ON THE FUNCTIONS OF VERSE IN A SPECIALIZED TEXT (on the material of economic treatises of the Enlightenment)

Abstract

One of the characteristic features of the German Enlightenment, which started in late 17th century and lasted throughout the entire 18th century, is the significant number of specialized texts containing practical recommendations in various social spheres. These texts contain fragments that stand out from the general utilitarian context by their poetic form and artistic originality. The article aims at analyzing linguistic features of the poetic forms (verbatim quotations from classical works, fragments of religious content, rhymed proverbs, etc.) incorporated into prosaic specialized texts of the 17th and 18th centuries. Such a study is relevant, because it addresses multimodal (polycode) aspects of human communication. The poetic fragments of the specialized texts, with their rhythmic patterns, rhyme structure, typography, and arrangement within the text, provide an example of the intertwining of intertextual and intermedial characteristics of a text. The contrast between artistically expressive verse fragments and the dry presentation of everyday life recommendations supplements the perception of the complex information conveyed. Poetic inclusions serve as an auxiliary means of clarifying complex points of practical content. They can also bring more weight to the practical recommendations given in the text and at the same time introduce German readers to the cultural heritage of the past. The main example sources were: Stratagema Oeconomicum, Oder Akker-Student (1688); Oeconomus prudens Et Legalis. Oder Allgemeiner Klug- und Rechts-verstandiger Haus-Vatter (1702); Haus-Feld-Artzey-Koch-Kunst- und Wunder-Buch, in zwanzig Abtheilungen enthalten (1694); Der Zu allen guten Getränken treuhertzig-anweisende wohl-erfahrne und Curiose Keller-Meister (1710).

Keywords:

text linguistics, stylistics, poetics, specialized text, poetic metatext, German language, Enlightenment