Attempt to comprehend incomprehensible. An experience of reflection on the verse “Happiness” written by Polina Barskova

Abstract. The article presents an experience of the holistic analysis of a poetic text written by the contemporary poet Polina Barskova. For some years, senior pupils at all stages of All-Russian Literature Competition are given not only texts written in prose for the analytical creative work but also rather complicated materials expressed in verse. According to the experience of the article author, and the author’s familiarization with the competition essays of various levels, the majority of the competitors cannot manage the analysis of such poetic works. This problem is also faced by the literature teachers who assist schoolchildren to get prepared for the competition. The way out of the problematic situation arisen, as viewed by the article author, is that the literature teacher will be integrated into the work of creating analytical texts to research complicated texts in verse drawing on the experience and methods developed by Russian well-known philologists M. L. Gasparov, E. G. Etkind, M. O. Gershenzon, T. G. Kuchina and other researchers of the poetic word and then having gained the appropriate experience the teacher will transfer it to pupils.

Keywords: All-Russian Competition for Schoolchildren, analysis of a poetic text, teacher’s personal experience.