The Topos of Childhood in the Poetry of Moses Rosenkranz

Abstract

The subject of this article is to study the literary space of childhood in the lyrical works of Moses Rosenkranz. The poems “Geburtspunkt” (“Birthplace”), “Meine Dörfer” (“My Villages”), “Auf der Weide” (“In the Pasture”), “Erinnerung” (“Memory”), “Nachts am Fenster” (“At Night by the Window”), “Der Bach” (“Stream”), “Die Liebe im Dorf” (“Village Love”), “Sonntag” (“Sunday”), “Tiefer Zug” (“Deep Mark”) from collection “Bukowina. Gedichte 1920–1997” have become the basis for the study of images and motifs traditionally associated with childhood – home, parents, garden, village, the theme of memory, motif of the lost paradise and ways of their literary actualization. The article attempts to determine the features of the topos of childhood in the lyrics of Moses Rosenkranz: the insecurity of the childhood from the destructive power of the adult world, the special importance of the theme of the lost paradise, which exposes the conflict of the adult and child worlds, the idyllic chronotope traditionally associated with the theme of childhood. In the course of this study, it has been found that Bukovinian images and motifs are key in the poetic work of Moses Rosenkranz. The land where he was born and spent his childhood and youth is portrayed by the author in his lyrical works with particular warmth and tenderness. Even being far fromBukovina, the author did not forget his country and imprinted his image in poems. The space of Rosenkranz's childhood is full of idyll and harmony, though he had been impressed by the brutality of the adult world in the childhood. Moses Rosenkranz's favorite character is a simple peasant with his traditions, misfortunes and hopes.