In VN¡¯s play Izobretenie Val¡¯sa (¡°The Waltz Invention,¡± 1938) Salvator Waltz refuses to tell his real name and calls his chance pseudonym ublyudok fantazii (a mongrel of fancy):
§®§Ú§ß§Ú§ã§ä§â. §ª§ä§Ñ§Ü... §ñ §Ú§Þ§Ö§ð §å§Õ§à§Ó§à§Ý§î§ã§ä§Ó§Ú§Ö §Ô§à§Ó§à§â§Ú§ä§î §ã §Ô§à§ã§á§à§Õ§Ú§ß§à§Þ... §ã §Ô§à§ã§á§à§Õ§Ú§ß§à§Þ... §¿, §Ô§Õ§Ö §á§Ú§ã§î§Þ§à?
§±§à§Ý§Ü§à§Ó§ß§Ú§Ü. §³§Ñ§Ý§î§Ó§Ñ§ä§à§â §£§Ñ§Ý§î§ã.
§£§Ñ§Ý§î§ã. §¯§å, §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ö§ä§Ö, §ï§ä§à §ß§Ö §ã§à§Ó§ã§Ö§Þ §ä§Ñ§Ü. §³§Ý§å§é§Ñ§Û§ß§í§Û §á§ã§Ö§Ó§Õ§à§ß§Ú§Þ, §å§Ò§Ý§ð§Õ§à§Ü §æ§Ñ§ß§ä§Ñ§Ù§Ú§Ú. §®§à§× §ß§Ñ§ã§ä§à§ñ§ë§Ö§Ö §Ú§Þ§ñ §Ù§ß§Ñ§ä§î §Ó§Ñ§Þ §ß§Ö§Ù§Ñ§é§Ö§Þ. (Act One)
In Mayakovski¡¯s Stikhi o raznitse vkusov (¡°Verses about the Difference of Tastes,¡± 1928) the horse calls the camel gigantskaya loshad¡¯-ublyudok (the giant mongrel of a horse) and the camel calls the horse verblyud nedorazvityi (the under-developed camel):
§§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§î
§ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Ý§Ñ,
§Ó§Ù§Ô§Ý§ñ§ß§å§Ó §ß§Ñ §Ó§Ö§â§Ò§Ý§ð§Õ§Ñ:
"§¬§Ñ§Ü§Ñ§ñ
§Ô§Ú§Ô§Ñ§ß§ä§ã§Ü§Ñ§ñ
§Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§î-§å§Ò§Ý§ð§Õ§à§Ü".
§£§Ö§â§Ò§Ý§ð§Õ §Ø§Ö
§Ó§ã§Ü§â§Ú§é§Ñ§Ý:
"§¥§Ñ §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§î §â§Ñ§Ù§Ó§Ö §ä§í?!
§´§í
§á§â§à§ã§ä§à-§ß§Ñ§á§â§à§ã§ä§à -
§Ó§Ö§â§Ò§Ý§ð§Õ §ß§Ö§Õ§à§â§Ñ§Ù§Ó§Ú§ä§í§Û".
§ª §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ý §Ý§Ú§ê§î
§Ò§à§Ô §ã§Ö§Õ§à§Ò§à§â§à§Õ§í§Û,
§é§ä§à §ï§ä§à -
§Ø§Ú§Ó§à§ä§ß§í§Ö
§â§Ñ§Ù§ß§à§Û §á§à§â§à§Õ§í.
Khodasevich essay on Mayakovski is entitled Dekol¡¯tirovannaya loshad¡¯ (¡°The Horse in a D¨¦collet¨¦ Dress,¡± 1927). Describing Mayakovski¡¯s shirt unbuttoned almost to the waist, Khodasevich uses the phrase gigantskoe loshadinoe dekol¡¯te (a giant horsy d¨¦collet¨¦).
