Zene, ritmus, tánc és szakralitás. Balla Zsófia rendszerváltás előtti költészetében

Abstract

Movement, Dance, and Sacredness in Zsófia Balla's Pre-Regime Change Poetry
In Zsófia Balla's pre-regime change poetry, rhythmic movement or dance serves as a metaphor for the increasingly oppressive and unbearable atmosphere of the communist regime, as well as a symbol of survival and freedom. Alongside a tragic-ironic tone, her radically individual-centered poetry boldly incorporates playfulness, the joy of song and movement, the liberating and tension-relieving effects of instinctive expression and frankness, along with the lightness of rhyme and musicality. Movement holds an important place in Balla's oeuvre, starting with her first volume, “A dolgok emlékezete” (“The Memory of Things”), published in 1968. For instance, in “Futónövény” (“Creeper”), it is associated with carefree childhood play but later evokes images of a fear of heights and vertigo. In the closing lines of “Pengetés” (“Plucking”), movement signifies the soul's yearning for the sacrality, while in the later poem, “PaterNoster”, it juxtaposes the destructive, inhuman workings of machinery with the deeply personal nature of memory and prayer. By the 1980s, music, dance, and connections to the sacred became unifying formal motifs in Balla's poetry. The volume “Kolozsvári táncok” (“Kolozsvár Dances”) represents an attempt to dialogue, addressing an enigmatic, unknown individual – a mysterious dance partner, perhaps God – whose presence is only perceptible in traces but profoundly influences lyrical self-reflection and the perception of reality. The study seeks how rhythm, movement, music, and dance function as metaphors for freedom, life-affirmation, and dialogue with the sacred in Zsófia Balla's poetry before the regime change in Romania. It focuses on poetic gestures where artistic forms serve as tools of resistance, survival, and protest against the identity- and personality-destroying manifestations of the communist dictatorship.