The functions of peripheral combinations of N. M. Karamzin's novella "Natalia, the Boyar's Daughter"

Mikhailenko Arina Yur'evna ORCID: 0000-0001-9687-1490 Junior Researcher, Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences 32A Leninsky str., Moscow, 119334, Russia arina.mikhaylenko@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

The periphrastic combination, which we understand after T. I. Byteva as "a special two-part lexical structure consisting of three members: the word of the nominee (the first part) and the periphrastic and predicated component (the second part), which has an actual nominative function and a communicatively relevant (periphrastic) meaning" ^{[3, p. 353]}. The work of N. M. Karamzin belonged to the literary trends of classicism and sentimentalism, in the toolkit of means of expression of which periphrasis occupied a central place: "The boundary between the XVIII and XIX centuries was the time in the greatest activity of the periphrastic mode of expression" ^{[9, p. 8; 19; 20]}.

Assessing periphrasis as a style-forming element of N. M. Karamzin's work, V. V. Vinogradov wrote: "The style of the Karamzin school adopted by Pushkin was characterized, on the one hand, by the dominance of conditional periphrases and abstract metaphorical expressions, on the other hand, by the stability of recognized phraseological types and their semantic limitations" [5. p. 132].

The purpose of the study is to classify the peripheral combinations of the story "Natalia, the boyar's daughter" according to their functions. It should be noted that the functional characteristic of peripheral combinations is not constant; its change becomes an aspect that indicates the evolution of the writer's style. Yu. M. Lotman identified three stages in the evolution of N. M. Karamzin's artistic views: "... the time of publication of the Moscow Magazine, the work of 1793-1800 and the period of the Bulletin of Europe ..." ^{[15, p. 123]}.

The inclusion of a periphrase in the semantic structure of a work frequently implements the function of bringing a prose text closer to a poetic one: "The subjective-lyrical nature of Karamzin's prose makes it <...> stylistically and even intonationally close to poetic speech" ^{[2, p. 95]}. This position is confirmed by the opinion of I. I. Kovtunova: "The problem of the rhythm of prose speech was one of the main problems in the Karamzin syntax reform. In "elegant prose", rhythm was given paramount importance. Subsequently, Karamzin's "elegant prose" seemed even excessively rhythmized. However, this rhythmization of prose was prompted by the course of historical development. After all, a tangible rhythmic beginning is an obligatory and, perhaps, the most important condition for any aesthetically organized speech" ^{[12, p. 177]}.

A significant part of the periphrastic combinations in N. M. Karamzin's novels and other prose genres belongs to traditional poetic phraseology, i.e. periphrases of this type represent elements of poetic language, which is understood by literary researchers of the late XVIII - first third of the XIX century as an attempt to draw a line between the general literary language and the language of fiction, which is based on functional signs. This is contrasted with the previous literary tradition, according to which the language of fiction was marked by the presence of certain elements of the sphere of poetic language, i.e. on a formal basis.

The literature before N. M. Karamzin formed a significant list of peripheral combinations and peripheral models that were used in poetic texts ^[7-10]. The author of the novels "Natalia, the boyar's daughter" and "Marfa the Posadnitsa, or the Conquest of Novagrada", of course, widely used them in various functions. However, the researchers note that "at the beginning of his literary career <...> he was much more free to include in his circle of use such forms of traditionally high simple style, which he then abandoned" ^{[6, p. 239]}. The decrease in the frequency of the use of traditionally poetic periphrastic combinations in later works is due to their labeling as elements of high style, which contradicted Karamzin's aesthetic attitudes, the context of their use is stylistically motivated, which was not typical for other writers.

Research methods and material

The research material was the periphrases selected from the texts of N. M. Karamzin's novella "Natalia, the Boyar's Daughter", a component, contextual and comparative analysis of peripheral units was used. The total number of peripheral combinations is 45.

The results of the study

Peripheral combinations in a literary text perform such functions as embellishment of speech; characterization of a character in which the periphrasis contains the author's attitude to the hero; assessment of an event or situation; poetization of a prose text; speech characteristics of the hero. In N. M. Karamzin's novels, periphrases realize such functions as the function of decorating the text (for marking sentimental aesthetics); poetization of the prose text; speech characteristics of the hero; as well as the separation of parts of the story, for this purpose stylistically marked periphrastic combinations are used, separating the author's digressions and the main text of the story in the text.

Discussion

Periphrasis in Russian rhetoric

The functional types of periphrases obtained as a result of the study are presented differently in Karamzin's novels. The speech decoration function we have highlighted has a long history of considering peripheral combinations as one of the figures of speech. The authors of all Russian rhetoric of the late XVIII – early XIX century consider it in this function. Moreover, this function is considered to be the main one, despite the fact that in the rhetoric of this period there was no unambiguous application of the term periphrasis, and the concept is presented in various descriptive ways.

Thus, M. V. Lomonosov in his work "A brief guide to eloquence" uses the term paraphrase in the following context: "Paraphrase is the representation by many speeches of what one or a few can be depicted" (section "On decoration") ^{[14, p. 185]}.