§±§â§Ö§Õ§ã§ä§Ñ§Ó§î§ä§Ö §ã§Ö§Ò§Ö §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§î, §Ú§Ù§à§Ò§â§Ñ§Ø§Ñ§ð§ë§å§ð §ã§ä§Ñ§â§å§ð §Ñ§ß§Ô§Ý§Ú§é§Ñ§ß§Ü§å. §£ §Õ§Ñ§Þ§ã§Ü§à§Û §ê§Ý§ñ§á§Ü§Ö, §ã §è§Ó§Ö§ä§Ñ§Þ§Ú §Ú §á§Ö§â§î§ñ§Þ§Ú, §Ó §â§à§Ù§à§Ó§à§Þ §á§Ý§Ñ§ä§î§Ö, §ã §Ü§à§â§à§ä§Ü§Ú§Þ§Ú §â§å§Ü§Ñ§Ó§Ñ§Þ§Ú §Ú §ã §â§à§Ù§à§Ó§í§Þ §â§ð§ê§Ö§Þ §Ó§à§Ü§â§å§Ô §Ô§Ú§Ô§Ñ§ß§ä§ã§Ü§à§Ô§à §Ó§à§â§à§ß§à§Ô§à §Õ§Ö§Ü§à§Ý§î§ä§ï, §à§ß§Ñ §ç§à§Õ§Ú§ä §ß§Ñ §Ù§Ñ§Õ§ß§Ú§ç §ß§à§Ô§Ñ§ç, §ß§Ö§Ý§Ö§á§à §Ó§í§ä§ñ§Ô§Ú§Ó§Ñ§ñ §Ò§Ö§ã§Ü§à§ß§Ö§é§ß§å§ð §ê§Ö§ð §Ú §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ý§ñ §Ø§×§Ý§ä§í§Ö §Ù§å§Ò§í.
§´§Ñ§Ü§å§ð §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§î §ñ §Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö§Ý §Ó §è§Ú§â§Ü§Ö §à§ã§Ö§ß§î§ð 1912 §Ô§à§Õ§Ñ. §£§Ö§â§à§ñ§ä§ß§à, §ñ §Ó§ã§Ü§à§â§Ö §Ù§Ñ§Ò§í§Ý §Ò§í §Ö§×, §Ö§ã§Ý§Ú §Ò§í §ß§Ö§ã§Ü§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §Õ§ß§Ö§Û §ã§á§å§ã§ä§ñ, §á§â§Ú§Õ§ñ §Ó §°§Ò§ë§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§à §ã§Ó§à§Ò§à§Õ§ß§à§Û §ï§ã§ä§Ö§ä§Ú§Ü§Ú, §ß§Ö §å§Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö§Ý §ä§Ñ§Þ §à§Ô§â§à§Þ§ß§à§Ô§à §ð§ß§à§ê§å §ã §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§Ú§ß§í§Þ§Ú §é§Ö§Ý§ð§ã§ä§ñ§Þ§Ú, §Ó §é§Ö§â§ß§à§Û §â§å§Ò§Ñ§ç§Ö, §â§Ñ§ã§ã§ä§×§Ô§ß§å§ä§à§Û §é§å§ä§î §Ý§Ú §ß§Ö §Õ§à §á§à§ñ§ã§Ñ §Ú §à§Ò§ß§Ñ§Ø§Ñ§Ó§ê§Ö§Û §Ô§Ú§Ô§Ñ§ß§ä§ã§Ü§à§Ö §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§Ú§ß§à§Ö §Õ§Ö§Ü§à§Ý§î§ä§ï. §¬§Ñ§ð§ã§î: §á§â§à§Ù§Ó§Ú§ë§Ö "§Õ§Ö§Ü§à§Ý§î§ä§Ú§â§à§Ó§Ñ§ß§ß§Ñ§ñ §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§î" §ß§Ñ§Õ§à§Ý§Ô§à §ã §ä§à§Ô§à §Ó§Ö§é§Ö§â§Ñ §å§ä§Ó§Ö§â§Õ§Ú§Ý§à§ã§î §Ù§Ñ §ð§ß§à§ê§Ö§Û... §¡ §ð§ß§à§ê§Ñ §ï§ä§à§ä §Ò§í§Ý §£§Ý§Ñ§Õ§Ú§Þ§Ú§â §®§Ñ§ñ§Ü§à§Ó§ã§Ü§Ú§Û. §¿§ä§à §Ò§í§Ý§à §Ö§Ô§à §á§Ö§â§Ó§à§Ö §á§à§ñ§Ó§Ý§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö §Ó §Ý§Ú§ä§Ö§â§Ñ§ä§å§â§ß§à§Û §ã§â§Ö§Õ§Ö, §Ú§Ý§Ú §à§Õ§ß§à §Ú§Ù §á§Ö§â§Ó§í§ç. §³ §ä§Ö§ç §á§à§â §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§Ú§ß§à§Û §á§à§ã§ä§å§á§î§ð §á§â§à§ê§×§Ý §à§ß §á§à §â§å§ã§ã§Ü§à§Û §Ý§Ú§ä§Ö§â§Ñ§ä§å§â§Ö -- §Ú §ß§í§ß§Ö, §ã§Õ§Ñ§×§ä§ã§ñ §Þ§ß§Ö, §ã§ä§à§Ú§ä §å§Ø§Ö §á§â§Ú §Ü§à§ß§è§Ö §ã§Ó§à§Ö§Ô§à §á§å§ä§Ú. §±§ñ§ä§ß§Ñ§Õ§è§Ñ§ä§î §Ý§Ö§ä -- §Ý§à§ê§Ñ§Õ§Ú§ß§í§Û §Ó§Ö§Ü.
In VN¡¯s play Sobytie (¡°The Event,¡± 1938) Troshcheykin mentions damskie dekol¡¯te (the d¨¦collet¨¦ dresses of women):¡±
§§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î. §¦§ã§ä§î §Ó§Ö§ë§Ú, §Ü§à§ä§à§â§í§Ö §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §ä§Ö§â§Ù§Ñ§ð§ä.
§´§â§à§ë§Ö§Û§Ü§Ú§ß. §¬§Ñ§Ü§Ú§Ö §Ó§Ö§ë§Ú?
§§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î. §·§à§ä§ñ §Ò§í §ï§ä§Ú §Õ§Ö§ä§ã§Ü§Ú§Ö §Þ§ñ§é§Ú. §Á §ß§Ö §Þ§à§Ô§å. §³§Ö§Ô§à§Õ§ß§ñ §Þ§Ñ§Þ§Ú§ß§à §â§à§Ø§Õ§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö, §Ù§ß§Ñ§é§Ú§ä, §á§à§ã§Ý§Ö§Ù§Ñ§Ó§ä§â§Ñ §Ö§Þ§å §Ò§í§Ý§à §Ò§í §á§ñ§ä§î §Ý§Ö§ä. §±§ñ§ä§î §Ý§Ö§ä. §±§à§Õ§å§Þ§Ñ§Û.
