The main task oral and writing is communication between people, the ability to convey to each other their thoughts, judgments, assessments and emotions.

At the same time, the emotional side is no less, and sometimes even more important, than the actual component. To express their feelings and impressions, humanity has come up with many ways, one of which is the use of various epithets in speech. What it is? Let's figure it out.

Word "epithet" is of ancient Greek origin and means "applied". Essentially, it is an addition to the main word or concept, designed to make it more expressive and vivid.

Most often, adjectives become epithets, but other parts of speech can also play this role - adverbs, numerals and even nouns. The epithet usually comes before the main word, but this is not necessary. This may not be one word, but a whole expression that gives stable concept a new semantic or emotional connotation.

In literary work, epithets are used extremely widely. Poetic works are most saturated with them, but this powerful speech instrument is also actively used in prose and even in everyday speech.


Like any other visual means, epithets have developed and improved over time, which can be seen by analyzing literary works of the past and present.

IN folk art and in the earliest literary works, epithets, as a rule, describe the properties of objects and phenomena, highlighting them key features, but practically without touching on the emotional, personal component: beautiful maiden, red gold, untold riches .

With the development of literature, the role and structure of epithets became more complex, acquiring new properties and functional content. This was most clearly expressed in the works of poets Silver Age and subsequent period: the stupid plate clanged out, the edge of the limit, the lazy-passionate rosehip etc.

Modern literature, especially postmodern works, have further complicated both the structure and semantic content of epithets, sometimes allowing for very unusual expressive techniques: Diathesis bloomed, the diapers turned golden .

Epithets – important element speech, giving it expressiveness, prominence and emotionality. With their help, the narrator gets the opportunity to express his attitude towards the objects being described or present them to listeners/readers in a new, unusual light.


Often, with the help of epithets, the atmosphere of a historical era is recreated, social group or ethnic flavor. This is a powerful tool for conveying visual images, their emotional and artistic content in words.

Both epithets and metaphors are widely used by poets and prose writers to create vivid works of art. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish which is an epithet. However, if you approach the issue thoughtfully, the difference becomes obvious.

An epithet is a figurative definition that describes a stable attribute of the depicted object, creature or concept: fragrant apple, instant reaction, silent witness . Most often it is expressed in one word, complementing the main word and describing its inherent property. An epithet cannot exist on its own and is always an addition.

At the same time, a metaphor is almost always a speech construct of several words that carry an independent semantic function - they transfer the properties or image of one object or concept to another.

A metaphor evokes in the mind an associative connection between seemingly completely different concepts, actions or things. This association only works for this specific case: a scattering of dewy pearls on the grass, the winter cold reigned in the heart etc.

It is easy to see that an epithet can be part of a metaphor. Metaphor will never be part of an epithet.

Descriptive epithets: lead cloud, fragrant flower, fun to bounce, gentle waves .

Constant epithets, or folklore and poetic: good fellow, open field, clear falcon, sharp sword .


Metaphorical epithets: winter silver, sad friendship, mourning border, piercing gaze .

Metonymic epithets: scratching whisper, birch cheerful tongue .

Any classification is quite conditional, since the same epithet can successfully be included in several different classification groups.

There are many words in the Russian language that cannot always be given precise definition, although you hear them almost every day. These words include Epithet. What does Epithet mean?? Before continuing, let me suggest you read a few more articles, for example, what does Townhouse mean, what is Sovereign Debt, what does the expression Middle Class mean? This word was borrowed from the Greek language" Epithetos" and is translated into Russian as "attached", "added". In fact, it is often used instead of the term "adjective", although not in all cases it has a similar meaning to an epithet. As a rule, epithets are intended to be more colorful describe an object or person from the point of view of the narrator, as well as highlight certain properties that the author wants to emphasize.

Epithet- this term in fiction, as a rule, lyrical, poetic, contains special expressive properties, highlighting in the object of the narrative something that is initially inherent only to it, allowing you to look at it from an unusual point of view

"Plague spring" - means excellent spring weather, which one has been waiting for so long all winter; this phrase was invented by famous performers Nastya Kamenskikh and Senor Potap.

