RECEPTIONS OF ECLESIAST IN THE WORKS OF R. KIPLING AND I. SHOW

Abstract

The article examines the biblical image from Ecclesiastes «Bread upon the Waters», used by R. Kipling and I. Shaw as a title to their works. For the Ukrainian reader, this biblicalism does not evoke strong allusions or associations, which is explained by its spread only in English-speaking countries. This article attempts to analyze the works of English-language writers in view of the functioning of the biblical motif of «letting your bread on the water», the ambiguity of which was used differently, but in both cases the author’s dialogue with the reader gained spiritual meaning. R. Kipling as a master of narrative uses a system of narrators: the narrator-witness and the narrator-participant. Both, according to the classification of W. Schmid, did not acquire «omniscience and ubiquity», so the biblical truth is interpreted in a straight forward manner. Only the author’s strong position – the title of the work and the final phrases of the work, clarify the meaning of the images of water and bread. A comparison of the principle of the author’s vision of R. Kipling and I. Shaw leads to the conclusion of different artistic systems of the authors. For Kipling, the dialogue of the narrators is important, for I. Shaw – the hero’s self-absorption. In I. Shaw’s novel, biblicalism is also stated in the title of the work, but its hidden meaning is divided between the characters depending on their charitable deeds. Teacher Allen Strand’s Confession Diary is an author’s credo, as the call for mercy, for selfless help in spite of circumstances and results, is consistent with the title of the work. Comparison of two works of different writing times, artistic styles and genres prove the ambiguity and complexity of the biblical image, which combined the natural element and the measure of human labor – water and bread.