Literary Cinematograpic Component In «Seventeen Moments Of Spring» By Yu. Semyonov

Abstract

Yulian Semyonov is one of the most famous Soviet writers of popular literature, who made it into history precisely because of the novel “Seventeen Moments of Spring”. The novel acquired vogue after its adaptation: the TV series of the same name (directed by Tatyana Lioznova) took the soviet audience by storm and made the film a cult-favourite. The synthesis of two arts: cinema and literature is a popular topic for modern researchers. As a prominent representative of popular literature Semyonov masterfully combined literary and cinematic codes in the novel, synthesized the techniques of two types of art. For the first time the article describes the differences in the structural and compositional structure of the second edition of the novel (in comparison with the first edition), and there are mentioned special characteristics of the narrative. The conducted poetological analysis of the second edition of the novel made it possible to reveal in the text of “Seventeen Moments of Spring” the principles of cinema and the functions of cinema poetics in the plot construction of the text. The dynamization of events due to the editing technique of composition, the intensification of the growing tension in the development of the detective plot, the transmission of the maximum truth of the described events with the help of audiovisual are the main functions of literary cinematography in the novel. It can be concluded that the second edition of the novel was prepared taking into account the influence of the language of cinema.

Keywords: Intermediality, intertextuality, literary cinematography, poetics of movie

Introduction

The process of digitalization marked the mixing of different types of art. The synthesis of arts, which began in the last century, can now be traced both in literary texts and in other works of art. One of the most popular detective novels of the Soviet era, the novel “Seventeen Moments of Spring” by already in the 1970s became an example of the interaction of literature and cinema.

“Intermediality is a new stage in understanding the problem of “the arts interaction” (Haminova & Roman, 2011, p. 23). Many researchers address the issues of art synthesis in works of different genres and eras (Abramovskyh, 2018; Dronova, 2019; Koptelova, 2020; Nekludova, 2017; Nesmachnova, 2018; Novokreshennyh, 2018; Putecheva, 2020; Sergodeev, 2020; Tulyakov, 2017). It can be noted that in the modern world, there is quite often a mixture of different types of arts. The novel “Seventeen Moments of Spring” by Yulian Semyonov is also based, among other things, on the principle of intermediality.

The first edition of the novel was written by Semenov in 1969, but by the time of the film adaptation, the text was revised by the author, and the canonical version of the novel was published in 1973 in an amended version (in 1969, Semyonov co-authored with V. Tokarev wrote a play of the same name, already in the text of which it was possible to distinguish the techniques of literary cinematography). The work on the script for the film greatly influenced the final text of the novel: the author turned to the poetics of cinema. The influence of cinema turned out to be so strong that the structure of the narrative changed in the final text of the novel (time stamps appeared, the order of episodes changed, some fragments were completely removed), the title of the novel changed (the original one was “Seventeen Moments of April”), the author worked on the language of the narrative. All these edits are the result of the synthesis of two types of art.

Problem Statement

“In modern literature, the idea of intermediate synthesis, which appeared at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, is being actualized, which led to the appearance of unique genre models” (Shlemova, 2017, pp. 39-40). The researchers believe that the experiments related to the synthesis of various types of art are the result of the search for new models and genres, as well as the special artistic manner of the authors. Literary critics throughout the last century have addressed the issues of interdisciplinary relations in the space of a literary text. However, there is still no consensus on the conceptual apparatus of intermediality. Some scientists consider intermediality as an interaction of arts (both modern and traditional). Other researchers interpret intermediality as a phenomenon of intersemiotic intertextuality: the text of one art form is included in the artistic space of another and begins to live according to the laws of the new environment (Borisova, 2010). In a narrower sense, intermediality is “a special type of intra-textual relationships in a work of art, where different types of art interact” (Sedyh, 2008, p. 210).

The appearance of cinema was a real breakthrough not only in technical terms, but also had a significant impact on the literary text. Researchers of the XX century immediately correlated cinema and literature as two phenomena that are capable of exchanging techniques, genres, and ideas. Even though Shklovsky spoke unflatteringly about the prospects of cinema’s penetration into a literary work, arguing that literature can take into cinema the lack of motivations for action, its speed, non-psychological aspect – the qualities are increasingly negative, but the influence of cinema on the text (and vice versa) was inevitable.

