Age of the Lyrical Hero as Poetic Information in Magtymguly’s Poems

Abstract

This paper examines the actualization of the category of age in the context of the dialogue of cultures. The material includes Russian translations of the texts of Turkmen classical poet Magtymguly Pyragy. Most of the research on his works is conducted within the framework of literary and translation studies as well as philosophy, while philologists focus on stylistic peculiarities and borrowings. Studying Magtymguly’s heritage is relevant in view of the 300th anniversary of his birth. The article analyses examples of absolute and conventional ages and describes the linguistic means of expressing age in Magtymguly’s collected poems. Further, words for periods of the human life in the Turkmen worldview are presented and their quantitative analysis based on the lyric poetry is carried out. The paper dwells on the metaphor with the meaning of age and notes the universality of the category of age, while providing examples from Magtymguly’s poems. Special attention is given to his autobiographical poems. According to the quantitative analysis, 95 out of 274 poems under study contain words and expressions with the semantics of age. The most frequent lexeme denoting age is dzhigit, which has numerous meanings. This word in Magtymguly’s poetry has both ameliorative and pejorative overtones. The paper provides insight into Magtymguly’s worldview and the specifics of Turkmen linguoculture, as well as sheds some light on the perception of old age and youth among Turkmens. Of special importance for Magtymguly are comparative constructions. For instance, a lyrical heroine is compared to a young fortnight moon, which is characteristic of Turkmen culture. Among the examples are constructions confirming the linear nature of time. In general, Magtymguly’s poems reflect his religious worldview.