The Poetics of Gesture in the Works of F.M. Dostoevsky

The study is devoted to a little-studied topic such as the poetics of bodily behaviour of Dostoevsky''s characters. Until recently it was assumed that Dostoevsky did not attach any importance to it and was fundamentally non-imaginative in his work. However a careful study of the non-verbal component of the writer''s poetics using the latest advances in kinesics and paralinguistics proves that Dostoevsky was one of the first who turned to a new methodology of sensual cognition through the mastering of non-verbal communication techniques and this meant a breakthrough into the artistic anthropology of modern times. It turned out that gestural characteristics and the object world of characters play a very important role in Dostoevsky''s characterology and are sometimes the author''s only statement about his characters. In a number of cases these observations reveal previously unnoticed meanings bringing the reader into other symbolic layers of the work. In fact this opens up a new field of study of Dostoevsky''s poetics. The book also provides an experience of reconstructing the iconosphere of Dostoevsky. The book is intended for researchers and a wide range of readers interested in the work of the great writer.