THE WOLF IMAGE IN UZBEK AND ENGLISH MYTHOLOGY AND LITERATURE: FROM THE TURKIC TOTEM TO THE ENGLISH WEREWOLF

The article compares the image of the wolf in Uzbek (Turkic) and English mythology, folklore and literature. Historical, comparative-typological and linguocultural methods are applied to ancient Turkic sources, English medieval and modern texts and phraseology. In the Turkic tradition the wolf is a sacred ancestor, a guardian against evil spirits and a symbol of courage. In the English tradition it is mainly a symbol of danger and evil, and its human form, the werewolf, moved from superstition to modern fantasy.