мифология, художественная литература, англоязычные романы, лексема fog (туман), символизм, коннотация, Social Sciences

Purpose. The article is devoted to the symbolic functions of the lexeme «fog» in belles-letters. This topic is rather topical in linguistics. The study is based on the novels The Man of Property by J. Galsworthy and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of EAzkaban by J. Rowling, as «fog» is used there in the meaning of primigenial chaos. Methodology. The basis of the research is the componential analysis of the lexeme «fog» in novels of different genres. There is also given a comparison between «fog» as atmospheric phenomenon and the figurative meaning of this mythologem. Results. The component analysis shows the symbolic meaning, the connotation of semantic and literal devices of the lexeme «fog» in the texts given. There have been found 13 different motives to use this lexeme in both novels. The most obvious symbolic meaning of the fog is ‘mystery’, and the major connotation is a negative one, based on the natural qualities of the substance, i.e. cold. But the lexeme still has its ancient and complicated meanings, i.e. ‘death’ and ‘initiation’. Practical implications. We recommend the method given to study mythological archetypes in modern literature.