In the second edition of the novel by Yulian Semyonov, the principle of intermediality is implemented. Codes of different types of arts begin to interact in the text: literary and cinematic codes. The novel refers to the principle of literary cinematography, which was characteristic, for example, of an adventurous novel of the XX century. The influence of cinema on literary text is manifested in the editing technique of composition, in “photographic realism”, which is achieved, for example, through audiovisual, and in other aspects. Previously Yu. Semyonov’s work was not considered from the point of view of the structural organization, and a comparative analysis of the two editions of the work was not carried out. The novel reveals significant changes both in the composition of the work and in its poetics.

Research Questions

The study brings up the following questions:

1. How did the poetics of cinema affect the final text of the novel “Seventeen Moments of Spring”?

2. What are the differences between the two editions of the novel?

3. What functions does the poetics of cinema perform in the final text of the novel?.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to analyze the novel by Yu. Semyonov “Seventeen Moments of Spring” from the point of view of the synthesis of two types of arts: literature and cinema. It is necessary to highlight in the novel the main techniques that the author borrows from the language of cinema in order to trace their significance and functionality.

Research Methods

1. Comparative method allowed us to analyze two editions of Yu. Semyonov’s novel “Seventeen Moments of Spring”.

2. Semiotic and linguistic analyses contributed to the study of each novel edition poetics in terms of their structure and content.

3. The poetological analysis of the second edition of the novel made it possible to identify the principles of cinema and the functions of cinema poetics in the plot structure of the text in the novel.

Findings

Based on the comparison of the two editions of the novel, the following conclusion can be drawn: literary cinematography is peculiar to the second edition of the work under consideration. The dynamism of events, the collision of episodes with the help of editing, the author’s guide to the reader is characteristic of cinematic literary texts.

In the second edition of “Seventeen Moments of Spring”, we would like to highlight the increased importance of both visual and sound images to the detriment of literary rhetoric itself. Already at the initial stage of comparing the two versions, various ways of describing the landscape were identified. If in the first edition the narrator pays attention to the nature of sounds, smells, feelings and there is practically no visual component in the description (for example, there is no change of frames), then in the second edition a convincing visual image is created, including due to a change of plans. In the narration, the author uses a lot of visualizing vocabulary, fills the text with sounds. All this allows the reader to create a more voluminous picture, as if to be transported into the events described.

The analysis of the description of the fighting allows us to identify the audiovisual principles of the narrative of Yulian Semyonov, who uses a large amount of visual, visual vocabulary:, dazzlingly beautiful allied planes, bombs, a fountain of mud. The inclusion of descriptive components in the structure of a literary work contributes to the inhibition of narrative. However, it is the description that leads to the visualization and convergence of a literary work with a movie.

It is highlighted that the vocabulary of sensory perception of the world is actively present in the description of the landscape. With its help, olfactory images are formed: direct – “it smelled of freshly frozen fish”; and “from the opposite” – “there was no smell of last year's spruce and asp mould yet”.

“The cinematic text, unlike the traditional one, is really more focused on showing audiovisual dynamics” (Martyanova, 2002, p. 29). That is why the author includes tape recordings that the characters listen to in the narrative. In addition to tape recordings, references can be found in the novel that convey the nature of the characters’ speech: Kaltenbrunner “spoke with a strong Viennese accent” (Semyonov, 1991, p. 343); Stierlitz notes Marie’s Berlin accent; Stierlitz warns Kat that women scream during childbirth in “the dialect of the area where they were born” (Semyonov, 1991, p. 353), and jokes: “... you can add a little Russian abuse, but always with a Berlin accent” (Semyonov, 1991, p. 353). In the novel, you can also find a description of the music that comes from the radio: “the romance ended with a quiet piano loss” (Semyonov, 1991, p. 332), “the radiola played” (Semyonov, 1991, p.353). The narrative, rich in audiovisual vocabulary, brings the text closer to the script or movie text.

