Pishchaev Evgeny

Research work that reveals the essence of a detailed metaphor as a means of embodying the "subjective image of the objective world" on the example of linguistic analysis of O. E. Mandelstam's poem "The Shell".

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Metaphor as a means of creating a "picture of the world", as a means of embodying the "subjective image of the objective world"

As one of the aspects of the problem of the interaction of language and the psychology of its personal perception and application, metaphor can be considered as a special way of creating a linguistic picture of the world, arising as a result of cognitive manipulation of the meanings already available in the language in order to create new meanings.

Metaphor is one of the most productive ways of meaning production at all levels of the language structure - lexical, syntactic, morphemic. It is a way of thinking about the world that uses already acquired knowledge. Often, a metaphor is presented as a model of inferential knowledge: from some not yet clearly “thought out” concept, a new one is formed through the use of the direct meaning of the expression and its corresponding associations.

Metaphorization is always a nominative activity. The metaphorical process model consists of entities and the interaction between them. The metaphorical process can be viewed as the activity of a linguistic personality, measuring itself and the world in the range of an “individual picture of the world”.

Metaphorization is always a subjective process. It depends on the imagination, the experience of a linguistic personality, individual knowledge about the world, fixed in the meanings of words and their associative complexes in accordance with the psychological mindset and personal interest.

Through the metaphorical meaning of words and phrases, the writer conveys the uniqueness of objects, while showing the depth and nature of his own associative-figurative thinking, vision of the world, the measure of talent. Aristotle said: “The most important thing is to be skillful in metaphors. Only this cannot be adopted from another - this is a sign of talent.

It is in the process of metaphorization that the role of the human factor in the cognition and use of language as a dynamic tool of cognition and communication is enhanced. Metaphor allows you to discover for yourself and others your inner world, your own subjective perception of the environment. Both the creation of one's own metaphors and the comprehension of the metaphorical images of others allows one to better understand the world around, look at it with different eyes, and discover one's own worldview.

The metaphorical nature of poetic speech is not limited to such structures as a single word, phrase, phrase or sentence. Sometimes the theme of metaphor unfolds throughout the entire work, gradually manifesting itself in images and points of similarity of a whole series of metaphors and comparisons.

Depending on the number of words-carriers of the image, a metaphor is distinguished simple , in which only one word is a carrier of a metaphorical image (for example, sunset gold, a sea of ​​flowers etc.), and a metaphor deployed , in which the carriers of one metaphorical image is a whole group of associative (for example, thematically) related words.

An expanded metaphor belongs to artistic speech. It can be represented by an almost unlimited number of components.

Deployment of a metaphor is a stylistic device based on the complication of a metaphor by increasing the number of words that carry a metaphorical image.

Reading O. Mandelstam (early poems, such as “Silentium” (1910), “Sink” (1911), as well as the creations of a more mature master, for example, “I forgot the word that I wanted to say” ( 1920) or "Sisters - heaviness and tenderness ..." (1920), I found something in common in them. Something that betrays both in the young and in the mature Mandelstam a peculiar, truly unique poet. I mean a deep, multifaceted metaphorical nature of his work.

Metaphor for Mandelstam is not just a trope, it is a way of creating a peculiar picture of the world, a way of perceiving the surrounding reality, an opportunity to embody various life phenomena. The poet, his passions, the themes of creativity could change, but a peculiar vision of the world, refracting reality through the prism of metaphor, preserved in him a whole, unique personality.

I wanted to understand this complex world, try to discover my own patterns in it, understand the secret of the birth of a metaphorical image on the basis of linguistic meaning. Which helped me to make a linguistic analysis of the poem-metaphor "Sink".

O. Mandelstam.

Sink.

Maybe you don't need me

Night; from the abyss of the world,

Like a shell without pearls

I have been cast ashore.

You indifferently foam the waves

And you sing incoherently

But you will love, you will appreciate

Unnecessary sink lies.

You lie on the sand next to her,

You will wear your robe,

You are inextricably linked with her

Huge bell swells.

And the fragile shell of the wall,

Like a house of an uninhabited heart,

Fill with whispers of foam

Fog, wind and rain.

1911

Analysis of the poem-metaphor by O. Mandelstam "Sink"

Colorfulness, objectivity, concreteness of details are characteristic of the early works of O. Mandelstam, included in the first book of the poet "Stone". One of the masterpieces of the collection is the poem "The Shell", which, like in a mirror, reflects the "cosmic" philosophy of the poet (his dream to establish a connection between the Universe and Man), and the desire to understand what a person means, and, finally, truly universal ideas Mandelstam on morality and beauty.

The poem is quite difficult to understand. At the first reading, it is possible to catch only its emotional mood and only distant hints of understanding the meaning. Consciousness snatches out the key words that carry the main semantic load in the work. Considering the linguistic meanings of these words, analyzing their relationships with other words, you try to find at least some “hook” that would allow you to get closer to the personal meaning of the word. After all, here one word "hints" at the meaning of the second, one pulls the other.

Mandelstam belongs to those deep poets, getting acquainted with the works of which, the inexperienced reader goes not from the meaning of the poem to the word, but from the word in small steps to understanding the meaning. The poem "Sink" is remarkable as a subject of linguistic research, as it is an extended metaphor.

The first word we stumble over when reading is night. Its linguistic meaning is part of the day from evening to morning (Ozhegov's dictionary).

In the poem, "night" is a metaphor. Night is a dark, mysterious time of day. The person feels uncomfortable at night. Darkness hides the surrounding objects from him, and everything seems strange and incomprehensible. Most likely, Mandelstam calls life at night. After all, for a twenty-year-old poet it is as incomprehensible and mysterious as night. As if under the cover of night are for him his future, his destiny, sent down by fate. Timidly, hesitantly, he takes the first steps in life, like a man walking in the dark. And life itself is not entirely clear to him. It seems that she is hiding from him something clear to everyone, which should be revealed to him over time. This is what happens to a person when he gets used to the darkness and begins to distinguish objects in the darkness.

Understanding the meaning of this word does not come immediately. Its meaning stems from the entire poem. The further we go, analyzing the text, the deeper we understand this meaning.

The next phrase “from the abyss of the world” also prompts us to such an understanding. It is no coincidence that it is next to the word "night". On the one hand, it reveals to us the meaning of the previous word, on the other hand, it deepens it, expands the scope of the poem.

What is "peace"? This is the totality of all forms of matter in earthly and outer space, the universe. (Ozhegov). This is the little world of the poet, and earthly life, and hundreds of galaxies, taken in close relationship and dependence. This complex relationship and scale, contained in the word "global", is strengthened by the word "deep". It has three meanings: 1) whirlpool; 2) deep sea; 3) the focus of something unpleasant, disastrous, threatening (trans.) (Ozhegov's dictionary).

The word in a poetic text is multifaceted: different meanings of a polysemantic word coexist, interact, allowing the poet to most deeply express his personal meaning.

The linguistic meaning of "the abyss" prompts us to realize the vast world in all its diversity, grandeur and uniqueness.

The national meaning of "whirlpool" allows you to feel the complexity of the world, the interconnection and conditionality of all its phenomena.

The third linguistic meaning shows us the world in the perception of the poet, full of problems and contradictions.

Here, another association of Mandelstam opens, which will pass through the entire poem - this is a comparison of life with the water element, as indicated by the first two meanings of the word "abyss". This comparison is not new. Since ancient times, people have compared life with a river, sea, ocean.

The words "global", "abyss" belong to the traditional poetic vocabulary and give solemnity, sublimity and even some heaviness to the beginning of the verse.

The next line contains another keyword - "shell". The poet compares himself to a shell without pearls. What does this comparison mean? Why a sink? There may be many answers. This, as noted, is the specificity of poetry.

Firstly, a shell is something that should contain something valuable, expensive, a pearl. The poet must also have his own “pearl”. He must have talent, spiritual wealth. Without them there is no sense of his existence and creativity.

Secondly, the sink is a small enclosed space. This is the poet's own little world, which allows you to preserve the dissimilarity, originality, your own worldview. No wonder there is an expression "to climb into your shell."

Thirdly, there are singing shells that echo the sound of the waves. So the poet must echo life if he wants to be a real poet.

Fourthly, the shell is something fragile, brittle. In the first line of the last stanza, the poet will say so: "And the fragile shell of the wall." Like this shell, the poet is very vulnerable and defenseless in his own way.

Fifthly, the sink is always something unusual, original in form. The poet, too, is always whimsical and strange.

In the line "I am thrown ashore" Mandelstam continues his association with the sea. Just as a shell can be accidentally thrown ashore by a wave, so a person one day, by the will of fate, “comes” into life, is born into the world.

The word "shore" is interesting. Its linguistic meaning is the edge of the earth near the water. Near! But not in the water! And the poet compared water with life. So, here the poet wants to emphasize his isolation from life. This separation is internal, not external. "Not of this world" - this expression that exists in the language, surprisingly accurately conveys what the poet had in mind.

The word "thrown out" is also interesting here. Comparing it with the synonym "carried out", we will understand that the action expressed by the first word is distinguished by suddenness and randomness. Obviously, the poet wants to point out the sudden, accidental birth of a person into the world, and therefore his complete unpreparedness for the perception of life.

"You indifferently foam the waves."

