The image of feather grass in kalmyk russian-language lyrics
https://doi.org/10.31143/2542-212X-2025-4-419-430
EDN: ULEOPQ
Abstract
The article presents a literary analysis of the image of feather grass in modern Kalmyk Russian-language lyrics, which determines the relevance and novelty of the object and subject of the study. The material of the article is the poems of the authors included in the poetry books of different years. The comparative method and the method of descriptive poetics reveal the common and individual in the poets' worldview, in their landscape lyrics, which define the typical landscape of the Kalmyk steppe. Compared to wormwood, cowberry is the second common phytonym in the poems of Kalmyk poets about the flora of their native land. Nevertheless, the phytoportrait of feather grass – poems addressed to this herb – is rarely represented in the lyrics of the authors, with the exception of the works of P. Chuzhginov and R. Khaninova. Basically, the grasshopper became a figurative component in the overall picture of the steppe, symbolizing the connection of the lyrical subject with his homeland, clan, and family. The autobiographical details included in such narratives emphasize the poets' personal attitude to the patriotic theme. The motif of memory is usually plot-forming in such poems. The image of a hobble is conveyed through appearance, color, movement, comparison, metaphor, animism: the white color of a hobble, comparison with a person's gray hair, with sea waves become typical. The seasonal image of the plant is given mainly in spring and summer. The poems are not diverse in terms of genre, and their titles do not include the name of the hobble.
Supporting agencies: The study was supported by grant No. 25-28-01283 from the Russian Science Foundation, https://rscf.ru/project/25-28-01283/
About the Author
Rimma M. Khaninova
Kalmyk Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Head of the Department of Folklore and Literature, Leading Researcher
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For citations:
Khaninova R.M. The image of feather grass in kalmyk russian-language lyrics. Kavkazologiya. 2025;(4):419-430. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31143/2542-212X-2025-4-419-430. EDN: ULEOPQ
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