The Concept of „Blue Horses“ in Galaktioni’s Poetry

Abstract

Along with the extreme expressiveness and artistic diversity of Galaktion Tabidze’s creative work, the surplus use of the syntactic entry – blue horses – is clearly visible, although the attention of most researchers of Georgian literature was directed only to the interpretation of the poem “Blue Horses”. This continues even today.

The abstract way of depicting and thinking is not unfamiliar for Galaktioni, as a symbolist poet. The author’s goal in this particular case is to shed light on the content of this abstraction, on the example of the artistic image – “Blue Horses” and of the poem under the same name.

The observant reader will easily notice that poet’s insatiable striving beyond microcosmic boundaries is often carried out by blue horses. It is this fact that makes the author think that in Galaktioni’s work, the artistic image – blue horses – for the poet is the poet’s own poetry blessed with divine talent, poetic inspiration, manifestation of poetic ascension.

Galaktioni’s poetry and inspiration are also hinted at by the blue horses in the poems: “Consolation”, in which the poet says: “Let me enter the foreign lightness, /Let the dust of the blue horses follow me”; in “Who is this woman?” – “A blue horse was flying me off on the banks”; in “Marie Antoinette” – “The thoroughbred blue horse/Dangerous-fast is rushing/And in the blue-sand of the paths/It is taking the strong wind away!/ It is rushing with thrown-back plaits/Dovin-doven-dovli:/Snow, snowflake and April,/Pink snow”; “How the bells fought the bells” – “Death is coming... Hey, blue thoroughbred blue horse,/Let rush over the forest strongly, with shriek.../May your fate be wrong!/For you the harmless night, without dawn/ will turn into a paradise,/ It’s me, it’s me , it’s me the wind...”

Artistic image blue horses – characteristic of Galaktioni’s poetry full of occasionalisms and word-creation – is that syntactic pair that turned into a poetic licence and is distinguished by the colorfulness of speech, is specific not only for its capacious content, but also for its amazing musical sounding and rhythmical intonation.

One thing is clearly visible in Galaktioni’s work: as it was mentioned earlier, the creating process of a poem is a divine mystery for him, and this depends on the mood of the poet – the more the faith, the more the desire for the striving towards divine in order to form a perfect mystical ecstasy (“the soul longs for a limit like limitless”) , but as soon as a crack appears in the poet’s faith, instead of exalted pathos, a skeptical worry settles in his soul. At this time, it is clearly seen hopelessness Galaktioni whose demonic impulses were hindered by religious skepticism, and the roadway of his mysterious path leading to the divine abode became curved, which hindered the dynamics of the poet’s thinking and depiction and slowed down the creative pulse.

Thus, the poetic image – blue horses – simultaneously denotes both Galaktioni’s poetry itself and the expression of inspiration, as the chaos of the poetic ascension is finally has the finished poem form.