EKPHRASIS AND ITS FUNCTIONING IN THE NOVEL "POINT COUNTER POINT" BY ALDOUS HUXLEY

Abstract

The current article features the phenomenon of ekphrasis in the novel "Point Counter Point" by Aldous Huxley. The ekphrastic text consists of two conspicuous parts, the central and the peripheral ones. Various aspects of ekphrasis are subjected to analysis. The aesthetic component of the ekphrastic text reveals itself in the description of the picture painted by the main hero as a genuine work of art with great aesthetic value. The semiotic component manifests itself in the phenomenon of semiotic transference: the iconic signs of painting are translated into the verbal signs of a work of literature. The ekphrastic text, the signifier, points at the signified, i.e. the painting, described in the novel. The archetypal component reveals itself in the specific features of the description of the painting, as represented both in an ekphrastic dialogue and a monologue. These invariable features refer the reader to the archetypal scheme of such a description, elaborated in the ancient Greek classic literature. The linguistic component reveals itself in the perceptive vocabulary of the ekphrastic description that encourages the reader-beholder to marvel at the image and evokes a sense of beauty. The hermeneutic aspect reveals itself not only in the interpretation of the painting but also in the interpretation of the meaning of art itself, which is timeless and opposite to the mundane. The article also considers the following functions of ekphrasis: an aesthetically-appreciative, a semiotic, an archetypal, an emotionally-expressive, a character-drawing, and a hermeneutic function.

Keywords

• ekphrasis
• ecphrasis
• ekphrastic monologue
• ekphrastic dialogue
• the archetypal scheme of ekphrasis
• the centre and periphery of an ekphrastic text
• components of ekphrasis
• functions of ekphrasis