Epithet - what is it and what is its meaning in literature. What is an epithet? The difference between epithets and ordinary definitions

Most of us would agree that the main key in interacting directly with each other is communication. When communicating, we share our thoughts, emotions, and views with other people. Without communication it is impossible to imagine the existence of modern society. However, in order for our speech to benefit others and be understandable, it is necessary to decorate it with practical, but at the same time vivid words. One of these are epithets. What are they and are they so important when communicating together?

In contact with

Definition of epithet

What is an epithet in literature? We come across this definition back in school. So, an epithet is a special, expressive word that serves as an addition to other words. An epithet helps to better understand the essence of a word. Based on the definition, they are used as a supplement to words denoting a subject or object. He introduces it with an adjective. In rare cases it may be a noun. The noun is the word for which the epithet was used. There are many examples of using epithets together with a noun.

Here are a few of them: mighty shoulders, black melancholy, dead of night. In all the examples given, figurative expressions give special meaning to nouns and emphasize their expressiveness, making the speech itself rich.

Types of figurative expressions

In the literature, not only the definition of this concept is known, but also three main varieties:

• individually-authored;
• general language;
• folk-poetic.

Let's take a closer look at each type mentioned.

Individually-authored. This type is created by the authors of works or speakers themselves. In other words, the expressions spoken or printed in books have never been used before. This type was and is most often used by poets and writers. The use of such interesting expressions gives their work more individuality. To see them, it is enough to read the works or poem of a famous poet. For example, Mayakovsky or Brodsky. There are phrases with epithets there.

General language. This view is not the invention of a particular poet. Such expressions have already been used in speech and literature. For example, ringing silence, gentle sun, leaden clouds. In this case, the figurative expression is aimed at describing the properties and capabilities of the noun. The use of such figurative expressions in everyday speech helps us best convey to our interlocutor the atmosphere of an upcoming event or show our personal attitude towards certain actions or situations.

Folk poetic. In another way they are called permanent. These expressions are the result of folk art. During the existence of nations, they have become firmly entrenched in human consciousness. This or that expression is automatically associated with this or that word. In some cases, a folk poetic epithet may be not one word, but an entire expression. Here are some examples: good fellow, clean field, beautiful maiden.

Don't miss: interpretation of such a literary device as, examples of exaggeration.

Other classification

There is another classification. In most cases, such figurative expressions stand next to words used in the text in a figurative sense. If the noun has a figurative meaning, then the epithet has a different meaning, for example:

• metonymic;
• metamorphic.

Metonymic. Based on a figurative metonymic meaning. A striking example is the expression from the work of S. Yesenin: “in a birch, cheerful language.”

Metamorphic. They differ from the first type. The name of this type speaks about the basis of figurative expression. The main one is . There are many examples of such epithets in the literature. For example, in Pushkin these are “light threats”.

Independent and permanent

There are not so many independent epithets. In literary works or everyday life, they are used no nouns. They are independent and full-fledged members of the sentence. They don't need a supplement. If we talk about literary movements, then most of all such independent figurative expressions are found in the works of the well-known era of symbolism.

What are permanent epithets? This type, in contrast to independent expressions, is often found in literature and in everyday life. Constant epithets are beautiful and understandable figurative expressions, which are predominantly used in colloquial speech. Colloquial epithets allow us to better convey the emotions of spoken words. Or show your attitude to certain subjects of discussion or to the interlocutor himself. By giving new meaning to words, constant expressions improve our communication skills with others.

How to find such expressions in text?

Having realized the importance and necessity of epithets in speech and literature, it is important to learn how to track and find them. Here are some interesting and useful tips that, by the way, will be useful during training:

Thus, we learned what epithets can be, determined what it is and figured out a little how to find it in the text. At the end of the article, I would like to once again recall the importance of these figurative expressions in literature. Without them, it would not be so rich, bright and interesting. And our everyday speech would also be sluggish, boring and dry. Therefore, epithets are a worthy decoration for our speech.

What is an epithet in literature?

Epithets: examples from literature

Along with colloquial speech, epithets are used in literature, most likely more often than in interpersonal communication. Here is an example of an epithet in literature:

"On an evening like this golden And clear,
In this breath of spring all-victorious
Don't remember me, oh my friend beautiful,
You are about our love timid And poor».

