CC BY
5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18454/RULB.2020.24.4.26
ШОТЛАНДСКАЯ ЭМИГРАЦИОННАЯ ПОЭЗИЯ США XIX В. И ЛИТЕРАТУРНО-КРИТИЧЕСКИЙ
КОНТЕКСТ
Научная статья
Велилаева Л.Р. * ORCID: 0000-0002-6491-8633, Крымский инженерно-педагогический университет имени Февзи Якубова, Симферополь, Россия
* Корреспондирующий автор (lilivelilaeva[at]yandex.ru)
Аннотация
В статье рассматривается литературно-критический контекст, актуальный для шотландской эмиграционной поэзии США XIX века. Определены основные тенденции в развитии литературной критики. Метрополийная шотландская и американская литературная критика мало интересовались творчеством шотландских поэтов-эмигрантов. Литературно-критическая деятельность в большей степени реализовывалась шотландскими критиками-эмигрантами. Шотландский литературный контекст изменился качественно из-за уменьшения масштаба социокультурного мышления, проблемы понимания скотса, отношения протестантизма к языческому наследию. Шотландские поэты-эмигранты в своем творчестве данные тенденции минимализируют.
Ключевые слова: Шотландия, США, XIX век, поэзия, эмиграция, литература, критика.
SCOTTISH EMIGRATIONAL POETRY OF THE USA OF THE XIXth CENTURY AND LITERARY-CRITICAL
CONTEXT
Research article
Velilaeva L.R. *
ORCID: 0000-0002-6491-8633, Crimean Engineering and Pedagogical University named after Fevzi Yakubov, Simferopol, Russia
* Corresponding author (lilivelilaeva[at]yandex.ru)
Abstract
The article examines the literary and critical context that is relevant to the Scottish emigrational poetry of the United States of the XIXth century. The main trends in the development of literary criticism are determined. Metropolitan Scottish and American literary criticism took little interest in the work of Scottish emigrational poets. Literary criticism was largely carried out by Scottish emigrational critics. The Scottish literary context has changed qualitatively due to a decrease in the scale of socio-cultural thinking, the problem of understanding Scots language, the attitude of Protestantism to the pagan heritage. Scottish emigrational poets minimize these tendencies in their poetical works.
Keywords: Scotland, USA, XIX century, poetry, emigration, literature, criticism.
Introduction
Emigration takes a special place in the fate of the Scots. In the XVIIIth-XIXth ca, Scottish emigration became widespread. In the XVIIIth century, there were mainly political reasons (the XVIIIth century was the century of two major armed uprisings against the union of Scotland with England (1715; 1745-48)). In the XIXth century, Scottish emigration had a predominantly economic motivation. One of the main directions of emigration was the United States, which attracted emigrants with its unlimited possibilities [1].
The purpose of this article is to define the fundamental characteristics of the literary-critical context relevant to the Scottish poets-emigrants of the United States of the XIXth century period.
Tasks:
1) identify the main trends in the growth of literary criticism (metropolitan (both of American and Scottish origin) and emigration);
2) describe the general literary context (Scottish Metropolitan and American);
3) analyze the impact of the religious context on the Scottish metropolitan literary context.
The poetical works of Scottish emigrational poets, representing Scottish poetic emigrational discourse, received not only readership's reception. Poetry of Scottish poets-emigrants functioned in a distinct literary-critical context.
The historical-literary discourse of the XIXth century poetry of the USA written by Scottish poets-emigrans was also formed - a segment related to literary criticism and poetry about literature. These two spheres are realized in different genres (criticism in essays, essays, etc., poetry in the genres of epitaphs, memoranda, messages, epigrams, etc.). Together they constitute the Scottish emigration discourse, very often presented by the same authors. Research perspective of the work is aimed at studying the literary context and literary criticism, which determine the readership and perception and form trends and preferences. These issues determine the relevance of the study.
The following research methods were applied to the material under consideration: historical-biographical, comparative-historical, real commentary (thesaurus), elements of statistical analysis.
The Scottish literary process in the XIXth century United States, which was very vibrant, was poorly supported by literary criticism. English critics and literary studies also showed little interest in the literature of their diasporas.