§´§â§à§ë§Ö§Û§Ü§Ú§ß. §¡... §¯§å, §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ö§ê§î... §¡§ç, §§ð§Ò§Ñ, §§ð§Ò§Ñ, §ñ §ä§Ö§Ò§Ö §ä§í§ã§ñ§é§å §â§Ñ§Ù §Ô§à§Ó§à§â§Ú§Ý, §é§ä§à §ß§Ö§Ý§î§Ù§ñ §ä§Ñ§Ü §Ø§Ú§ä§î, §Ó §ã§à§ã§Ý§Ñ§Ô§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§à§Þ §ß§Ñ§Ü§Ý§à§ß§Ö§ß§Ú§Ú. §¯§å -- §á§ñ§ä§î, §ß§å -- §Ö§ë§× §á§ñ§ä§î, §ß§å -- §Ö§ë§×... §¡ §á§à§ä§à§Þ §Ò§í§Ý§à §Ò§í §Ö§Þ§å §á§ñ§ä§ß§Ñ§Õ§è§Ñ§ä§î, §à§ß §Ò§í §Ü§å§â§Ú§Ý, §ç§Ñ§Þ§Ú§Ý, §á§â§í§ë§Ñ§Ó§Ö§Ý §Ú §Ù§Ñ§Ô§Ý§ñ§Õ§í§Ó§Ñ§Ý §Ù§Ñ §Õ§Ñ§Þ§ã§Ü§Ú§Ö §Õ§Ö§Ü§à§Ý§î§ä§Ö. (Act One)
The action in ¡°The Event¡± takes place on Antonina Pavlovna¡¯s fiftieth birthday. One of the guests at the birthday party, Meshaev the First, gives roses to Antonina Pavlovna and quotes the famous first line of Myatlev¡¯s poem Kak khoroshi, kak svezhi byli rozy (¡°How beautiful, how fresh were the roses¡±). In his poem Pyatyi Internatsional (¡°The Fifth International,¡± 1922) Mayakovski says that for him the notion that a rose was invented not by him is intolerable. In the same poem Mayakovski says that the essence of poetry is in one¡¯s ability to screw up the neck like a spiral (zavintit¡¯ vintom) and mentions Leonardo da Vinci:
§³§å§ë§ß§à§ã§ä§î §á§à§ï§Ù§Ú§Ú §Ó §ä§à§Þ,
§é§ä§à§Ò §ê§Ö§ð §ã§Ú§Ý§î§ß§Ö§Ö §Ù§Ñ§Ó§Ú§ß§ä§Ú§ä§î §Ó§Ú§ß§ä§à§Þ.
§¶§å§ß§Õ§Ñ§Þ§Ö§ß§ä §Ö§ã§ä§î.
§¯§Ñ§é§Ñ§Ý§à §Ò§Ý§Ñ§Ô§à§á§à§Ý§å§é§ß§à.
§±§à §ã§â§Ñ§Ó§ß§Ö§ß§Ú§ð §ã §¤§Ö§â§ê§Ö§ß§Ù§à§ß§à§Þ §Õ§Ñ§Ø§Ö §á§à§Ý§å§é§Ñ§Ö§ä§ã§ñ §ß§Ñ§å§é§ß§à.
§Á §Ú §ß§Ñ§é§Ñ§Ý!
§³ §ß§Ñ§ã§ä§à§Û§é§Ú§Ó§à§ã§ä§î§ð §§Ö§à§ß§Ñ§â§Õ§à §Õ§Ñ §£§Ú§ß§é§Ö§Ó§à§ð,
§Ù§Ñ§Ü§â§å§é§å,
§â§Ñ§ã§Ü§â§å§é§å
§Ú §à§á§ñ§ä§î §Õ§à§Ó§Ú§ß§é§Ú§Ó§Ñ§ð.
In Mayakovski¡¯s poem da Vinchevoyu (of Leonardo da Vinci) rhymes with dovinchivayu (I screw up). In ¡°The Waltz Invention¡± the Colonel (secretary of the Minister of War) says that he knows people of Waltz¡¯s type who invent vintik (a screw) that they lack in their head (¡°have loose somewhere¡±):
§±§à§Ý§Ü§à§Ó§ß§Ú§Ü. §¤§Ö§ß§Ö§â§Ñ§Ý §¢§Ö§â§Ô §á§à§ã§í§Ý§Ñ§Ö§ä §Ü §Ó§Ñ§Þ §Ú§Ù§à§Ò§â§Ö§ä§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§ñ... §Ø§Ö§Ý§Ñ§ð§ë§Ö§Ô§à §ã§Õ§Ö§Ý§Ñ§ä§î §Ó§Ñ§Ø§ß§à§Ö §ã§à§à§Ò§ë§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö... §¦§Ô§à §Ù§à§Ó§å§ä: §³§Ñ§Ý§î§Ó§Ñ§ä§à§â §£§Ñ§Ý§î§ã.