In this line, Mandelstam compares the foaming sea with a calmly going life, with the natural course of time, with the development of nature, which is eternal and independent of human life, human doubts and problems. The national meaning of the combination "foam the waves" is the same as "flow". And this word among its linguistic meanings has a figurative meaning - to go, to pass, to flow - about time, state. The presence of a figurative meaning leads us to a correct and quick understanding of the poetic meaning of the phrase.

Mandelstam is a master of the poetic word. It is always harmonious with him, beautiful, a little sublime. Hence the abundance of poetic words in his vocabulary. "Screw the waves" - this expression refers to the traditional poetic vocabulary. It maintains the elevated tone taken in the first stanza. It is interesting that the poet does not abuse poeticisms. He gradually intersperses them into the fabric of the verse, woven mainly from general language vocabulary.

I wonder what the meaning of the word "sing" in the phrase "sing intractably" from the next line. Its linguistic meaning is quite wide: to make musical sounds with your voice (Ozhegov's dictionary). The breadth of national significance makes it difficult to understand the personal. We can offer a lot of options for interpreting it, without knowing what the poet had in mind. But Mandelstam gives us a "hook" by limiting the meaning to the word "intractable." The meaning of this word is "not having a mutual understanding." Thus, we are talking about the discord of life and the inner world of the poet.

What does "inconsistency" mean? Each person has his own worldview, his own outlook on life, his own “melody”. And it does not always coincide with the "melody" of the majority. Life does not correspond to the ideals of the poet, his ideas, ideas. He cannot find a point of contact between his inner world and the outer world. He can never come to an agreement with life, with people. And without this, he cannot become a real poet. By the way, the very phrase “you sing intractably” is unacceptable in the language. The poet combines two words whose meanings imply different actions: "speak" and "sing." Such a combination becomes possible only in the author's context, where it acquires a different, personal meaning.

"But you will love, you will appreciate

An unnecessary shell of a lie."

These two lines are very interesting. We are interested, first of all, whether the word “unnecessary” is a metaphorical epithet or does it remain at the level of the linguistic meaning “superfluous, unnecessary” (Ozhegov)? At first glance, it is. After all, the sink may be unnecessary. A person may not need it, because there is no pearl in it, nothing expensive and useful for him. But can a person (and we know that the poetic meaning of the word “shell” is exactly like this), even the most ordinary, devoid of any talent, be unnecessary? What does "not needed" mean? Who doesn't need it? People? Nature? Who will undertake to determine the criterion of necessity and uselessness? If a person is once born into the world by the will of fate, then nature already sees some meaning in his existence. We have a metaphor. It became clear that for a poet "unnecessary" - not having a high purpose, ordinary.

"Shells of lies" is also a metaphor. Why lie? The linguistic meaning of this word is a deliberate distortion of the truth, a lie (Ozhegov). What is the poet distorting? And what is the truth here? Let's compare the two lines of the poem: "Perhaps you don't need me ..." and "Unnecessary shell lies." If in the first line the poet still doubted his mediocrity, then in the second he directly called himself her. Perhaps this is the lie of the poet? But the personal meaning of this word is much deeper than the national one. Indeed, the poet calls himself mediocrity, devoid of talent, although he himself feels a talent in himself, forces that can distinguish him from other people. But this is only a premonition, he is still young. Who knows how his fate will turn out? Does he really have a spark of talent? These doubts constitute the semantics of the word "lie" in the poem.

Let's go back to the word "shell". In the first stanza, the poet uses it with the comparative conjunction "how". “Like a shell without pearls,” he writes, comparing himself to a shell. In the second stanza, he does not use comparative conjunction. The poet simply writes "An unnecessary shell of a lie", no longer mentioning himself. In the same way, he will use this word in all subsequent stanzas. It should also be noted that if in the first stanza he uses the pronoun "I", then in the third he replaces the word "shell" with the pronoun "she". Perhaps such a transition from the first person to the third has any meaning? Maybe the poet moves from himself, from his problems to the problems of the complexity of becoming, the search for oneself as a person in general? And the word "shell" takes on a different contextual meaning? It expands somewhat. Now this is not only the author, the lyrical hero, this is a person in general.

While the individual-authorial meaning of the word "shell" is expanding, the poetic meaning of the word "night" is narrowing. Mandelstam does not use this word in the poem, replacing it with the pronoun "you". And this allows the poet to get rid of the globality contained in the meanings of the word "night" and the phrase "abyss of the world", as well as to narrow the contextual meaning of the word "night" in the second stanza. Now it is only the earthly life of people. After all, only people can understand the poet’s doubts, “love” and “appreciate” him. Thus, developing his thought in a poem, the poet freely varies the semantics of words, narrowing and expanding it. The use of pronouns helps him in this.

“You will lie next to her on the sand.”

Every word in this line matters. There are no random words in Mandelstam's poetry at all. Each must carry a semantic load. Let's see this on the example of this line. The role of the pronouns "you", "with her" has already been said. Is the word "sand" accidental? Why did Mandelstam replace the word "shore" with "sand"? Didn't want to repeat? Apparently, it's not just that. A feature of Mandelstam's poetry is that the understanding of the poetic meaning of one word, as a rule, is prompted by another, the linguistic meaning of which is closer to the contextual one. In this case, such a hint is the word “swell” from the last line of this stanza, in which the poet speaks of the desire to feel and understand every fluctuation of life. Sand - the surface is unsteady, pliable. Only such a surface is capable of reflecting vibrations. It turns out that the desire of the poet is feasible. It means that there is a readiness in him to perceive and understand life.

The meaning of the following phrase “you will lie next to me” should be understood as follows: the poet hopes that life will nevertheless find a point of contact with his inner world, just like a wave comes into contact with a shell. The meaning of the word "near" is close, near . This means that the poet does not want to part with his dissimilarity. He hopes that life will not “overwhelm” him, destroying the already “fragile shell” of his world; she just carefully "lie down near ”, will allow you to feel the world and life of others, while maintaining your “I”.

"You will wear your robe."

Of course, the starting point for understanding the poetic meaning of the line is the word "robe". Ozhegov's dictionary gives the following interpretation: riza - vestments, clothes of a priest for worship. The word now in the language has a high solemn coloring. But in this case, the ancient meaning of the word is most likely actualized - clothing in general, since in the metaphorical image one does not feel elation, solemnity, this does not correspond to the general tone of the stanza. The robe of life for the poet is an inextricable link with reality, an atmosphere of involvement in everything that happens around.

"You are inextricably linked with her

A huge bell swells.

The most interesting here is the combination of "bell swells". It is not immediately possible to get to its content. To start understanding, of course, it is necessary with the nationwide meanings of words. The linguistic meaning of the word "swell" is a dark ripple on the water surface, vibrations of this surface. The poet compares the water element with life. So, we are talking about fluctuations, changes in life. The national meaning of the word "bell" is a metal product in the form of a hollow truncated cone with a ringing rod suspended inside (Ozhegov's dictionary). Ringing is also vibration. This means that the “bell of swells” is something that spreads the vibrations of life, some kind of vital impulse. To connect a person with this impulse means to give him the opportunity to feel and understand every fluctuation, change in life, to merge with it completely (“inseparably”).

Swell is a small fluctuation, barely perceptible. Bell - something powerful, loud, sharp. This power is reinforced by the word "huge". The unusual combination of these two words allows the poet to emphasize, on the one hand, sensitivity to the slightest change in life, and on the other hand, the multiplicity and diversity of these changes.

The fourth stanza is somewhat different from the previous ones. In it we will not find high, ponderous vocabulary. On the contrary, household vocabulary will appear: “walls”, “house”. Perhaps only "whispers of foam" will betray Mandelstam. This has its own explanation. The stanza speaks of the poet's desire to merge with life in all its manifestations. And this desire is reflected in the more reduced nature of the vocabulary.

The second line of this stanza sounds somewhat unusual: "Like a house of an uninhabited heart." "Non-residential" we usually talk about the house. I just want to swap the words and say: "Like an uninhabited house of the heart." But we feel that the meaning of the line is also changing. "Uninhabited" from an adjective expressing a sign of a heart turns into an adjective expressing a sign of a house.

What is more important for a poet? What did he mean? In my opinion, this question cannot be unambiguously answered. On the one hand, a house cannot be non-residential if a heart already lives in it, but the following lines say that it is the house, and not the heart, that will be filled with “fog, wind and rain”, which means it will become “residential”. In my opinion, this is just the case when Mandelstam expressed signs of two phenomena at once with one adjective. “Uninhabited,” he speaks of the heart, meaning a heart in which there is no life, which does not beat in time with it. And at the same time, the poet knows that the reader, who begins to comprehend the line from the national meanings of words, will certainly associate the adjective with the word "house". This allows him to convey another poetic meaning: "uninhabited house" - the inner world of the poet, devoid of life impressions.

“Fill with whispers of foam,

Fog, wind and rain."

It is impossible to predict with any accuracy what the poet meant by the words "whispers of foam", "fog", "wind", "rain". I think each reader will fill them with their own personal meaning. In my opinion, their poetic meaning is various manifestations of life.

