A Psychostylistic Analysis of Viktor Krupka's Poetry — the collection Axis (Vis')
Modern linguistic studies are increasingly departing from the view of language as a purely instrumental system, focusing instead on its role as a formative factor in consciousness and the self-identity of the individual. This article presents a comprehensive psychostylistic analysis of the typology and functional characteristics of enjambment (verse carryover) within Viktor Krupka's poetry collection Axis (Vis'). The relevance of this research stems from the necessity to explicate the relationship between formal verse structures and the cognitive-emotional states of the subject in contemporary Ukrainian lyric poetry. The study is grounded in the premise that psychopoetic intentions facilitate a departure from mere technical prosody, framing enjambment as a sophisticated instrument for modeling fragmented consciousness and a mechanism for verbalising “impossible” or “non-factual” experiences.
The aim of our study is to identify the types, functions and psychopoetic effects of enjambment in V. Krupka's collection Axis (Vis') and to analyse the specific features of its use as a cognitive-stylistic device.
The methodological framework integrates formal-grammatical, structural-semantic, and psychopoetic approaches, enabling the interpretation of enjambment as a means of attention management and a tool for generating semantic multi-layeredness (“engaging ambiguity”). The scholarly novelty of the research lies in the introduction of an updated classification of enjambment types, encompassing classic forms (rejet, contre-rejet) and extended modifications (weak, isolating, combined), which are relevant to the architecture of contemporary free verse. The proposed approach facilitates the analysis of enjambment as a “rhythmic performance” in which the continuity of sense and the discontinuity of form are perceived by the reader simultaneously.
Particular attention is devoted to the functional load of various enjambment types. It is established that weak enjambment functions as a mechanism of emotional inertia, ensuring the fluidity of internal monologue and the soft immersion of the recipient into poetic consciousness without sharp cognitive pauses. Conversely, isolating enjambment acts as a “cognitive stop,” compelling the reader to focus on the affective core of a single word. This effect is critically amplified by the author's unique visuospatial organization (layout): the consistent rejection of capitalisation (except for the theonyms God and Lord), which visually sacralises specific lexemes and transforms every graphic pause into an act of identifying spiritual meanings.
Within a cognitive-temporal framework, it is demonstrated that the use of enjambment creates “phase shifts,” “zones of expectation,” and “weak gestalts,” all of which increase the reader's integrative effort during text perception. Enjambment is characterised as a strategy of “engaging ambiguity,” where a word at the line boundary momentarily belongs to multiple contexts. Combined forms of carryover allow the author to model states of psychological breakdown and post-traumatic reflection, transforming the syntactic rupture into a visual metaphor for internal distance.
The study's findings confirm that enjambment in Krupka's work constitutes a systematic cognitive-poetic strategy that animates poetic speech and transforms the act of reading into an active process of co-creating the artistic world. The developed methodological toolkit enables a deeper analysis of the rhythmics and emotional fabric of contemporary poetry, opening new possibilities for investigating the interaction between poetic form and the cognitive processing of meaning within psycholinguistic and receptive dimensions.
In contemporary Ukrainian poetic discourse, there is a growing interest in the formal and semantic organisation of text, particularly in such unconventional syntactic devices as enjambment. Enjambment, or verse carryover, is regarded as a rhythmic-syntactic figure, as well as a tool for profound emotional impact, revealing the hidden expression of poetic speech. It is precisely at this intersection of the structural and psychological planes that the need arises to study enjambment within the framework of psychopoetics and cognitive linguistics.
One of the poetic practices in which syntactic carryover takes on a systematic character and displays a wide functional range is the poetry of Viktor Krupka. His collection Axis (Vis') [Krupka, 2024] presents examples of texts in which enjambment, by defying traditional rhythmic and melodic expectations, serves as a marker of cognitive and affective experience. It is often precisely through this carryover between lines that the author achieves the effect of “deferred meaning,” emotional suspense, and the ambiguity of the linguistic gesture.
The relevance of this study is determined by both the general need for a deeper understanding of the stylistic mechanisms of contemporary Ukrainian poetry and the lack of a sufficient description of enjambment as a phenomenon that transcends the boundaries of formal versification. A focus on V. Krupka's poetics allows us to reveal how enjambment becomes a means of internally fragmenting linguistic space, enabling “shadow” speech and psychological breaks, and taking thought beyond the bounds of syntactic expectation.
Imagination is the ability to engage with entities and events that are not real; it is a universal tool that we use to understand and interact with the world around us.D. Skolnick Weisberg, 2014, p. 87
Enjambment, as a means of syntactic carryover, creates a poetic space in which the imagination functions as a mechanism for constructing a fictional, emotionally significant world [Beck, Harris, 2022] — including the imaginary world created by the author of poetic texts.
