The mega-concept "Woman" in the linguocultural space of the turn of the 19th-20th centuries and its figurative and speech representation in the lyrics of A.A. Akhmatova
DOI: 10.23951/1609-624X-2026-3-70-80
The study of the conceptual sphere of outstanding poets in the cultural and historical context of the era is important for understanding the dynamics of the author’s creativity and determining the socio-historical and cultural factors influencing it. This is of interest to cognitive linguistics, discourse theory, and communicative textual stylistics. The aim of this study is to analyze the figurative and verbal representation of the megaconcept “Woman” across different periods of A.A. Akhmatova’s poetic work. A megaconcept is considered as a complex mental formation that includes value, social and cultural dominants of the collective consciousness of people in a certain historical period, reflected in the textual activity of the author. The theoretical basis of the study was provided by works in the field of linguistics and culturology studies, gender studies and communicative stylistics of text, which includes the theories of regulation and textual associations developed therein. The last two theories are significant for effective dialogue between the author and the addressee. The research material was based on poems by A.A. Akhmatova from various years (19111960). The methods of discourse analysis, semantic-stylistic and contextual analysis, and the word-image method were used in the research process. It has been established that the study of various variants of the communicative behavior of A. Akhmatova’s lyrical heroines allows us to identify various sides of the mega-concept “Woman” and detect their determinacy in the socio-historical and cultural context of the era. Taking into account the various linguistic regulatory means and structures used by the poet, on the basis of which the dialogue with the reader takes place, the characteristic features of the poet are identified, revealing in different years the various communicative roles and models of behavior of lyrical heroines associated with the changing reality. The regulatory tools and structures used by the author provide the key to their interpretation and understanding. In her early work, she embodied images of a loving woman in various situations and a keeper of national memory; in poems from 1915–1920, she embodied a woman who was a citizen of her country; in the 1930s–1940s, she embodied a widow and grieving mother; and in the 1940s–1960s, she embodied a wise chronicler of the era. Having witnessed significant political events in the country during turning points in its existence, A.A. Akhmatova was able to vividly and figuratively embody their influence on the woman poet, and to describe her inner experiences through the images and behavior of her lyrical heroines using artistic means. The conducted research is of interest not only for the further study of the dynamics of the poetic picture of the world and the author’s idiostyle, but also for the development of a methodology for the conceptual analysis of an artistic text in the context of the era.
Keywords: A.A. Akhmatova, poetic text, mega-concept “Woman”, linguocultural trend, communicative stylistics of the text
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Issue: 3, 2026
Series of issue: Issue 3
Rubric: RUSSIAN LANGUAGE
Pages: 70 — 80
Downloads: 295