Mythologism of Modern Kazakhstani Prose: Lexico-Semantic Aspect

Abstract

The research attempts to determine the nature of mythologism in modern prose of Kazakhstan, to explain the use of myths in the novels by Abdizhamil Nurpeisov, A. Zhaksylykov and N. Verevochkin, which are representatives of the spiritual and intellectual stream in the modern literary process. The subject of the authors’ research is the multifunctionality of myth, its semantics and structure-forming function in the works of Kazakhstani prose writers of the late XXth - early XXI centuries. In the first part of the article, the main attention is paid to the mythopoetics of A. Nurpeisov’s dilogy “Last Duty”, the interpretation of mythologeme and the meaning of the actions of the protagonist, which we consider as a mythological hero. The second part is devoted to the analysis of the mythological plot of Aslan Zhaksylykov’s novel “Singing Stones”, the interpretation of the symbolism of the sacred stone Yin-Yang. The next section deals with the novel of Nikolai Verevochkin, which we treat as a myth-novel.

Keywords

• myth
• mythologeme
• multifunctionality of myth
• mythological plot
• intertext
• myth-making