Mechanisms of cycle formation in an epic text (based on the material of the heroic epic)

Abstract

This paper focuses on studying the principle of epic cycle formation used to create large-scale cyclical structures through the accumulation of contextually conditioned works. The principal method of analysis is comparative-typological, and the object of study is the multi-ethnic epic. The variants of multi-part works from the world culture, the epic tradition of the Turkic-speaking ethnic groups, and the collections of Nart legends of the North Caucasian peoples are given as characteristic examples. The author outlines the prerequisites for the formation of a multi-level epic narrative and justifies epic features in folklore texts. A significant vector of research is identifying the structural specific features of the heroic epic and determining the intertextual relations to illustrate the mechanisms of cycle formation in pre-literary samples. The analysis of the poetics of the North Caucasian Nart epic confirms that the texts forming its integrity thematically go back to the original source, continuing the previously outlined narrative line. The study concludes the ethnolinguistic versions of the “Nartiada” to be the result of improvised adaptations through the oral form of text transfer. Such complexly organized cyclical structures guaranteed the preservation of the oral-poetic heritage of the ethnos, synthesizing a colossal amount of information. This integrity encompasses a flexible scheme of epic unfolding, allowing the source material to be altered by additional micro-inclusions. The richness of the Karachays’ and Balkars’ heroic epic testifies to the evolution of the epic thinking of the people, outlining the prospects for the development of cycle formation in the literary genres.