Attributive collocations as stylistic devices in Feofan Prokopovich’s military panegyrics

This paper examines the functioning of attributive word combinations in three military panegyrics by Feofan Prokopovich: “A Word of Praise for the Glorious Victory over the Armies of Sweden” (1709), “A Word of Praise for the Battle of Poltava” (1717), and “A Word of Praise for the Russian Navy” (1720). The significance of this study arises from the limited exploration of the linguistic characteristics in Prokopovich’s works of praise. The objective of this research is to analyze the arrangement of components in attributive word combinations within these texts and to describe the stylistic elements employed in their construction. A total of 1155 attributive constructions were collected through continuous sampling. The analysis utilized structural-functional, descriptive-comparative, and semantic-stylistic methods. The findings indicate a slight predominance of prepositive contact constructions, with the author employing the postposition of attributes as a stylistic device. Furthermore, it was observed that attributive word combinations in panegyric texts serve as a vital tool for creating a formal rhetorical style, employing techniques such as antithesis, amplification, repetition, and other strategies to enhance the eloquence of the discourse. Overall, attributive word combinations emerge as expressive and stylistic devices that vividly illustrate Peter the Great’s military achievements.