Ecphrasies of the Petersburg Buddhist temple in the poetry of Elena Schwartz

The purpose to analyze the features and functions of temple ecphrasies in the poetry of E.A. Schwartz. The poems The Seven Faces of the Buddhist Temple and The Buddhist Temple are used as material, which are based on the image of the Petersburg Buddhist religious building Datsan Gunzechoinei. This topic has not previously been in the center of attention of Russian literary criticism, which determines the novelty of the presented article. Separately, it should be noted that the analysis of temple ecphrasies in the poetry of E.A. Schwartz is carried out as part of a large-scale study devoted to the study of the Buddhist text of modern Russian literature. As a result of the analysis, the author of the article comes to the following conclusions. The ecphrasies of the Petersburg Buddhist Temple in the poetry of E.A. Schwartz are based on the description of the exterior and interior of the datsan and transformed into philosophical and religious works. The poetic ecumenism of Schwartz’s work determines the image of a Buddhist temple in the form of a sacred space - in a city experiencing infernal apocalyptic desolation, flooding, and overshadowing by everyday care. The Buddhist temple, which is unusual for the Northern capital and, however, is similar to it - externally and essentially, acts as one of the centers of attraction for different cultures, gods and living and dead creatures living in a cramped and diverse city. The Petersburg/ Leningrad Buddhist temple, like the religious buildings of other religions, gives a person the opportunity to come into contact with the transcendent, the image of which is embodied in Schwartz in the heavenly heights or in the bottomless depths of the river.