Functional potential of specification constructions in the literary text (poetry vs. prose)

This article is concerned with constructions of specification (in traditional description they are detached parts of a sentence with a specifying character used to complicate the structure of a simple sentence), or constructions of the right context, which are used to explain, elaborate, and specify the meaning of what was said before. They are employed both in poetic and prosaic artistic genres. Their use allows the author to compare their activity and functional variety in poetic diction (on the material of poetry of the first half of the 19th century) and in prose of the Classic period (on the material of N. S. Leskov first-person narrative writings). Specification constructions are multi-functional: in poetry where, on average, they are more frequent than in the first-person narration, they can perform such functions as creation of periphrases, specification of a lyrical chronotope, rhythm making; in prose their main function is characteristics and characterization of a character given by another character or a storyteller, often ironical and satirical. Multifunctionality of specification constructions allows us to speak of the special, style forming role of these constructions as first-person narration “signals”.