The Grammar of Poetry. On One Poem by Mikhail Aizenberg

The article is dedicated to Mikhail Aizenberg's poem “It gets dark early and everyone feels unwell...” and represents an attempt at an immanent analysis of the text, its poetics and semantics. The subject of the study is Aizenberg's poetic language, features of the grammatical structure of the text, syntax, subject-object relations, the evolution of verb forms and grammatical person forms. The article shows that grammar becomes the dominant means of artistic expression, determining both the lyrical plot of the poem and the features of poetic semantics. The lyrical plot develops in the grammatical field from impersonal constructions and subjectless syntactic units to the triumph of subjectivity in the final verses. In terms of semantics, the article shows the development within the text from a verb of motion with negative connotations (“creeps up”) to a verb with the semantics of triumph and victory (“marches”). Along with verb series, pronoun series are considered — their dynamic change also forms the lyrical plot. The study also analyzes the role of negative constructions in the semantic composition of the poem and describes features of the author's punctuation and their significance for creating the central image. Analysis of the grammatical structure of the poem allows us to give it a clear interpretation. In terms of theory and methodology, the study is based on R. O. Jacobson’s article “Poetry of grammar and grammar of poetry”.