On The Thematic And Stylistic Features Of Love In The Age Of Changes By Y.M.polyakov

Yuri Mikhailovich Polyakov is a remarkable writer in contemporary Russia.In the novel Love in the Age of Changes,Polyakov took main character's love with three women as starting point of story.Via crossed-narration of reality and memories,Polyakov showed life experience of character within one day,thereby thought about Russian society from the age of changes to contemporary Russia.Currently the novel lacks attention in China,there is still no Chinese translation now.Based on literary and rhetoric theories,the application of text analysis and comparative analysis,this study comprehensively analyzes the novel's features in theme,characterization and artistic expression for the first time.“Lost love” is one of the main themes.Skoryatin's love stories showed his experience at different stages of life.Whether it was ignorant love with Marina,carnal love with Alisa,or pure love with Zoya,all the kinds of love turned into lost love for him.“Nostalgia for the past” is another important theme.Comparison between past and present is employed to show cruelty of present and simplicity of past.The novel shaped a series of images of intellectuals.Didenko was one of the few intellectuals who can keep himself in complicated environment.Shabelsky was a representative of fallen intellectuals.In pursuit of power,he lost basic principles of intellectuals.Skoryatin was a typical intellectual in the the age of changes,who strove to be a decent man,but lacked firm conviction.Nobility and meanness mixed on himsimultaneously.Marina was a “superfluous man”.She could not find the meaning of existence,and could only consume life in enjoyment.Zoya was embodiment of perfect woman,who was kind and smart,no cunning and tact on her.Alisa was product of new era.She was aware of the cruelty of reality and could easily live in ruthless life.Polyakov inherits critical tradition of Russian realistic literature.The usage of rhetorical words highlighted character's personality and mentality.Dense metaphors were main rhetorical means to show expressive power of language and impact of narration.Polyakov used sarcasm as a syntactic rhetoric and narrative means to present his recognition of social system before and after collapse of the Soviet Union.Aesthetic innovation is reflected in structure.Polyakov did not set up a narrative framework in accordance with time sequence and spatial relationship,but structured novel by comparing the current and the past,imited space and open space.All events happened in one day but all stories illustrated whole life of Skoryatin.Moreover,space was essential to emphasize personality of Skoryatin.Polyakov neither hided nostalgia for the age of changes,nor beautified social realities after the reform.He linked the fate of characters with the history of country,so that individual can participate in the process of the times,which added tragic color to personal life of Skoryatin.