The Poetic Representation of the Idea of Freedom in Alash Literature

Abstract

The article examines the phenomenon of poetic representation of the idea of freedom in Alash literature. The term representation originates from philosophy, psychology, and linguistics, functioning as a multidisciplinary and polysemous concept. However, in literary studies, the comprehensive theoretical and analytical integration of this term remains limited. The study aims to reveal the nature of the literary process during the Alash period and to identify the poetic mechanisms through which the idea of freedom is represented. To achieve this objective, methods of close reading, hermeneutic interpretation, and critical discourse analysis
(CDA) were employed. Definitions of representation by theorists such as Stuart Hall and James Young are analyzed to clarify its literary application and interpretive role in the text. Emerging at the beginning of the 20th century as an aesthetic response to the hegemonic power of colonial discourse, Alash literature revitalized the literary process, opening new directions in poetics, artistic form, and ideological interaction. The authors of Alash literature, grounding the idea of freedom in the socio-political context of their time, represented it through metaphorical, allegorical, symbolic, mythopoetic, and sacred imagery. Such forms of representation make it possible to examine the semantic and aesthetic functions of the artistic text more deeply. Based on the works of A. Baitursynuly, M. Dulatuly, M. Zhumabayuly, and G. Karash, the study analyzes how representation manifests in poetic texts. Using the key principles of intentionality, recognition, and aboutness, it explores how the author’s worldview is implicitly expressed through the unity of form and content. In Alash poetry, the idea of freedom becomes the core of artistic representation, revealing the nation’s spiritual resistance and aspiration for independence through symbolic images and metaphors of liberation. The study
concludes that representation not only conveys the author’s perception of reality but also shapes textual unity and enhances the reader’s interpretive engagement. This research contributes to understanding how the freedom idea in Alash literature reflects the formation of Kazakhstan’s modern national consciousness and spiritual independence.