"Beautiful maiden" - this epithet emphasizes that the girl is very attractive, since the word “krasna” means “beautiful.”

"Good fellow" - this expression means "strong guy", that is, it characterizes a man as healthy, pleasant in appearance and positive in all respects.

"To love dearly" - means passionate and selfless love, although not always on a mutual basis.

"Second Life" - this means starting life from scratch, or repairing a broken thing and using it again.

"Moscow golden-domed" - this epithet appeared during the times Russian Empire, when all over the country they were actively building and putting into operation orthodox churches, the domes of which were covered with gold leaf.

"Wild West" - this epithet was assigned to the United States during the Migration of Peoples, when many people decided to start a “second life” in a new place. However, this place was completely wild and not suitable for life; everything had to be “wrested” from nature with a fight.

Epithets are necessary in a literary text for:

To achieve with their help special depth, expressiveness and sensitivity.

Usually the epithet in the text is located after the word being defined in postposition.

As a rule, the structure of the epithet itself is quite simple. It consists of a noun and an adjective.

If you place epithets in a literary text, separated from each other, so that they take a vertical position, then such an arrangement will only have their sensual meaning and will give the sound an unusual depth.
(advertisement3)
Sometimes reflecting on the narrator's epithet, we will gradually comprehend the idea and the complexity of constructing the expression. For example, analyzing the epithets of the great poet Mayakovsky, we can discern a carefully hidden semantic depth, which is filled with bewilderment, irony, sarcasm and bitterness.

All this variety of meanings and lexical subtext is achieved with the help of the author’s expressive and artistic assistant - epithet.

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. This article is devoted to one of the most common techniques in literature, which makes any text more vivid and interesting. We're talking about epithets.

Today you will find out the answers to the questions:

1. - what it is
2. - what parts of speech can act as epithets
3. - what types are they divided into?
4. - and, of course, you will see just a sea of ​​examples of epithets from literature and poetry.

What is an epithet - examples and definition

It's always worth starting with a definition of the term, it seems to me:

But to better explain what it is, it’s best to immediately give an example. Here is the famous poem by Afanasy Fet:

On an evening so GOLDEN and CLEAR,
In this breath of all-victorious spring
Do not remind me, oh my BEAUTIFUL friend,
You are talking about our timid and poor love.

See the six highlighted words? Now imagine what the same quatrain would look like, but without them:

On an evening like this
In this breath of spring
Don't remind me, oh my friend,
You are about our love.

The essence of the message has not changed much. The author is still sad about past feelings. But you must admit, our feelings are already different. And the picture as a whole is not so bright, and the depth of feelings is no longer the same. And all because those same epithets were removed from the text.

It is the epithets make each image more complete:

1. the evening is GOLDEN AND CLEAR - a picture of a sunset immediately appears before your eyes, and there is not a cloud in the sky;
2. ALL-VICTORIOUS spring - the beginning of something new, changes for the better, a sign that old disappointments will soon be a thing of the past;
3. BEAUTIFUL friend - emphasizing that the author has maintained a good attitude towards the one to whom the message is addressed;
4. TIMID and POOR love - the understanding that feelings were initially doomed to failure for some reason, and this makes the relationship even sadder.

And now, after this analysis, I hope the definition of “epithet” will sound more clear.

An epithet is a word with ancient Greek roots that literally translates as “application.” Its purpose is to emphasize the words adjacent to it, to give them an emotional connotation, enhance their meaning, emphasize imagery. But the most important thing is to make the proposal more beautiful.

Epithet constructions

Most often, adjectives act as epithets., with which they decorate a noun. Here are the simplest examples:

1. dead night - not just night, but very dark, impenetrable;
2. black melancholy - the most sad state;
3. sugar lips - lips that are impossible not to kiss;
4. hot kiss - a kiss full of passion;
5. nerves of steel - a person cannot be unbalanced.

By the way, some people mistakenly believe that any adjective can be considered an epithet. This is wrong! It all depends on in what context and what noun they refer to, and whether they fulfill main function - strengthening the image.

Judge for yourself - the difference between the expressions " warm house" and "warm attitude". In the first case, it is simply a statement of the fact that there is heating in the room, and in the second, it is emphasized that there are good relationships between people.

