Precedence in Modern English Song Discourse (as Exemplified by the Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice)

Abstract

The article discusses the phenomenon of precedence, which many researchers are currently working on. The purpose of the article is to determine the semantic potential of precedent phenomena and to describe their verbal implementation in modern English song discourse. The paper analyses modern English lyrics containing precedent phenomena, the primary source of which is the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. In order to achieve the aim of the research, several methods were used, namely the method of controlled selection of practical material, the descriptive functional method, as well as elements of contextual and hermeneutic analyses. s a result of the study, it was discovered that the most widely represented precedent phenomenon in the texts under scrutiny is a precedent situation. This precedent situationis actualized through a number of language means all of which have a semantic unit containing the idea of prohibition of an action. The second most frequent precedent phenomenon is the precedent name Orpheus. The author concludes that there is a culturally conditioned tendency of modern English lyricists to self-identify with this mythological hero.