"stroinyi kak topol'" and other arboreal epithetry

[Irene Delic]

In Pushkin's Poltava we have the heroine Mariia likened to a kievskii topol'
(Kak topol' kievskikh vysot,/ Ona stroina.)

Irene Masing-Delic, Professor,
The Ohio State University
400 Hagerty Hall
1775 College Road
Columbus OH 43210-1215
tel.: 614-292-4726/6733
fax: 614-688-3107

-----Original Message-----
From: Slavic & East European Languages and Literature list
[mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU]On Behalf Of Inna Caron
Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 10:09 AM
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Subject: [SEELANGS] "stroinyi kak topol'" and other arboreal epithetry


Michael Holman wrote:

>What about 'stroinaya'? It may seem a bit tame after all the other
body-part
>slang, but it's still a fine word with no immediately obvious universal

>equivalent in English.

True, there doesn't seem to be an analogous term in English. Thing is,
even in Russian the visual association with this word somewhat differs
when applied to men's and women's appearance. To go with the most common
folk idiom, a man would be described as "stroinyi kak topol' (poplar),"
whereas a woman is "stroinaia kak berezka (birch)." I tend to use
"slender" for women, and "lean" for men when translating "stroinaia/yi"
into English.

It seems the visual comparison of people to trees is a Slavic thing, and
not really found in English. Or am I mistaken? Is there an English
equivalent to "moguchii kak dub," or "gibkaia kak iva"?

Inna Caron
Ohio State

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------