From a technical “glitch” to a complex cognitive mechanism — tracing the evolution of enjambment scholarship that grounds this psychopoetic reading.
Contemporary linguistic studies are increasingly moving away from viewing language as a purely instrumental system, focusing instead on its role as a defining factor in the formation of consciousness and personal self-identity. As L. Kotkova notes, language is a key linguistic-mental construct that reproduces cultural values and actively shapes an individual's worldview [Kotkova, 2023, p. 56]. In this context, psychopoetics — a field that explores the underlying psychological mechanisms of the creation and reception of literary texts — takes on particular relevance.
One of the most powerful, yet long narrowly interpreted, means of such interaction is enjambment. The history of its study demonstrates a gradual evolution in scholarly thought: from viewing enjambment as a purely technical “glitch” to recognising it as a complex cognitive mechanism.
Following I. Barchyshyna, we define enjambment by the nature of the syntactic links between words: “enjambment occurs when vertical links prove stronger than horizontal ones, and it does not occur if the vertical links are weaker than or equal to the horizontal ones” [Barchyshyna, 2013, p. 61]. We consider enjambment to be a multifunctional strategy that serves as a marker of affective experience; that creates an effect of “deferred meaning”; and that stimulates the reader's intellectual reflection by bridging the syntactic gap.
The aim of our study is to identify the types, functions and psychopoetic effects of enjambment in V. Krupka's collection Axis (Vis') and to analyse the specific features of its use as a cognitive-stylistic device. To achieve this aim, the following tasks have been set: to systematise the types of enjambment in V. Krupka's poetry, to establish their functional significance, and to examine the ways in which syntactic carryover influences the reception of the poetic text.
An expanded classification across two levels: classical types established in French poetics, and extended types characteristic of 21st-century Ukrainian poetic discourse. The gold segment marks the carryover.
A carryover in which a phrase begins on one line and is only completed at the start of the next — the most common type, creating a slight sense of anticipation and emphasising the syntactic conclusion.
A phrase begins at the end of one line and continues onto the next, shifting the emphasis to the beginning of the following line while lending significance to the previous line through its incompleteness.
A structurally complex type: a syntactic unit begins at the end of the first line, spans the entire second line, and concludes at the start of the third — prolonging the conclusion and delaying the logical resolution. Absent in Axis.
A phrase spans two lines seamlessly, without any noticeable pause, maintaining a smooth syntactic flow. The carried-over connection does not emphasise the break; on the contrary, it highlights the unity of the lines.
A single word or short phrase placed on a separate line, giving it semantic or emotional weight or creating a dramatic pause. Despite its formal isolation, the syntactic connection with the surrounding lines is retained.
A synthesis of two or more types of carryover within a single syntactic structure — for example a contre-rejet with isolation, or the sequential use of several carryovers of varying intensity that heightens rhythmic and emotional expressiveness.
The proposed classification enables a flexible analysis of enjambment as a component of the cognitive-emotional structure of a poetic text — fulfilling syntactic, intonational-communicative and aesthetic functions.
The interpretive vocabulary that lets us read a line break not as a metrical irregularity but as a map of the reader's cognitive effort.
A word at the end of a line momentarily belongs to two syntactic contexts simultaneously, creating an effect of intellectual and emotional resonance.
Sclama, 2011A situation in which continuity (the link to the verb) and discontinuity (the graphic pause) are perceived by the reader at the same instant.
Tsur & Gafni, 2018When a syntactic unit and a verse line do not coincide, a weak gestalt emerges — associated with the emotional, rather than the rational, quality of the text.
Tsur & Gafni, 2018The unfolding of discourse as a succession of steps and pauses, in which the final element functions as a delayed object held in anticipation.
Delente, 2024Readers spend more time processing enjambed lines, which indicates intensive cognitive work involved in integrating meanings across the break.
Koops van 't Jagt et al., 2014Capitalisation reserved solely for the theonyms God and Lord turns each highlighted lexeme into the sole beacon of light in a deliberately muted, monochrome syntactic space.
Krupka, Axis · author's layoutA detailed linguistic analysis of 60 syntactic constructions in Viktor Krupka's collection reveals the prevalence of each enjambment type — a dominance of rejet and isolating forms, with the complex rejet-contre-rejet absent altogether.
These frequency characteristics indicate the active and varied use of enjambment in Viktor Krupka's poetry, which serves as an important means of shaping the rhythm, intonation and semantic emphasis of his works. It is worth noting that the complex “rejet-contre-rejet” form is not found in the material under consideration.
Close readings of the poetic language of Viktor Krupka. Each fragment preserves the author's line breaks — so the enjambment is seen, not just described. Select a type to explore.
