SOME ASPECTS OF VISUAL LITERATURE SYNTAX

Abstract

Background. The present article deals with general aspects of the problem of definition and concept of graphic novel, its modern version. Illustrative material, the material of investigation is the graphic novel of A. Grecian «Rasputin». An attempt is made to characterize structural units of the concept, clarify some aspects of the definition and unify the term of the kind. The study the syntax of graphic novel is the part of the semiotic study of the genre. Actually, it helps establish certain relation between the significant units of graphic novel. 
 The purpose of this article is to define the significant units of the visual literature in general and graphic novel, in particular, in order to clarify the definition, term and the concept of the graphic novel as a representative of visual literature. To achieve this aim we should solve some objectives, mainly: 1) to describe the types of syntactic units, 2) to illustrate these types with the example of the material of our investigation, 3) to establish the relation «text-image», 4) to sum up the history of the development of genre with different terms accepted by different researchers and understand why and what is more appropriate one for our investigation. 
 Methods. For meeting the aims of this brief analysis we use descriptive methods of investigation. It gives us the possibility to share with the reader oud perception and understanding the material under investigation.
 Results. The transformation of the adult comic to graphic novel may reveal the importance of significant units. The comic-book has been usually considered to be directed to a teenager and children audience, whereas the graphic novel is directly addressed to a mature and adult readers. The development of this genre owes to the development of the society, some extra-language causes which finally resulted in intra-genre changes and the birth of graphic novel. Sometimes, the graphic novel is perceived as an adult comic and precisely this point has been mostly emphasized in recent investigations looking for a way to find the definition. Reading comics is the process motivating readers be involved in the course of decoding the set of messages that are embedded into various codes of languages. These embedded messages could be presented by syntactic units. In particular, syntax of graphic novel presupposes syntactic units’ interrelation and in its turn these units in every individual case could be positioned differently according to focus of author’s ideas.
 Discussion. In our research of Rasputin graphic novel these significant syntactic units are as follows. 1) Contiguous spaces defined as structures that create the illusion of space and time continuity in the action, by showing in successive images. 2) fading or progressive alteration of values of the image in successive images. 3) Text integrated into the cartoon, 4) image of a sound, 5) concentration, 6) analytical montage or meticulous decomposition of the scene into its most significant elements, 7) juxtaposition of graphic novel characters. Тhe perspective of the present study is to explore probable influence of the image to the translation variant chosen, that is the reason why we could be in need of detailed exploration of image part syntax and the text position peculiarities. The final perspective is to analyze translation variants and see the reflection of text-image relation in different languages.