Structural-semantic transformation and axiological potential of figurative units in Daniil Granin’s novel My Lieutenant

The article analyzes the structural and semantic status of figurative units with metaphorical semantics, describes the mechanisms of their creation and the evaluative potential realized in the context of a work of art. The subject of the analysis is figurative units of lexical and syntactic levels functioning in a literary text. The aim of the study is to describe the structural and semantic features of figurative units, the types of their contextual transformation, ways of realizing axiological potential. The study is conducted on the material of Daniil Granin’s novel My Lieutenant, where the main metaphorical transformations are described for the first time and their axiological status is determined. In general, the methodology of the study is based on the provisions of the theory of cognitive metaphor (G. Lakoff, M. Johnson), the theory of lexical imagery (O.I. Blinova, E.A. Yurina), as well as on the methodology of axiological analysis presented in the works of N.D. Arutyunova. The need to highlight the key features of the figurative units’ functioning in literary discourse, to describe the mechanisms of their structural and semantic transformation in the context in terms of realizing their axiological potential determined the scope of this study. The volume of the analyzed material is 223 figurative contexts, based on the analysis of which two groups of figurative units are distinguished: linguistic (usual) and individual-author's ones (contextually determined). Three groups of author’s contextual transformations are identified, which lead to a change in the structural-semantic status of the figurative unit and contribute to the implementation of the evaluative function: without changing the form of the usual figurative unit, with a change in the form of the usual figurative unit (without changing the semantics), as well as with a partial change in form when replacement of individual elements in the figurative expression occurs in order to update the unobvious attribute. Contextual transformations primarily realize the evaluative function of figurative units. The study identifies the main groups of words and expressions with evaluative semantics: emotional-sensual, ethical, valeological, sensory-gustatory, aesthetic, intellectual, and utilitarian. Their systematization is carried out according to the principle of the frequency of use in the context. The analyzed material is divided into two groups with general evaluation values; a conclusion is made about the predominance of pejorative evaluation associated with the content side of the novel, which tells mainly about military and post-war life. This study allowed determining the scope and boundaries of the use of figurative units in a work of art and describe their high axiological potential. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.