The literary criticism of Scotland itself in the 19th century lagged far behind its national literature. Starting at the end of the XVIIth century, and then after the reunification of Scotland with England (1707), the Scottish intellectual elite (following the social elite) gradually moved to London or to the university centers of England. At the same time, university education in
Scotland was still held at a great height. The Scottish press did not shy away from literary reviews and essays at that time. But scientists and journalists in Scotland focused primarily not on aesthetic, but on religious-ethical, socio-political and philosophical topics. Criticism and journalism preferred to draw examples of this from English or continental literatures, written in the most widespread languages, but not from literature written in Scottish languages unfamiliar to the reader (for Anglomans — not languages, but «dialects»): Celtic Gaelic or Germanic Scots [6], [7], [9].
The poetry of Scotland, too, was slowly falling behind the dominant tendencies of English continental poetry. As noted by Scottish literary historians, the poets of Scotland in the second half of the XVIIth— XIXth centuries belonged neither to the ancestral nobility, nor to the high clergy, nor to the upper juridical estate (as had been the case in earlier eras, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance). Consequently, not only did their level of education decline, but also the scale of their socio-cultural thinking declined [5, P. 539-684], [10, P. 33-70].
As religion influenced greatly all spheres of life of that time it is urgent to describe religious situation as well. The religious situation has changed as much for Scotland. Protestantism as a leading religion became much more zealous against the vestiges of paganism in Scottish everyday life than Catholicism did. Catholics had at least 1,000-1,200 years of experience in adapting Celtic pagan traditions. Already Pope George I (ok. 540-604) in the II half of VI c. AD directed Roman missionaries in Britain to not destroy, but to «redefine» sacred objects of local pagans: sanctuaries, funeral complexes, «procession alleys», especially revered groves, trees, mountains, stones, springs, rivers, lakes, etc. [2, P. 60-65]. In contrast, the Protestants destroyed sculptures and other church decorations inside the already existing Catholic churches. Poet and scientist T. Scott (1918-1995) wrote about the Reformation era and about the defeat of the famous cathedral in St. Andrews, perpetrated by the English Protestants: «<...> I've seen them stane be stane / Tak doun your braw cathedral on the brae / And leave it bare as bane <...>» (Fergus, [8, P. 492]). Another Scottish poet of the metropolis, E. Muir (1887-1959) (1887-1959) wrote about the same: The Reformation acted, «<...> strip the peopled hill and altar bare, / And crush the poet with an iron text <...>» (Scotland 1941 [8, P. 428]). The commentator deciphers this image: «Protestantism fought equally zealously against the signs of pagan beliefs (in accordance with it fairies and elves live in the hills, underground), and with Catholicism (which is characterized by magnificent temple services and decorations) <...>» [3, P. 246-247].
One consequence of this struggle was the abandonment of the Celtic mythopoetic heritage by the Protestant poets of Scotland. It included national and regional myths, legends, legends. Among other characters, Protestantism had to give up the figures of the poet-prophets. Among the Celtic tribes, they acted as counsellors and singers, acts of chiefs, kings, their companions or feats of entire tribal associations («peoples»).
However, to suppress completely both mythogenic and ethnogenic functions of the national singer-«bard» (similar to the Slavic speakers-«boyans») Scottish poetry could not and did not want. The poet, especially regional: «local» or village, - could sometimes be represented not without comic. (See. For example, R. Sampil's joke poems (?1595-? 1668) about Hobby Simson [8, P. 233-236] or J. Beatty (Beatty) (1735-1803) on Aleksander Ross [8, P. 279-282]. But still in these poems the poet remains a chronicler, a judge and a «glorificator» of his region.
Conclusions
The results of the study of the literary-critical context are as follows:
1. Metropolitan Scottish and American literary critics showed little or no interest in Scottish emigration poetry US XIX. Literary criticism of Scottish emigrant poets is represented by Scottish critics.
2. Scotland's literary context has changed qualitatively. The Scottish poets are no longer members of the ancestral nobility, and lack a high level of education and a broad socio-cultural mindset.
3. Protestantism proved to be much more categorical than Catholicism in the struggle against pagan heritage, leading to a narrowing of the mythopoetic component of Scottish poetry.
