There is considered the meaning of the lexeme “heart” ‘inner person’. Based on the works of the Russian literature of the XVIII-XXI centuries there are determined the gender, age, toponymic, national characteristics that refer to this meaning, as well as considered the human experiences and feelings, positive and negative personal qualities as characteristic for this meaning.

There is found out the structure of the lexeme heart in the works by M.A.Bulgakov and shown that it has a) conceptual layer (blood-vascular organ); b) substantial layer (perceptible organ, rhythmically/unrhythmically contracted); c) figurative layer, shown as trope constructions (heart - substance, heart - breather, heart - moving substance); d) value layer, which reflects aesthetic authors assessment (heart - personality centre and dogs heart - incarnation of everything antihuman).