SYMBOLIC AND METAPHORIC REPRESENTATIONS OF THE CONCEPT “FIRE” IN THE LEXICAL STRUCTURE OF THE TEXT IN M. BULGAKOV’S NOVEL “THE MASTER AND MARGARITA”
Introduction. The article investigates the lexical means of the symbolic and metaphorical representation of the concept of “Fire” in M. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” in terms of their language semantics and cultural connotations, analyzes the significance of this artistic concept for expressing the author’s worldview. The purpose of the work is to investigate the ways of linguistic representation of the concept of “Fire” in the text of the novel “The Master and Margarita”, to identify aspects of their metaphorical and symbolic interpretation at the verbal and conceptual levels, to study the role of this concept in the artistic worldview of the novel. Material and methods. The methodology of work is based on cognitive, linguoculturological and systemicstructural approaches in the study of the figurativeness of the language and artistic speech used in the field of semantics of linguistic units and stylistics of text. The empirical material consists of figurative words and expressions (143 units) which represent the concept of Fire in M. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”, as well as fragments of the text demonstrating its symbolic and metaphorical functioning (160 contexts). Sources of definition of linguistic meanings and mythopoetic symbols were published explanatory and encyclopedic dictionaries. Results and discussion. In M. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” were defined the lexical and textual fund of artistic representations of the concept “Fire”; there were revealed methods and techniques of its textual implementation. The cultural and symbolic meanings of the concept were investigated in the mythology of different cultures. The aspects of the metaphorical and symbolic interpretation of this concept were described in the artistic worldview of the novel “The Master and Margarita”, as well as its role in expressing the author’s intention. Conclusion. The concept of “Fire” is represented in the text structure by a multitude of direct and metaphorical lexical representations expressing various aspects of the manifestation of the fire element through a system of zoomorphic, anthropomorphic, somatic images. Images of fire form the basis for a metaphorical description of a wide range of phenomena of the surrounding world (parts of the human body, precious stones, celestial bodies, everyday objects) and the human inner world (feelings, emotions, conditions). The symbolism of this system of images has deep mythopoetic roots and translates the main meanings of the ideological content of the work.