On the question of the worldview basis of ancient Ukrainian poetic texts

Abstract

World humanitarian science, despite various blurred formulations, generally distinguishes three worldviews — positivist, metaphysical, and religious — each encompassing various arts and technologies, including poetry, which can be seen as the music of the Logos. Poetry serves as a verbal manifestation of the soul’s energy, spirit, beauty-harmony, and unity with the Universe, often symbolized through words. These worldviews evolve, transforming and crystallizing into specific signs, symbols, and codes, ultimately aiming to become myths — either a minor myth (legend) or a major myth (fairy tale with a happy ending). Each worldview in retro and perspective, in one way or another claiming static or reproductive immortality in certain verticals of time and horizontals of space, is influenced by racial, class, gender, national, rural, and urban contexts. The historiography and historiosophy of a nation, along with its knowledge and feelings about the world and universe, are shaped by the worldviews of individual poets. The historiography and historiosophy of a nation, along with its knowledge and feelings about the world, otherworld and universe, are shaped by the worldviews of individual poets.

This article examines the formation and transformation of pagan and Christian worldview concepts in ancient Ukrainian poetry. It explores these worldviews as expressed in various poetic forms, from pagan prayers to «Slovo o polku Ihorevim (The Tale of Ihor’s Campaign)», and extends to different genres of folk poetry (ritual, recruitment, soldiers’ songs, lullabies, laments, Nativity scene drama). Additionally, it covers the first Christian polemical poets, such as Ivan Vyshensky, Ivan Velychkovsky, Heorhii Konysky, and the poet-philosopher Hryhorii Skovoroda. The focus is on Ukrainian-language poetry at the intersection of paganism and Christianity, highlighting national symbols, mythologems, and their roles in shaping the worldviews of poetic text creators. These elements are further realized in the works of later poets, modern interpreters, and the expansion of Ukrainian poetic works into the global cultural and informational space.