WATER SPACES AS A METAPHORICAL SOURCE DOMAIN IN LINA KOSTENKO’S COLLECTION "WIND FROM MARS"

Abstract

Introduction. The study explores the verbal representation of water spaces in the newest poetry collection by Lina Kostenko, “Wind from Mars” (2026). While her poetic language has been studied from various stylistic and conceptual perspectives, her latest book remains unexamined. Water metaphors carry a high axiological load, serving as crucial tools for modeling the author’s poetic vision of the world.
Purpose. The main objective of this article is to determine the exact verbal components of the water space domain in “Wind from Mars”, identify the primary target domains of these metaphorical transitions, and evaluate their pragmatic significance within the overall structure of the collection.
Methods. To achieve these goals, a comprehensive methodology is applied, integrating contextualinterpretative, cognitive-metaphorical, and comparative approaches. Cognitive modeling helps differentiate between source and target conceptual domains, mapping the trajectories of metaphorical extension.
Results. A comparative analysis reveals a striking asymmetry. While land-related lexemes like “forest” and “steppe” are used literally, water vocabulary is predominantly utilized as a source domain. The study reveals that the “sea + rivers” binary image is deeply rooted in biblical discourse, carrying profound cognitive weight. For instance, the “sea of bitter misfortune” evokes the Book of Exodus, which abruptly shifts into the “flood of Babylonian rivers”, an allusion to Psalm 137 (136), which the author uses to conceptualize the catastrophic scale of modern war and mass displacement. Furthermore, the image of «swamp» is entirely metaphorical, standing for social stagnation, passivity, and existential alienation. Conversely, destructive historical upheavals are verbalized through hyper-dynamic images like “whirlpools” and “vortices”, which embody unpredictability and danger.
Originality. This paper represents the first targeted, comprehensive research focusing on the aquatic vocabulary of Lina Kostenko’s latest book “Wind from Mars” as a metaphorical source domain, demonstrating both the continuity of her poetic style and the emergence of new pragmatic functions triggered by recent crises.
Conclusion. The study demonstrates that water spaces constitute a vital source domain in “Wind from Mars”. Unlike terrestrial images, aquatic vocabulary functions primarily on a metaphorical level, relying on binary oppositions: movement versus stasis, and normal versus abnormal space. These structures effectively articulate the yearning for moral clarity and purposeful movement.