Epithet in poetry. What is an epithet in literature? Examples of epithets from fiction

(“fun noise”), numeral (second life).

An epithet is a word or an entire expression, which, due to its structure and special function in the text, acquires some new meaning or semantic connotation, helps the word (expression) gain color and richness. It is used both in poetry (more often) and in prose.

Without having a definite position in the theory of literature, the name “epithet” is applied approximately to those phenomena that are called a definition in syntax, and an adjective in etymology; but the coincidence is only partial.

Theorists do not have an established view of the epithet: some attribute it to figures, others place it, along with figures and tropes, as an independent means of poetic depiction; some identify the epithets decorative and permanent, others separate them; Some consider the epithet to be an element of exclusively poetic speech, others find it in prose as well.

This “oblivion of real meaning,” in the terminology of A. N. Veselovsky, is already a secondary phenomenon, but the very appearance of a constant epithet cannot be considered primary: its constancy, which is usually considered a sign of epic, epic worldview, is the result of selection after some diversity.

It is possible that in the era of the most ancient (syncretistic, lyric-epic) song creativity this constancy did not yet exist: “only later did it become a sign of that typically conventional - and class - worldview and style, which we consider, somewhat one-sidedly, to be characteristic of epic and folk poetry."

Epithets can be expressed by different parts of speech (Mother Volga, wind-tramp, bright eyes, damp earth). Epithets are a very common concept in literature; without them it is impossible to imagine a single work of art.

Notes

Rhetorical figures
Figures speeches
Trails

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Synonyms:

See what “Epithet” is in other dictionaries:

Epithet- EPITHET (Greek Επιθετον, appended) a term of stylistics and poetics, denoting the word definition accompanying the word being defined. Tradition, dating back to ancient views, distinguishes between a “necessary epithet” (epitheton necessarium) and... ... Dictionary of literary terms

- (Greek, epi on, tithemi I place). An apt definition, in the interests of figurativeness, attached to some word and indicating its essential feature. Eg. The sea is blue, the forests are dark. Dictionary of foreign words included in... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Cm … Dictionary of synonyms

epithet- a, m. épithète f. gr. epithetos attached. The simplest form of poetic trope, which is a definition that characterizes what kind of person. property, feature of an object, concept, phenomenon. ALS 1. Often from a change, omission or... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

EPITHET, epithet, husband. (Greek epitheton, lit. attached). One of the visual poetic means is a definition attached to the name of an object for greater imagery (lit.). Constant epithets of folk poetry (for example, blue sea, open field) ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

EPITHET- (epithet). Any word in a name that follows the generic name. cm … Terms of botanical nomenclature

- (Greek epitheton, literally attached), trope, figurative definition (expressed mainly by an adjective, but also by an adverb, noun, numeral, verb), giving additional artistic characteristics of the subject... ... Modern encyclopedia

- (Greek epitheton lit. attached), trope, figurative definition (expressed mainly by an adjective, but also an adverb, noun, numeral, verb), giving an additional artistic characteristic of an object (phenomenon) in the form of ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

EPITHET, a, m. In poetics: figurative, artistic definition. Constant e. (in folk literature, for example, blue sea, golden curls). Unflattering e. (translated: about a disapproving characterization of someone or something). Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

- (Greek epiJetoV superimposed, attached) term of literary theory: a definition of a word that affects its expressiveness. The content of this term is not stable and clear enough, despite its common use. The convergence of literary history... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

What is one of the main beauties of human interaction? Of course, in communication, sharing your thoughts, emotions, sensations with each other through language. Now imagine if all our conversations came down solely to the transfer of this or that information, bare data without any figurative characteristics and additional meanings reflecting our attitude to what was said. This would be reminiscent of the communication of machines exchanging various combinations of zeros and ones, only instead of numbers there are words that do not carry any emotional connotation. Expressiveness of speech is important not only in everyday communication, but also in literature (and here it is “vital”). Agree, it is difficult to imagine a novel, poem or fairy tale that does not use figurative definitions and others. This is why epithets are important in our speech, both oral and written. What is it? This is precisely what helps make the words and phrases used more colorful, more accurately convey their essential features and express our attitude towards them. Next, we will take a closer look at this concept, define the role and meaning of epithets in speech, and also try to classify them depending on the purposes and features of application.

