Poetics of the visual image in the poem “Predators at the Chegem” by A. S. Grigoyedov

The relevance of the issue is due to the need of clarifying the features of A. S. Griboyedov’s creative method. The subject of research is the poetics of pictorial depiction developed in Caucasian texts of the poet. Poetic system of the poem by A. S. Griboyedov's “Predators on Chegem” (1825), which is characterized by the symbolism of images, appears as the beginning of established tradition of a realistic depiction of the Caucasus. The paper outlines a peculiar way of seeing the poet, which consists in examining pictures around him, which according to his artistic system turns out to be identical to the process of comprehending the world. The novelty of the research is associated with the analysis of little-known sources in terms of poetics, renown for its successful attempts of visualizing an artistic image. The author displays the results of a comparative analysis of the draft and the white paper of the poem “Predators on Chegem”: identified and commented text corrections of the poet help to trace the evolution of the author's thought. Identifying of the features of recreation of space turns out to be the key to understanding the A. S. Griboyedov’s artistic thinking. The study highlights peculiarities of the artistic method in the “Caucasian text” A. S. Griboedov, emphasizes the importance of visualizing tools for creating natural, national, everyday pictures of the Caucasus. Representing Caucasian conflict in visual and symbolic images, A. S. Griboyedov synthesizes the genres of landscape lyrics, elegy, battle ode, and lays down the tradition of a realistic depiction of the Caucasus, further developed in M. Y. Lermontov’s works.