This article considers the question of the linguistic representation of the somatic concept «HEAD» (based on the poetry of M. I. Tsvetaeva and A. A. Akhmatova). This concept is one of the most frequent somatisms functioning in the Russian language. The choice of material is due to the fact that the figures of Marina Tsvetaeva (1892–1941) and Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966) are among the most important for Russian culture. The analysis of the linguistic material shows that one of its key features is the saturation of the studied concept with representatives due to its importance and frequency.
Keywords: Anna Akhmatova, Marina Tsvetaeva, cultural linguistics, concept, somatism.
В настоящей статье рассмотрен вопрос о языковой репрезентации соматического концепта «ГОЛОВА» (на материале поэзии М. И. Цветаевой и А. А. Ахматовой). Данный концепт является одним из наиболее частотных соматизмов, функционирующих в русском языке. Выбор материала обусловлен тем, что фигуры Марины Цветаевой (1892–1941) и Анны Ахматовой (1889–1966) являются одними из важнейших для русской культуры. Анализ языкового материала показывает, что одной из ключевых особенностей его является насыщенность репрезентантами исследуемого концепта ввиду его важности и частотности.
Ключевые слова : Анна Ахматова, Марина Цветаева, лингвокультурология, концепт, соматизм.
Somatic vocabulary occupies an important place in any language picture of the world due to its complexity, taking into account the genetic and functional characteristics of parts of the human body. The human body has become exactly the starting point from which a person began to study and describe the world around him. Physical representations are associated with many cultural paradigms. The Russian language picture of the world is no exception.
To designate some parts of the body in the Russian language, a number of synonymous lexemes are used, associated with ancient ideas about the special meaning of these parts of the body. Words that describe less important parts and areas of the human body, as a rule, come from the basics already in the language. Most often, suffix, prefix and prefix-suffix methods are used in the output process.
In linguistics, there is an opinion that concepts are multidimensional [1: 43] and multilayer formations [2: 92]. Ideas about multidimensionality and multilayeredness, as a rule, do not repeat, but do not exclude each other, and if we talk about this concept, then it is also characterized by multidimensionality, that is, the ability to simultaneously «embed» in different situations language and speech, and stratification, that is, the ability to implement them in different ways in live speech, depending on the cultural background and cognitive abilities of the speaker [3].
In this context, the concept of «head» is one of the most common linguistic concepts in Russian culture. We believe that this is not accidental: the verbal interpretation of this concept organizes various “sections” of the national picture of the world. They actively participate in folk phrases and proverbs: think with your head, never mind, one head is good, two heads are better, etc. The head lexeme is used as a bodily one in scientific, journalistic and artistic discourse. The figurative and symbolic implementation of vocabulary is also found in well-established folk sayings, slang, print, literary texts (хлеб всему голова; не брать в голову, ну ты голова! (about a smart person); городской голова (mayor), выбросить из головы (falls out of memory)).
Turning to the work of M. I. Tsvetaeva, we observe that this concept is represented quite actively in the author's poetic discourse. The most common semantic field is the most frequent — direct, nominative — meaning: the head as part of the body. For example,
«Незабудка и фиалка,
Что синели меж травы,
Обвились венцом любовно
Вкруг Христовой головы» (М. Цветаева «Среди поля у дороги»...).
Nevertheless, it should be noted that M. Tsvetaeva often expands the meaning of this lexeme, using the word in combination with a characterizing definition:
«Был Робина удар — с липы лист облетел!
Был чужого удар — звякнул клад!
По густым теменам , по пустым головам
Застучали дубинки, как град» (М. Цветаева «Двенадцать месяцев в году.»..).
A synonym is also used here: the head is the crown.
In this case, the epithet empty indicates the insufficiency of the mind of the heroes, their inferiority, the lack of their value for society and nature.
In the work of M. Tsvetaeva, the word-concept head is closely connected with the concept of reason, its brilliance or, on the contrary, its loss, for example:
«Отбыл Шерэ за вестями,
Но уж весть идет сама:
С головой , покрытой пеплом ,
В потрясенности ума,
Окровавленностью лика
Изъявляя скорбь и страх,
Визирь внутренних покоев
Пред царем стоит в слезах» (М. Цветаева «Этери»).