§®§Ú§ß§Ú§ã§ä§â. §¬§Ñ§Ü?
§±§à§Ý§Ü§à§Ó§ß§Ú§Ü. §¯§Ö§Ü§ä§à §³§Ñ§Ý§î§Ó§Ñ§ä§à§â §£§Ñ§Ý§î§ã.
§®§Ú§ß§Ú§ã§ä§â. §°§Õ§ß§Ñ§Ü§à! §±§à§Õ §ä§Ñ§Ü§å§ð §æ§Ñ§Þ§Ú§Ý§Ú§ð §ç§à§ä§î §ä§Ñ§ß§è§å§Û. §§Ñ§Õ§ß§à. §±§â§Ö§Õ§Ý§Ñ§Ô§Ñ§ð §Ó§Ñ§Þ §Ö§Ô§à §á§â§Ú§ß§ñ§ä§î §Ó§Þ§Ö§ã§ä§à §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ.
§±§à§Ý§Ü§à§Ó§ß§Ú§Ü. §¯§Ú §Ü §é§Ö§Þ§å. §Á §Ù§ß§Ñ§ð §ï§ä§Ú§ç §Ô§à§ã§á§à§Õ, §Ú§Ù§à§Ò§â§Ö§ä§Ñ§ð§ë§Ú§ç §Ó§Ú§ß§ä§Ú§Ü, §Ü§à§ä§à§â§à§Ô§à §ß§Ö §ç§Ó§Ñ§ä§Ñ§Ö§ä §å §ß§Ú§ç §Ó §Ô§à§Ý§à§Ó§Ö... §°§ß §ß§Ö §å§ã§á§à§Ü§à§Ú§ä§ã§ñ, §á§à§Ü§Ñ §ß§Ö §Õ§à§Ò§Ö§â§×§ä§ã§ñ §Õ§à §Ó§Ñ§ã -- §é§Ö§â§Ö§Ù §Ó§ã§Ö §Ü§Ñ§ß§è§Ö§Ý§ñ§â§ã§Ü§Ú§Ö §ä§â§å§á§í. (Act One)
The main character in ¡°The Event,¡± Aleksey Maksimovich Troshcheykin, is a portrait painter. Salvator Waltz¡¯s first name seems to hint at Salvator Rosa (1615-73), an Italian painter, poet and printmaker. In his self-portrait (Philosophy, 1640) Salvator Rosa holds a parchment with the inscription in Latin: Aut tace, Aut Loquere meliora silentio (¡°Keep silent or say something better than silence¡±):
The inscription in Salvator Rosa¡¯s painting (that VN, no doubt, saw in the National Gallery in London) brings to mind Tyutchev¡¯ poem Silentium! (1830). Tyutchev is the author of Bliznetsy (¡°The Twins,¡± 1852). Meshaev the First (who gives roses to Antonina Pavlovna) has a twin brother (Meshaev the Second) who lives in the country and who is late for the birthday party. At the end of ¡°The Event¡± (in which the expected event does not happen) Lyubov¡¯ (Troshcheykin¡¯s wife) asks Meshaev the Second (an occultist and palm reader) to tell her fortune. To Meshaev¡¯s question if she is not afraid to learn how she will die Lyubov¡¯ replies that she is not afraid at all and asks him to tell it to her:
§§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î. §®§à§Ø§Ö§ä§Ö §Þ§ß§Ö §á§à§Ô§Ñ§Õ§Ñ§ä§î?
§®§Ö§ê§Ñ§Ö§Ó §£§ä§à§â§à§Û. §ª§Ù§Ó§à§Ý§î§ä§Ö. §´§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §ñ §Õ§Ñ§Ó§ß§à §ï§ä§Ú§Þ §ß§Ö §Ù§Ñ§ß§Ú§Þ§Ñ§Ý§ã§ñ. §¡ §â§å§é§Ü§Ñ §å §Ó§Ñ§ã §ç§à§Ý§à§Õ§ß§Ñ§ñ.
