The Realm of Hades and Its Symbols in Mandel'štam's Tristia: A Transparent Path to Redemption

In the present paper I shall try to offer an interpretation of the symbols related to Hades' realm in Mandel'štam's Tristia. The importance attached to the adjective “transparent”, which turns out to be a clue to deciphering the complex network of allusions contained in the collection of poems, will be especially taken into account. As a result of a detailed research of the mythological and literary sources, it will be shown that Mandel'štam has codified a message of hope in the midst of the apparently gloomy poems of Tristia.