Among all the wealth of the Russian language, a special place is occupied by means of expressiveness, such as antithesis, metaphor, metonymy, litot, hyperbole, synecdoch, and, of course, the epithet. We see examples of epithets in our lives at every step, we use them unconsciously in speech, but we don’t realize how
We own a unique means of expression. In the article we will talk more about what is an epithet. Examples will help to better and more clearly understand how the epithet differs from other expressive means of the great and powerful Russian language. For example, what is its difference from metaphor and whether it is.
So what is an epithet? Examples of epithets are as follows: velvet nights, golden hands, a brilliant role, brilliant performance, white light, honored artist, gray wolf.
Examples of epithets can be given a lot, even the word "light" can pick up to 10 epithets. That is, the epithet is a trope, an expressive means of language. In a broader sense, the epithet is a word or even a phrase, which in the sentence takes on a new meaning and highlights certain features in the described object. Thus, the reader evaluates the described object from an unusual point of view. Epithet, along with metaphor, metonymy and other expressive means, gives the subject, as well as the text, a certain expressive coloring.
There is no consensus on the grammatical form of epithets. Some scholars, for example, Kvyatkovsky, believe that the epithet in a sentence can only be an adjective-definition. Others are inclined to the idea that any part of speech can play the role of an epithet, if it serves as a determinant for another word. This is the so-called broad approach to understanding the lexical-semantic meaning of the epithet. If we consider the epithet from the standpoint of this approach, then even an adverb can fulfill its role, if it carries a shade of the author's perception of the phenomenon. For example: to rejoice madly, whistle frantically, try desperately, defend frantically.
Also, the epithet can be an application, for example: a beautiful girl, a fool, an ignoramus, a cow-nurse, Ivan the fool and others.
Despite the existence of a broad approach, most linguists consider it the epithet that defines the defining word in attributive constructions constructed according to the A + N model, the adjective (A, adjective) + noun (N, noun).
Epithets are most often used in poetry. Homer used epithets - in his
"Illiad" there are such epithets as the cunning Odysseus, the swift-footed Achilles. This technique is called a permanent epithet, or a frozen definition.
The well-known linguist Zhirmunsky indicates that in the broad sense, the epithet is, in fact, any definition that emphasizes and emphasizes any sign of an object. In a narrow sense, the epithet is an adorning feature characteristic of classicism.
From the history of the epithet it is clear that at first they were constant at certain words, for example, the dark sea, starry night, the crowned ruler.
By structural characteristics, a simple, cohesive, compound, complex epithet can be distinguished. Examples of complex epithets are often found in the poetry of Akhmatova.
