On the Composition of Vasyl Pachovsky’s Collection of Poems “Scattered Pearls” (versification aspect)

Abstract

The article under discussion studies the collection of poems by Vasyl Pachovsky “Scattered Pearls” (1901) in terms of the principle (rather popular in Ukrainian poetry of the early XX century) not to place the poetic works with the same form next to each other. In accordance with this principle, the article also briefly regards the composition of the collections of love poems by V. Pachovsky’s predecessors I. Franko and P. Karmansky. In I. Franko’s “Withered Leaves” (1896), there is no arrangement of verses with similar forms next to each other. However, in the collection “From the Briefcase of a Suicide” (1899), there occur certain cases when the verses with the same forms stand next to each other. Consequently, the article introduces the notion of the coefficient of coincidence of form (the ratio of the number of repetitions to the number of poems in the collection). In P. Karmansky’s collection, it is 8,3 %. In the collection by V. Pachovsky, there is the tendency to place works with different forms next to each other. In addition, the article also considers pairs of verses, in which the poet tries to diversify the form with the help of stanza (for example, in the works “Vichno vesny povertaiut’...” and “Iak zazulia vesnu chuie...”), rhyme (for example, “Shumka” ta “Orlynyi let”), introduction of systematic internal rhyme (for example, “Oi navysly moï mysly...” and “I znov buv ia na zabavi...”). The article identifies six cases of repetition of the form in adjacent poems. The coefficient of form repetition in the collection is 5 %. The following pairs of poems have been analyzed in the article: “Na shcho ïkhav na zabavu…” and “Oi iak more stohne hore…”, “Chomu to iak more fyliuie…” and “Hanusiu, skhylysia na hrudy…”, “Oi navysly moï mysly...” and “I znov buv ia na zabavi...”, “Zontsi R. (Oi ty s’mishku, s’mii sia, s’mii!)” and “Iak myne dytynnyi rai…”, “Damen-Vals” and “Znov ia bachu ïkh na muku…”, “Moia Steftsiu, moia zirko…” and “Found pearls”. It is shown that a kind of «justification» for the coincidence of form in the adjacent poems of the collection is their semantic unity. Sometimes one poem is a continuation of the other. It is proposed to study other collections by the poet in terms of form.