Symbolism of Numbers and Colours in the Novel “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by J. K. Rowling

Abstract

The research aims to identify the main quantifiers and colour terms used in the first part of the Harry Potter heptalogy by J. K. Rowling which play an important role in creating the magical world of the novel. The article deals with an analysis of the symbolic meanings which are characteristic of the numbers and colours traditionally used in fairy tales, legends and works of the fantasy genre. Scientific novelty of the paper lies in studying symbolism of numbers and colours in modern English in a comprehensive manner based on the material of the popular literary work. As a part of the study, the researchers have analysed phraseological units containing quantifiers and colour terms, determined their symbolic meanings and functions in the novel, as well as carried out a statistical analysis. As a result, the most important and frequent quantifiers and colour terms that help the author to portray magical characters and give readers the sense of “being there” have been identified.

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About this article

Publication history

• Received: May 25, 2021.
• Published: July 30, 2021.

Keywords

• символ
• число
• цвет
• жанр фэнтези
• квантификатор
• symbol
• number
• colour
• fantasy genre
• quantifier

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© 2021 The Author(s)
© 2021 Gramota Publishing, LLC

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)