Representation of “nothing” in John Donne's metaphysical poetry

The article is devoted to the problems of language representation of philosophical abstraction Nothing, which is considered as a sign that operates at three semiotic levels: semantic, syntactic and pragmatic. A linguo-semiotic analysis is performed on the base of John Donne’s metaphysical poetry, namely his «A Nocturnal upon St Lucy’s Day, being the shortest day» and «Negative Love, or The Nothing». Metaphysical poetry is a type of discourse in which negative signs fully reveal their ambiguous character. It makes an attempt to transmit personal experience of coming in touch with the transcendental. This type of discourse is characterized by a distinguishable system of symbols and codes, which makes it rather illustrative for a linguo-semiotic analysis. Among the studied instruments of visualization of Nothing there are primary and secondary nomination (naming), descriptive imagery and predicates attributed to the sign (establishing the interconnection with other signs and, eventually, objects), location (positioning in time and space as well as in the language matter), intratextual and intertextual relations. The latter include allusions to theological, hagiographical and literary texts. Nomination implies studying both contextual synonyms and synonyms proper as well as antonyms. Among descriptive imagery instruments it is possible to distinguish metaphors, linguistic recursion, an apophatic method. The iconic-symbolic image, by means of which the poet «animates» the abstract notion, makes it more available for perception and interpretation. It is shown that a non-material referent of a negative sign is nothing but a conceptual idea created by a language, culture and intellect. The attempts to represent Non-being linguistically is a chance to penetrate into the transcendental. Moreover, describing Nothing the author reveals himself and thus it becomes a sphere of his self-identification.