Let us focus only on the word "whispers". It's like a double metaphor. Its national meaning is quiet speech, in which sounds are pronounced without the participation of the vocal cords (Ozhegov). In combination with the word "foam" in its linguistic meaning "a bubbly mass formed by a liquid", it takes on a different meaning - the noise of the foam. But in the poem, the poet rethinks the meaning of the word "foam". It takes on a different contextual meaning, and at the same time, the meaning of the word “whispers” also changes. Now it is a manifestation of life.

The grammatical form of the word is also interesting. In the language, it has only the singular form. Mandelstam uses the plural form, which gives the metaphorical image a slightly different semantic connotation. A whisper is a single sound stream, and whispers are a variety of sounds. Just as a shell is capable of conveying the sound chaos of the seabed, so the inner world of a poet, like a sensitive radar, is able to take on all the polyphony and all the diversity of the surrounding world.

Only now, after a deep linguistic analysis, can one speak of an understanding of the general meaning of the poem. This is the revelation of a young twenty-year-old man who has discovered a poet in himself, maybe bizarre, strange, but real. He himself suffers from his dissimilarity, which is why he remains unaccepted by many, but passionately desires to understand life and be understood by it. He believes in his calling, destiny, feels that he is capable of much. But how will his life turn, fate? Will he be able to fan the spark of his talent? In this difficult moment, we find the poet.

Modern researchers on the poetics of Mandelstam

In recent years, many articles have appeared on the work of Mandelstam, and in connection with my research work it was very interesting for me to find out how others understand him, what they discovered for themselves in the poet. It was especially important to consider this issue in the aspect of the problem of the interaction of language and the psychology of personal perception: how different is the perception of the same text by different people (in terms of development, education, interests, age), to what extent the language makes this perception more or less adequate.

My attention was drawn to the article by Yu. Karabchievsky "Mandelstam's Street", published in the first issue of the magazine "Youth" for 1991. In it, the author notes some curious features of Mandelstam's poetics, which supplemented and deepened my observations.

“Mandelstam's verse does not depict reality and does not even reflect it - he models it. Each poem is an attempt to convey the feeling of looking, feeling, an attempt to model real sensory perception,” the author notes.

Yu. Karabchievsky draws attention to the originality of the poet's image of the poet, which arises and develops before our eyes, therefore "every Mandelstam's verse is a discovery, or rather, an eternal, never-ending discovery."

I was particularly interested in the critic's thoughts about the "magic of the word" of the poet. “All the energy of Mandelstam's verse is aimed at finding a name for the object, and not even finding, but restoring the objectively existing,” writes Yu. Karabchievsky. – Every object, every object of a verse has two forms of existence, two portraits, two images. The first is a trivial “bundle of associations”, that expected circle of associations that arises in our minds when pronouncing the familiar name of an object, the object itself. The second image - unknown to us without the help of a poet, inaccessible soul of a thing - its poetic definition with its own bundle of associations.

Let us recall O. Mandelstam: “And around the thing the word wanders freely, like the soul around an abandoned but unforgettable body.” According to the author of the article, the magic of the word is in the search for the poetic name of the subject, and “the whole subtlety is to find the distance between the“ soul ”and“ the body ”,“ in order to avoid, on the one hand, grounding and banality, and on the other hand, the loss of any real feeling."

These reasonings of Yu. Karabchievsky opened to me the other side of Mandelstam's word, made me understand and feel his poems more deeply.

In the poet's two-volume edition, published in 1990, there is an article by S. S. Averintsev "The Fate and Message of Osip Mandelstam", in which he analyzes the features of Mandelstam's poetics. Part of Averintsev's work is devoted to the analysis of the early period of the poet's work, to which the poem "Sink" belongs.

In the article, I found thoughts similar to my perception. The author writes: “All boys at all times have felt something similar. The pain of adapting to the world of adults, and most importantly, the discontinuity of spiritual life that is especially acutely felt ... Enthusiasm is protected and balanced by self-restraint, a sober difference between one's home shutter and the "ethereal world" of the inhuman abyss of space. Mandelstam's path to the infinite is through taking seriously the finite, through the firm setting of some kind of anthological boundary.

An even more interesting work containing an analysis of the "Shell" is the article by V. V. Rogozinsky "Found a Horseshoe" ("Russian Language and Literature in Secondary Educational Institutions of the Ukrainian SSR" No. 9, 1989). Rogozinsky saw in this poem a deeper meaning than I could feel.

It seemed to me that this poem is about a difficult period of human life - about entering into life. Rogozinsky saw behind the complex metaphorical images of the poet the problem of the relationship between the inner world of an individual and the depths of outer space. “Man - Civilization - the Universe - these are the three horizons to which the poet's thought aspired. He was especially concerned about the problem of "man and the universe," Rogozinsky writes in the article. “Night” for him is the abyss of space. "Sink" - the inner world of man.

“Like a tiny grain of sand, like a crystal of salt that can dissolve at any time, man is negligible compared to the universe. But at the same time, he is great. His mind is capable of accommodating the very Universe, in the boundless ocean of which the Earth floats, and together with it, civilizations, peoples, continents move in space. And let me be weak, let my body be like a “fragile shell of a wall”, but my soul has absorbed both the sky and distant worlds ... ”the author writes.

There are several reasons for this discrepancy in the perception of the text, in my opinion. Firstly, an adequate understanding is impossible in principle, and secondly, the connection between the metaphorical meaning and the general language in Mandelstam's poems is so complex and unsteady that it allows for different interpretations. It is no coincidence that this poem, in my understanding, is clearly of a philosophical orientation, some readers tend to refer to love lyrics. And it is not necessary to consider them wrong. This means that they saw something completely different behind Mandelstam's images. Thirdly, Mandelstam's metaphors, in my opinion, are so complex and multifaceted that they hide various meanings. The metaphorical meaning seems to pulsate from a more superficial to a deeper meaning. The poem "expands" like circles on water: from a narrow meaning to a broader one. For a young man, everything is important: his own destiny, and the purpose of the poet in general, and the relationship of an individual with the abyss of the universe. All these problems exist in his mind together. And Mandelstam's skill lies in the fact that he was able to create metaphorical images that convey this unity, indivisibility, and the diversity of human consciousness. Another thing is that not every reader manages to comprehend all these meanings. For some, the deepest of them will remain hidden beyond innuendo. Hence the difference in the perception of Mandelstam's poetic works.

Experiment

Recently, we, high school students, face a very acute task of acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary for the perception, understanding and interpretation of texts of various styles and genres. Language and its artistic and expressive function are combined in fiction. Consequently, we must learn the properties and possibilities of all units of the language with the help of a literary text or on a textual basis.

The linguistic study of the text is considered as a way of educating the culture of perception and understanding of the text, that is, those linguistic means that the author has chosen to embody his author's intention. The author's intention is revealed on the basis of the reader's deciphering the meaning of the linguistic forms (structures) used by the artist.

Unfortunately, there are not many students in the school who are able to deeply understand the poetic text. At best, they know the definition of a metaphor or personification, they can find them in the text, but they do not understand their nature, do not see associative links, do not understand the versatility of meaning and do not try to understand it. But, for example, working on a metaphor contributes to the development of mental abilities, teaches you to think, analyze and synthesize, look for cause-and-effect relationships, establish a connection between objects and phenomena, and, of course, create.

In order to find out what kind of help linguistic analysis can provide in the interpretation of a literary text, in the 11th grade of secondary school No. 12 I conducted an experiment under the guidance of a teacher of the Russian language and literature Makarova I.A. The children were asked to read O. Mandelstam's poem "The Shell" and answer the following questions in writing: What feelings did you have after reading the poem? Did you manage to grasp its meaning? What is the author writing about?

The analysis of written works made it possible to divide the children into three groups. The first group included those who did not like the poem because it turned out to be incomprehensible. Their answers were categorical: “I did not like the poem. I do not understand. Some incomprehensible expressions. There were few of these guys. The second group was characterized by such answers: “I did not understand the poem. But I liked it by ear, and why I liked it, I can’t explain in words. It spins in the head, but does not get on the tongue. The children in the third group tried to uncover the meaning of the poem. At the same time, many of them themselves intuitively went to linguistic analysis. Here are lines from one work: “The word “night” is not used by the poet in the sense that it is a dark time of day. This is a dark time in his life. This is a time of alienation, when no one understands him." It can be seen that the student found a through image of the poem, felt that she had an extended metaphor in front of her (she just did not name the phenomenon), tried to explain its meaning and even correlate it with the direct meaning. Some guys came to understand the ambiguity of the poem. And in one work there was something like an attempt to comprehend the metaphorical system of the poem (again, of course, without using the term): “Some expressions are not entirely clear. But gradually these incomprehensible phrases suddenly open up.

Thus, almost all the guys emotionally responded to the poem, but few came to understand the meaning. Therefore, the work was continued. But now the children were asked questions that were supposed to help them remember the concept of metaphor: What makes it difficult to understand a poem? What is unusual about the language? What is the name of this phenomenon? Then we looked for cross-cutting images in the poem (night, the abyss of the world, a shell) and tried to understand why they are considered as such, based on the questions: What direct meaning do these words have in the language? What signs of real objects and phenomena formed the basis of the metaphorical image? What is the meaning of these words in the poem? Why could such a ratio of direct meanings to figurative ones arise?

