American Journal Of Philological Sciences
106
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue06 2025
PAGE NO.
106-108
10.37547/ajps/Volume05Issue06-29
Artistic Visual Means in Folk Epics
Khudayberganova Dilafruz Usmanovna
Basic doctoral student of the 1st stage of the Ajiniyaz NSPI, Uzbekistan
Received:
14 April 2025;
Accepted:
10 May 2025;
Published:
12 June 2025
Abstract:
The article provides a scientific analysis of the use of artistic means of depiction in folk epics, their artistic
interpretation and socio-spiritual content. The study examines the significance of artistic means of depiction in
the epic «Ravshan», one of the brightest examples of Uzbek oral folk art, and their place in the epic.
Keywords:
Folklore, epic, image, imagery, metaphor, adjective, exaggeration.
Introduction:
Folklore is an invaluable spiritual heritage
that embodies the centuries-old life experience,
thinking, hopes, and socio-political views of the people.
In particular, folk epics, as a poetic form of historical
memory, deeply express the lifestyle, moral values,
traditions, and aspirations of the people. Through
epics, the people celebrated their most noble
aspirations, the heroes of their time, and their inherent
qualities.
At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th
centuries, folklorists determined that about one
hundred and fifty dastans were performed by Uzbek
bakhshis, and, taking into account their varlants, about
four hundred works were recorded from them.
According to them, the number of epics in the
"Go'ro'g'li" cycle alone exceeds one hundred, and the
"Alpomish" epic alone has more than forty recorded
versions.
Analysis of literature on the topic (Literature review). A
number of scientific works have been carried out on the
study of folk epics and their artistic means of
expression. In these studies, the ideological and artistic
features, socio-philosophical approaches of the folk
epic heritage were deeply studied. An important basis
for these studies is, first of all, scientific works written
about the general features, plot structure, and artistic
analysis of the folk epic. Representatives of the Uzbek
school of folklore studies - H.Sulaymonova, N.Mallaev,
J.Jabborov,
T.Mirzaev,
J.Eshonkulov,
M.Juraev,
Sh.Turdimov, M.Inoyatov, O.Akhmedova,
Such scholars as K.Imomova, Kh.Abdullaev, S.Mirzaeva,
D.Uraeva, B.Sarimsakov in their research have
elaborated on the formation of epic heroes, their roots
and historical foundations in folk thinking. "
The renowned folklorist scholar Hodi Zarif Fozil
Yo'ldosh o'g'li, Ergash Jumanbulbul o'g'li, and
Muhammadqul Jomrot o'g'li Pölkan recorded famous
epic works such as "Alpomish," "Ravshan," "Rustam,"
and "Yusuf and Ahmad" from poets and conducted
research on these epics.
In 1965, folklorist Tura Mirzaev defended his
dissertation on the topic "Uzbek variants of the dastan
"Alpamysh," and in 1996, Jabbor Eshonkul defended his
dissertation on the topic "The image of a giant in Uzbek
folklore and its artistic interpretation."
A number of studies on epic works have also been
conducted in foreign folklore and literary studies. For
example, such scholars as J.Honko, A.Dandez, V.Propp,
having studied epic genres from structural, semantic,
and functional points of view, showed that the image
of a folk hero can be interpreted as a universal
archetype. Through their approaches, it is determined
that the image of the savior in the epics can be
interpreted as a symbol of people's memory, social
ideal, and national identity. Thus, although existing
literary sources have created a rich theoretical basis for
studying the image of the savior in folk epics, there is
an opportunity to reveal new aspects of this image
through comparative analysis and new methodological
approaches.
METHODOLOGY
This article relies on research conducted abroad and
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
107
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
domestically on Uzbek folk epics. Comparative-
historical and structural analysis methods were also
used.
RESULTS
The major epic genre of oral folk art, dastans, is divided
into several thematic types. Unlike written literature,
this genre, written in prose and verse, is defined in
scientific literature as follows: "Dastan is a Persian
word, which means story, tale, adventure, description.
A large-scale epic work, the author of which is
unknown, in which the events experienced by the
characters with random features are described in a
mixture of poetry and prose, is called a folk epic" [2:46].
In written literature, there are also works in the epic
genre. Written dastans are poetic, and the events
experienced by a hero are depicted in harmony with
the poet's feelings. The main features of folk epics are
that they mix poetry with prose. Poems in dastans are
mainly eleven-syllable and are recited in finger meter.
The reflections of the characters, the depiction of their
relatively calm mental state, and their conversations
are expressed in an eleven-syllable poem:
Qaharlansam, qirov turar murtima, 4+4+3=11
O‘zim o‘lmay, kim keladi yurtima. 4+4+3=11
Xazon bo‘lib, bog‘da gullar so‘ldimi? 4+4+3=11
Biror yurtdan elga dushman keldimi? 4+4+3=11
In some cases, depending on the requirements of the
image, seven- and eight-syllable poetic expressions are
also encountered. Places depicting the intensity of the
horses' gallop, scenes of fierce battles, and the swift
actions of the characters are given through seven- to
eight-syllable poems:
Dushmanlarni to‘plab olib, 4+4=8
Yetganiga qilich solib, 4+4=8
Har dara o‘likka to‘lib, 3+5=8
Bosh kesar maydon ichinda.3+5=8
In the prose part of folk epics, sa'j, that is, the
melodiousness and harmony of words, increases the
artistic value of the epic.In a word, sa'j is the artistic
decoration of the epic.
