Representation of folklore motifs in A. P. Chekhov's novella "The Steppe"

The aim of the research is to identify the representatives of folklore motifs and their role in A. P. Chekhov's novella "The Steppe". The article addresses the problem of defining the concept of "motif" in contemporary literary studies, clarifies the theoretical framework, and provides an overview of critical literature regarding the study of folklorism in the creative work of A. P. Chekhov. The folklore motifs of the novella, along with their representational means and functions, are identified. The scientific novelty lies in revealing, for the first time, a rich folklore-motif complex of the novella, establishing a hierarchy of motifs, examining their representatives, actualizing the interaction of folklore motifs with one another and with the liturgical motif, and determining the functionality of folklore representatives. The findings demonstrate that the dominant folklore motifs in the novella are those of the road, initiation, memory, longing, eternity, and the struggle between good and evil. Through their interaction, they reveal extensive connotations among their representatives. The primary representatives are "the steppe" and "home", characterized by ambivalence. The poetics of the work are shaped by such representatives as primordial elements of nature, natural symbolic imagery, "dramatic rhymes", fairy-tale reminiscences, "universal shape-shifting", "telling names", archetypal images, sound and color symbolism, folk-poetic speech of characters, and folk song. A close intertwining of folklore motifs with the liturgical motif has been established.