The concept of an epithet and types of its constructions

Let's start by presenting a complete and deeper understanding of the word "epithet": what it is, what structure it has, how it is used in certain situations.

Adjectives as epithets

From ancient Greek, “epithet” is translated as something “attached” or “added” to the main thing. This is true. These special expressive words always come as a complement to others denoting some object (object or subject). Usually this is a “definition + noun” construction, where the epithet is a definition, usually an adjective (but not necessarily). Let's give simple examples: black melancholy, dead of night, powerful shoulders, sugar lips, a hot kiss, cheerful colors, etc.

In this case, adjectives are epithets that allow us to draw a more complete picture of a particular subject: not just melancholy, but “black”, oppressive, impenetrable; not just a kiss, but a “hot”, passionate, giving pleasure - such a description makes you feel more deeply what the author wants to convey, experience some sensations and emotions.

Using other parts of speech as epithets

However, the role of epithets can be played not only by an adjective; often in this “role” adverbs, nouns, pronouns, and even participial and participial phrases (that is, not one word, but a combination of them) appear. Often it is these parts of speech that make it possible to more accurately and vividly convey an image and create the desired atmosphere than adjectives would do.

Let's look at examples of using various parts of speech as epithets:

Adverbs. In a sentence they are circumstances. Examples: “The grass bloomed merrily” (Turgenev); “And I complain bitterly, and I shed bitter tears” (Pushkin).
Nouns. They give a figurative description of the subject. Act as applications or predicates. Examples: “Oh, if only Mother Volga ran back!” (Tolstoy); "Spring of honor, our idol!" (Pushkin).
Pronouns. They are used as epithets when they express the superlative degree of a phenomenon. Example: "...combat contractions...they say what kind of contractions!" (Lermontov).
Participles. Example: “...I, enchanted, cut the thread of consciousness...” (Blok).
Participial phrases. Examples: “A leaf ringing and dancing in the silence of centuries” (Krasko); “...borzopists...who have nothing in their language except words that do not remember kinship” (Saltykov-Shchedrin).
Participles and participial phrases. Examples: “...playing hide and seek, the sky comes down from the attic” (Pasternak); “... frolicking and playing, it rumbles...” (Tyutchev).

Thus, epithets in speech can be not only adjectives, but also other parts of speech if they help convey an image and more accurately express the properties of the object being described.

Independent epithets

Rarely, there are cases when expressive means are used in a text without a main word; epithets act as independent definitions without qualifiers. Example: “I look for strange and new things on the pages of old, scribbled books” (Block). Here the epithets “strange” and “new” simultaneously play two roles - both the definition and the defined. This technique is typical for the literature of the era of symbolism.

Methods for classifying epithets

So, now we have a fairly clear idea of such an important term in literary theory as epithets. We looked at what it is and how it is used. However, for a better understanding of this phenomenon, it is important to be able to distinguish and classify epithets according to certain criteria. Despite the fact that the main and most important purpose of using these expressive means always comes down to one thing - to describe, to give an artistic definition of an object or phenomenon, all epithets can be classified. They are divided into groups according to different parameters, which we will consider below.

Types of epithets from a genetic point of view

The first group divides epithets into types depending on genetic origin:

general language (decorating);
folk poetic (permanent);
individually-authored.

General linguistic ones, also called decorative ones, represent any characteristics that describe objects and phenomena and their properties. Examples: gentle sea, deathly silence, lead clouds, ringing silence, etc. We usually use them in everyday speech in order to better convey the atmosphere of the event/object being described and our feelings to the interlocutor.

Folk poetic, or permanent, epithets are words or entire expressions that over many years have become firmly attached to certain words in people’s minds. Examples: good fellow, red maiden, clear month, open field and others.