The multilayered narrative of cinematic clarity, conveyed by a specific montage, is another feature of the second edition of the novel. The author uses both narrative and parallel editing. Moving the reader between locations, showing events that occur at the same time become possible thanks to Semenov’s use of the parallel editing technique. Using language markers (“Exactly at this time”, “At this time”), the author transfers the narrative in space, which contributes not only to the dynamism of the narrative, but also to the creation of a narrative pause that introduces additional intrigue into the story being told. In addition to the intrigue, by slowing down the narrative, the author allows the reader to assume the further development of events.

The narrative editing allows Semyonov to arrange the fragments so that they create additional meaning. For example, contrast. With the help of a special editing of episodes, Semyonov achieves the contrast of the events shown. For example, after the episode of the death of Professor Pleischner, Semyonov mounts Hitler’s order “on the destruction of objects on the territory of Germany”. The first episode is the dramatic heroism of Pleischner (a weak man who committed a strong act), the second episode is the barbarism of the Hitler regime. Pleischner’s self-sacrifice looks like a feat, among other things, because it contrasts with the Fuhrer’s order, which discredits him and his anti-human policy more.

Close-ups, actively used by the author, are also a technique borrowed from cinema. Fixing a close-up not only adds artistic significance to the subject, but also, according to the laws of cinema, serves as a bright ending of the film. Eikhenbaum (2001) in the article “Problems of film stylistics’ writes about the special role of a close-up at the end of the film: “... the flow of time seems to stop, the breath of the film is delayed – the viewer is immersed in contemplation” (p. 45). Semenov, well feeling the expressiveness of such a technique, also uses a close-up in the finale of the novel. Stierlitz stops his car. From the general plan of the coniferous forest, the “lens” is, as it were, transferred to Stierlitz, the plan is enlarged – the first grass, the earth, which is stroked by Stierlitz. The ending of the novel is Stierlitz’s “communication” with the earth. In the course of the entire narrative, the author turns to the matter of Stierlitz’s proximity to nature, the earth, through which the reader feels the character’s longing for his Homeland. The earth, the awakening of life in the spring – these are the values that Stierlitz should forget about. It is thanks to the close-up that the ending of the novel looks very memorable and strong.

Conclusion

The two editions of the novel by Yulian Semyonov have important differences: the final text turned out to be more complex in terms of compositional and syntactic organization. The second edition of the novel was created under the influence of cinematic language, cinematic prose, which is characterized by the image of a “dynamic situation of observation” (Martyanova, 2001): the dynamism of the narrative is built on a rapid change of plans, points of view, angles; the editing technique of composition is used; audiovisual comes to the fore when creating landscapes, portraits, etc.; the visual clarity of the text, the novel is saturated with predicates of visual perception; attention to detail. You can also distinguish techniques that came from the language of cinema: for example, cliffhanger. With its help, there is a sharp break in the narrative – the denouement remains open, and the intrigue meanwhile intensifies. Skillfully using the cliffhanger, the author mounts the episodes, creating additional dramatic effects. A particularly clear example of this is found in the episode of Stierlitz’s return home, where Holthoff is waiting for him in the dark. The narrative ends precisely at the moment when the tension is at its maximum, and the reader can only guess about the further development of events.

With the help of the poetics of cinema, the author has achieved dynamism in the narrative, which introduces additional intrigue, non-linearity in the development of the plot enhances the detective beginning, adds scenarity to the novel; the text receives additional “visibility”, imagery due to signs of visual perception. Perhaps it is the use of the principle of intermediality that allows the novel to remain popular until now. It is curious that in 2021 “Seventeen moments of Spring” as an intertext can be found, for example, in the video of the popular Russian pop singer Dima Bilan, where not only Stierlitz becomes the “character” of the music video, but also the main theme of the TV series gets a new sound. Thus, digitalization, the synthesis of arts allows us to preserve the heritage and contribute to the further popularization of Soviet popular literature and Soviet cinema.

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