The following questions were asked as summarizing questions:

1) Has your perception of the poem changed after the analysis? If so, how?

2) The meaning of what metaphors in the poem remained a mystery to you? Why do you think?

3) Is it possible to fully capture the meaning that the author put into the metaphors? Is this good or bad?

4) Is it possible to look at the metaphors you have analyzed differently? What are the reasons for this in the meanings of words?

It was interesting to compare the first (after the first reading) and the second (after analysis) versions of the perception of the poem. Here are excerpts from some of the work.

“The shell is fragile, mysterious, in ordinary life it is not needed, an empty thing, but it is beautiful, unusual. The shell is some kind of dream that, during his life, shows the poet the way to something lofty, beautiful.”

“The lyrical hero is vulnerable, unsure of himself, crushed by the“ night ”(life), a terrible, uncertain, alien environment. And he hopes that they will pay attention to him, take him under his protection, and life will again find meaning.

“A sink for a poet is associated with his former life. Until a certain age, he lived with his childhood imagination, believing that life ahead is beautiful, like a fairy tale, in which good always wins. But there comes a turning point ("I am cast ashore on your"), and a person, faced with difficulties, sees that life is not only beautiful, it has its own laws. Fate is sometimes both kind and cruel.

"This is a lyrical poem with a deep philosophical meaning, subtext, in which the poet connects the vast world with perception, with the feelings of an individual."

I was not surprised that my classmates had different associations about this poem. They wrote about love and loneliness, about the relationship between personality and power, about the role of man in the life of the universe. This only confirmed my idea that each reader has their own personal meanings. The study of the works showed that linguistic analysis helped to penetrate the complex world of Mandelstam's metaphorical images. Of course, not everyone has grasped the deep meaning of the poem. But they tried to do this, even those who at first categorically did not accept the "incomprehensible" poet.

findings

The interpretation of metaphors, and especially extended metaphors, is sometimes difficult and requires the reader to have relevant experience and knowledge, since the theme of a metaphor can be deeply hidden in a cultural and historical context. The interpretation of metaphors is the work of both the creator and the interpreter. Understanding (as well as creating) a metaphor is the result of a creative effort: it is just as little subject to rules.

The range of possibilities for interpreting and understanding metaphors is very wide, since it depends not only on the context of the lexical motivation of the expression, but also on the entire communicative situation in which this operation is carried out, and in particular on the competence of the addressee.

For language users trained in different ways, meaning-creating efforts begin and end at, perhaps, not at all contiguous points of this range. For a person who has become accustomed to the richness of literary texts, orientated in modern poetry and accustomed to the variety of colloquial and practical speech, the boundary of metaphorical processes is completely different from where it lies for an ordinary eater of the "daily bread" of television series. For a linguistic ignoramus, it can be at a dead point, close to zero - the simplest metaphorization will represent an insurmountable barrier of meaning for him.

However, not only the stylistic and linguistic preparation of the addressee is important here, but also his general attitude, the conviction in the existence or absence of a hidden meaning of the expression, the recognition of the right of its author to create such difficulties, the belief in the value of what gives overcoming these difficulties.

References:

1. Averintsev S. S. The fate and message of Mandelstam // Mandelstam O. E. Works, M., 1990.

2. Berezin F. M., Golovin B. N. General linguistics, M., 1979.

3. Karabchievsky Yu. Mandelstam Street // Youth, 1991, No. 1.

4. Mandelstam O. E. "Works", M., 1990.

5. Merkin G. S. Zybina T. M., Maksimchuk N. A. Development of speech. Expressive means of artistic speech: A guide for the teacher / Under the general editorship of G. S. Merkin, T. M. Zybina. - M .: OOO "Russian Word - Educational Book", 2002. - 208 p.

6. Moskvin V.P. Stylistics of the Russian language: Techniques and means of expressive and figurative speech (general classification). Part II: Student Handbook. - Volgograd: Teacher, 2004, pp. 123-127.

7. Nekrasova E. A. Metaphor and its environment in the context of artistic speech, M., 1995.

8. Ozhegov S. I. Dictionary of the Russian language: Ok. 57000 words / Ed. corresponding member ANSSSR N, Yu. Shvedova. - 20th ed., stereotype. M.: Rus. yaz., 1988. - 750 p.

9. Rogozinsky V. V. Finding a horseshoe // "Russian language and literature in secondary educational institutions of the Ukrainian SSR", 1989, No. 9.

How often do you meet people who can speak pure Russian, without repetition and banality, so as to hypnotize the interlocutor from the first words, and covering with a stream of thought, carry him to the very end of the dialogue, not letting the thread of the conversation be missed and carefully observing that Is the text being presented interesting to the listener?

Often, experienced speakers, writers and people whose profession, one way or another, is connected with communication and literature, are able to make such an impression on the interlocutor, to find his weaknesses. They succeed in this thanks to many different tricks, including when using literary speech - tropes. One of the paths that help make the statement clearer juicier and more figurative is the metaphor. And we will try to understand what it is, and what is its essence and meaning.

History of metaphor

I would like to write something about the origin of metaphor, but, fortunately, or vice versa, this is impossible. It originated, perhaps, together with language, fantasy, and with a person in principle. With him, she grew and developed.

So what is a metaphor in literature? If we consider this issue in the least detail, then we can say that this comparison, but, digging deeper, the definition will turn out to be more extensive for you. Metaphor - figurative comparison one object with another on the basis of some properties, this rule, by the way, the futurists tried to bypass and ignore as much as possible. The meaning of this path for them is the transmission of feelings, emotions and pictures in front of the reader. There are countless examples of outrageous futuristic metaphor in Mayakovsky's poems, which is why it is worth dwelling on:

• Behind the sun of the streets, a useless, flabby moon hobbled somewhere - the poet compares the moon with an old woman, weak and lonely;
• The street flour silently pearled.

A scream rose from his throat.

Bristled, stuck across the throat,

Plump taxis and bony hansoms.

The chest was in a hurry.

The consumptives are flatter. - this poem describes a comparison where the street is likened to a sick person;

• On the pavement

my soul is shattered

the steps of the lunatics

twist hard phrases heels. - in the same poem, on the contrary - the person himself is likened to the street.

• Throwing the Milky Way as a gallows, take and hang me, a criminal. - an incredible sentence that clearly describes the meaning of how the writer sees the starry sky, namely, the comparison of the milky way with a rope for the gallows where the author should be hanged.

We learn about metaphor as a literary trope from Aristotle's teachings, who believed that it should be as close as possible to the truth and personify an undeniable resemblance to the subject. The philosopher of antiquity was sure that art, including literature, should maximally convey the realism of the creator's surrounding life, this is its essence and meaning.

But, over time, opinions about the property and functions of comparison have changed markedly, and during the era of futurism, which was mentioned a little above, the creators came to the conclusion that this complex comparison should be used to make the reader think about why the author wanted to say exactly and in what he saw the comparison.

Basically, it's a metaphor description of the worldview the writer himself, a path, the essence of which is to convey the images swarming in the head of the writer, and to give the reader the opportunity to imagine the author's point of view as clearly as possible.

Structure and principles of metaphor

The metaphor itself is a multifaceted and complex concept, in which everything is not as easy to sort out as it might seem at first glance, but everyone has the right to a chance, so we will try.

Components of building a metaphor

Such a multifaceted comparison, reflecting the whole essence of the author's inner world and his vision of life, cannot but be structured, according to at least some dogmas and the law of literary vocabulary. So let's consider semantic elements, which are represented by particles of a single whole canvas - metaphors.

Consider the components on the example of such a metaphor: "it withered, losing its charm."

Types of metaphor

There are two main types of metaphors - dry and expanded. The differences between them are obvious and immediately evident, so the question of how to find a metaphor should not arise, even for inexperienced readers.

Dry metaphor- a comparison, often already firmly established in everyday life, which is sometimes difficult to notice in a conversation, for example:

• Eyeball - a metaphor whose meaning is obvious, and the comparison is in the word apple, due to the similarity of forms;
• Cabinet leg - leg, this comparison is used due to the fact that it is a support, as well as human lower limbs, although the furniture obviously cannot move on it;
• Golden words - naturally, words are not made of a precious stone, but such a parallel is drawn, thanks to the great value of what is said;
• Burning foliage - in fact, the foliage does not glow, it’s just that its color is very reminiscent of a fire, by the way, the time for “burning foliage” is Pushkin’s favorite time, also one of the fans of using vivid metaphors in his poems.

Expanded metaphor people often use literature. Such a comparison can last for a line, sentence, paragraph, page or book.

So, we can conclude that our language is rich and diverse. Moreover, it is vast and great. A huge number of writers, poets and philosophers have been proving these simple truths for centuries. From the great mind of Aristotle to Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy and, in the end, Mayakovsky and Vysotsky. They all talked about the delights of native conversation. And we need to remember only that the word can both kill and heal. Speak your native language and find beauty in the ordinary, good luck.

2.3 Extended metaphor

We have analyzed 4 poems that use detailed metaphors.

The use of one metaphor very often entails the stringing of new metaphors, related in meaning to the first; as a result of this, a detailed metaphor arises: (The golden grove dissuaded it with a birch, cheerful language ... - Her). Expanded metaphors attract word artists as a particularly striking stylistic device of figurative speech (17. p. 109).