At all, epithet- this is a word that gives the subsequent word expressiveness and imagery. It is, as it were, the definition of this word. Often this word is an adjective, less often an adverb, but it can also be a verb or even a noun. For example, the phrase " winged swing“contains the epithet “winged,” which helps the reader imagine the swing not just as a piece of iron moving back and forth, but as some kind of bird soaring in the air. Now you can object that epithets are simple adjectives. But no! In order for a simple adjective to become an epithet, you need to “award” it with a deep meaning, and at the same time have a imaginative imagination. Here are some more examples of epithets:

• “The grass was blooming so merrily all around” (I. Turgenev).
• “What if I, enchanted, return home humiliated, can you forgive me?” (Alexander Blok).
• “In saucers - lifebuoy glasses” (V. Mayakovsky).
• “Ghostly Reigns” (I. Brodsky).
• “Sneaking, playing hide and seek, the sky descends” (B. Pasternak).

Epithets in the age of information technology.

Unfortunately, epithets are gradually disappearing from our lives. Nowadays people are so busy that they try to speak briefly and only to the point. By avoiding unnecessary phrases, we eliminate epithets from our speech.

Please note that our speech is becoming more and more rough, angular and abbreviated. Modern people spend more and more time sitting at the computer on social networks. Emoticons and pictures replace epithets for us.

Permanent epithet

a definition word that is consistently combined with one or another defined word. Denotes a characteristic, always present sign.

Example:

red maiden, desperate little head,

red-hot arrow, clear field,

dark forests

“Some constant epithets are widely used in all types of folklore: “good fellow”, “clean field”, “blue sea”. Others are found mainly in certain genres of folk poetry, while performing specific ideological and artistic functions. For example, in fairy tales Constant epithets of a fantastic nature are widely used: “golden palace”, “crystal bridge” (S. Lazutin).

“A special group of epithets includes constant epithets, which are used only in combination with one specific word: “living water”, “good fellow”. Constant epithets are characteristic of works of oral folk art” (L. Krupchanov).

Terminological dictionary-thesaurus on literary criticism. From allegory to iambic. - M.: Flinta, Science. N.Yu. Rusova. 2004.

Synonyms:

See what a “permanent epithet” is in other dictionaries:

permanent epithet- noun, number of synonyms: 1 epithet (4) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

Permanent epithet- one of the tropes of folk poetry: a definition word that is consistently combined with one or another defined word and denotes in the subject some characteristic, always present generic sign (pole path, red maiden, well done... ... Pedagogical speech science

permanent epithet- CONSTANT EPITHET See epithet... Poetic dictionary

permanent epithet- s. In lexical stylistics: an epithet that is firmly associated with a noun or verb and indicates a normative feature of an object or action in a given picture of the world; found mainly in folklore texts. *The winds are violent, the sea... ... Educational dictionary of stylistic terms

permanent epithet- type of trope: a definition that is steadily combined with the word being defined and forms, in combination with it, a figuratively poetic expression: blue sea, good fellow, red maiden, red-hot arrow, sugar lips, burning tears, wide steppe, white ... Dictionary of literary terms

epithet- Cm … Synonym dictionary

epithet- a, m. épithète f. gr. epithetos attached. The simplest form of poetic trope, which is a definition that characterizes what kind of person. property, feature of an object, concept, phenomenon. ALS 1. Often from a change, omission or... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

epithet- EPI´TET (Greek ἐπίθετον application) in the proper sense, a figurative characteristic of a person, phenomenon or object through an expressive metaphorical adjective. As an artistic detail, E. cannot be confused with defining... ... Poetic dictionary

Epithet- (from the Greek epitheton application) an artistic, figurative definition of an object, i.e. one that not only indicates any of its qualities, but creates a picture, an image based on the transfer of meaning. So, in Pushkin’s lines: “On the winter road... Pedagogical speech science

epithet- a, m. 1) lit. A word that defines an object or phenomenon and emphasizes which words. its properties, qualities or characteristics. Pushkin meant by the name mob approximately the same thing as we do. He often attached the epithet secular to this noun,... ... Popular dictionary of the Russian language