Metaphorics of Velimir Klebnikov’s Early Poetry: Between Universal and Personal

The article is devoted to the study of the specifi cs of V. Khlebnikov’s poetic metaphors presented in his poems and epic poems of 1904–1909. The analysis aims to identify the features of the personal in the context of universals. The article defi nes the “personal” as the recurring metaphors in Khlebnikov’s texts, while the “universal” refers to the basic structural models of metaphors described by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. By comparing these contexts, we were able to identify the specifi c features of the metaphors in Khlebnikov’s early poetry and describe them using the tools developed by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. In the analysis of Khlebnikov’s metaphors, we focused on the central components of the basic structural models. It was noted that these components often take on an anthropomorphic nature, as the model of their metaphorization is based on the principle of “humanization”. It has also been revealed that the author’s desire for self-centeredness and the implementation of the “poetry of orientation” strategy infl uence the approach to constructing metaphors. As a result of the analysis of metaphors, a number of specific features of V. Khlebnikov’s idiostyle have been identifi ed. This is, fi rstly, a strong anthropocentric dominant that determines the features of the author’s self-construction (“I” is dispersed and present in every metaphorically meaningful component of the worldview); secondly, a focus on the metaphorical spiritualization of all components of the worldview and the resulting prevalence of subjectivity over objectivity; and thirdly, a desire to include the subject of the poetic text in the coordinate system of the worldview formed by the text.