Structural and typologic analysis of hero image in Oguz and Slavic epics

Abstract

The article examines the image of the hero in the Slavic and Turkic epics in the structural and typological aspect. For a comparative study of samples of the epic the materials of Oghuz and Slavic written epic monuments from the 11^th-16^th centuries are investigated.

The investigation has been carried out on the rich epic material. From the Turkic epic material in the study were used The Book of Dede Gorgud, Oghuz Kagan, different texts from the cycle Oghuzname, Collection of Chronicles and etc, as well as from the Slavic epic material Tale of Bygone Years, The Lay of Igor’s Raid, Zadonshina, etc. The individual images have been analyzed, such as Igor Sviatoslavovich in The Lay of Igor’s Raid, knyazh Yury Ingvarevich in The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu, knyazh Dmitry Ivanovich in Zadonshina, Oghuz Khan in Collection of Chronicles, Bayundyr, Gazan, Beyrek, Aruz in The Book of Dede Gorgud.

As a result of analyzing the structure of the epic at the level of the image of the Slavic and Turkic epics the common parallels and similarities have been identified: idealization of the heroic feats of the heroes, similar plot motifs of the hero’s miraculous birth, matchmaking and marriage of the hero, as well as getting helpers, fighting for the liberation of the people from enemies. The study also revealed the distinctive features of the Slavic and Oghuz heroes. They are related to the fact that the studied epics were created in different ethnic environments that have their own historically, geographically and psychologically established features of thinking.

The main idea of ​​the study is the revival of moral values, the bright bearers of which are epic heroes – the embodiment of the historical view of the people, certain facets of national character and people’s experience. High humanistic, moral, and patriotic ideals of the people transmitted from generation to generation and becoming an important means of education, are embodied in the images of heroes.

References

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