Phonetic symbols in the novel by A.I. Kuprin «The garnet bracelet»

About the author:

Gulia F. Shigapova,

Abstract:

The article reveals A.I. Kuprin’s mastery of sound symbolism of artistic expression in the novel “The Garnet Bracelet”. In the course of the analysis of the sound space of Zheltkov’s letters, sound-letter dominants were identified, their symbolic connotations were characterized. As a result, we discovered that the phonetic row deepens the emotive and expressive side of the messages. An investigation into peculiarities of the character’s word rhythmics enabled to give a broader view on the artistic intention of the writer. Each word in the novel is filled with the sound of Beethoven’s sonata. The novel’s finale is a bright musical experiment. The musical composition of the writing aestheticizes the writer’s language, filling a prosaic text with acoustic and rhythmic combinations. Thanks to the sound symbolism poetics, the works of A.I. Kuprin discover the influence of the ‘synthesis of arts’ concept, which allows to include the writer’s artistic heritage into a “dialogue” of the turn of the century Russian literature.

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