The “Literary” Meme as a Phenomenon of Internet Communication (Based on Memes Based on F.M. Dostoevsky's Novel «Crime and Punishment»)

This work is dedicated of examining the peculiarities of the functioning of "literary" memes in Internet communi- cation. The relevance of the research is due to the necessity to study the ability of Internet memes to process and present the most relevant semantic aspects for linguoculture. The opportunity to trace the transformation of the meanings of F.M. Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment" for a mass format is particularly interesting in this regard. The purpose of the work is to analyze the specifics of the formation, representation and functioning of memes in the media space, the "literary base" of which is the novel "Crime and Punishment". Methods . To achieve the purpose of the study, general scientific methods were used: analytical and synthetic information processing, descriptive method; linguistic methods: the method of component analysis, methods of formalization of linguistic facts. The results of the study indicate that the memetic units formed based on the named work have a number of distinctive features, among which the most significant are precedent, polydiscursivity, intertextuality. Their structure, models of semantic interaction, and meaningful properties are considered. The analysis of the content characteristics of memes revealed two opposing trends: on the one hand, memes represent the most stereotypical ideas about the novel; on the other, memes depict characters, situations known only to "specialists". It is emphasized that memetic units represent the plot scheme of the work in the most generalized form, and the semantics of the formed unity oppose the meaning embedded in the original work. Conclusion . The conducted research has shown that the basic contrast of the meme makes it possible to combine diverse elements in its structure, forming new nuances of meanings. It is revealed that precedent phenomena become semantic dominants on which meme units are built. It is noted that the humorous orientation of most of the considered units indicates their polymodal nature.