Individual author's epithets are a product of the creative thought of the author himself. That is, previously these words or phrases were not used in speech in exactly this meaning, and therefore were not epithets. There are a lot of them in fiction, especially in poetry. Examples: “the face of the thousand-eyed trust...” (Mayakovsky); “transparent flattery necklace”, “rosary of golden wisdom” (Pushkin); “...an eternal motive in the middle of life” (Brodsky).

Epithets based on metaphor and metonymy

Epithets can also be divided into groups according to other criteria. Since figurative epithets are often associated with the use of words in a figurative meaning, depending on the type of this figurative word (which is an epithet), we can distinguish:

metaphorical;
metonymic.

Metaphorical epithets, as is already clear from the name, are based on “light patterns”, “winter silver” (Pushkin); “dull, sad friendship”, “sad, mournful reflection” (Herzen); “barren fields” (Lermontov).

Metonymic epithets are based on the figurative metonymic meaning of the word. Examples: “her hot, scratching whisper” (Gorky); “birch, cheerful language” (Yesenin).

In addition, epithets based on metaphorical or metonymic meaning can incorporate properties of other tropes: combined with hyperbole, personification, etc.

Examples: “Loudly winged arrows, beating behind the shoulders, sounded / In the procession of an angry god: he walked, like the night” (Homer); “He cursed, begged, cut / climbed after someone to bite into the sides. / In the sky, red as a Marseillaise / the sunset trembled, rounding around” (Mayakovsky).

This use of epithets makes it possible to express the author’s perception of some phenomena/objects even brighter, stronger, and more accurately and to convey these feelings to readers or listeners.

Epithets from the point of view of the author's assessment

Epithets can be divided into groups depending on how the author’s assessment is expressed in the work:

figurative;
expressive.

The former are used to express features and focus attention on some significant differences and properties of an object without expressing the author’s assessment of it. Examples: “...in the autumn twilight, how ghostly the transparency of the garden reigns” (Brodsky); “Your fences have a cast-iron pattern/And a blue flame of punch” (Pushkin).

Expressive epithets (as is already clear from the name) give readers the opportunity to hear the author’s attitude, his clearly expressed assessment of the described object or phenomenon. Examples: “meaningless and dim light” (Block); “the heart is a cold piece of iron” (Mayakovsky).

However, it is worth noting that such a division is very conditional, since often figurative epithets also have an emotional connotation and are a consequence of the author’s perception of certain objects.

The evolution of the use of epithets in literature

When discussing what epithets are in literature, one cannot help but touch upon the topic of their evolution over time. They are constantly undergoing change, both historically and culturally. In addition, epithets differ depending on the geography (place of residence) of the people who created them. Our upbringing, characteristics and living conditions, experienced events and phenomena, experience gained - all this influences the images created in speech, as well as the meaning that is inherent in them.

Epithets and Russian folk art

Epithets - what are these images in oral folk art? At the early stage of the development of literature, epithets, as a rule, described some physical properties of objects and highlighted significant, key features in them. The emotional component and expression of attitude towards the described object faded into the background or were completely absent. In addition, folk epithets were distinguished by exaggeration of the properties of objects and phenomena. Examples: good fellow, untold riches, etc.

Epithets of the Silver Age and postmodernism

With the passage of time and the development of literature, epithets became more complex, their designs changed, and their role in works changed. The novelty of poetic language, and therefore the use of epithets, is especially clearly visible in the literary works of the Silver Age. Wars, rapid scientific and technological progress and related changes in the world have led to changes in human perception of the world. Writers and poets began searching for new literary forms. Hence the emergence of a large number of “own” (that is, the author’s) words due to the violation of habitual morphemes, stem connections, new forms of words and new ways of combining them.

Examples: “Curls sleep on the shoulders of snowy whiteness” (Muravyev); "Laughers... who laugh with laughter, who laugh with laughter, oh, laugh with laughter!" (Khlebnikov).

Many interesting examples of the use of words and unusual depictions of objects can be found in the works of Mayakovsky. Just look at the poem “The Violin and a Little Tenderly”, in which “the drum... slipped onto the burning Kuznetsky and left”, “the stupid plate clanged out”, “the copper-faced helikon” shouted something to the violin, etc.

