METALYRICAL ASPECT OF VERSE TEXTS: THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS

Abstract

This academic article examines the phenomenon of metatextuality within the conceptual framework of literary studies, outlining the essence, nature and functions of this artistic phenomenon, the continuity of its poetic traditions, and the motivation that prompts authors of poetic texts to engage in reflection on the creative achievements of other artists and in self-reflection. Considerable attention has been focused on theoretical issues in metalyrical and specific historical stages of its development, which have been explored in literary studies by many Western European and American literary scholars (H. Weinreich, E. Müller-Zetelmann, H. Schlaffer, A. Weber, E. Hessenberg, A. Frank, W. Hink, and others). It has been emphasised that research into metalyrical is only just beginning in Ukrainian literary studies. Among the works devoted to the theoretical generalisation of this topic, the studies by contemporary literary scholars O. Yufereva, I. Luchuk and L. Artemenko have been highlighted and analysed; these scholars have made the most significant contribution to date to the development of conceptual frameworks regarding Ukrainian metalyrical. It should be noted that, at the present stage of development of literary studies in Ukraine, one of the most important areas of research concerns the metatextual aspects of the theory and practice of fiction in general, and poetry in particular. The academic study emphasises that metatextual literary visions are primarily aimed at exploring the nature and meaning of art, the role of the writer in the social and spiritual development of society, and the writer’s contemporary existential concerns and creative preferences. Metalyrical characteristics are defined in terms of the thematic, poetic and genre dimensions of all literary forms (epic, drama, lyric poetry), as well as in the variety of dimensions of cross-genre diffusion (interaction with music, painting, architecture, sculpture, theatre, cinema, photography, choreography, etc.). It is emphasised that traditional literary concepts of syncretism or the interaction of the arts in the 20th century are examined through the prism of newer, related concepts – such as ekphrasis and intermediality – whose theoretical implications remain, to this day, highly contentious and not yet agreed upon by researchers.