Abstract
This article provides a comprehensive examination of the system of images in the poetry of Dulat Babatayuly, a prominent representative of nineteenth-century Kazakh literature, and the poets of the Zar Zaman school. The research object includes the works of D. Babatayuly and his contemporaries – Shortanbai Kanaiuly, Murat Monkeuly, Äbubakir Kerderi, and Alban Asan. The sources of the study consist of the collected works of the poets, as well as scholarly works by K. Ömiraliev, M. Magauin, E. Duissenbaiuly, S. Dauituly, A. Sharip, Kh. Suinshaliev, and R. Syzdyk. The research employs a comprehensive methodological approach, including comparative-historical, textual, descriptive, and structural-semantic methods. These methods made it possible to identify the system of images in the poets’ works and to reveal their artistic nature and socio-philosophical content. The study highlights the connection between the images in Babatayuly’s poetry and traditional folklore, as well as the ways in which social phenomena were reflected. At the same time, common motifs of the Zar Zaman poetry – concern for the fate of the people, opposition to colonial policy, and the defense of national values – are brought to light. The findings demonstrate that the system of images created by Dulat Babatayuly and the Zar Zaman poets represents the embodiment of socio-philosophical thought in Kazakh literature. It provided an artistic reflection of national worldview, collective identity, and historical consciousness. The conclusions of this study contribute to a deeper scholarly understanding of the poetic system of the Zar Zaman era, the interplay between tradition and individuality, and the continuity of literary heritage.