The use of lexical stylistic devices in Magtymguly’s poetry

The following article discusses the variety of lexical stylistic devices used in the poetic literary heritage of the prominent Turkmen poet and thinker Magtymguly Pyragy. The relevant usage of the various genuine stylistic devices invariably emphasizes the effect of the verses upon readers. Such lexical stylistic devices as metaphors, metonymies, epithets, hyperboles find their appropriate usage in the creative works by the great writer. Here are enumerated some excerpts from the translations of poems from Turkmen into English and which contain the examples of the lexical stylistic devices.

Keywords: lexical stylistic devices, poem, poetry, metaphor, metonymy, epithet, hyperbole

Magtymguly Pyragy lived in the 18 ^th century was a composer of many influential poems in Turkmen language. He is considered “the Spiritual Healer of the Human Soul” [2, p.7]. He is regarded not only as a paragon of a poet, but also a philosopher, a sage who was aware of many things and could think wisely. The incisive poems created by Magtymguly are highly cherished by Turkmen people even now, after 300 years, when Turkmenistan celebrates the anniversary with solemn festivities.

The fact that Magtymguly created many insightful pieces of poetry can be deduced from the many instances of usage of various stylistic devices. He was especially successful in incorporating in his poems lexical stylistic devices like metaphors, metonymies, epithets, hyperboles. In so doing, he achieved the stylistic effect and strongly underlines the main idea that is alluded to the readers. As G.Nepesov mentioned in his book “Eloquence of Magtymguly Pyragy” (Magtymgulynyň çeper dili) about the usage of lexical stylistic devices as separate section. In the talk about the language of the great master of words, it is clear that the thinker’s works are rich in lexicon, that they written in the language of the Turkmen public of that time, that the Turkmen people showed a fundamental and unique skill in artistic use of the vocabulary of the living language of the Turkmen people, in using the vocabulary used by the Turkmen poets and eastern thinkers before him is highlighted. [1, 100].

The main feature that distinguishes world of poetry stylistically is the use of lexical, phonetic, grammatical (morphological) and especially syntactic devices. It is related to this that the poetic use of a group of lexical units of stylistic devices is called poetic lexicon, the use of sounds is called poetic phonetics, and the use of syntactic means in poetry is called poetic syntax. All of these poetic stylistic devices can be found in Magtymguly’s poetry. We are to analyse lexical stylistic devices used in his poetry as poetic lexicon.

Lexical stylistic devices reveal the interaction between different types of lexical meaning. They intensify the characteristic traits of the phenomena described.

Metaphor is transference of some quality from one object to another. A metaphor becomes a stylistic device when two different phenomena are simultaneously brought to mind by the imposition of inherent properties of one object on the other. [3, pg. 140]

If hunters hunt for him in the mountains or steppes,

A Turkmen, the son of a lion , won’t be caught alive. [2, pg. 15].

Here the two objects are “the son” and “the lion”. The Turkmen warrior is compared with a lion. As the word “lion” has some denotation of bravery and valor, the author made use of this word in order to stress the nimbleness and bravery of Turkmen young men.

I am a nightingale suffering because of you,

You have taken my soul as a sacrifice for you… [2, pg. 15].

Poet compares himself with a bird nightingale which is considered to be a bird singing melodic songs about the love of young people. The nightingale is usually associated to be the symbol of true love, dedicated passion for the companion. We can observe the use of the nightingale not only in Asian literature, but also in the literature of European countries. For example, in Oscar Wilde’s tale “Nightingale and Rose” we can witness how the bird sacrifices its life in order to help the Student boy gain the love of a rich girl. The metaphors with the use of nightingale always have some tragic ending, elements of suffering, etc. Another example of the metaphor concerning nightingale may be provided from the poem “I am Separated”:

I’m a nightingale ; I am moaning and groaning,

I am separated from my new garden of roses.

Epithet is a stylistic device based on the interplay of emotive and logical meaning in an attributive word, phrase or even sentence used to characterize an object and some of the properties of the object with the aim of giving an individual perception or evaluation of these features or properties. [3, p.157]

Epithets are widely used in poetry. By revealing the quality of the object more clearly, they serve as indispensable devices to strengthen the special colouring of the verses. Most frequently expressed by adjectives and adverbs, the epithets in Magtymguly’s poems often have epithets which describe something through the person or the object putting the accent on the important qualities of those people or objects. For example:

My words will not be wasted, they will become true,

My look is alchemic ; it can turn copper into gold. [2, pg.39]

Here we can observe the attributive use of the word “alchemic”. As we know, the person who is involved in alchemy, used to convert one material into another, thus they were believed to have great power. As used in the poem, this word emphasizes the fact that Magtymguly was very shrewd and was able to write insightful poems. Another example can be displayed from the poem “Made it Worthless” where the author attributes the people’s behavior to the objects.

Turning the ruthless river into my enemy.

The river is described as ruthless because it was the place where Magtymguly’s many pieces of work were thrown away and obliterated. The enemies of Turkmen tribes living during the period when Magtymguly lived enjoyed their separated and itinerant life. They obliterated many of his works.

One more example:

The soul is crazy , the world is wild ,

What won’t be of use in it? [2, pg. 55]

There Magtymguly shows that he is eager to travel, that he strives to see many places of interest in the world. He shows that he is passionate by using the adjective “crazy” and the diversity of the world by the use of the adjective “wild”.

Hyperbole can be defined as a deliberate overstatement or exaggeration of a feature essential to the object or phenomena [3, pg. 176]. Magtymguly often used the hyperboles to show the strength of the Turkmen armies:

To defend its honour, the tribes of Goklen and Yomut

Gathered such an army, that no one knows where it begins or ends… [2, pg.21]

The emphasis is put on the amount of the Turkmen warriors who were ready to fight against the enemies and defend their independence. Hyperboles used in the poems show how powerful imagination the author had and sometimes helps to determine the scope of knowledge of the poem-writer.

The death has become outrageous ,

eager to break the balance wheel… [2, pg.21]

The noun “death”, as we know, is an abstract notion. That’s why physically it is cannot be in the state of “outrageousness” or “break” anything. The poem is called “For Chowdur Khan” and is dedicated to his memory. Chowdur Khan died in the battle, and Magtymguly expresses the depth of his grief by using personification.

Another example from the poem “Don’t leave this land”:

The loneliness seized my heart;

My word is not worthy of trust … [2, pg.44]

However, we can find not only abstract nouns used in personification, but also the names of the natural phenomena:

Mountain is the sultan of the earth,

It has created a treasury within its slopes... [2, pg.66]

Stylistic devices and expressive means have always provided the pieces of poetry with special colouring and elegance. By reading poems rich in them, the readers get higher, and grasp the meaning and idea of the poems more distinctly. As we can see, the poems by Magtymguly Pyragy are very rich in stylistic devices and expressive means. Lexical stylistic devices formed by different layers of poetry consists different lexicon of the language. The abundance of those means attract not only the native readers, but also from abroad. There are many other materials related to the artistic service of lexical stylistic devices in poet’s works. This work can be continued with other lexical devices, as play on words, irony and others in the poetry. That is why, Magtymguly’s poems were and are being translated and popularized and his pieces of work never lose their estimation even nowadays, after 300 years.

1. Nepesow G. Magtymgulynyň çeper dili. — Aşgabat: Ylym, 2014.
2. Magtymguly. Poems from Turkmenistan. Asian Cultural History Program, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 2014.
3. Гальперин И. Р. Стилистика английского языка. — Москва: Высшая школа, 1998.