| dc.description.abstract | The article is devoted to the theme of music in the novel by E. L. Doctorow «Ragtime». The novel was published
in 1975, became a bestseller and got a screen version. The writer turned to the events of the beginning of the
XX-th century not by chance, as at that time in the USA people greatly admired rag not only as a kind of jazz,
but as a style, a way of living. The novel immediately arose discussions, was translated into many languages and
got numerous reviews both positive and negative. Literary criticism, theory of literature defined the role of the
writer, his peculiar outlook. The connection of the novel with the music of ragtime had been analyzed from the
point of view of literature study, whereas the linguistic aspect needed further investigation and that became the
aim of the given article. A key word ragtime, its origin and usage, the functions in the sentence help understand
the peculiarities of the novel. One of the protagonists Coalhouse Walker Junior is a professional pianist. His fate
and his beloved Sarah’s fate are tragic, he stands up to defend his honor, but perishes in unequal battle. The writer
combines real figures, documentary materials with imagined, artistically reinterpreted ones. Music terminology,
words belonging to lexico-semantic group «Music» describe America of that time, they occur in the contexts where
author with their help uses stylistic devices: epithets, metaphors, similes. Music becomes the background of the
depicted events, influences the development of the plot, shows the characters and describes the appearance of the
leading and supporting protagonists of the literary work, makes the narrative true-to-life, enlivens old times. The
novel is characteristic of peculiar syntax that corresponds the rhythm of ragtime. This is created by the reiteration
of extended and unextended sentences, anaphoric repetition of personal pronouns, enumeration, sometimes very
extended. In the novel phraseological units connected with music were not fixed. Music in the novel is opposed
to other sounds that are far from being melodious, but are sharp and bothering. The destinies of protagonists are
intertwined and the ragtime itself disappears as does the sound of music. Perspectives of investigation may be the
comparison of the novel with other literary works of the novelist who in his literary activity was constantly looking
for new ways, experimented with the material and never repeated what he had already achieved. | uk_UA |
