The inner world of a person in metaphorical models with the object domain “precious stones” (based on dictionaries of poetic images)

Abstract

The article characterizes the inner world of a person in metaphorical models with the object domain “precious stones” in dictionaries of images. The research material is fragments of texts of Russian literature, including figurative comparisons of the realities of the inner world of a person with precious stones. Sources of the material are: Dictionary of Poetic Images by N.V. Pavlovich; Dictionary of the Language of Poetry by N.N. Ivanova and O.E. Ivanova; Materials for the Dictionary of Metaphors and Comparisons of Russian Literature of the 19th-20th Centuries by N.A. Kozhevnikova and Z.Yu. Petrova. The article uses the following research methods and techniques: analysis of theoretical sources on the problem, collection of material, observation, classification and systematization, quantitative calculations. The research includes the following stages: detection in dictionary materials of the realization of metaphorical models containing a comparison of an object of the inner world with the object domain “precious stones”; determination of the composition of the models; description of the subject and object areas; determination of the grounds for comparisons; identification of the most significant subjects and objects of comparison and the main metaphorical models; indication of trends in the development of imagery reflected in the implementation of metaphorical models in texts of different times. The study shows that dictionaries of images contain a significant number of implementations of metaphorical models of the inner person with the “precious stone” object domain. These models capture ideas about features and properties of the realities of the inner world important for Russian culture, relating to the invisible organs of a person, their feelings, emotions, intelligence. The main subjects of comparison are soul, heart, love, sadness, dream, thought; the main objects of comparison are diamond, pearl and rhinestone. These comparisons are much more common than others and are reflected in all three dictionaries. The hardness, transparency, brilliance of a cut diamond; the color and purity of pearls; the transparency and fragility of crystal, its ability to sound allow them to be metaphorical analogues for especially valuable and attractive realities of the inner world of a person. The figurative characteristic of the inner world is also based on the peculiarities of the formation of diamond (earth’s interior, pressure, high temperatures) and pearls (water depths, closeness in the shell). The materials of the dictionaries reflect the trends in the development imagery; the replenishment of figurative series with new elements, the reduction of traditionally elevated realities, the concretization of images. The implementation of metaphorical models with the object domain “precious stones” reflect in versatile ways the ideas about the inner world of a person that exist in Russian culture. The author declares no conflicts of interests.