The use of epithets in Russian spiritual verses: possible determinants of linguistic unit selection

The research aims to substantiate the possible conditioning of the choice of epithets in the texts of Russian spiritual verses. The article examines attributive constructions with adjectives, presenting frequent general folklore (colorative adjectives) and genre-specific epithets found in variants of popular spiritual verses on common Russian subjects. Verses about righteous individuals are indicative from the perspective of the artistic tasks of the genre and, due to their prevalence and popularity, are characterized by a relatively large number of variants, which allows for examining the peculiarities of epithet functioning within a single plot. The scientific novelty is determined by the need to develop a practical model for analyzing the use of linguistic units based on the material of the spiritual verse genre; the identification and description of linguistic and extralinguistic parameters conditioning the use of epithets in Russian spiritual verses. The research established a close connection between the choice of epithet, the plot, and the figure of the specific performer, who, acting as a sub-author of the folklore work, transforms the invariant system depending on the tasks they define, including at the level of linguistic means. At the linguistic level, this is reflected in the use of general folklore and genre-specific epithets.