The literature of postmodernism is also noteworthy in terms of the use of epithets. This direction (which emerged in the 40s and received its greatest development in the 80s) contrasts itself with realism (especially socialist realism), which dominated in Russia until the end of the 70s. Representatives of postmodernism reject the rules and norms developed by cultural traditions. In their work, the boundaries between reality and fiction, reality and art are erased. Hence - a large number of new verbal forms and techniques, curious and very interesting uses of epithets.

Examples: “The diathesis was blooming / The diapers were turning golden” (Kibrov); “The acacia branch... smells of creosote, vestibule dust... in the evening it tiptoes back into the garden and listens to the movement of electric trains” (Sokolov).

The works of the postmodern era are replete with examples of what epithets are in the literature of our time. One has only to read such authors as Sokolov (an example is presented above), Strochkov, Levin, Sorokin, etc.

Fairy tales and their characteristic epithets

Epithets occupy a special place in fairy tales. Folklore works of different times and different peoples of the world contain many examples of the use of epithets. For example, Russian folk tales are characterized by the frequent use of distance epithets, as well as definitions describing the surrounding nature. Examples: “open field, dark forest, high mountains”; "far away lands, in a distant state" ("Finist - the clear falcon", Russian folk tale).

But Iranian fairy tales, for example, are characterized by oriental imagery and florid speech rich in various epithets. Examples: "... a pious and wise sultan, who delved into state affairs with extraordinary care..." ("The History of Sultan Sanjar").

Thus, using the example of epithets used in folk art, one can trace the cultural characteristics inherent in a particular people.

Epithets in epics and myths of different peoples of the world

At the same time, folklore works from around the world are characterized by common features of the use of epithets that serve a specific purpose. This can be easily seen in the example of ancient Greek myths, Celtic legends and Russian epics. All these works are united by the metaphorical and fantastic nature of events; epithets with a negative connotation are used to describe frightening places, events or phenomena.

Examples: “boundless dark Chaos” (ancient Greek myths), “wild screams, monstrous laughter” (Celtic legends), “filthy idol” (Russian epics). Such epithets serve not only to vividly describe places and phenomena, but also to form a special perception and attitude of the reader towards what he read.

What is the richness of the Russian language? Epithets and their role in colloquial and artistic speech

Let's start with a simple example. A short dialogue of two sentences: “Hello, son. I’m on my way home. How are you? What are you doing?” - “Hi, mom. Good. I ate the soup.” This conversation is a dry exchange of information: the mother is going home, the child has eaten soup. Such communication does not carry any emotions, does not create a mood and, one might say, does not give us any information about the feelings and real state of affairs of the interlocutors.

It’s another matter if epithets “interfere” in the communication process. What difference does this make? Example: “Hello, my sweet son. I’m driving home tired and exhausted like a dog. How are you doing? What are you doing?” - “Hello, dear mommy. I had a hot day today, in a good way! I ate the soup, it was great.” This example very well answers the question of why epithets in modern speech are so important, even if it is an ordinary everyday conversation. Agree, from such a conversation it is much easier to understand what mood each of the interlocutors is in: the mother will be glad that her son is doing well, and is pleased that he liked the soup; the son, in turn, will understand that his mother is tired and will heat up dinner for her arrival or do something else useful. And all this thanks to epithets!

Epithet in Russian: role and examples of use in artistic speech

Let's move from simple to complex. In artistic speech, epithets are no less, and perhaps even more important. Not a single literary work will be interesting and will not be able to captivate the reader if it contains few epithets (with rare exceptions, of course). In addition to the fact that they make it possible to make the image of the depicted phenomena and objects brighter and more expressive, epithets also play other roles in:

They emphasize some characteristic features and properties of the object being described. Examples: “yellow ray”, “wild cave”, “smooth skull” (Lermontov).
They explain and clarify the features that distinguish an object (for example, color, size, etc.). Example: “Forest... lilac, gold, crimson...” (Bunin).
Used as a basis for creating an oxymoron by combining words with contrasting meanings. Examples: “brilliant shadow”, “poor luxury”.
They allow the author to express his attitude to the phenomenon being described, give his assessment and convey this perception to readers. Example: “And we value the prophetic word, and we honor the Russian word” (Sergeev-Tsensky).
They help create a vivid idea of the subject. Example: “...the first ringing of spring... rumbles in the blue sky” (Tyutchev).
They create a certain atmosphere and evoke the desired emotional state. Example: “...lonely and a stranger to everything, walking alone along an abandoned high road” (Tolstoy).
They form in readers a certain attitude towards a phenomenon, object or character. Examples: “A rustic peasant is riding, and he is sitting on a good horse” (Russian epic); “Onegin was, in the opinion of many... / A small scientist, but a pedant” (Pushkin).

Thus, the role of epithets in fiction is invaluable. It is these expressive words that make a work, be it a poem, a story or a novel, lively, fascinating, capable of evoking certain emotions, moods, and assessments. We can safely say that if there were no epithets, the very possibility of the existence of literature as an art would be called into question.

Conclusion

In this article, we tried to most fully answer the question and examined various ways of classifying these means of expression, and also talked about the role of epithets in life and creativity. We hope this helped you expand your understanding of such an important term in literary theory as an epithet.

With a word, influencing its expressiveness, the beauty of pronunciation. It is expressed primarily by an adjective, but also by an adverb (“to love dearly”), a noun (“fun noise”), and a numeral (“second life”).

There is no established view of the epithet in literary theory: some attribute it to figures of speech, others consider it, along with figures and tropes, an independent means of poetic depiction; Some consider the epithet to be an element of exclusively poetic speech, others find it in prose as well.

Epithets can be expressed by different parts of speech (Mother Volga, wind-tramp, bright eyes, damp earth). Epithets are a very common concept in literature; without them it is difficult to imagine a work of art.

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What is an epithet? [Lectures on literature]

Russian language | Preparation for the OGE | Task 3. Means of speech expression

Unified State Exam 2017. Literature. Epithet

Subtitles

Dictionaries of Epithets

Epithets of Literary Russian Speech. A. Zelenetsky. 1913

There are many words in the Russian language that cannot always be given an exact definition, although you hear them almost every day. These words include Epithet. What does Epithet mean?? Before continuing, let me suggest you read a few more articles, for example, what does Townhouse mean, what is Sovereign Debt, what does the expression Middle Class mean? This word was borrowed from the Greek language" Epithetos" and is translated into Russian as "attached", "added". In fact, it is often used instead of the term "adjective", although not in all cases it has a similar meaning to an epithet. As a rule, epithets are intended to be more colorful describe an object or person from the point of view of the narrator, as well as highlight certain properties that the author wants to emphasize.

Epithet- this term in fiction, as a rule, lyrical, poetic, contains special expressive properties, highlighting in the object of the narrative something that is initially inherent only to it, allowing you to look at it from an unusual point of view

Examples of epithets:

"Plague spring" - means excellent spring weather, which one has been waiting for so long all winter; this phrase was invented by famous performers Nastya Kamenskikh and Senor Potap.

"Beautiful maiden" - this epithet emphasizes that the girl is very attractive, since the word “krasna” means “beautiful.”

"Good fellow" - this expression means "strong guy", that is, it characterizes a man as healthy, pleasant in appearance and positive in all respects.

"To love dearly" - means passionate and selfless love, although not always on a mutual basis.

"Second life" - this means starting life from scratch, or repairing a broken thing and using it again.

"Moscow golden-domed" - this epithet appeared during the Russian Empire, when Orthodox churches were actively built and put into operation throughout the country, the domes of which were covered with gold leaf.

"Wild West" - this epithet was assigned to the United States during the Migration of Peoples, when many people decided to start a “second life” in a new place. However, this place was completely wild and not suitable for life; everything had to be “wrested” from nature with a fight.

Epithets are necessary in a literary text for:

To achieve with their help special depth, expressiveness and sensitivity.

Usually the epithet in the text is located after the word being defined in postposition.

As a rule, the structure of the epithet itself is quite simple. It consists of a noun and an adjective.