§´§â§à§ë§Ö§Û§Ü§Ú§ß. §±§â§Ö§Õ§ã§Ü§Ñ§Ø§Ú§ä§Ö §Ö§Û §Õ§à§â§à§Ô§å, §å§Þ§à§Ý§ñ§ð §Ó§Ñ§ã.
§®§Ö§ê§Ñ§Ö§Ó §£§ä§à§â§à§Û. §§ð§Ò§à§á§í§ä§ß§í§Ö §Ý§Ú§ß§Ú§Ú. §§Ú§ß§Ú§ñ §Ø§Ú§Ù§ß§Ú, §ß§Ñ§á§â§Ú§Þ§Ö§â... §³§à§Ò§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§à, §Ó§í §Õ§à§Ý§Ø§ß§í §Ò§í§Ý§Ú §å§Þ§Ö§â§Ö§ä§î §Õ§Ñ§Ó§ß§í§Þ-§Õ§Ñ§Ó§ß§à. §£§Ñ§Þ §ã§Ü§à§Ý§î§Ü§à? §¥§Ó§Ñ§Õ§è§Ñ§ä§î §Õ§Ó§Ñ, §Õ§Ó§Ñ§Õ§è§Ñ§ä§î §ä§â§Ú?
§¢§Ñ§â§Ò§à§ê§Ú§ß §á§â§Ú§ß§Ú§Þ§Ñ§Ö§ä§ã§ñ §Þ§Ö§Õ§Ý§Ö§ß§ß§à §Ú §ß§Ö§ã§Ü§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §ß§Ö§Õ§à§Ó§Ö§â§é§Ú§Ó§à §â§Ñ§ã§ã§Þ§Ñ§ä§â§Ú§Ó§Ñ§ä§î §ã§Ó§à§ð §Ý§Ñ§Õ§à§ß§î.
§§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î. §¥§Ó§Ñ§Õ§è§Ñ§ä§î §á§ñ§ä§î. §³§Ý§å§é§Ñ§Û§ß§à §Ó§í§Ø§Ú§Ý§Ñ.
§®§Ö§ê§Ñ§Ö§Ó §£§ä§à§â§à§Û. §²§Ñ§ã§ã§å§Õ§à§Ü §å §Ó§Ñ§ã §á§à§ã§Ý§å§ê§Ö§ß §ã§Ö§â§Õ§è§å, §ß§à §ã§Ö§â§Õ§è§Ö §å §Ó§Ñ§ã §â§Ñ§ã§ã§å§Õ§à§é§ß§à§Ö. §¯§å, §é§ä§à §Ó§Ñ§Þ §Ö§ë§× §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§ä§î? §£§í §é§å§Ó§ã§ä§Ó§å§Ö§ä§Ö §á§â§Ú§â§à§Õ§å, §ß§à §Ü §Ú§ã§Ü§å§ã§ã§ä§Ó§å §Õ§à§Ó§à§Ý§î§ß§à §â§Ñ§Ó§ß§à§Õ§å§ê§ß§í.
§´§â§à§ë§Ö§Û§Ü§Ú§ß. §¥§Ö§Ý§î§ß§à!
§®§Ö§ê§Ñ§Ö§Ó §£§ä§à§â§à§Û. §µ§Þ§â§×§ä§Ö... §Ó§í §ß§Ö §Ò§à§Ú§ä§Ö§ã§î §å§Ù§ß§Ñ§ä§î, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §å§Þ§â§×§ä§Ö?
§§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î. §¯§Ú§ã§Ü§à§Ý§î§Ü§à. §³§Ü§Ñ§Ø§Ú§ä§Ö.