Where silk grass lay down to the silent backwater.

A very interesting example. Yesenin's poem "Swan". Where is the silent backwater, i.e. the river bay, pressed into the shore, is standing, and he is very lonely. And next to it lay not just ordinary, green grass, but silk!

The day will go out, flashing the fifth gold.

In this example, taken from the poem "Dove", we see that S. Yesenin wanted to say that it will end, the day will go out, and we will see a bright red dawn.

And the eagle, flapping its wings, rushed to the ground like an arrow.

The poem "Swan". Where S. Yesenin shows us an obstinate, fast, proud eagle, which, flapping its wings, rushed to the ground like an arrow ...

The wattle fence has overgrown nettles, dressed up with bright mother-of-pearl.

In the poem "Good morning", Yesenin used an extended metaphor as a vivid stylistic device of figurative speech.

The work of S. Yesenin is characterized by the style of an extended metaphor.

2.4 Common language metaphor

We have studied more than 15 poems by S. Yesenin, and from them we have analyzed 5 examples with a metaphor of a general language character.

There are metaphors of a general language nature (erased or petrified), metaphors that retain "freshness", and metaphors of a proper poetic nature, which differ in their individual character. Common language petrified metaphors:

(a branch of the river, the neck of a bottle, the foot of a mountain, etc.) do not belong to the means of verbal figurativeness.

The stylistic means of this kind are metaphors of wide use, so to speak, with pre-made imagery, but not lost their novelty (their imagery is clearly felt by the speakers):

golden autumn, gray hair silver, diamond transparency, hot season, metal in the voice, warmth of meetings, oak (about a person).

These include the so-called folk-poetic constant metaphors and metaphorical epithets:

swan, dove (about a woman), falcon (about a person), thunderstorm (something awesome).

A metaphor should not be far-fetched, unnatural (when signs or concepts that are not combined in life, in nature are compared; remember that a metaphor is a hidden comparison). It must comply with the laws of the language. It should also be remembered that a metaphor (as well as other figurative means) tends to quickly “erase” from frequent use and turn into a standard. It is this process that is often observed in newspaper speech, when a recent new metaphor becomes an annoying template that has lost all its former imagery (beacons of production, high lines, green street).

Let's look at a common language metaphor with examples:

Set fire to hearts.

In this example, taken from S. Yesenin's poem "The Blacksmith", we see a fiery expression filled with energy and a charge of positive, strength and, of course, emotions, which has a huge impact on people!

Golden stars dozed off.

In Yesenin's poem "Good morning", the metaphor is shown very successfully, colorfully and brightly.

Sleepy birches smiled.

Here Yesenin creates an image for our birches. And the image is just the morning. Gently, as if with care, awe and love, he shows us smiling sleepy birch trees.

A row of weeping willows slumbers.

In this example, taken from the poem "Mikola", we see how willows are given an image, and how S. Yesenin endows them with feelings and liveliness.

God Himself flies over the earth.

In the poem "The Village", Yesenin uses actually poetic metaphors that differ in their individual character.

As a result of the analysis of several poems, we can conclude that general language metaphors are also quite common in the work of S. Yesenin.

Conclusions on chapter ΙΙ

After analyzing the use of various types of metaphor in the lyrics of S. Yesenin, we came to the following conclusions:

1. The processes of metaphorization often proceed in opposite directions: from man to nature, from nature to man, from the inanimate to the animate and from the living to the inanimate.

2. Metaphor arises when comparing objects belonging to different classes. The logical essence of a metaphor is defined as a category error or a taxonomic shift.

3. It should also be noted that Yesenin's metaphor can be nominal and verbal, each of which is divided into: personified, and non-personified.

5. Comparing objects, metaphor contrasts.

6. The metaphor reduces not only comparison, but also opposition, excluding from it the term containing negation: "Vanya is not a child, but a real loach." If the abbreviated term is important for interpreting the metaphor or focusing on the contrast, it can be reinstated: "It's not a cat, it's a bandit." Metaphor is truly an amazing trope!

Conclusion

Metaphor, how different it can be! Metaphor is used in everyday and artistic speech. Poetic metaphor differs from familiar household metaphor in its freshness and novelty. In poetry and prose, metaphor is not only a means of lexical expressiveness, but a way of constructing images.

We have analyzed more than 15 works by S. Yesenin:

“Mikola”, “Bogatyrsky whistle”, “Birch”, “Dove”, “Blacksmith”, “Swan”, “Good morning”, “Oktoikh”, “Village”, “Powder”, “Singing call”, “Green hairstyle ", and poems" 1914 "," 1916 ". and "1917" etc.

Metaphor is the most common means of forming new meanings, most of our everyday concepts are inherently metaphorical. Our everyday speech is replete with metaphor: it is raining, he has lost his head, dizzy, trading network, the sun is rising. (V.N. Yartsev)

There are several types into which metaphor can be subdivided: individual-author's, expanded and general language.

It can be simple, consisting of one expression used in a figurative sense, and expanded.

Also, the metaphor can be nominal and verbal, each of which is divided into: personified and non-personified.

In this term paper, the metaphor was shown in action, we tried to reveal all its facets, sides and mechanisms. But metaphor appeals to us because it is woven into life itself. Therefore, we cannot remain only theoreticians, dealing with metaphor. We won't fully appreciate her if we don't see what she's capable of.

Bibliography

1. Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. in 4 volumes. Under the editorship of Professor D.N. Ushakov. Publishing house "Terra", M., - 1996

2. Linguistic encyclopedic dictionary. Under the editorship of Professor V.N. Yartsev. "Soviet Encyclopedia", M., - 1990

3. Dictionary of Russian literature. Edited by M.T. Urtmintseva. Publishing house "Three heroes", Nizhny Novgorod, - 1997

4. Brief dictionary of literary terms. L. Timofeev, N. Vengrov. Publishing house "Uchpediz", M., - 1963

5. Literature and art: Universal encyclopedia of the student. Compiled by A.A. Vorotnikov. Minsk, "Valev" - 1995

6. Literature. Student's handbook. Edited by V.Ya. Lipkova, N.G. Bykova. Philological Society "Slovo", M., 1995

7. Modern Russian language. Theory. Analysis of language units. In 3 parts, part 1. Edited by E.I. Dibrova. Publishing house "Phoenix", Rostov - on - Don, 1997

8. Modern Russian language. Compiled by N.S. Volgina, D.E. Rosenthal. Publishing house "Higher school", M., 1971

9. History of Russian Soviet literature. In 4 volumes. Edited by A.T. Dementieva. Volume 1. Publishing house "Science", M., 1967

10. Yesenin's artistic quest. A.A. Volkov. "Soviet writer"., M., 1976

11. Sergei Yesenin: Image. Poems. Epoch. Prokushev Yu.L. Publishing house "Young Guard", M., 1989

12. Sergei Yesenin. Problems of creativity. Digest of articles. Compiled by P.F. Yushin. Publishing house "Sovremennik", M., 1978

13. Sergei Yesenin. Collected works in 3 volumes. Edited by E.A. Yesenina, S.A. Vasiliev. Publishing house "Pravda", M., 1970

14. Sergei Yesenin. Favorites. Edited by Zh.T. Novoselskaya, S. Krivshenko. Publishing house "Far East", Vladivostok, 1972

15. Sergei Yesenin: dramatic poems, poems. Publishing house "Fiction". Moscow 1966

16. Russian language. Encyclopedia. M., 1997

17. M.N. Kozhina "The style of the Russian language." Publishing house "Enlightenment".

18. I.B. Golub "The style of the Russian language". Moscow 1997 IRIS-press publishing house.

Abstracts for course work

1) METAPHOR (from the Greek. transfer) - a kind of trail, transferring the properties or features of one object to another according to the principle of similarity. Color, shape, nature of movement, any individual properties of objects can be similar. In metaphorical transfer, the object changes, but the representation or concept itself, previously assigned to another object, does not change entirely. Any sign of the original representation or concept necessarily remains (Ushakov).

2) The means of verbal imagery primarily include tropes and figures: metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, personification, figurative comparison, epithet, hyperbole, anaphora, epiphora, etc.

3) A metaphor can be simple, consisting of one expression, used in a figurative sense and expanded.

4) Yesenin's metaphor can be both nominal and verbal, each of which, in turn, is divided into non-personified and personified.

5) The processes of metaphorization often proceed in opposite directions: from man to nature, from nature to man, from the inanimate to the animate and from the living to the inanimate.

7) Comparing objects, metaphor contrasts.

8) Metaphor reduces not only comparison, but also opposition.

9) In this term paper, the metaphor was shown in action, we tried to reveal all its facets, sides and mechanisms. But metaphor appeals to us because it is woven into life itself. Therefore, we cannot remain only theoreticians, dealing with metaphor. We won't fully appreciate her if we don't see what she's capable of.

... (snow, bloom, blue, songs, etc.) are metaphorized and even symbolized, carrying an additional artistic meaning obtained in the context of Yesenin's work. In the poem "Winter sings - calls out ..." anthropomorphic metaphors and comparisons are skillfully and tastefully used. Winter "calls" and "sings", "lulls" the shaggy forest, "the snowstorm spreads like a silk carpet", and the blizzard roars and gets angry. ...

