THE COGNITIVE ROLE OF SYNTACTIC INVERSION IN POETIC DISCOURSE (BASED ON THE WORKS OF TETIANA YAKOVENKO)

Abstract

This study explores the cognitive role of syntactic inversion in the poetic discourse of the contemporary Ukrainian poetess Tetiana Yakovenko. Poetic language often deviates from the standard grammatical structures, with inversion being a key mechanism for transforming linguistic expression. This phenomenon extends beyond the mere aesthetic function, serving as a powerful tool for the cognitive representation of experience and the structuring of the world’s conceptualization. Inversion alters the reader’s focus, emphasizing specific conceptual dominants, and frequently possesses deep bodily, emotional, or cultural motivation. The research analyzes inversion as a fundamental element that contributes to the sacralization of mundane phenomena, enhances the reader’s emotional immersion, and shapes a unique poetic vision in T. Yakovenko’s work. Drawing upon the latest developments in cognitive linguistics, the study views language not simply as a system of signs, but as a representation of cognitive experience rooted in the embodied perception and cultural context. The paper highlights how inversion functions to change the “themo – rhematic” order, thereby shifting the focus of attention and emphasizing new or salient information. This process is seen as a cognitive reconfiguration of the situation, reflecting the speaker’s affective state and anchoring a body-centric view of events. The concept of “sacralized inversion” is applied to understand how T. Yakovenko uses this device in philosophical and spiritual contexts, representing a state of being rather than a chain of events. Finally, the study draws parallels between T. Yakovenko’s use of inversion and its manifestation in the Polish and English poetry, including works by Czesław Miłosz, Wisława Szymborska, Emily Dickinson, and William Blake. This cross-linguistic comparison demonstrates the inversion’s universal function as a cognitive strategy for reorganizing reality, adding depth, rhythmic variation, and metaphysical tension to poetic texts. In T. Yakovenko’s case, inversion is systematically linked to the Christian verticality and embodied metaphor, creating a unique spiritual cognition rooted in the phenomenology of language as a space for encountering the transcendent. The analysis concludes that inversion in T. Yakovenko’s poetry is a structurally significant tool for modeling a sacred, philosophical, and existential worldview.