BIRCH TREE AS THE SYMBOL OF FEELINGS IN THE POETRY OF S.A. YESENIN

In the article, the role of birch tree as the symbol of human feelings in lyrics of Russian poet S.A. Yesenin was submitted to philological analysis. A new approach, which combines semantic analysis with a metaphor interpretation is proposed, and allows to clarify the symbolic meaning of the birch. In Yesenin's poetry, the symbol of the birch expanded its meanings to include the positive associations with calmness, silence, longing (for lost youth), as well as the negative aspects, such as spiritual emptiness, death, and parting with love.