Pushkin M. Yu. Lermontov

2026

The article examines the semantics, functions, and methods of artistic embodiment of astral symbolism used in the lyrics of A. I. Gotovtseva of the 1820s, in comparison with the work of some of her contemporaries. It demonstrates that the poetess creates her own astral myth in her lyrics. In her interpretation, positive semantics are attributed to the following astral images: meteor, sun, moon, and stars. It is noted that Gotovtseva also uses astral symbols with ambivalent meanings, such as the moon and sun with “spots.” It is shown that in her artistic depiction of the cosmos, an unambiguously negative semantics is ascribed only to the image of the comet, inspired by the folkloric and mythological concepts of the ancients and genetically linked to the biblical tradition. The analysis reveals that Gotovtseva emphasizes the comet’s demonic nature by contrasting it with the star. The article concludes that astral images in the poetess’s work serve as mediators between the earthly and the heavenly and are primarily associated with motives of spiritual and creative search.

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