The concept of a severed head (existence, thing, trope)

The content and plot potential of the concept of a severed or severed head is ambiguous. It determines the ontological and existential meanings of works. Its mortal semantics is expressed in marking social cataclysm (N. Gumilyov, G. Ivanov, N. Klyuev), philosopheme (M. Bulgakov), tragic foreboding (M. Tsvetaeva), optical deformation (V. Khodasevich), hallucinations (Yu. Odarchenko ) and its implementation by the stigmatist (A. Green), the absurdity of life (A. Vvedensky), violent manipulation (A. Belyaev), self-consciousness (I. Bunin, V. Pelevin). The specificity of canonical and apocryphal interpretations of the beheading of John the Baptist is noted. It is pointed out that decapitation is conditional on both supernatural forces and the will of a mortal. The question is raised about the boundary in the image of the dissociation of the character and his bipolar state. Artistic tools are revealed in the description of emotions, actions of the character, his self-identification before and after decapitation. Emphasis is placed on the variability of the artistic specificity of the concept of a severed head from farcical poetics to naturalistic imagery and symbolization. The plot, narrative, psychological, compositional role of the image of a severed head in a number of works is determined. The phenomenological meaning of the image of the bowl-skull as an expression of historical memory (A. Pushkin, N. Gumilyov, S. Yesenin) and the existence of an individual (M. Zenkevich) is considered.