If you place epithets in a literary text, separated from each other, so that they take a vertical position, then such an arrangement will only have their sensual meaning and will give the sound an unusual depth.
(reklama3)
Sometimes reflecting on the narrator's epithet, we will gradually comprehend the idea and the complexity of constructing the expression. For example, analyzing the epithets of the great poet Mayakovsky, we can discern a carefully hidden semantic depth, which is filled with bewilderment, irony, sarcasm and bitterness.

All this variety of meanings and lexical subtext is achieved with the help of the author’s expressive and artistic assistant - epithet.

Imagine if people communicated with each other like machines. We would exchange combinations of zeros and ones - bare data and no emotions. Would it be more difficult for us to find common ground? I think yes, it is more difficult.

People exchange many messages every day: “What did you eat today?”, “What movie did you watch?”, “How is grandma feeling?” Saying you ate soup is simply providing information. And to say that the soup was delicious- means to complicate the message with additional meanings. Convey additional information that you liked the soup, that it was delicious - and thereby praise the mother who cooked it, give her a hint on what kind of lunch to please her with next time.

And so with all other things: the film was scary, or funny, or romantic. Grandma was cheerful or tired– each of these messages evokes additional emotions, tells a whole story in literally one word, describes with one definition. And this definition is called an epithet.

Epithet– a means of verbal expressiveness, the main purpose of which is to describe the significant properties of an object, to give it a figurative characteristic.

Functions of epithets

Without epithets, speech would be poor and inexpressive. After all, figurative speech simplifies the perception of information. With one apt word you can convey not only a message about a fact, but also tell what emotions it evokes, what significance this fact has.

Epithets can vary in the strength of the emotions conveyed and in the degree of expression of a particular characteristic. For example, say “cold water” and you will only get approximate temperature information. Say “ice water” - and along with the basic information you will convey sensations, emotions, an expressive metaphorical image and associations with the prickly, piercing cold of ice.

In this case, one can distinguish epithets commonly used, understandable and familiar to everyone, and unique, copyright, this is what writers usually have. Almost any descriptive definition from everyday life can serve as an example of the former: dress cheerful colors, book boring. To illustrate the author's unique epithets, it is worth looking into fiction, and best of all, poetry.

For example, examples of epithets from works of art may look like this: “And the fox became downy wash your paws. || Soaring up fiery tail sail" (V. Khlebnikov). Or like this: “Face thousand-eyed the trust shines with smooth electricity” (V. Mayakovsky). Or even just like this: “Every morning, with six-wheeled exactly, at the same hour and at the same minute, we, millions, rise as one. At the same hour one million let's start work - one million let’s finish” (E. Zamyatin).

Structure of epithets

Epithets are not necessarily adjectives, although from the ancient Greek word ἐπίθετον This is exactly how it is translated.

The most common epithets with the structure object+definition expressed by different parts of speech. The role of definition is often adjective:

“Nothing comes for free: fate || Victims redemptive asks” (N. Nekrasov).

But with equal success and even a greater degree of artistic expressiveness, epithets can also be nouns, adverbs, as well as other parts of speech.

Nouns: “Sitting in the pavilion, he saw a short young lady walk along the embankment, blonde"(A. Chekhov); “And here is public opinion! || Spring of honor, our idol!|| And this is what the world revolves on!” (A. Pushkin);
Adverbs: “There’s grass all around funny bloomed" (I. Turgenev);
Participles and verbal adjectives: “What if I, spellbound, || Soz-nanya, who broke the thread, || I will return home humiliated, || Can you forgive me? (A. Blok);
Participles: “I love thunderstorms in early May, || When spring, the first thunder, || How would frolicking and playing, || Rumbling in the blue sky" (F. Tyutchev).

! It is worth keeping in mind that not every adjective or other part of speech, even if they denote a characteristic in some way, are necessarily epithets. They can carry a logical load in a statement and perform certain syntactic functions in a sentence (be a predicate, an object or a circumstance). And for this reason, they should not be epithets.

Classification of epithets

In general, the attempt to classify epithets based on their structure lies in the field of linguistics. Other parameters are important for literary criticism. In particular, the epithets can be divided into groups:

decorating;
permanent;
copyright.

