PARATEXTUAL EPIGRAPH ELEMENTS (CASE STUDY OF STEPHEN KING’S NOVEL “CHRISTINE”)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to describe the stylistic potential of paratextual elements in the novel “Christine” by a modern American writer Stephen King. Methods. The descriptive method, as well as of structural-semantic and contextual analysis, allowed us to discover basic means of the paratextual elements conceptualization and define their functions. Results. It was determined that the epigraph is one of the paratextual elements that carries factual, conceptual and subtextual information in the novel under analysis, as well as introduces a significant layer of cultural information into the artistic space. Being closely related to the subtext and directly to the text of literary work, epigraphs promote a coherent reading of the novel since epigraphs bear an exact semantic projection of the artistic content of the corresponding text and act as a link between the chapters in the novel. The article presents a brief theoretical survey of the basic studies in this sphere in domestic and foreign linguistics; the main stylistic functions implemented by paratextual elements are identified. The study deals with the analysis of the composition and plot construction of Stephen King’s novels, which resulted in a number of features specific to the author’s novelistic techniques. Conclusion. The paratext was found to be an invariable element of Stephen King’s works, comprising the title, epigraphs, short prefaces and dedications, and playing an important structural and meaningful role in artistic and semantic comprehension of the novel under analysis. Paratext in the novel is closely associated with the further text and serves as a clearly deliberate projection of its content and a reader’s guide into this content.