Levchenko O. Neo-romantic Poetics of Prose by Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi

The thesis is a complex research of neo-romantic poetics in prose by Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi. The neo-romanticism phenomenon is comprehended in the paper; the conceptual and terminological apparatus on the topic is specified and unified; evolution of views on the concept of neo-romanticism is traced. The effect of style symbiosis in prose by M. Kotsiubynskyi dated from 1900 till 1913 is described, and the writer’s style dynamics is analysed. The neo-romantic components in the work of M. Kotsiubynskyi are singled out, namely the two-world concept and search for harmony and beauty, exoticism and vitalism, and also mythology in the story «Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors». It is noted that for the chronological section under investigation the penetration into fiction is characteristic. The concept essence of neo-romanticism is clarified; its semantic content is outlined. Neo-romanticism is interpreted as a stylistic trend of modernism, genetically related to romanticism, which appeared in Ukrainian literature in the early twentieth century. The conceptual features of neo-romanticism, such as longing for beauty, dream and ideal, are distinguished. Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi has a special place among prominent representatives of the Ukrainian modernism. In Soviet times, his work was interpreted according to the requirements of the time, that is, only as revolutionary. Proclamation of Ukraine's independence made it possible to see new features on the writer’s work and to attribute it to the impressionistic one. The reality in neo-romanticism breaks down into a real «here» and a romantic «there», revealing the perfect world of beauty and dreams. The basis for romantic two-world concept is the opposition of prose and poetry of being, everyday and sublime, real and dreamed. The origin of the stylistic symbiosis in the works of M. Kotsiubynskyi has been determined. It has been established that the style of the writer has synthetic character, since it combines the creative study of artistic achievements of realism, impressionism and neo-romanticism. By combining different styles in his works, the writer has achieved an original artistic effect that distinguishes his works from others. The evolution of his works proves that, having started from the stories of a traditional character, he switched to modernistic style.