Decorating epithets - any descriptive characteristics: sea affectionate, silence ringing. Permanent They call such epithets that have long been firmly attached to certain words in the minds of many people. There are many of them in works of oral folk art, folklore and fairy tales: red Sun, clear month, Kind Well done, mighty shoulders, red girl, etc.

Evolution of epithets

Historically and culturally, epithets have undergone changes over time and depending on the geography of the people who created them. The conditions in which we live. What kind of experience do we get throughout our lives? What phenomena we encounter and how we comprehend them in our culture. All this affects speech patterns and the meanings and feelings encoded in them.

It is widely known, for example, that among the peoples of the Far North there are dozens of synonyms and epithets for the word “white”. A resident of tropical islands is unlikely to come up with even one or two.

Or take the color black, which has diametrically opposite meanings in the cultures of different peoples. In Europe it symbolizes mourning and sorrow, and in Japan it symbolizes joy. Traditionally, Europeans wear black for funerals, while the Japanese wear black for weddings.

Accordingly, the role of epithets with the word “black” changes when they are used in the speech of Europeans or Japanese.

It is curious that in early oral folk art and literature in its early stages, epithets did not so much express emotions as they literally described phenomena and objects in terms of their physical properties and key features. In addition, there were obvious epic exaggerations of the properties of phenomena and objects.

Remember that in Russian epics the enemy armies are always countless, forests dense, monsters filthy, and all the heroes kind Well done.

With the development of literature, both the epithets themselves and the roles that epithets play in literary works change. As a result of evolution, epithets became more complex structurally and semantically. Particularly interesting examples are given to us by the poetry of the Silver Age and postmodern prose.

Epithets in folklore

To more clearly imagine all of the above, let's look at fairy tales and other folklore works of the peoples of the world, prose and poetic texts of different periods - and look for epithets in them.

Let's start with fairy tales. The vocabulary of epithets, its richness and imagery are largely determined by the traditions of the people who created it.

Thus, in the Russian folk tale “Finist - the Clear Falcon” one can see traditional folklore descriptions of nature and man. You can easily detect distance epithets traditional for folk art:

“And a well done man appeared to her indescribable beauty. By morning the young man hit the floor and became a falcon. Maryushka opened the window for him, and the falcon flew away to blue to the sky."
“Maryushka ordered three iron shoes, three iron staves, three iron caps and set off on her journey. distant, search desired Finista – clear falcon She walked clean field, walked dark forest, high mountains. Birds cheerful the songs made her heart happy, the streams of her face white washed, forests dark greeted."
“Your clear falcon is far away, in far away state."

But Iranian fairy tales provide examples of oriental figurative, florid and rich in various epithets of speech. Let's look at the fairy tale “The History of Sultan Sanjar”:

“They say that a certain person ruled in one country pious And wise Sultan named Sanjar, with with extraordinary care delved into the affairs of the state and subjects, without relying on his associates.”
ABOUT moon-faced, O pearl beauty! Who did you such harm? Why is fate so unkind to you?

Using the example of these two fairy tales, one can already see how very interestingly the cultural characteristics of a particular people can be traced at the level of epithets and other means of expression. Let's take, for example, Russian epics about the glorious deeds of heroes, Celtic heroic legends and ancient Greek myths. They are united by heroic pathos, metaphorical nature and the obvious fantastic nature of the events described. And phenomena of the same order are described in them by epithets of a comparable level of emotionality:

Russian epics: “Take off your dress, take off your bast shoes - hemmings, give me your hat downy yes to your stick hunchbacked: I’ll dress up as a crosswalker so that they won’t find out Idol nasty me, Ilya Muromets."
Ancient Greek myths: “In the beginning there was only eternal, limitless, dark Chaos " “Far under the Earth, as far as far from us immense, bright sky, in immeasurable born in the depths gloomy Tartarus – terrible abyss, full of eternal darkness ».
Celtic myths: “But the children of Calatin continued to fill the plain with the ghosts of battle, and fire and smoke rose to the sky, and the winds carried wild screams and lamentations, monstrous laughter and the sounds of trumpets and horns."

