The Topos of Fear in the Texts of Ukrainian Poets (From Ivan Franko to Taras Matviyiv)

Abstract

 The article examines the functioning of fear as a culturally and poetically codified topos in Ukrainian literature from the late nineteenth century to the present. The relevance of the study is обуcловленa the need for a systematic understanding of fear not only as a theme or emotional state, but as a structural element of artistic thinking that reflects historical, social, and existential transformations of the national experience. The subject of analysis is the semantic, imagistic, and functional manifestations of the topos of fear in poetic texts from different historical periods. The research problem lies in identifying the patterns of formation and transformation of the topos of fear, as well as in clarifying its role in the organization of the poetic text as a metaphysical code of cultural memory. The methodological framework is based on models of topical studies, existential philosophy, hermeneutics, and structural-semiotic analysis, which make it possible to interpret fear as a multi-layered phenomenon – from psychological experience to the semantic core of the text. The study establishes that the topos of fear in Ukrainian poetry is multidimensional in nature, encompassing existential, social, historical, psychological, and metaphysical aspects. In the works of Ivan Franko, it appears as a complex system of moral anxiety and spiritual self-cognition, whereas in the modernists of the early twentieth century it reflects cultural crisis and historical, particularly wartime, traumas. In contemporary poetry, particularly in the rhythmo-prose of the fallen poet-warrior Taras Matviyiv, fear acquires a collective and wartime dimension, combining personal experience with national memory. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the comprehensive analysis of the topos of fear as a structural category of Ukrainian poetry in a historical perspective, as well as in revealing its transformation from an individual experience into a cultural archetype. Prospects for further research are associated with expanding the corpus of texts, cross-cultural comparisons, and deepening the analysis of emotional topoi in literature.