Structural heterogeneity of metaphors in literary discourse at the beginning of the 21st century

Abstract

The study examines the structural heterogeneity of metaphors in literary discourse, using Ukrainian poetry of the early twenty-first century as its material. It is emphasised that, within the discourse-based approach, the view that metaphor is not a static but a dynamic phenomenon — unstable and capable of development — has recently gained particular relevance.

It has been established that one of the structurally simple types is represented by so-called genitive metaphors, that is, metaphorical word combinations consisting of two nouns, one of which is used in the genitive case (e.g., symphony of rain, flesh of asphalt). Some of these acquire additional specifying epithets that are themselves metaphorical in nature (e.g., a necklace of broken hearts). Instrumental-case metaphors are also distinguished as a separate subtype of structurally simple metaphors, that is, figurative word combinations consisting of a verb and a noun in the instrumental case (e.g., …his winters speak with silence…). It has been found that a typical pattern for constructing a metaphorical expression is a fixed metaphorical attribute, or metaphorical epithet. Traditionally, Ukrainian poetry contains numerous metaphorical colour epithets (e.g., white magic, garnet-coloured trembling), as well as metaphorical attributes denoting material (e.g., waxen head). It has also been determined that appositional metaphors occur relatively rarely in poetic works of the early twenty-first century and are predominantly absurd in character (e.g., flowers–radio waves).

A notable feature of the poetry analysed is the occurrence of so-called chains of metaphors, in which several structurally simpler metaphorical expressions accumulate within a single sentence, traditionally perceived as a unified utterance (e.g., graffiti made of butterfly wings flows into the eyes).

The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of using its results for further research into Ukrainian-language literary, particularly poetic, discourse of the early twenty-first century, for compiling dictionaries of the individual styles of writers of the period, and for other related purposes. The prospects for further research are seen primarily in identifying the cognitive foundations of chains of metaphors, which demonstrate that metaphor, as a linguopoetic phenomenon, performs text-forming functions.