NAMING THE CITY: AGORONYM-BASED TITLES IN ENGLISH LITERATURE

Abstract

This article explores the role of agoronyms—names of markets, squares, streets, and other public gathering spaces—as central elements in the titles and narrative structures of English literary works. Drawing on examples from Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, Zadie Smith, and J.K. Rowling, the study demonstrates that agoronyms function far beyond their geographic designation. They operate as symbolic, social, and psychological centers that shape plot development, thematic focus, and character identity. In realist texts, agoronyms reflect public morality and socio-economic tensions; in modernist works, they become expressions of fragmented consciousness; in contemporary and postmodern narratives, they encode multicultural identity and urban complexity. Even in fantasy literature, fictional agoronyms serve as gateways to new worlds and identity transformation. The article concludes that the elevation of agoronyms to title level underscores the intrinsic relationship between public space and narrative meaning, revealing how English literature uses urban geography to construct cultural, social, and emotional landscapes.