Nikolay Gumilyov’s toponymical epithets

Abstract

This article analyzes functions and semantics of epithets pertaining to geographical names (topopoetonyms) in Gumilyov’s poems. Among 206 proper names and 77 epithets are definitions containing emotional assessment: crazy Africa (“Love Island”), kingly Niger (“Niger”) and color characteristics: golden Baghdad (“Pilgrim”), green Siberia (“Sahara”) prevailed. The epithet in genitival constructions usually refers to the main word of the nominal group: Tsargrad’s golden gate (“Sweden”), green waves of the Euphrates (“Adam’s Dream”), but in the periphrases it can be given to a geographical name: the queen of boundless Rus (i. e. Moscow, “Muzhik”). The analysis of the most common definitions (distant, remote; ancient; mysterious) showed that the epithet in the poetic text conveys several dictionary meanings, and its semantics are befogged by contextual connotations. Thus, the epithet distant to the topopoetonym Siberia (“Modernity”) express the idea of remoteness both in time and space, while the image of Siberia opens up a special space of poetic world — a place where the past continues in the present. In the poem “Galla”, the idea of opposing different cultures, is conveyed through the image of remote and wild Russia, as it is presented through the voice of a teacher of Islam. The definition ancient (“Words to Davydov’s music”, “Rhodes”) in Gumilyov’s poems also creates a temporal perspective of poetic description, has a positive connotation referring to high importance of the object designated by the topopoetonym, while the epithet mysterious (e. g. Rus, the poem “Old estates”) has an additional meaning — ‘associated with sacrament’.