Musical principles of narrative organization in Andrei Bely’s novel “Petersburg”

Abstract

The aim of the research is to construct a holistic model of the musical organization of Andrei Bely’s novel “Petersburg” as a system-forming factor of the narrative. The article examines the rhythmic parameters of the text, the principles of “pulsation” and variation, the system of leitmotifs, symphonic composition, polyphony, as well as phonosemantics, which bring Bely’s prose closer to a musical score. Particular attention is paid to the function of musical characteristics of the characters and the role of dissonance as the dominant modality of narration. The scientific originality of the research lies in the fact that for the first time, the musical principles of Andrei Bely’s novel “Petersburg” are systematized, forming the key images of the red ball, steps, and fog; their variability and functional role in creating the rhythm, sound image of the city, and polyphonic structure of the work are shown. As a result of the analysis, a complex of musical principles that determine the artistic distinctness of the work is identified: rhythm and metric structure, the principle of “pulsation”, the system of leitmotifs, the principle of variation, orchestration of themes, polyphony and contrapuntal clashes of voices, dissonance as the dominant modality of narration. It is established that musical techniques determine the rhythm and dynamics of the plot, structure the system of images, and form an artistic model of the era in Andrei Bely’s novel “Petersburg”.

Research materials

1. Белый А. Петербург: роман в восьми главах с прологом и эпилогом. Изд-е 2-е, испр. и доп. / подгот. Л. К. Долгополов. СПб.: Наука, 2004.
2. Белый А. Символизм как миропонимание. М.: Республика, 1994.

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Author information

About this article

Publication history

• Received: September 6, 2025.
• Published: September 30, 2025.

Keywords

• Андрей Белый
• роман «Петербург»
• симфоническая композиция
• фоносемантика прозы
• интермедиальность в литературе
• Andrei Bely
• novel “Petersburg”
• symphonic composition
• phonosemantics of prose
• intermediality in literature

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