4. These trends were only partially accepted by Scottish emigrant poets. Not being members of the ancestral nobility, they are distinguished by a high level of education (through self-education, first of all). Despite general religious tendencies, the mythopoetic component in their poems remains in a strong position due to the resort to folklore.
Конфликт интересов Conflict of Interest
Не указан. None declared.
Список литературы / References
1. Велилаева Л. Р. Эмиграционный и метрополийный дискурсы шотландской поэзии XIX века : монография / Л. Р. Велилаева. Симферополь : ИП Хотеева Л.В., 2019. - 172 с.
2. Мак-Кензи, А. Кельтская Шотландия / А. Мак-Кензи; пер., науч. ред., вступ. ст. С.В. Иванов. - М. : Вече, 2008. - 336 с.
3. Шотландии кровавая луна: Антология шотландской поэзии (с XIII-го века до века XX-го) / М.А. Новикова (сост., пер., комм.). - Симферополь : СОНАТ; Крымский Архив, 2007. - 320 с.
4. Crawford R. Scotland's Books: the Penguin History of Scottish Literature. London : Penguin, 2007. 830 p.
5. Millar J.H. A Literary History of Scotland / J.H. Millar. - London : T. Fisher Unwin, 1903. - 703 p.
6. Ross J. D. A cluster of poets, Scottish and American, with biographical and critical notes. New York : Walter W. Reid, Publishers, 1897. 376 р.
7. Ross P. Scotland and the Scots: essays illustrative of Scottish life, history and character. New York : «Scottish-American» office, 1889. 245 p.
8. Scott T. The Penguin book of Scottish Verse / Tom Scott // intro. and ed. T. Scott. - London : Penguin, 1976. - 519 p.
9. Smith G. G. Scottish literature character & influence. - London : Macmillan and Co., 1919. - 296 p.
10. The Edinburg History of Scottish Literature. Enlightenment, Britain and Empire / ed. by Brown I., Clancy O., Manning S. - Edinburg University Press, 2007. - In 3 vol. - Vol. 2. - 390 p.
Список литературы на английском / References in English
1. Velilaeva L. R. Jemigracionnyj i metropolijnyj diskursy shotlandskoj pojezii XIX veka: monografja [Emigrational and Mother-land discourse of Scottish emigrational poetry of the XlXth century / L. R. Velilaeva. Simferopol' : IP Hoteeva L.V., 2019. - 172 p. [in Russian]
2. Mak-Kenzi, A. Kel'tskaja Shotlandija [Celtic Scotland] / A. Mak-Kenzi; per., nauch. red., vstup. st. S.V. Ivanov. - M.: Veche, 2008. - 336 p. [in Russian]
3. Shotlandii krovavaja luna: Antologija shotlandskoj pojezii (s XIII-go veka do veka XX-go) [Scottish bloody moon. An anthology of Scottish poetry (from the XIIIth till the XXth] / M.A. Novikova (sost., per., komm.). - Simferopol' : SONAT; Krymskij Arhiv, 2007. - 320 p. [in Russian]
4. Crawford R. Scotland's Books: the Penguin History of Scottish Literature. London : Penguin, 2007. 830 p.
5. Millar J.H. A Literary History of Scotland / J.H. Millar. - London : T. Fisher Unwin, 1903. - 703 p.
6. Ross J. D. A cluster of poets, Scottish and American, with biographical and critical notes. New York : Walter W. Reid, Publishers, 1897. 376 р.
7. Ross P. Scotland and the Scots: essays illustrative of Scottish life, history and character. New York : «Scottish-American» office, 1889. 245 p.
8. Scott T. The Penguin book of Scottish Verse / Tom Scott // intro. and ed. T. Scott. - London : Penguin, 1976. - 519 p.
9. Smith G. G. Scottish literature character & influence. - London : Macmillan and Co., 1919. - 296 p.
10. The Edinburg History of Scottish Literature. Enlightenment, Britain and Empire / ed. by Brown I., Clancy O., Manning S. - Edinburg University Press, 2007. - In 3 vol. - Vol. 2. - 390 p.
