The motive of the freedom in the intertextual dimension of Ukrainian poetry: a dialogue of «Khatian» poets with H. S. Skovoroda

Abstract

The article examines the motif of freedom in the poetry of the "Ukrainska Khata" journal in the intertextual space with "The Garden of Divine Songs" by H. S. Skovoroda. Having selected the poetic works published in the "Ukrainska Khata" journal, it was found that the motif of freedom appears in its polysemantic expression in the poetry of the following authors: Maksym Rylskyi, Pavlo Tychyna, Oleksandr Neprytskyi-Hranovskyi, M. Dontsiv, O. Nedolia, Yakiv Mamontov, Sydir Tverdokhlib, Mykola Voronnyi, Oleksandr Oles, Khrystyna Alchevska, Hryhorii Chuprynka, Mykola Filianskyi. The following thematic vectors of the intertextual motif of freedom in the "Khachyan" poetry were identified: individual freedom, freedom of creation, freedom of spirit, and the motif of a struggle for the freedom of the people. It was explained that the interweaving of motifs of freedom and nature in the works of "Khatyan" poets has a genetic relationship with the "Garden of Divine Songs". The intertextual parallels of artistic originality of the freedom motif in the poets of "Ukrainska Khata" and songs 2 and 14 of the collection of H.S. Skovoroda. In the artistic imagery of the «Khatyan" poets, as in Skovoroda's poetry, freedom is connected with highness and is included in the game of opposites. The combination of poetic works of different poets in the «Ukrainska Khata» journal allows you to read their works in an intertextual dialogue. For example, the elevated mood of Mykola Filianskyi's poetry is balanced by Maksym Rylskyi's poem. In such circumstances, a new dimension of freedom for a lyrical hero opens up: a poet who does not run away from people is aware of his responsibility for the people’l fate. The crowd may not understand the poet with his ideals of freedom, but there is no romantic conflict on the pages of the «Ukrainska Khata» journal. A poet’s image in the poems of the authors of the beginning of the 20th century is deeply socially involved. A poet believes that his word always serves the freedom ideal of Ukrainians: it returns the reader to the memory of the historical past, and calls for the fight for freedom in the present. Reading the poetic works of the journal in an intertextual dialogue (according to a conditional analogy to the unity of songs in Skovoroda's collection) made it possible to explain the unity of individual freedom and national freedom according to the principle of the unity of visible and invisible nature in Skovoroda's philosophy. The conducted research proves that the "Khatyan" poets followed the path of development marked out by Skovoroda, for them his work became a path to the truth. The motif of freedom as a signpost on this path guides the movement of Ukrainian poetry through the centuries. The experience of the poets of the "Ukrainska Khata" should not be forgotten, because just as the "Khatyans" drew from the tradition of Ukrainian poetry, modern art, thanks to the turn to the poetry of the beginning of the 20th century, has the opportunity to take a constructive path. It is possible to take a constructive path in the early twentieth century. The research presented in this article opens the horizon for further studies on the intertextual motif of freedom in modern poetry.