Ambrose (Serebrennikov) in his work "A short guide to the Russian Oratorio, composed at the Lavra Seminary in favor of youth, eloquence of the student" describes the semantic and grammatical essence of the periphrase, calling it an appendix: "An appendix (Epithetum et periphrasis) happens: 1) when an adjective is attached to a noun or verb for greater respect or a clearer image; 2) when a new noun is attached to a noun showing a property, comparison, or something else" ^{[1, p. 129]}.

Theoktist (Mochulsky) in his work "Verbiage and Chants, that is, grammar, logic, rhetoric and poetry in short rules and examples" nominates periphrasis by interpretation (Paraphrasis) and focuses on its function: "When any speech or sentence is explained at length" ^{[17, p. 61]}.

A. S. Nikolsky in the essay "Logic and Rhetoric in a concise and understandable way for children, explained and in favor of youth published" suggests calling the periphrasis a terminological combination of the rhetorical definition and gives it the following interpretation: "The rhetorical definition is a calculus and a combination of actions or the similarity of one thing ^{[18, p. 51]}.

In his work "The Experience of Rhetoric", I. S. Rizhsky, following A. S. Nikolsky, calls the periphrasis a rhetorical definition with an interpretation: "The definition is rhetorical, that is, the description of a person or thing, by calculation in the form of defining properties, actions, circumstances, similarities, etc." ^{[23, p. 55]}.

V.S. Podshivalov in the work "The Abbreviated course of the Russian syllable" offers a complex term circumlocution, which defines as follows: "Circumlocution (paraphrase) is a condition or description of one word by many either for beauty or for what you do not want to call by its direct name" ^{[21, p. 70]}.

In the "Brief rhetoric in favor of a youth who loves the Russian syllable", the author of which is not known, translated from Latin by I. Bogoyavlensky, the term definition is included: "A definition in which some thing is defined through one or many names" ^{[22, p. 73]}

A.G. Mogilevsky in his work "Russian rhetoric based on the rules of ancient and modern Authors" uses the term periphrasis: "Periphrasis is a figure that explains in many words what can be said by one or a few. Periphrasis is used in various cases, namely: 1) for decoration; and this is more common among poets ... 2) To elevate ordinary things that could not be attractive without it ... 3) To soften the expression of rude and unpleasant ones, which would seem repugnant to the ear if they were presented simply and naked. 4) To fill in the period of numerical spaces that make up the smoothness of speech and harmony" [Mogilevsky 1817: 229].

Thus, periphrase was evaluated as:

1) a means of expression that implements the function of decoration, allegory (M.V. Lomonosov, V.S. Podshivalov, A.G. Mogilevsky) and how

2) a means of expression in which the nomination takes place with the help of several words or is a definition for the nominating word (Feoktist (Mochulsky), Ambrose (Serebrennikov), A.S. Nikolsky, I.S. Rizhsky).

N.M. Karamzin, in his article "On the richness of language," implicitly described his idea of periphrasis as follows: "The true richness of language consists not in a multitude of sounds, not in a multitude of words, but in the number of thoughts expressed by it. A rich language is one in which you will find words not only to denote the main ideas, but also to explain their differences, their shade is more or less the power of simplicity and complexity. Otherwise he is poor; poor with all his millions of words. What good is it that in the Arabic language some bodily things, for example, the sword and the lion have 500 names, when they do not express any subtle moral concepts and feelings? In a language enriched by intelligent authors, there can be no synonyms in a language developed; they always have some subtle difference between them, known to those writers who know the spirit of the language, reflect on themselves, feel themselves, and are not parrots of others" ^{[11, p. 85]}. In this expression, N. M. Karamzin considers periphrase as a means of expression existing in the language of fiction, as indicated by the phrase "processed by intelligent authors"; periphrase is used to indicate various semantic and stylistic shades.

Periphrasis in N.M. Karamzin's novella "Natalia, the Boyar's Daughter"

The researchers note that the story in question completes the first stage of N. M. Karamzin's work, in which the use of the periphrasis principle differs from later texts ^{[3; 7; 15]}. Let's trace these changes using the example of the functions of peripheral combinations in the text.

It is important to note that the genre affiliation of the story as a historical one has been clarified by researchers, since the plot and characters of the work reflect the historical past of Moscow Russia not quite accurately. It should be noted that during the creation of the story under consideration, the genre of the historical novel and the historical story was at the stage of initial formation, therefore, N. M. Karamzin's contemporaries perceived this story, close in plot and characters to the adventurous novel, as the first Russian historical novel. The attitude towards historical stylization determines the ambiguity of the author's image as well as the choice of stylistic means, which, as is known, were revised by Karamzin during a significant author's revision of the text of the story. The volume of the author's literary and critical digressions and the number of stereotypical phraseological units and figurative symbols of the classicism style were reduced (according to ^{[6, pp. 241-253]}).

The final text of the story "Natalia, the boyar's daughter" contains 45 peripheral combinations, which can be divided into such thematic groups as

1) peripheral designation of a person, character;

2) peripheral designation of objects and objects of nature, description of visual details;

3) peripheral designations of feelings, states;

4) peripheral designations of life and death.

