| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5124621 | Russian Literature | 2016 | 21 Pages |
One of the early masterpieces by Vladimir Maiakovskii, the poema 'Backbone Flute', was first published in February 1916 with many censor cuts. However, even in this corrupted version it made a strong impression on the poets' contemporaries, due to the utmost emotional tension and confessionary nature of its lyrical theme, and the theomachy that penetrates the overall poem. In this article for the first time the poem's dense Hoffmannian underpinning is revealed and the cross-motifs of Maiakovskii's poetry are accounted for. These allusions have been left unnoticed by researchers of literature, but they were certainly seen by the contemporaries of Maiakovskii. Thanks to the Hoffmannian images in the story by Aleksandr Chaianov, 'History of the Barber Doll' (1918), the portrait and the facts of Vladimir Maiakovskii's biography can be recognized.
