POETICS OF IMAGES OF HISTORICAL FIGURES IN AZERBAIJANI FAIRY TALES (BASED ON THE IMAGE OF ISKANDAR DHU AL-QARNAYN)

Abstract

The research on the poetics of the images of historical figures in Azerbaijani fairy tales based on the image of Iskandar Dhu al-Qarnayn confirmed the relevance of the topic firstly. From this point of view, it is believed that there is a serious need for the development of the problem in the monographic plan. The investigation showed that when studying the images of historical fig- ures in folklore texts the genre poetics of each text must be taken into consideration. Because each genre of folklore has “its own poetics” in relation to reality. In this regard, the legends are consid- ered the closest genre to historical reality. In other words, the legends carry the status of oral histo- ry. But in fairy tales reality in all cases undergoes a serious change, passing through the filter of artistic imagination and fiction. The analysis of the tale “Iskandar and the soldier Lal Khuftan” showed that here only few details connect the hero of the work – Alexander with his historical prototype Alexander the Great. In this aspect, the plot of the text is purely folklore origin. Arabic, Persian and Turkish folklore plots are mixed in the tale with one another. First of all, here one can meet some episodes of the Hadith about the Prophet Ibrahim. In the tale there are also signs of the meeting Rustam and Sohrab in the epic “Shahnameh” by Ferdowsi. However, the poetic concept of the father-son confrontation in the tale is connected with the Azerbaijani-Oghuz epic plots as a whole. Although in Firdowsi’s work Rustam killed his own son, but in the Azerbaijani-Oghuz epic the fathers and sons are reunited with one another.