The figurative meaning of a word, when one phenomenon or object is likened to another, and both similarity and contrast can be used. Metaphor is the most common means of forming new meanings. Yesenin's poetics is distinguished not by the attraction to abstractions, allusions, vague symbols of ambiguity, but to materiality and concreteness. The poet creates his epithets, metaphors, comparisons and images. But he...

It is all in motion, in renewal, in harmonious unity with man. Figurative embodiment, a clear metaphor, a sensitive perception of folklore underlie Yesenin's artistic searches. 2. The theme of the motherland in Yesenin's lyrics. In all ages, artists, reflecting on the beauty and wretchedness of Russia, the love of freedom of her life and spiritual slavery, faith and unbelief, have sought to create a unique individual image...

Thus, having examined the lyrics of S. Yesenin, we see that the poet turns to cosmic motives in order to comprehend some events, to understand the world around him. "WOODY MOTIVES" OF S. YESENIN'S LYRICS Nature is the all-encompassing, main element of the poet's creativity. Many poems of the early S. Yesenin are imbued with a sense of inextricable connection with the life of nature ("Mother in the Bathing Room ...", "I do not regret ...

In vocabulary, the main means of expression are trails(translated from Greek - turn, turn, image) - special figurative and expressive means of the language, based on the use of words in a figurative sense.

The main types of tropes include: epithet, comparison, metaphor, personification, metonymy, synecdoche, paraphrase (periphrase), hyperbole, litote, irony.

Special lexical figurative and expressive means of language (tropes)

Epithet(translated from Greek - application, addition) is a figurative definition that marks a feature that is essential for a given context in the depicted phenomenon.

From a simple definition, the epithet differs in artistic expressiveness and figurativeness. The epithet is based on a hidden comparison.

Epithets include all "colorful" definitions, which are most often expressed by adjectives.

For example: sadly orphaned Earth(F. I. Tyutchev), gray fog, lemon light, silent peace(I. A. Bunin).

Epithets can also be expressed:

- nouns , acting as applications or predicates, giving a figurative description of the subject.

For example: sorceress - winter; mother - cheese earth; The poet is a lyre, not just the nurse of his soul(M. Gorky);

- adverbs acting as circumstances.

For example: In the wild stands alone in the north ...(M. Yu. Lermontov); The leaves were stretched tensely in the wind(K. G. Paustovsky);

- gerunds .

For example: the waves rush roaring and sparkling;

- pronouns expressing the superlative degree of this or that state of the human soul.

For example: After all, there were fighting fights, Yes, they say, some more!(M. Yu. Lermontov);

- participles and participle turnovers .

For example: Nightingales with rumbling words announce the forest limits(B. L. Pasternak); I also admit the appearance of ... scribblers who cannot prove where they spent the night yesterday, and who have no other words in the language, except for words, not remembering kinship (M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin).

The creation of figurative epithets is usually associated with the use of words in a figurative sense.

From the point of view of the type of figurative meaning of the word, acting as an epithet, all epithets are divided into:

metaphorical (They are based on a metaphorical figurative meaning.

For example: golden cloud, bottomless sky, lilac fog, walking cloud and standing tree.

Metaphorical epithets- a striking sign of the author's style:

You are my cornflower blue word
I love you forever.
How does our cow live now,
Sadness straw pulling?
(S.A. Yesenin. “I haven’t seen such beautiful ones?”);

How greedily the world of the night soul
Heeds the story of his beloved!
(Tyutchev. “What are you howling about, night wind?”).

metonymic (They are based on a metonymic figurative meaning.

For example: suede gait(V. V. Nabokov); scratchy look(M. Gorky); birch cheerful language(S. A. Yesenin).

From a genetic point of view epithets are divided into:

- general language (deathly silence, lead waves),

- folk-poetic (permanent) ( red sun, violent wind, good fellow).

In poetic folklore, the epithet, which, together with the defined word, constitutes a stable phrase, performed, in addition to the content, mnemonic function (gr. mnemo nicon- the art of memory).

Constant epithets made it easier for the singer, the narrator to perform the work. Any folklore text is saturated with such, for the most part, "decorating" epithets.

« In folklore, - writes the literary critic V.P. Anikin, - the girl is always red, well done - kind, father - dear, kids - small, youngster - remote, body - white, hands - white, tears - combustible, voice - loud, bow - low, table - oak, wine - green, vodka - sweet, eagle - gray, flower - scarlet, stone - combustible, sands - loose, night - dark, forest - stagnant, mountains - steep, forests - dense, cloud - formidable , the winds are violent, the field is clean, the sun is red, the bow is tight, the tavern is the king, the saber is sharp, the wolf is gray, etc.»

Depending on the genre, the selection of epithets has changed somewhat. Recreation of style, or stylization of folklore genres, involves the widespread use of constant epithets. Yes, they abound A song about Tsar Ivan Vasilievich, a young guardsman and a daring merchant Kalashnikov» Lermontov: the sun is red, the clouds are blue, the golden crown, the formidable king, the daring fighter, the thought is strong, the thought is black, the heart is hot, the shoulders are heroic, the saber is sharp etc.

The epithet can incorporate the properties of many trails . Based on metaphor or at metonymy , it can also be combined with the personification ... foggy and quiet azure over sadly orphaned earth(F. I. Tyutchev), hyperbole (Autumn already knows what deep and mute peace is - A harbinger of a long bad weather(I. A. Bunin) and other paths and figures.

The role of epithets in the text

All epithets as bright, "illuminating" definitions are aimed at enhancing the expressiveness of the images of the depicted objects or phenomena, at highlighting their most significant features.

In addition, epithets can:

Strengthen, emphasize any characteristic features of objects.

For example: Wandering among the rocks, a yellow ray crept into the wild cave And illuminated the smooth skull...(M. Yu. Lermontov);

Clarify the distinguishing features of the object (shape, color, size, quality):

For example: Forest, like a painted tower, Lilac, gold, crimson, Cheerful, motley wall Stands over a bright glade(I. A. Bunin);

Create word combinations that are contrasting in meaning and serve as the basis for creating an oxymoron: squalid luxury(L. N. Tolstoy), brilliant shadow(E. A. Baratynsky);

To convey the attitude of the author to the depicted, to express the author's assessment and the author's perception of the phenomenon: ... Dead words smell bad(N. S. Gumilyov); And we value the prophetic word, and we honor the Russian word, And we will not change the power of the word.(S. N. Sergeev-Tsensky); What does it mean smiling blessing heaven, this happy resting earth?(I. S. Turgenev)

Figurative epithets highlight the essential aspects of the depicted without introducing a direct assessment (“ in the blue fog of the sea», « in the dead sky" etc.).

In expressive (lyric) epithets , on the contrary, the relation to the depicted phenomenon is clearly expressed (“ flickering images of crazy people», « tedious night story»).

It should be borne in mind that this division is rather arbitrary, since pictorial epithets also have an emotional and evaluative meaning.

Epithets are widely used in artistic and journalistic, as well as in colloquial and popular science styles of speech.

Comparison- This is a visual technique based on the comparison of one phenomenon or concept with another.

Unlike metaphor comparison is always binomial : it names both compared objects (phenomena, signs, actions).

For example: Villages are burning, they have no protection. The sons of the fatherland are defeated by the enemy, And the glow, like an eternal meteor, Playing in the clouds, frightens the eye.(M. Yu. Lermontov)

Comparisons are expressed in various ways:

Form of the instrumental case of nouns.

For example: Nightingale stray Youth flew by, Wave in bad weather Joy subsided.(A.V. Koltsov) The moon slides like a pancake in sour cream.(B. Pasternak) Leaves flew like stars.(D. Samoilov) Flying rain sparkles golden in the sun.(V. Nabokov) Icicles hang like glass fringes.(I. Shmelev) A patterned clean towel A rainbow hangs from the birches.(N. Rubtsov)

The form of the comparative degree of an adjective or adverb.

For example: These eyes are greener than the sea and darker than our cypresses.(A. Akhmatova) Girl's eyes are brighter than roses.(A. S. Pushkin) But the eyes are blue of the day.(S. Yesenin) Bushes of mountain ash are more foggy than depth.(S. Yesenin) Freer youth.(A. S. Pushkin) The truth is more valuable than gold.(Proverb) Lighter than the sun is the throne room. M. Tsvetaeva)

Comparative turnovers with unions like, like, like, like and etc.

For example: Like a predatory animal, into a humble abode The winner bursts with bayonets ...(M. Yu. Lermontov) April looks at a bird's flight With eyes as blue as ice.(D. Samoilov) Here every village is so loving, As if in it the beauty of the whole universe. (A. Yashin) And stand behind the oak nets Like the evil spirits of the forest, stumps.(S. Yesenin) Like a bird in a cage, The heart jumps.(M. Yu. Lermontov) my verses, like precious wines, It will be your turn.(M. I. Tsvetaeva) It's close to noon. The fire is burning. Like a plowman, the battle rests. (A. S. Pushkin) The past, like the bottom of the sea, Spreads like a pattern in the distance.(V. Bryusov)

Beyond the river in restlessness
cherry blossomed,
Like snow across the river
Filled the stitch.
Like light blizzards
Rushed with all their might
Like swans were flying
Dropped fluff.(A. Prokofiev)

With the help of words similar, like this.

