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The topic of existential alone-ness and social degradation in Etim Emin's lyrics

https://doi.org/10.31143/2542-212X-2025-3-358-365

EDN: SDWUZM

Abstract

The article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the key theme in the lyrics of the classic of Dagestani (Lezgin) poetry Yetim Emin – the tragic interweaving of the existential loneliness of the individual and the degradation of society. The study reveals how Emin’s poetic discourse, rooted in the traditions of Lezgin literature and Sufi thought, conceptualizes friendship as the highest spiritual value, the loss of which (through death, oblivion or betrayal) turns into an ontological catastrophe and metaphysical abandonment in the mortal world (fana) for the lyrical hero. In parallel, the poet’s performance as a merciless diagnostician of the social crisis is analyzed: the erosion of morality, the triumph of envy and self-interest, the devaluation of knowledge (ilim) and spirituality, which is characterized as the state of “corrupted peoples”. The article proves the deep cause-and-effect relationship of these themes: the pathologies of a degrading society are presented as the root cause of suffering and isolation of an individual, whose personal drama is a symptom of the general crisis of humanism. Based on a detailed analysis of the poems, the author examines the artistic means of embodying the tragedy: the use of the genres of elegy, lamentation and ghazal, contrasting metaphors ("mir-fana", "pit of grief", "black heart"), antithesis, lexical doublings (binomes), obsessive redifs and repetitions that create a rhythm of grief. Particular attention is paid to the Sufi subtext, legitimizing the appeal to deceased friends and forming the basis for spiritual resistance through faith and loyalty to the ideal. A conclusion is made about Emin's poetry as a requiem for lost harmony and a humanistic testimony to the tragic fate of man in the era of the disintegration of connections and values, preserving philosophical depth and artistic power. 

About the Authors

Ruslan G. Kadimov
Dagestan State Pedagogical University R. Gamzatov
Russian Federation

Doctor of Philology, Professor, Dean of the Faculty of Philology



Zarema N. Chukueva
Chechen State Pedagogical University
Russian Federation

Doctor of Philology, Professor, Professor of the Department of Chechen Philology



References

1. ARBEN KARDASH. Velichie Etima Emina [The greatness of Etim Emin]. In: Literaturnaya Rossiya. – № 208/37. – 12.10.2018. Elektronnyi resurs. Rezhim dostupa: https://litrossia.ru/item/velichie-etima-jemina/?ysclid=mcpyafajpq866899734. Data obrashcheniya: 05.07.2025 g. (In Russ.).

2. ETIM EMIN. Ne naglyazhus' na mir… [I can't get enough of the world...]. – Makhachkala, 1995. (na lezg. yaz.).

3. KYUREVI MANSUR. Etim Emin (1840-1880) [Etim Emin (1840-1880)]. – M.: Azbuka-2020, 2020. – 335 p. (In Russ.).

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For citations:


Kadimov R.G., Chukueva Z.N. The topic of existential alone-ness and social degradation in Etim Emin's lyrics. Kavkazologiya. 2025;(3):358-365. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31143/2542-212X-2025-3-358-365. EDN: SDWUZM

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ISSN 2542-212X (Online)