TWO BASIC MONOCHROMES IN THE POETRY OF D. SAMOILOV

The article deals with the semantics and symbolism of basic monochromes in the poetic texts of D. Samoilov. The poems from the collection “Stihkotvoreniya” served as the material for the analysis. Words with the root stem “bel-”(white) and “chern-”(black) were selected, a frequency dictionary of these colors was compiled, their semantic analysis was presented. It was revealed that the black color in Samoilov’s poetry retains the traditional negative semantics, but also carries a positive connotation by symbolizing brightness, youth and feminine beauty. The poet uses the white color to describe classical images of purity, mostly the images of nature and women. Also, the white color carries negative semantics associated with illness and the proximity of death. Samoilov intertwines white and black colors in his works to defi ne life as an equal ratio of good and bad, dark and bright. This relationship is depicted by the poet in the lines “Chtob chernyi tsvet smeshalsya s belym, / Chto est’ osnova vsekh osnov [To mix black with white, / Which is the basis of all foundations]” The work showed that a separate use and a mixture of two basic monochromes in Samoilov’s poetry prove the harmonic integrity of his world image.