For example: Your eyes look like the eyes of a cautious cat(A. Akhmatova);

With the help of comparative clauses.

For example: Golden foliage swirled in pinkish water on the pond, Like butterflies, a light flock With fading flies to the star. (S. A. Yesenin) The rain sows, sows, sows, It has been drizzling since midnight, Like a muslin curtain Hanging behind the windows. (V. Tushnova) Heavy snow, spinning, covered the Sunless heights, As if hundreds of white wings flew silently. (V. Tushnova) Like a tree shedding its leaves So I drop sad words.(S. Yesenin) How the king loved rich palaces So I fell in love with the ancient roads And the blue eyes of eternity!(N. Rubtsov)

Comparisons can be direct andnegative

Negative comparisons are especially typical for oral folk poetry and can serve as a way to stylize the text.

For example: It's not a horse top, not human talk... (A. S. Pushkin)

A special type of comparison is extended comparisons, with the help of which entire texts can be built.

For example, the poem by F. I. Tyutchev " Like hot ashes...»:
Like hot ashes
The scroll smokes and burns
And the fire is hidden and deaf
Words and lines devour -

So sadly my life is smoldering
And every day the smoke goes away
So gradually I go out
In unbearable monotony! ..

Oh Heaven, if only once
This flame developed at will -
And, without languishing, without tormenting the share,
I would shine - and went out!

The role of comparisons in the text

Comparisons, like epithets, are used in the text in order to enhance its figurativeness and figurativeness, create more vivid, expressive images and highlight, emphasize any significant features of the depicted objects or phenomena, as well as to express the author's assessments and emotions.

For example:
I like it my friend
When the word melts
And when it sings
Heat pours over the line,
So that words blush from words,
So that they, going in flight,
Curled, fought to sing,
To eat like honey.
(A. A. Prokofiev);

In every soul it seems to live, burn, glow, like a star in the sky, and, like a star, it goes out when it, having completed its life path, flies from our lips ... It happens that an extinguished star for us, people on earth, burns for another thousand years. (M. M. Prishvin)

Comparisons as a means of linguistic expressiveness can be used not only in literary texts, but also in journalistic, colloquial, scientific ones.

Metaphor(translated from Greek - transfer) is a word or expression that is used in a figurative sense based on the similarity of two objects or phenomena on some basis. It is sometimes said that a metaphor is a hidden comparison.

For example, a metaphor Red rowan bonfire burns in the garden (S. Yesenin) contains a comparison of rowan brushes with a fire flame.

Many metaphors have become commonplace in everyday use and therefore do not attract attention, have lost imagery in our perception.

For example: bank burst, dollar circulation, dizzy and etc.

In contrast to comparison, in which both what is being compared and what is being compared is given, a metaphor contains only the second, which creates compactness and figurativeness of the use of the word.

The metaphor can be based on the similarity of objects in shape, color, volume, purpose, sensations, etc.

For example: a waterfall of stars, an avalanche of letters, a wall of fire, an abyss of grief, a pearl of poetry, a spark of love and etc.

All metaphors are divided into two groups:

1) general language ("erased")

For example: golden hands, a storm in a teacup, move mountains, strings of the soul, love faded ;

2) artistic (individual-author's, poetic)

For example: And the stars fade diamond thrill in the painless cold of dawn (M. Voloshin); Empty skies clear glass(A. Akhmatova); And blue eyes, bottomless bloom on the far shore. (A. A. Blok)

Metaphors of Sergei Yesenin: bonfire of red mountain ash, birch cheerful tongue of the grove, chintz of the sky; or September's bloody tears, overgrowth of raindrops, lantern buns and roof tops at Boris Pasternak
The metaphor is paraphrased into a comparison using auxiliary words. like, like, like, like etc.

There are several types of metaphor: erased, expanded, realized.

Erased - a common metaphor, the figurative meaning of which is no longer felt.

For example: chair leg, headboard, sheet of paper, clock hand etc.

A whole work or a large excerpt from it can be built on a metaphor. Such a metaphor is called "unfolded", in which the image "unfolds", that is, it is revealed in detail.

So, the poem by A.S. Pushkin “ Prophet"is an example of an extended metaphor. The transformation of the lyrical hero into the herald of the will of the Lord - the poet-prophet, his quenching " spiritual thirst", that is, the desire to know the meaning of being and find one's calling, is depicted by the poet gradually: " six-winged seraph", the messenger of God, transformed the hero of his" right hand"- the right hand, which was an allegory of strength and power. By God's power, the lyrical hero received a different vision, a different hearing, other mental and spiritual abilities. He could " heed”, that is, to comprehend the sublime, heavenly values ​​\u200b\u200band earthly, material existence, to feel the beauty of the world and its suffering. Pushkin depicts this beautiful and painful process, “ stringing"one metaphor to another: the hero's eyes acquire eagle vigilance, his ears fill" noise and ringing"of life, the language ceases to be "idle and crafty", passing on the wisdom received as a gift, " quivering heart" turns into " coal burning with fire". The chain of metaphors is held together by the general idea of ​​the work: the poet, as Pushkin wanted to see him, should be a forerunner of the future and an exposer of human vices, inspire people with his word, encourage goodness and truth.

Examples of an extended metaphor are often found in poetry and prose (the main part of the metaphor is marked in italics, its “deployment” is underlined):
... let's say goodbye together,
O my light youth!
Thanks for the pleasure
For sadness, for sweet torment,
For noise, for storms, for feasts,
For everything, for all your gifts...
A.S. Pushkin " Eugene Onegin"

We drink from the cup of life
With closed eyes...
Lermontov "Cup of Life"

…boy caught by love
To a girl wrapped in silks...
N. Gumilyov " Eagle of Sinbad"

The golden grove dissuaded
Birch cheerful language.
S. Yesenin " The golden grove dissuaded…"

Sad, and crying, and laughing,
The streams of my poems are ringing
At your feet
And every verse
Runs, weaves a living ligature,
Their not knowing the shores.
A. Blok " Sad, and crying, and laughing..."

Save my speech forever for the taste of misfortune and smoke ...
O. Mandelstam " Save my speech forever…"

... seethed, washing away the kings,
July Curve Street...
O. Mandelstam " I pray like pity and mercy..."

Here the wind embraces a flock of waves with a strong embrace and throws them on a grand scale in wild anger on the rocks, breaking the emerald bulks into dust and spray.
M. Gorky " Song of the Petrel"

The sea has woken up. It played in small waves, giving birth to them, decorating with fringed foam, pushing against each other and breaking them into fine dust.
M. Gorky " Chelkash"

Realized - metaphor , which again acquires a direct meaning. The result of this process at the everyday level is often comical:

For example: I lost my temper and got on the bus

The exam will not take place: all tickets are sold.

If you've gone into yourself, don't come back empty-handed etc.

The simple-hearted joker-gravedigger in the tragedy of W. Shakespeare " Hamlet”to the question of the protagonist about,“ on what ground"lost his mind" the young prince, replies: " In our Danish". He understands the word the soil"literally - the top layer of the earth, the territory, while Hamlet means figuratively - for what reason, as a result of which.

« Oh, you are heavy, Monomakh's hat! "- the tsar complains in the tragedy of A.S. Pushkin" Boris Godunov". The crown of Russian tsars since the time of Vladimir Monomakh has been in the form of a hat. It was adorned with precious stones, so it was "heavy" in the literal sense of the word. In a figurative way - Monomakh's hat» personified « heaviness”, the responsibility of the royal power, the heavy duties of the autocrat.

In the novel by A.S. Pushkin " Eugene Onegin» An important role is played by the image of the Muse, which since ancient times has personified the source of poetic inspiration. The expression "the muse visited the poet" has a figurative meaning. But Muse - the poet's friend and inspirer - appears in the novel in the form of a living woman, young, beautiful, cheerful. AT " student cell» Precisely Muse « opened a feast of young inventions- pranks and serious disputes about life. It is she who " sang"Everything that the young poet aspired to - earthly passions and desires: friendship, a cheerful feast, thoughtless joy -" children's fun". Muse, " how the bacchante frolicked", and the poet was proud of his" windy girlfriend».

During the southern exile, Muse appeared as a romantic heroine - a victim of her pernicious passions, resolute, capable of reckless rebellion. Her image helped the poet create an atmosphere of mystery and mystery in his poems:

How often l asce Muse
I delighted the dumb way
By the magic of a secret story!..

At the turning point of the author's creative quest, it was she who
She appeared as a county lady,
With sad thoughts in my eyes...

Throughout the entire work affectionate Muse"was correct" girlfriend» poet.

The realization of a metaphor is often found in the poetry of V. Mayakovsky. So, in the poem A cloud in pants" it implements the running expression " nerves went wild" or " nerves are naughty»:
Hear:
quiet,
like a sick person out of bed
nerve jumped.
here, -
first walked
barely,
then he ran
excited,
clear.
Now he and the new two
rushing about in a desperate tap dance ...
Nerves -
big,
small,
many -
jumping mad,
and already
the nerves give way to the legs!

It should be remembered that the boundary between different types of metaphor is very conditional, unsteady, and it can be difficult to accurately determine the type.

The role of metaphors in the text

Metaphor is one of the brightest and most powerful means of creating expressiveness and figurativeness of the text.

