Onomatopoeias as iconic symbols in the lyrics of R. M. Rilk

doi:10.26565/2786-5312-2024-100-02

Liliia Bezugla Doctor of Philology, Professor, Department of Romance and Germanic Philology of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7102-7337

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26565/2786-5312-2024-100-02

Keywords: cognitive type of iconicity, iconic symbol, onomatopoeia, poetic text, Rilke

Abstract

The article presents the concept of creative iconicity of a poetic text based on the analysis of onomatopoeias as iconic symbols in R. M. Rilke’s lyrics. The relevance of the research is proven, on the one hand, by the linguosemiotic approach, which is based on the cognitive understanding of iconicity: an analogy between a sign and the embodiment of the object of reality it denotes in the mind of the subject who uses and perceives the sign. On the other hand, considering onomatopoeias as iconic symbols in Rilke’s lyrics is a new research perspective in Rilke studies, which allows us to deepen the understanding of the peculiarities of his musicalized speech. The purpose of the article is to establish the specifics of symbolic-iconic semiosis based on onomatopoeias in R. M. Rilke’s lyrics using the methods of linguosemiotic, linguopoetic, cognitive-semantic and interpretive analysis. Symbolic-iconic semiosis is understood as the interaction of symbolic and iconic meaning making in a poetic text through a language sign, which constitutes a symbiosis of symbol and icon, i. e. iconic symbol. Onomatopoeias not only denote an acoustic phenomenon, but also reflect, depict, imitate it, reproducing the sound of certain objects of reality. The creative iconicity of R. M. Rilke’s poetic texts, created by onomatopoeias as iconic symbols, demonstrates four cognitive types: nominal, attributive, actional and emotive. The basis of this typology is the type of signified meaning that is subject to imitation – subject, property, action concept or emotion/feeling. The specificity of symbolic-iconic semiosis based on onomatopoeias in R. M. Rilke’s lyrics lies in their interaction with a wide range of stylistic tools: metrics, graphics, phonetic figures, lexical repetitions, occasionalisms, syntactic figures, metaphor, metonymy, comparison. In such a context, even integrated onomatopoeias, the onomatopoeic origin of which is hidden behind semantic changes, appear as iconic symbols, which allows the poet to create poetic texts with a high degree of iconicity.

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Author Biography

Liliia Bezugla, Doctor of Philology, Professor, Department of Romance and Germanic Philology of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University

Doctor of Philology, Professor, Professor at the Department of Romance and Germanic Philology.

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ILLUSTRATIVE MATERIAL

Rilke, R. M. (1927). Gesammelte Werke in 6 Bänden. Leipzig: Insel-Verlag.