Or compare “red marker” and “red sunrise.” In both cases we are talking about color. But in the first it is simply a statement of fact, and in the second the beauty of the moment of sunrise is more vividly conveyed.

However, not only adjectives, but also other parts of speech can act as epithets. For example, adverbs:

The grass was blooming FUN. (Turgenev)
And I complain BITTERLY, and I shed BITTER tears. (Pushkin)

Or nouns. Example:

A golden cloud spent the night on the chest of a GIANT cliff (Lermontov)
SPRING of honor, our idol. (Pushkin)
It’s as if MOTHER Volga ran backwards. (Tolstoy)

Or pronouns, with which you can give words an excellent form. For example:

Do you remember combat fights? Yes, they say, WHAT MORE! (Lermontov)

Or and participial phrases. Example:

What if, enchanted, I HAVE BREAKED THE THREAD OF CONSCIOUSNESS... (Block)
LEAF RINGING AND DANCING IN THE SILENCE OF CENTURIES. (Krasko)

PLAYING HIDE AND HIDE, the sky comes down from the attic. (Parsnip)
As if frolicking and playing, it rumbles in the blue sky. (Tyutchev)

See epithets can be absolutely any part of a sentence, with the possible exception of verbs. But they all serve the same purpose - to make the text more imaginative and rich.

Types of epithets - decorative, permanent, copyright

Despite the common goals, all epithets can be divided into several categories:

1. decorating (they are also called general language);
2. permanent (folk-poetic);
3. copyright (individual).

Decorating epithets- this is the most large group. This includes any combination that describes the characteristics of something. Many of the expressions can be found not only in literary works, we regularly use them in Everyday life:

DEADLY silence, TENDER sea, LEAD clouds, piercing wind, CRACKING frost, GENIUS solution, FUNNY colors and many others.

Go to category constant epithets include phrases that, after many years, have become firmly entrenched in people’s minds. They have even become part of our speech, and the words are no longer pronounced separately (or extremely rarely):

GOOD fellow, RED maiden, CLEAR field, CLEAR month, Gold autumn, WHITE RUNS, DENSE FOREST, INCREDIBLE riches and so on.

By the way, if you noticed, many of the constant epithets are right away - or with songs. That is why their second name is folk poetic.

MARMALADE mood. (Chekhov)
TRANSPARENT flattery NECKLACE, GOLDEN rosary of wisdom. (Pushkin)
The face of the THOUSAND EYES trust. (Mayakovsky)
FUCKING indifference. (Pisarev)

The meaning of epithets for literature and language in general

None literary work cannot do without epithets (and). If they don't exist, then the text will turn out dry and lifeless, and it definitely won’t be able to captivate the reader. Therefore, the more the author uses them, the better.

But in our everyday speech we should not forget about such techniques. For example, exchanging SMS or messages on social networks. After all, the simple question “How are you?” You can simply answer “Fine”, or you can also “Fine, it was a hot day, but I was tired as a dog.”

In the first case, it will be just dry information, but in the second, the interlocutor will also know your emotional state, which is much more important.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

You can watch more videos by going to

You might be interested

Oxymoron - what is it, examples in Russian, as well as the correct stress and difference from an oxymoron (or axemoron) What is interpretation and what things can be interpreted
Appbonus - earn money by downloading and installing mobile applications on Android and iOS Verbal or non-verbal - what is it and what type of communication is more important What are lyrics What you need to know about compulsory motor liability insurance - why you need insurance, calculating its cost (calculator) and checking the policy by number in the RSA

(“fun noise”), numeral (second life).

An epithet is a word or an entire expression, which, due to its structure and special function in the text, acquires some new meaning or semantic connotation, helps the word (expression) gain color and richness. It is used both in poetry (more often) and in prose.

Without having a definite position in the theory of literature, the name “epithet” is applied approximately to those phenomena that are called a definition in syntax, and an adjective in etymology; but the coincidence is only partial.

Theorists do not have a set view of the epithet: some attribute it to figures, others place it, along with figures and tropes, as independent remedy poetic imagery; some identify the epithets decorative and permanent, others separate them; Some consider the epithet to be an element of exclusively poetic speech, others find it in prose as well.