§®§Ö§ê§Ñ§Ö§Ó §£§ä§à§â§à§Û. §´§å§ä, §Ó§á§â§à§é§Ö§Þ, §Ö§ã§ä§î §ß§Ö§Ü§à§ä§à§â§à§Ö §â§Ñ§Ù§Õ§Ó§à§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö, §Ü§à§ä§à§â§à§Ö §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §ã§Þ§å§ë§Ñ§Ö§ä... §¯§Ö§ä, §ß§Ö §Ò§Ö§â§å§ã§î §Õ§Ñ§ä§î §ä§à§é§ß§í§Û §à§ä§Ó§Ö§ä.
§¢§Ñ§â§Ò§à§ê§Ú§ß (§á§â§à§ä§ñ§Ô§Ú§Ó§Ñ§Ö§ä §Ý§Ñ§Õ§à§ß§î). §±§â§à§ê§å.
§§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î. §¯§å, §Ó§í §ß§Ö §Þ§ß§à§Ô§à §Þ§ß§Ö §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Ý§Ú. §Á §Õ§å§Þ§Ñ§Ý§Ñ, §é§ä§à §Ó§í §á§â§Ö§Õ§ã§Ü§Ñ§Ø§Ö§ä§Ö §Þ§ß§Ö §é§ä§à-§ß§Ú§Ò§å§Õ§î §ß§Ö§à§Ò§í§Ü§ß§à§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§à§Ö, §á§à§ä§â§ñ§ã§Ñ§ð§ë§Ö§Ö... §ß§Ñ§á§â§Ú§Þ§Ö§â, §é§ä§à §Ó §Ø§Ú§Ù§ß§Ú §å §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §ã§Ö§Û§é§Ñ§ã §à§Ò§â§í§Ó, §é§ä§à §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §Ø§Õ§×§ä §å§Õ§Ú§Ó§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§à§Ö, §ã§ä§â§Ñ§ê§ß§à§Ö, §Ó§à§Ý§ê§Ö§Ò§ß§à§Ö §ã§é§Ñ§ã§ä§î§Ö... (Act Three)
The two pairs of twins in Tyutchev¡¯s poem are Smert¡¯ i Son (Death and Sleep) and Samoubiystvo i Lyubov¡¯ (Suicide and Love). It seems to me that two days later, on her dead son¡¯s fifth birthday, Lyubov¡¯ (who is still in love with Barbashin and who learns from Meshaev¡¯s chance words that Barbashin left the city and went abroad forever) will commit suicide. In the ¡°sleep of death¡± she dreams of mad Waltz who dreams of his telemor (in the English version, Telemort or Telethanasia), a machine of immense destructive power invented by Waltz¡¯s relative, an old man of genius. The characters of ¡°The Waltz Invention¡± include Son (in the English version, Trance), a reporter who runs errands for Waltz. As to Waltz¡¯s death machine, its name seems to hint at Baratynski's poem Telema i Makar (1826), an imitation of Voltaire's fairy tale Th¨¦l¨¨me et Macare (1764).
In the original, the title of VN¡¯s play is a pun and can be read as ¡°the invention of the waltz.¡± The German and Austrian peasants began dancing a dance called Walzer around 1750 (i.e., in Voltaire¡¯s time) and soon the new dance was introduced among aristocrats. Voltaire famously said si Dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer (if God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him). In ¡°The Fifth International¡± Mayakovski (who was a militant atheist) says that he twenty years did not go to a church and will never go to any churches in future:
§Á §Õ§Ó§Ñ§Õ§è§Ñ§ä§î §Ý§Ö§ä §ß§Ö §ç§à§Õ§Ú§Ý §Ó §è§Ö§â§Ü§à§Ó§î.
§ª §Ó§á§â§Ö§Õ§î §Ò§í§Ó§Ñ§ä§î §ß§Ö §Ò§å§Õ§å §ß§Ú §Ó §Ü§Ñ§Ü§Ú§ç §è§Ö§â§Ü§Ó§Ñ§ç.
In ¡°Verses about the Difference of Tastes¡± Mayakovski says that only bog sedoborodyi (the grey-bearded god) knows that the horse and the camel are zhivotnye raznoy porody (the animals of different breed).
Alexey Sklyarenko