RENAISSANCE RESEARCH ON SIMILE (16TH–18TH CENTURIES)

Abstract

The article deals with the study of the concepts of simile in the Renaissance during the 16th –18th centuries in both Western and Eastern traditions. It outlines the transition from the classical fundamentals to their renaissance interpretation in the European specialized literature, the original texts of which became the subject of analysis. The correlation of terminology of different epochs is established and the dependence of scientific thought on the historical stage of society development is highlighted. It was found that because simile was regarded as a rhetorical figure, interest in it was limited to specific practical tasks related to the art of eloquence and, to a lesser extent, belles-lettres style. The functions of the described category, which were singled out by leading linguists, are stated as well as the most influential researchers who deepened the development of the basic principles of simile interpretation by classical rhetoricians. The article proves that the content, scope and hierarchy of terms for simile differ depending on the eras and the authors of rhetoric, reflecting the specifics of translation of ancient Greek and Latin texts, the development of linguistic thought and deepening the analysis of ancient Greeks and Romans. It is established that only at the end of the 18th century the English term "simile" was introduced as a descendant of a number of ambiguous, not always specialized terms (homoeosis, icon, paradigm, parabola, similitude, resemblance, comparison), often synonymous with one another.