PARADOXICAL METAPHOR AS A FORM OF IMPLICIT CONTRAST IN CONTEMPORARY POETRY

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of implicit contrast as one of the key mechanisms of meaning-making in poetic metaphor within contemporary Ukrainian language use. The relevance of the study is determined by the need for a deeper understanding of metaphor not only as an expressive device, but as a cognitive structure capable of combining semantically, ontologically, and axiologically incompatible elements within a single utterance. The focus of the research is on the problem of hidden opposition that is not marked by formal linguistic indicators, yet determines the internal organization of the metaphorical image and gives rise to its semantic tension. The aim of the article is to provide a theoretical interpretation of implicit contrast as a cognitive and semantic factor in the functioning of poetic metaphor, as well as to identify the mechanisms of its realization in paradoxical metaphorical structures of contemporary Ukrainian poetry, particularly war poetry. The study is based on a combination of linguostylistic, cognitive-semantic, and contextual-pragmatic approaches, which makes it possible to trace how the collision of incompatible domains, frames, and scenarios produces the effect of semantic conflict and activates the reader’s interpretive activity. As a result, it is established that implicit contrast functions as a “shadowed antithesis,” in which opposition is not explicitly articulated but embedded in the deep structure of the image. This type of metaphor does not eliminate conflict; on the contrary, it preserves it as a condition for the emergence of a new meaning that cannot be reduced to separate components. The novelty of the article lies in the systematic description of implicit contrast as a universal principle of poetic semantics, which allows metaphor to be interpreted as an instrument for representing traumatic and liminal experience in contemporary Ukrainian poetry. Prospects for further research include expanding the typology of implicit contrast, such as domain-based, attributive, and scenario-based types, as well as a more detailed analysis of the functioning of the “shadowed antithesis” in various types of discourse, including prose, song, and media discourse.