Abstract
<jats:p>The research aims to identify the functional features of the adjectival component of similes in German and Russian poetry. The article examines comparative constructions incorporating adjectives identified in the poetry of R. M. Rilke and B. Pasternak. The study characterizes the variants of integrating the adjectival component into different parts of comparative constructions, the high frequency of which is considered a distinctive feature of poetic language. In the analyzed lyrical works, adjectives are present within the subject and object of the simile and also function as the ground of comparison (tertium comparationis). It is shown that both authors employ various types of adjectives – both qualitative and relative – to create a specific poetic imagery. In the Russian-language material, the frequency of similes including adjectives is found to be higher than in the German-language material. The scientific novelty lies in the focus on a specific element of the simile within a comparative linguistic framework based on two languages. As a result, it was determined that adjectival components are most frequently used as the tertium comparationis and as part of the object of comparison.</jats:p>