This “oblivion of real meaning,” in the terminology of A. N. Veselovsky, is already a secondary phenomenon, but the very appearance of a constant epithet cannot be considered primary: its constancy, which is usually considered a sign of epic, epic worldview, is the result of selection after some diversity.

It is possible that in the era of the most ancient (syncretistic, lyric-epic) song creativity this constancy did not yet exist: “only later did it become a sign of that typically conventional - and class - worldview and style, which we consider, somewhat one-sidedly, to be characteristic of epic and folk poetry."

Epithets can be expressed in different parts speeches (Mother Volga, tramp wind, bright eyes, damp earth). Epithets are a very common concept in literature; without them it is impossible to imagine a single work of art.

Notes

Wikimedia Foundation.

Synonyms

Epithet See what “Epithet” is in other dictionaries: - EPITHET (Greek Επιθετον, appended) is a term of stylistics and poetics, denoting the word definition accompanying the word being defined. Tradition, dating back to ancient views, distinguishes between a “necessary epithet” (epitheton necessarium) and... ...

Dictionary of literary terms - (Greek, epi on, tithemi I place). An apt definition, in the interests of figurativeness, attached to some word and indicating its essential feature. Eg. The sea is blue, the forests are dark. Dictionary of foreign words included in... ...

Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language Cm …

Synonym dictionary epithet - a, m. épithète f. gr. epithetos attached. poetic trope, which is a definition that characterizes what kind of l. property, feature of an object, concept, phenomenon. ALS 1. Often from a change, omission or... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

EPITHET, epithet, husband. (Greek epitheton, lit. attached). One of the visual poetic means is a definition attached to the name of an object for greater imagery (lit.). Constant epithets of folk poetry (for example, blue sea, open field) ... Dictionary Ushakova

EPITHET- (epithet). Any word in a name that follows the generic name. cm … Terms of botanical nomenclature

- (Greek epitheton, literally attached), trope, figurative definition (expressed mainly by an adjective, but also by an adverb, noun, numeral, verb), giving an additional artistic characteristic of the subject... ... Modern encyclopedia

- (Greek epitheton lit. attached), trope, figurative definition (expressed mainly by an adjective, but also an adverb, noun, numeral, verb), giving an additional artistic characteristic of an object (phenomenon) in the form of ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

EPITHET, a, m. In poetics: figurative, artistic definition. Constant e. (in folk literature, for example, blue sea, golden curls). Unflattering e. (translated: about a disapproving characterization of someone or something). Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

- (Greek epiJetoV superimposed, attached) term of literary theory: a definition of a word that affects its expressiveness. The content of this term is not stable and clear enough, despite its common use. The convergence of literary history... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

You might be interested:

We use epithets every day, sometimes without even knowing it. Speaking in simple language epithets are decorations or clarifications of a word or phrase. Suppose a boy confesses his love to a girl, how should he show his love in words? By saying: “Your eyes drive me crazy, and I can’t help but think about you and so on,” he will express his feelings, but if he confesses...

Dictionary of synonyms and antonyms of the Russian language During the lessons of Russian language and literature, our dear and beloved teachers told us in detail about what antonyms are. However, over the years, much is forgotten and erased from memory. Today we will try to bridge the gap in this matter. Words that belong to the same part of speech but have opposite meanings are called antonyms. This concept is based on two Greek words -...

A pig in a poke Every intelligent person should know and understand what a phraseological unit is. A phraseological unit (also called a phraseological unit) is a stable combination of words that acts as a single lexical unit, and which can be replaced with one word. Words included in phraseological units, as a rule, partially or completely lose their own lexical meaning. Therefore, the lexical meaning of the entire phraseological unit is a combination of the meanings of the words included in it. Studying...

The Russian language has borrowed a lot of words from Greek. Especially many “Greeks” settled in scientific literature and medicine. And in everyday life, without even noticing it, we utter an ancient Greek word (for example, tragedy, laurel or cosmos). In fact, it turns out that the ancient Greeks made a huge contribution to the formation of our great and powerful language. However, not only whole words migrated into the Russian language from...