Simple and Complex Occasional Transformations of Biblical Phraseological Units in W. Shakespeare’s Works

Abstract

The article studies the behaviour of phraseological units of biblical origin in the works by William Shakespeare. The subject of the research is the ways biblical phraseological units are used in his plays. The novelty of the paper lies in the identification of simple and complex occasional transformations of biblical phraseological units in Shakespeare’s works. Linguistic material was selected using the method of phraseological identification proposed by A.V. Kunin and successfully tested by numerous studies in the field of modern phraseology. In addition, macroparadigmatic methods and related linguistic methods were applied. Occasional changes in phraseological units in a literary work are considered here not as an example of destruction of phraseology, but as an element of the author’s creative use of phraseological units in each specific case. We were able to identify two groups of occasional transformations of phraseological units of biblical origin in Shakespeare’s plays: 1) a group of simple occasional transformations, which includes three main types of morphological changes in the components of biblical phraseological units: a) changes in the verbal component, b) changes in the substantive component, c) changes in the adjectival component, and 2) a group of complex occasional transformations. The results showed that occasional transformations of biblical phraseological units introduced into a literary text enrich and enhance its imagery, highlight personal traits of the characters and help to capture the very essence of Shakespeare’s drama.