VASYL SIMOVYCH AND THE POETRY OF LESYA UKRAINKA (A VERIFICATION-BASED ANALYSIS)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/2307-1222.2026-62-5Keywords:
Lesya Ukrainka, Vasyl Simovych, poetry, syllabic verse, syllabo-tonic verse, rhythm, stanza structure, rhymeAbstract
The article examines two instances of V. Simovych’s engagement with Lesia Ukrainka’s poetic works: his editing of the poetess’s collection “Vidguky” and his use of her poetry in the poetic appendix to his “Ukrainian Grammar”. It is noted that these demonstrate the scholar’s sound training in poetics. As the editor of Lesya’s collection, V. Simovych admitted to having carelessly interfered with the metrical form of her poems “Ra-Meneis” and “The Sacrifice”. Both poems are classified within the corpus of works characterised by the hexameter and defined as derivatives of this form. Following the transformation, the form became as follows: irregular, unrhymed, three-syllable lines (with two to four stresses per line). Consequently, these works were partially stripped of their solemn hexameter rhythm. Therefore, in later publications, they reappear in their original form – with long hexameter lines. In the poetic appendix to “Grammar…”, V. Simovich examined the poetess’s syllabic (shorter) and syllabo-tonic (longer) works separately. The scholar drew attention to the following syllabic forms: the 6-syllable line and combinations of 6-syllable and 12-syllable lines, the 14-syllable line (8+6) 2. In the poetess’s syllabic works, he noted the presence of a certain number of choreatic lines. The scholar correctly noted the sporadic nature of such verses. Simovych’s division of Ukrainian poets into “syllabic” (folk) and “syllabo-tonic” appears significant. His reflections on the historical place of the folk syllabic form in the development of Ukrainian poetry remain relevant. The scholar cited examples of the following syllabo-tonic forms in Lesya’s work: iamb (I3 with a dactylic ending), dactyl (D2), amphibrach (Amph3, Amph4, Amph5), and anapaest (An3, An5). The scholar’s observations on the poetess’s syllabo-tonic structure were further enriched by his identification of a phenomenon of syllabo-tonic logaedicity in the poem “Sing, My Song!”. V. Simovych also highlighted specific stanzaic forms in the poetess’s work: the octave (actually two quatrains) and the septet.
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