Textual Criticism of Mikhail Lermontov’s Poem “Valerik” (1840)

Abstract

The focus of this study lies in the editorial distortions present in the scientific editions of Lermontov’s works concerning the poem “Valerik” and the necessity of reconstructing a definitive text in accordance with the author’s intent. The objective of the research is to identify semantic inaccuracies in the publications of “Valerik” and to elucidate the choices of variants that are closest to the authentic text. The materials for this study include Lermontov's rough autograph, a manuscript of the poem belonging to Yu. F. Samarin, the first publication of the poem in the 1843 almanac “Morning Dawn,” the edition of Lermontov’s works edited by P. A. Efremov, and scholarly editions from the 20th and 21st centuries. A comprehensive set of scientific methods and approaches has been employed to address the research question: source study methodology, textual criticism, logical-semantic analysis, and comparative analysis of the work, allowing for a connection between the history of the text and its interpretation. The comparison of the draft, manuscript, first, and subsequent publications of the poem revealed discrepancies related to noncompliance with the author’s punctuation, substitutions of certain words, including toponyms, omissions of phrases present in the draft, and inaccurate reproductions of the author’s variants. The necessity of liberating the text from editorial corrections that distort the semantic accents of Lermontov’s poem is argued.