EXPLICATION OF THE IMAGE OF FIRE IN THE LYRICS OF A. BELY (1890–1910)

Abstract

Purpose. The article is dedicated to a linguistic approach to analysis of symbolic meanings of the element of Fire in the poetry of Russian symbolist A. Bely.

Methods. Symbolism of the element of Fire is studied from linguistic and linguoculturological points of view. The descriptive method was used to select and describe citation material, linguistic and statistical analysis allowed to determine the most frequent constructions, comparative analysis of symbolism of fire was used to identify the author's symbolic meanings on the background of traditional ones.

Results. On the one hand the subject of the studying is traditional symbolism of the element of fire conditioned by German- Scandinavian mythology and by binary archetypical oppositions. On the other hand, we defined new author’s symbolism conditioned by the author’s poetic worldview.

Archetypes are represented with binary oppositions actualizing the semantics of vertical direction, ambivalence, animism and anthropomorphism. The main traditional meanings of the culturological symbol “Fire” are as follows: a living, mobile element, a symbol of divine energy, the myth world of divine essences, a substitute for God on Earth, characterized by the properties of ambivalence – a symbol of creation and destruction, life and death, also a symbol of fertility, a symbol of passion, strong feelings and desires, a symbol of transformation, rebirth, interaction of the elements, a symbol of purification and healing, light, masculinity, a symbol of creativity, inspiration.

The author’s symbolic meanings are expressed according to his rethinking of the myths and archetypes and explication of the meaning in the nearest surrounding of the concept Fire in the texts. So, A. Bely’s individual semantics of the element of fire is: symbol «Fire» is interpreted as a retribution, a challenge, correlates with the symbolist visionary “experience”, fabric, celestial phenomena – “dawns” and “sunsets” as the embodiment of information of a subtle world, the human body and his mental world, artifacts, precious stones on the basis of shades of red and yellow colours and the properties of transparency, “earthly” fire symbolizes physical-vital experiences, “heavenly” fire – “the ignition of a spiritual man”.

Conclusions. Thus, the use of the mythologeme Thor, the author’s understanding of archetypal oppositions in the semantic circle of the image of fire led to the expression of traditional and individual-author interpretations of the symbolism of fire in the lyrics of A. Bely.