Transformation of Folkloric Plots and the Artistic Function of Mythic Motifs in Magzhan Zhumabayuly's Poems of the Tashkent Period

This article examines the transformation of folkloric plots and the artistic functions of mythic motifs—including alienation, loneliness, the search for eternal life and an eternal homeland, belief in supernatural forces, and sacred space—in four poems written by Magzhan Zhumabayuly during the Tashkent period (1922-1923): Korkyt, On the Cliffs of Oqzhetpes, Batyr Bayan, and Qoilybai's Kobyz. The study combines mythopoetic, hermeneutic, and biographical approaches. Mythopoetic analysis identifies and classifies recurrent motifs; hermeneutic analysis interprets textual meanings, images, and symbolic details; and biographical analysis clarifies the relationship between the poet's Tashkent activities, his engagement with folklore, and the sources of the poems' plots. The analysis compares the poems with their probable folkloric and historical sources and traces changes in plot sequence, character motivation, motif function, symbolism, and psychological representation. The findings show that Zhumabayuly did not reproduce traditional plots verbatim: he preserved their narrative core while reorganizing their composition and intensifying their symbolic, psychological, and sociopolitical meanings. The Tashkent period, during which the poet participated in folklore-related scholarly and publishing activity, therefore provides an important context for understanding the authorial transformation of these plots.