Aaro Hellaakosken Me kaksi -runoelman tekstuaalinen variaatio ja sen tulkinta

• Veijo Pulkkinen Oulun yliopisto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30665/av.74799

Abstract

Textual Variation and Its Interpretation in Aaro Hellaakoski’s Me kaksi

The poet and forerunner of Finnish literary modernism, Aaro Hellaakoski, published his epic poem Me kaksi in 1920. In 1945 the work was reissued as a new extended edition where Hellaakoski inserted several poems already published in his other 1920s works. He also added some completely new lines and stanzas, and modernized the poetic language of the work to meet the standards of contemporary poetry. Also the bibliographical code of the work went through drastic changes, especially the cover picture and the typography.

By studying the textual variation and change in the bibliographic code of Me kaksi this article demonstrates how a text-critical approach may significantly enrich the literary interpretation of a work. A new stanza inserted in the 1945 edition becomes a key factor in the interpretation of the textual variation. The added stanza is of particular interest as it brings in the subject of writing that was not present in the first edition and connects it with the work’s doppelganger theme. This article shows how the two text versions can be read side by side as a dialogue between the younger Hellaakoski who wrote the first edition of Me kaksi and the mature poet of the second edition. This interpretation would not be possible without comparing the two editions.