THE PARADIGM OF THE CONCEPT OF DEATH IN THE LYRICS BY O. TARNAVSKY (EXISTENCE AND COEXISTENCE)

Abstract

The article considers the paradigm of the concept of death in the lyrics by Ostap Tarnavsky as a subject of his poetic philosophical thinking and interpretations.O. Tarnavsky’s lyrical poetry, in which the poet highlights the problems of human existence, moral and psychological aspects of the finiteness of earthly existence, reveals the dualism of the author's thoughts. The poet sought to comprehend death, on the one hand, as the end of human existence, which implied facing its tragic irreversibility and then overcoming the fear of death for achieving the authenticity of being. On the other hand, he admitted coexistence with death, which is the guide of a man on the path to eternity. The philosophical concept of coexistence as a common being of the human self with others and with the world was substantiated by the Italian existentialist philosopher Nicola Abbagnano in his work “Introduzione all'esistenzialismo” (1942). Poetic and philosophical understanding of the concept of death as a transition from earthly existence to eternity was unfolded by O. Tarnavsky in a wreath of sonnets within the collection “Life”. In the 11th sonnet “The order of the world creates in the head…” the author equates death with immortality because only after the completion of the earthly path a person approaching God in life – “perceives the One who creates” and gets Him. In his poems, O. Tarnavsky comprehends the earthly space and time as a certain section of moving to eternity and seeks to outline its coordinates (“Phantoms in Emptiness”). Death is only a coexistent form of eternity that changes one stage into another. The situation of birth and death, according to the Italian philosopher-existentialist N. Abbaniano, is the very depth of coexistence. In the poem “Where do you call to go, princess?..” the paradigm of the concept of death is narrowed and existentially personalized to ‘my death’, which eventually transforms into the author’s vision of death. In his philosophical lyrics, O. Tarnavsky covers the problems of human existence – earthly and eternal, psycho-spiritual and moral-psychological aspects of the last stage of earthly life. The poet represents the dialectic of life and death and, in particular, the paradigm of death, from religious, philosophical, and axiological points of view. At the same time, he demonstrates purely psychological reflections, expressed in spiritual and emotional experiences.