"Sa'j, by its nature, is considered a spiritual and verbal
art. Because it not only vividly expresses the content of
a particular work, but also plays an important role in
ensuring the melodiousness of subtle wordplay" [5:12].
"When Ravshanbek looked, he saw Zulkhumor's
perfection, her beauty like the moon, a mole on her
white face, and the crescent of her two eyebrows like
the newly filled moon.
In folk epics, poetic lines, couplets, or, in the language
of folklorists, stylistic formulas, which move from work
to work and become an artistic mold, also acquire
important artistic significance.
"Stable epic formulas are not connected with a specific
plot, but are a phenomenon that holds the epic
consciousness and epic memory of folk bakhshis,
encouraging and directing them to improvisation. In
this sense, stable epic formulas are an important,
leading stylistic feature of folk epics" [6:18].
«Yana bahor bo‘lsa, ochilar gullar,
Gulni ko‘rsa, mast bo‘b sayrar bulbullar»,
«Qiyg‘ir degan qush o‘tirar qiyada»,
«Ot chopsa, gumburlar tog’ning darasi,
Botirni ingratar nayza yarasi»,
«Xazon bo‘lmay bog‘da gullar so‘ldimi,
So‘lgan gulga
bulbul kelib qo‘ndimi?»,
«Davlatimdan shol-
u sholdon o‘rayman»,
«Oshiqning fahmidir qorong‘i kecha,
Yig‘lasam, holimga yig‘lar bir necha »
Many stylistic formulas, such as the beginning and
sometimes the middle of poetic stanzas, allow the
narrator to catch his breath, gather his thoughts, and
find the necessary words to express the pouring
emotions.
In folk epics, artistic and visual means are a factor that
expresses the idea more vividly, more impressively,
vividly embodies the symbols, and ensures the
attractiveness of the expression.In particular, in the
epic "Ravshan," one can find many examples of such
arts as exaggeration, epithet, simile, tazod, tajnis.The
most common method of depiction in epics is
exaggeration.The main task of exaggeration is to
exaggerate the object being depicted.At this point, one
can see a beautiful example of exaggeration in the
description of bald people found in the epic "Ravshan":
"The eldest, Aynoq the Bald, was great. Aynoq the Bald
was like this: he couldn't carry a horse, a camel, or a
cart. Whenever he wanted to move somewhere, he
would walk. But his younger brothers were all good
bald. Ersak the Bald was like this: in the evenings, when
he took a bow, he would strike a bird in the eye.
Also, in the dastan, artistry is created by comparing the
strength, bravery, and courage of the heroes, their
peculiarities, to something else or an event.
Suvsiz cho‘lda mard Hasan
Qattiq qistab boradi.
Mard Hasanning qamchisi
Qorday yog‘ib boradi [4:161].
The appearance of the heroes in the dastan is also
described with beautiful metaphors: "He raised them
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
108
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
both. Avazkhan and Khasankhan were also lion-like,
tiger-like, leopard-hearted, lion-armed young men" [
4:4].
The characters' emotional states are also depicted with
very impressive similes: "Seeing Khan Dalli so
disturbed, the child, what a thing, even the brave hasan
began to cry. Groaning like a cripple, his heart burning
like fire, a lonely girl, consumed by the fire of her child,
with tears flowing from her eyes, came crying to her
beloved" [4:143]
During the reading of the dastan, we witnessed how
important the role of artistic and figurative means is in
dastans.
CONCLUSION
The creator of epics is the people. The people burdened
their heroes with all their hopes and dreams, joys and
sorrows, and expressed them as they wished, using
unique similes, epithets, exaggerations, and other
figurative means.
The artistic means of depiction ensure the general
content of the dastans, their vivid disclosure, and
increase their expressiveness. That is why dastans have
lived for centuries without losing their charm.
They contribute to the development of the younger
generation as well-rounded individuals and their place
in society.
REFERENCES
Madayev Omonilla, Sobitova Tojixon. X
alq og‘zaki
poetik ijodi: Akademik litseylar uchun darslik /
Taqrizchilar H. Boltaboyev va bosh.
—
T.:«Sharq», 2010
Yo‘ldoshev Qozoqboy, Qodirov Valijon, Yo‘ldoshbekov
Jalolbek. Adabiyot: Umumiy o‘rta ta’lim maktablarining
9-sinfi uchun darslik/ Taqrizchilar O.Musurmonqulova
va bosh.
–
T.: «O‘zbekiston» NMIU, 2019.
3Kuntug‘mish. Ravshan. Dostonlar/Aytuvchi Ergash
Juanbulbul o‘g‘li; yozib oluvchilar:Muhammadisa
Ernazar o‘g‘li, Hodi Zarif; mas’ul muharrir T.Mirzayev, –
T.: «Sharq», 2011.
Xalq og‘zaki ijodi. «Ravshan» / doston / «Go‘ro‘g‘li»
dostonlari turkumidan / -T.: «Oltin qalam» , 2024.
Sarimsoqov B. O‘zbek adabiyotida saj’. Toshkent,
O‘zbekiston , «Fan » , 1978
Mirzayeva S. O‘zbek xalq romanik dostonlari
poetikasi.Toshkent, «Fan» , 2004
