Abstract
The relevance of this article is justified by the necessity to construct a comprehensive picture of the development of Kazakh literature at the beginning of the 20th century through the analysis of tragic elements in the works of Myrzakhyp Dulatov. The authors critically evaluate various approaches to studying this aesthetic category in the works of I.I. Plekhanova, V.E. Khalizev, and E.V. Volkova. The scientific novelty lies in the first-time analysis of the poem ‘Qaida edıñ?’ (Where were you?) from the declared perspective. The research establishes that, firstly, tragic events (specifically, the forcible mobilization of Kazakhs for participation in World War I and famine) form the narrative basis of this poem. Secondly, antithesis serves as a significant means of conveying tragedy. Thirdly, the Kazakh worldview (steppe — land — Alash — people) depicted in this poem intricately intertwines with tragic hopelessness, where the semantic boundaries of the concept PEOPLE encompass human life values: steppe, family, lineage, generational ties, life. Fourthly, syntactic parallelism, various forms of repetition, rhetorical questioning, and other poetic devices aid the author in expressing their own viewpoint and engaging the reader in the quest to identify the culprit behind tragic events.