Pascalean Motives in E.A. Baratynsky’s Poetry

Abstract

The article attempts to demonstrate a previously unexplored similarity between the lyrics of the poet of the Pushkinian era E. A. Baratynsky and the famous work of the 17th-century French philosopher Blaise Pascal Thoughts. The popularity of Pascal’s ideas in the Russian cultural environment of the first half of the 19th century, as well as the high appreciation of him by the poet’s literary friends and mentors suggest at least an indirect influence of Pascal on Baratynsky, which seems all the more likely due to the intellectual orientation and the French origins of the latter’s oeuvre. By comparing Pascal’s Thoughts and a number of Baratynsky’s poems, the author establishes several figurative and ideological parallels related to the topics of human existence, faith and unbelief, happiness and search for truth, conflict between heart and mind. As the author shows, the greatest affinity with Pascal is found in Baratynsky’s poem Nedonosok, whose lyrical hero is comparable to Pascal’s “thinking reed”. In general, the article contributes to the studies of the repeatedly noted kinship between Pascal and Russian culture and offers a new perspective on Baratynsky’s oeuvre.