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Semantic development of words in epic narration. The use of synonyms for sea in Beowulf
https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2022-4-166-185
Abstract
The article is devoted to the study of synonyms denoting the sea in ‘Beowulf’. The author analyses the synonyms which express the main idea of episodes, as well as other units of synonymic clusters, which are semantically close to the key word. Of particular interest for the author are those lines in which the key synonym (frequently used as the first element of a compound) outlines the plot of the narrative. The key words essential for the poetic text comprise the basis of the narrative and form a sharp contrast with the lexical units which (owing to their rare use) constitute the periphery of the synonymic system. The plotline is marked by the most frequently alliterating key words, which tend to be used as the first element of a compound. Weakening of distinctions in denotative meaning of first elements in compounds is compensated by the added function of marking the plotline. Successions of synonyms within the poem form semantic clusters whose function consists in intensifying meanings imparted by the narrative. Key synonyms can enter into semantic oppositions, in accordance with which other units of the synonymic system can be grouped. The most crucial semantic transformation essential for the plot affects the word mere whose meaning changes from ‘lake’ to ‘sea’ in epic narration. The semantic shift results in the intensive use of compounds with mere- as the first element in the central episodes of Beowulf.
About the Author
E. V. KravchenkoRussian Federation
Evgenia V. Kravchenko
bld. 1, Leninskie gory, Moscow, 119234
References
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Supplementary files
For citation: Kravchenko E.V. Semantic development of words in epic narration. The use of synonyms for sea in Beowulf. RSUH/RGGU Bulletin: “Literary Teory. Linguistics. Cultural Studies”, Series. 2022;(4(2)):166-185. https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2022-4-166-185
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