The main antagonist of the poem «Eteri», Shere, having committed a crime, is also in a state of mental shock, but his repentance, pangs of conscience do not make him better, but, on the contrary, are broadcast in the text as a fair impact for the atrocities he committed.
The expression to cover one's head with ashes is a transformed stable combination to sprinkle ashes on one's head, which, according to a number of etymologists, came from Homer's Iliad. In a number of Middle Eastern cultures, the sprinkling of ashes and earth on the head is a ritual expression of grief [4]. The expression to sprinkle ashes on one's head is found more than once in the Old Testament. Thus, we have before us a fact of precedence, representing the breadth of the author's erudition.
The metaphorical perception of the somatic image is characteristic of poetry in general and the works of M. Tsvetaeva — in particular:
«Так, опустив глубокую завесу,
Закрыв глаза, как занавес над пьесой:
Над местом, по которому — метла…
( А голова, как комната — светла! )» (М. Цветаева «Закрыв глаза…»).
Finally, the Head as a receptacle can act as a focus of emotions:
« Чувств?
Ну, за голову : счастливы?
Нет? В провале без глубин –
Как живется, милый? Тяжче ли –
Так же ли — как мне с другим?» (М. Цветаева «Попытка ревности»).
Thus, the representatives of the somatic concept «Head» are among the most frequent in the poetic work of M. I. Tsvetaeva. Quite often, the author verbalizes this concept with the help of direct nomination, however, along with its linguistic representation, various means of expression are often used (mainly epithet, metaphor and comparison). As a rule, M. Tsvetaeva associates the concept of the head with life / death or the absence of it, madness, reason, emotions, quantity.
As for the poetic work of Anna Akhmatova, we could not help but notice that quite often in her poetry the concept under study is verbalized with the help of direct nomination. For example,
« Уже не свод над головой, а где-то
В глухом предместье дом уединенный,
Где холодно зимой, а летом жарко,
Где есть паук и пыль на всем лежит…» (А. Ахматова, «Есть три эпохи у воспоминаний…»).
However, most often the poet resorts to expanding the lexical meaning with the help of the epithet:
« Где-то ночка молодая,
Звездная, морозная…
Ой, худая, ой худая
Голова тифозная » (А. Ахматова, «В тифу»).
Or:
« Тяжелую голову, что поднимал,
Когда моим сказкам, как мальчик, внимал » (А. Ахматова, «Юдифь»).
The last example seems to us even more remarkable, since it also contains a powerful extralinguistic aspect. Applying intertextual practice, the author refers the reader to the Old Testament deuterocanonical book about Judith, a Jewish hero widow, whose courage and ingenuity were able to save her hometown and people from the cruelty of the Assyrians. According to the Old Testament, Judith declared herself a prophetess who would help the commander of the Assyrians take the city, came into trust with Holofernes and cut off his head with his own sword.
In addition, for Anna Akhmatova, the concept of the head is often associated with the concept of dizziness from an excess of feelings:
« Там еще от похвал и проклятий
Не кружилась моя голова… » (А. Ахматова, «И меня по ошибке пленило…»).
However, unlike M. I. Tsvetaeva, A. A. Akhmatova never resorted in her poetry to a metaphorical description of the head: no evidence for this was found.
Thus, the fact that the poetic work of M. I. Tsvetaeva and A. A. Akhmatova, despite the high degree of knowledge, and is currently of interest to researchers. In these two poetic universes lies a complex conceptual system that is highly ambiguous and multifaceted. So, somatic concepts, that is, concepts related to the subject of the human body, were used as M. I. Tsvetaeva, and A. A. Akhmatova quite often, while the most frequent was the concept of «HEAD». In the process of analysis, we managed to establish that for the poetic work of M. I. Tsvetaeva is characterized by a multi-vector perception of the head (direct nomination, metaphorization, expansion of lexical compatibility), while for A. A. Akhmatova, the most frequent way of representing the concept of «HEAD» is a direct nomination.
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