Through the metaphorical meaning of words and phrases, the author of the text not only enhances the visibility and visibility of what is depicted, but also conveys the uniqueness, individuality of objects or phenomena, while showing the depth and nature of his own associative-figurative thinking, vision of the world, the measure of talent (“The most important thing is to be skillful in metaphors. Only this cannot be adopted from another - this is a sign of talent "(Aristotle).

Metaphors serve as an important means of expressing the author's assessments and emotions, the author's characteristics of objects and phenomena.

For example: I feel stuffy in this atmosphere! Kites! Owl nest! Crocodiles!(A.P. Chekhov)

In addition to artistic and journalistic styles, metaphors are characteristic of colloquial and even scientific style (" the ozone hole », « electron cloud " and etc.).

personification- this is a kind of metaphor based on the transfer of signs of a living being to natural phenomena, objects and concepts.

Often personifications are used in describing nature.

For example:
Rolling through sleepy valleys
Sleepy mists lay down,
And only the stomp of a horse,
Sounding, is lost in the distance.
Extinguished, turning pale, the day autumn,
Rolling fragrant leaves,
Eating dreamless sleep
Semi-withered flowers.
(M. Yu. Lermontov)

Less often, personifications are associated with the objective world.

For example:
Isn't it true, never again
We won't break up? Enough?..
And the violin answered Yes,
But the heart of the violin was in pain.
The bow understood everything, it calmed down,
And in the violin, the echo kept everything ...
And it was a pain for them
What people thought was music.
(I. F. Annensky);

There was something good-natured and at the same time cozy in face of this house. (D.N. Mamin-Sibiryak)

Avatars- the paths are very old, with their roots in pagan antiquity and therefore occupy such an important place in mythology and folklore. The Fox and the Wolf, the Hare and the Bear, the epic Serpent Gorynych and the Poganoe Idolishche - all these and other fantastic and zoological characters of fairy tales and epics are familiar to us from early childhood.

One of the literary genres closest to folklore, the fable, is based on personification.

Even today, without personification, it is unthinkable to imagine works of art; without them, our everyday speech is unthinkable.

Figurative speech not only visually represents thought. Its advantage is that it is shorter. Instead of describing the subject in detail, we can compare it with an already known subject.

It is impossible to imagine poetic speech without using this technique:
"The storm covers the sky with mist
Whirlwinds of snow twisting,
Like a beast, she will howl,
He will cry like a child."(A.S. Pushkin)

The role of personifications in the text

Personifications serve to create vivid, expressive and figurative pictures of something, to enhance the transmitted thoughts and feelings.

Personification as an expressive means is used not only in the artistic style, but also in journalistic and scientific.

For example: X-ray shows, the device speaks, the air heals, something stirred in the economy.

The most common metaphors are formed on the principle of personification, when an inanimate object acquires the properties of an animate one, as if acquiring a face.

1. Usually, the two components of a metaphor-personification are the subject and the predicate: the blizzard was angry», « the golden cloud spent the night», « waves are playing».

« get angry", that is, only a person can experience irritation, but" winter storm", a blizzard, plunging the world into cold and darkness, also brings" evil". « spend the night", sleep peacefully at night, only living beings are capable," cloud"But personifies a young woman who has found an unexpected shelter. Marine « waves"in the imagination of the poet" play', like children.

We often find examples of metaphors of this type in the poetry of A.S. Pushkin:
Not suddenly raptures will leave us ...
A death dream flies over him ...
My days are gone...
The spirit of life woke up in him...
Fatherland caressed you ...
Poetry awakens in me...

2. Many metaphors-personifications are built according to the method of management: “ lyre singing», « the voice of the waves», « fashion darling», « happiness darling" and etc.

A musical instrument is like a human voice, and it too " sings”, and the splashing of the waves resembles a quiet conversation. " favorite», « minion"are not only in people, but also in the wayward" fashion"or changeable" happiness».

For example: "Winters of threat", "Abyss voice", "joy of sadness", "day of despondency", "son of laziness", "threads ... of fun", "brother by muse, by fate", "victim of slander", "cathedral wax faces ”, “Joy language”, “mourn the burden”, “hope of young days”, “pages of malice and vice”, “shrine voice”, “by the will of passions”.

But there are metaphors formed differently. The criterion of difference here is the principle of animation and inanimateness. An inanimate object does NOT gain the properties of an animate object.

one). Subject and predicate: “ Desire is seething”, “Eyes are burning”, “Heart is empty”.

Desire in a person can manifest itself to a strong degree, seethe and " boil". Eyes, betraying excitement, shine and " are burning". Heart, soul, not warmed by feeling, can become " empty».

For example: “I learned grief early, I was comprehended by persecution”, “our youth will not suddenly fade”, “noon ... burned”, “the moon floats”, “conversations flow”, “stories spread out”, “love ... faded away”, “I call the shadow "," life fell.

2). Phrases built according to the method of management can also, being metaphors, NOT be personification: “ dagger of treachery», « glory tomb», « chain of clouds" and etc.

Steel arms - " dagger" - kills a person, but " treason"is like a dagger and can also destroy, break life. " Tomb"- this is a crypt, a grave, but not only people can be buried, but also glory, worldly love. " Chain" consists of metal links, but " clouds”, whimsically intertwining, form a semblance of a chain in the sky.

For example: “flattering necklaces”, “twilight of freedom”, “forest ... voices”, “clouds of arrows”, “noise of poetry”, “bell of brotherhood”, “poems incandescence”, “fire ... black eyes”, “salt of solemn insults”, “ the science of parting”, “the flame of southern blood” .

Many metaphors of this kind are formed according to the principle of reification, when the word being defined receives the properties of some substance, material: "windows crystal", "gold hair" .

On a sunny day, the window seems to sparkle like " crystal", and the hair takes on the color" gold". Here, the hidden comparison embedded in the metaphor is especially noticeable.

For example: "in the black velvet of the Soviet night, In the velvet of the world's emptiness", "poems ... grape meat", "crystal of high notes", "poems with rattling pearls".

The majesty of the Russian language knows no limits. We can rearrange words in a sentence, use words in some special form, or even come up with catchwords (for example: "fintipulka" - like some kind of detail or little thing). At the same time, we understand each other very well. It is difficult to explain such features to a foreigner. But even if you do not accept "words", but use the Russian language like a true philologist, you are not immune from the bewildered expressions on the faces of foreigners (and sometimes Russian people). For example, you are using trails. Today we will talk about one of its types: what is a metaphor?

Metaphor Definition

Metaphor (from Greek "figurative meaning") - a kind of trail; a phrase used in a figurative sense, which is based on the transfer of features from one phenomenon to another due to the presence of certain similarities between them (i.e. comparison).

3 comparison elements

1. what is being compared ("subject")
2. what it compares to ("image")
3. on the basis of which it is compared ("sign")

For example: "chocolate candy" - "chocolate tan" (color transfer); "the dog howls" - "the wind howls" (the nature of the sound).

So, we conclude what a metaphor is in Russian: it is a figurative expression, a hidden comparison.

Metaphor Functions

Evaluation function

Metaphors are used to evoke certain, fairly specific associations about an object (phenomenon) in a person.

For example: "man-wolf", "sharp vision", "cold heart".

Thus, the metaphor "man-wolf" evokes associations associated with malice, rapacity.

Emotive-evaluative function

Metaphor is used to obtain an expressive effect as a means of emotional impact.

For example: "He looked at her like a ram at a new gate."

Another function that shows what a metaphor is for is a means of creating figurative speech. Here the metaphor is associated with artistic forms of reflection of the world. This function rather answers the question of what a metaphor is in literature. The function is expanding, now it is not only a comparison with the aim of strengthening some feature, now it is the creation of a new image in the imagination. Both the emotional sphere and the logical sphere are already involved: the metaphor creates an image and fills it with specific emotional content.

Nominative function

Inclusion (with the help of a metaphor) of a new object in the cultural and linguistic context by creating a name for it by direct analogy. That is, a name is given to a new object (phenomenon) by comparing it with those already existing in reality.

For example: "digest information" - that is, as something languishes and boils in a saucepan, so thoughts "cook" in the head (in a confined space). Or, for example, the head is called a bowler hat (according to a similar round shape).

The cognitive function of metaphors is obvious. Metaphors help to see the essential in the object, the main properties. Metaphors fill our knowledge with new semantic content.

We have tried to make it clear what a metaphor is. Examples will help you better understand the material. Try to come up with examples for each function of the metaphor yourself.

Types of metaphors

1. Sharp metaphor. Connects concepts that are far apart in meaning. For example: "stuffing the statement"
2. Lost metaphor. On the contrary, it connects concepts whose figurative character is similar. For example: "table leg".
3. Metaphor-formula. Close to an erased metaphor, but even more stereotyped. Sometimes it cannot be converted to a non-figurative construction. For example: "worm of doubt".
4. Expanded metaphor. It unfolds throughout the entire statement, message (or throughout a large fragment).
5. Realized metaphor. A metaphor used as if it had a direct meaning (that is, it does not take into account the figurative nature of the metaphor). The outcome can be comical. For example: "I lost my temper and entered the house."

Now you know what a metaphor is and what it is for. Use them in conversation and surprise others.