Let's give examples and analyze their functional aspect.

Peripheral designation of a person, character

The peripheral combination of the designation of the person and the characters are represented by such subgroups, named after the nominating word, as "son", "girlfriend", "friend":

o        Such was the boyar Matvey, a faithful servant of the tsar, a faithful friend of mankind – the periphrase characterizes the character and contains the author's (positive) attitude towards the hero;

o        Natalia is not with the robbers! but who is this mysterious young man, or, in Ossian language, the son of danger and darkness, living in the depths of the forests? – the periphrase characterizes the character and contains the author's ironic attitude towards the hero, which is motivated by the story of Natalia's escape; in this case, the nature of the attitude towards the hero is not final, but creates an intrigue of the plot development;

o Russian swords strike terribly; the chest of your sons is hard like a stone in yours – victory will always be their faithful friend – the periphery characterizes the situation and is contained in the speech of boyar Matvey, the ideal hero of the story. The intention of the speech is to inspire the king with confidence in victory in a difficult battle, a high style is chosen. The epithet faithful, frequently used by N. M. Karamzin, implements the semantics of the highest quality of the noun to which it refers: a faithful friend of mankind ‘true, real’; their faithful friend ‘eternal’, a faithful servant of the tsar ‘devoted’; a faithful servant ‘beloved, the one who has been working for a long time’; a faithful friend opened the door to him the dungeon is ‘the only one, the closest’; his drawings have become faithful copies of nature ‘as accurate as possible'.

Peripheral designation of objects and objects of nature

The group of periphrases denoting objects and objects of nature is voluminous and heterogeneous, since these periphrases relate to the author's descriptions of nature directly; both as an analogy of human fate, and as insertion elements of the author's block. Let's look at two examples:

o Let the reader imagine the whiteness of Italian marble and Caucasian snow; he still will not imagine the whiteness of her face – and, imagining the color of Zephyr's mistress, he still will not have a perfect idea of the scarlet cheeks of Natalia – the nominee of this periphrase is scarlet because Zephyr's mistress is a rose; periphrase refers to the description of the appearance of the hero, implements the function of poetization of a prose text;

o        Time in the old days flew as quickly as it does now, and while our beauty sighed and languished, the year turned on its axis: the green carpets of spring and summer were covered with fluffy snow, the formidable queen of cold sat on her icy throne and blew blizzards on the Russian kingdom; that is, winter came – in this case, the periphery it keeps the reference to the poetic language and is opposed to the everyday language, realizing the ironic function and the function of poetization of the prose text, it is included in the author's block of the text.

Peripheral designations of feelings, states

The group of periphrases denoting feelings and states is the most numerous in the text of the work, which is determined by its character of a sentimental story and the main theme — the theme of love, since the plot of the story is devoted to the love story of the two main characters. The main feature of the periphrases of the group was their correlation with the theme of fire:

o        You poured some kind of fire into my heart with your first glance, attracted my soul to yourself with your first glance, which immediately fell in love with you as your own - the periphrasis directly contains the lexical unit fire, which in contrasting use with the verb pour, which has this ‘liquid’, creates an additional emotional coloring, implements the function of poetization of the prosaic the text;

Oh, ah! Why is the most tender, the most ardent of passions always born with sorrow, for which lover does not sigh, which lover does not yearn in the first days of his passion, thinking that he is not loved mutually – the periphrasis contains the lexical unit the most ardent, which is a derivative of the lexical unit the flame, which, in turn, enters the lexical-the thematic group fire; the nominee of this periphrase is love. In this periphrasis, the function of assessing the situation and the function of poetization of a prose text is realized. It is also important to note that this periphrase is a stamp of the imagery of the XVIII century, and it is precisely such constructions that are frequent in the speeches of the second main character, Alexei Lyuboslavsky. Thus, this periphrase also implements the function of the character's speech characteristics.

Peripheral designations of life and death

The group of periphrases denoting feelings and states is the most numerous in the text of the work, which is determined by its character

o        For a long time he mourned her mother, who fell asleep forever in his arms, but the cypresses of marital love were covered with the flowers of parental love – and in young Natalia he saw a new image of the deceased, and, instead of bitter tears of sadness, sweet tears of tenderness shone in his eyes – the periphrase contains the lexical unit cypress, which is a symbol of the bitterness of sadness in Greek mythology. Thus, the topic of death in one sentence is touched upon in a series of words and phrases: mourned; fell asleep in eternal sleep (died); cypresses of conjugal love (grief from the death of his wife); the image of the deceased; bitter tears of sadness. In this chain, the periphrases implement the function of assessing the situation.

Conclusion

Peripheral combinations play a significant role in the arsenal of artistic techniques of N.M. Karamzin, implemented in sentimental novels, and demonstrate primarily the functions of indicating feelings and states, embellishing speech, author's characterization and poetization of prose text. Periphrases are becoming one of the new tools for constructing the semantic structure of a prose work of the emerging aesthetics of sentimentalism. The use of periphrases is included in the concept of reforming the Russian language by introducing elements inherent in the sentimental style of French salon literature into the text, while generally ordering syntax at the level of a simple and complex sentence.