Those. in all three examples (underlined) some monstrous creatures, places, events or phenomena that amaze the imagination and frighten a person are described by epithets with a sharply negative connotation. And the task of these epithets is not only to give these creatures, places, events or phenomena a description and definition, but also to form a given attitude towards them that is necessary for the storyteller. Evoke the emotions necessary to perceive the further narrative.

! By the way, translated texts bear the imprint of the cultural baggage of the translator, including the traditions of imagery of his native language. This means that the epithet in Russian, English or Chinese can be used differently for the same phenomena. Although in a talented professional translation, as a rule, epithets are selected so as not to distort the original meaning and correspond to the linguistic culture of the original text.

Epithets in literary classics

Over time, the inspiring impact of epithets and other linguistic means of expression began to be used in literature (and not only) much more often and wider. After all, it is important for writers and poets to stimulate the empathy of listeners and readers - it is one of the necessary components of joint creativity. Which, without a doubt, is the creation and subsequent reading of any talented work.

Let's take Russian classics from a school literature course and the epithets in it. For example, a couple of quotes from the novel “Fathers and Sons” by I. Turgenev:

« <…>dry the maple leaf comes off and falls to the ground; its movements are completely similar to the flight of a butterfly. Isn't it strange? The saddest thing And dead- similar to the most cheerful And alive».
"Whatever passionate, sinful, rebellious the heart is not hidden in the grave, the flowers growing on it, serenely look at us with their innocent eyes: not about one eternal calmly they tell us that great tranquility " indifferent» nature; they also talk about eternal reconciliation and life endless…»

Poetry shows us many examples of how epithets create a mood and set the tone for a narrative. In poems, epithets are used even more often than other tropes.

"Child, look around; baby, come to me; || There is a lot of fun in my direction: || Flowers turquoise, pearl jets; || Cast from gold my palaces." V. Zhukovsky, poem "The Forest King".
"On an evening like this golden And clear, || In this breath of spring all-victorious|| Don't remember me, oh my friend beautiful, || You are about our love timid And poor" A. Fet.
“You drink my soul like a straw. || I know the taste of it bitter And hops. || But I will not break the torture with prayer. || Oh my peace multi-week" A. Akhmatova.

The role of epithets in poems and prose can also be realized in this way: when epithets are part of a complex syntactic structure, which as a whole should also not only convey the author’s idea to the reader, but also emotionally enrich it:

"IN white raincoat with bloody lining, shuffling cavalry gait, early on the morning of the fourteenth day of the spring month of Nisan in covered The procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, came out between the two wings of the palace of Herod the Great..." M. Bulkagov, "The Master and Margarita."

The author strings epithets on top of each other, giving this section of text a rhythm similar to the gait of an old man. And he uses epithets that not only describe color or gait, but also convey non-textual information. The lining of the cloak is not just red, but symbolically bloody. And the epithets to describe the gait give an idea of the past of its owner and the fact that he has retained the bearing of a military man. The remaining epithets are descriptions of the circumstances of place and time.

Successfully combining epithets, personifications, comparisons, metaphors, writers create non-standard images:

“You, Book! You alone will not deceive, you will not hit, you will not offend, you will not leave! Quiet, - and you laugh, scream, eat; submissive, - you amaze, tease, lure; small- and in you there are nations without number; a handful of letters, but if you want to, you will turn your head, confuse, spin, cloud, tears will bubble, your breath will become stifled, your whole soul, like a canvas in the wind, will agitate, rise in waves, flap its wings!” T. Tolstaya, “Kys”.

Conclusion

Epithets play a very important role in communication at different levels: from everyday life to the level of art and literature. They make speech not only interesting and pleasant to read, but also more informative. Because additional, extra-textual information and emotions are encoded in the form of epithets.

There are several ways to classify epithets and divide them into groups. The basis for this division is the structure of epithets, their origin, and frequency of use in speech.

Epithets reflect the traditions of the language and culture of a particular people, and are also a kind of sign of the time that gave birth to them.

Illustrative examples of epithets of different levels of complexity can be found in folklore works and literature of subsequent periods.

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