Figurative Means of Representing the Milky Way in Russian Fiction of XIX — Early XXI Centuries

Abstract

This article is an analysis of the linguistic means of figurative representation of the Milky Way in the prose works of Russian authors of the XIX — early XXI centuries. It is established that the basis for the creation of metaphorical models, in which the astroobject Milky Way is one of the components, are the similarity of external outlines, parametric indicators, the identity of light and structural characteristics, while the attraction of only perceptual signs significantly limits the possibilities for comparison. It is shown that the length of the stellar system determines its metaphorical representation as a water body, road, fabric or fiber, a bridge or its component part, an arc, a parabola, a fraction, a procession, a lane, a belt, a ski track, spilled milk, a tail. It is noted that the relative position of the celestial bodies that form the Milky Way leads to its assimilation to fog, cloud, smoke or dust; the luminosity of the stars entering the galaxy resembles the brilliance of silver and gold, and their large number is emphasized by the metaphor “Milky Way — many small objects or particles”. The author comes to the conclusion that the images that arise during the metaphorization of an astroobject differ in the frequency of use, while hydronymic, meteorological, artifact metaphors, as well as the metaphor of a path-road, are productive.

Keywords

• poetic onomastics
• heavenly body
• milky way
• representation
• figurative expressions