From a psychopoetic perspective, rejet creates an effect of anticipation, delays the syntactic resolution, stimulates the reader's imagination and encourages participation in the construction of the text's meaning — psychologically holding the reader's attention and heightening emotional perception.
The verb гукав (called out) grammatically requires a subject, producing a state of “frustrated anticipation” [Jakobson, 1960, p. 363]. The emotional setting — бентежність (restlessness), чистота (purity) — fills the mind before the denotation сніг (snow) itself appears.
The second line перший сніг is a syntactic breakpoint, yet the graphic separation transforms it into an isolating enjambment: a “rhythmic performance” in which continuity and discontinuity are perceived simultaneously [Tsur & Gafni, 2018, p. 10]. The snow emerges as a self-contained voice that interrupts the linearity of time. Moving to the third line through the contrasting conjunction а creates “engaging ambiguity”: перший сніг hangs for a moment between two contexts, capturing the speaker's inability to integrate the phenomenon into their belief system.
A classical rejet transforms into an isolated enjambment as the final adjective is placed on a separate line, breaking the attributive link between усміху (smile) and Господнього (of the Lord). The pause models spiritual enlightenment in stages: the first stage sets a tone of light and warmth; the appearance of Господнього identifies its source.
The cognitive focus is reinforced by the author's graphic strategy: capitalisation is reserved exclusively for the lexemes God and Lord. This selective capitalisation creates an effect of absolute visual focus — the word becomes the sole beacon of light in a deliberately muted, monochrome syntactic space, acquiring the status of a semantic dominant [Tsur, Gafni, 2018, p. 13].
Moving the key concept часопростір (spacetime) to the next line forces the reader into an intellectual effort that mirrors the very act of co-creating the poem. Tension peaks at не знаємий ще (an as yet unknown), where syntactic incompleteness provokes intellectual disorientation; the reader's consciousness enters a realm of the “unknown” that correlates with the semantics of the fragment.
Delente interprets such cases as a “phase shift,” in which the final element functions as a delayed object [Delente, 2024, p. 54, 60]. The term appears precisely when cognitive anticipation reaches its limit, giving the word the status of a discovery — an object that has just emerged from nothingness.
Here a mechanism D. Wesling describes as “grammatical dissection” operates: one part of the scissors (metre) cuts through the other (grammar) at the point of greatest semantic tension [Wesling, 1996]. The gap between шуканням (seeking) and страхом (fear) makes the final word of fear the intonational and emotional centre of the fragment.
The effect of deferred meaning acts as a cognitive shock: the reader is first immersed in an idyllic picture of the organic world, but the enjambment of fear abruptly returns them to psychological reality. Through its graphic isolation, the word страх (fear) becomes a shadow object — the true culmination of any cognition.
Contre-rejet is a device for situational emotional concentration: a syntactically significant component is placed at the end of a line while the main phrase unfolds in the next, creating an effect of forced pausing, cognitive tension and emotional anticipation that delays comprehension and activates the reader's inner speech.
The adverbial construction якраз навпроти (right opposite) is relative by nature — it requires a spatial reference point. Placed at the end of a line, it creates “semantic suspension”: the reader focuses on the very fact of proximity before discovering to what it belongs. This evokes a state of “half-sleep,” a blurring of boundaries between external sound (чиїсь розмови) and an internal state (прозріння).
Delaying resolution on прозріння (epiphany) activates parafoveal processing — the reader “looks before leaping” [Koops van 't Jagt et al., 2014, p. 1]. As the phrase completes, the reader experiences a gradual, almost painful realisation that the long-awaited epiphany has finally come to lie якраз навпроти (right opposite).
The visual separation of сонця вечорів (the sun of the evenings) into the first line transforms it into an independent, contemplative unit. The first stage of processing captures only the physical light of the evening, softening the rational gestalt of the phrase.
The transition to у віру запросило (has invited us to faith) radically shifts the register from landscape sketch to sacred act — a “phase shift” producing “deferred meaning.” The architecture models a movement from external contemplation to inner dedication, transforming reading into an experience of a personal “invitation” into a higher dimension of being (праці / labour).
By isolating пам'ять (memory), Krupka compels the reader to perceive this line as an autonomous “unit of interpretation,” in which the restrictive particle тільки (only) excludes all other subjects of action, focusing attention on the existential solitude of memory [Koops van 't Jagt et al., 2014, p. 25].
The shift to the second line creates “the tension of deferred meaning,” arising from the stark contrast between abstract memory and purely physical actions (вип'є устами). The absence of capitalisation at зазнимкує (captures) reinforces “emotional inertia” — since the capital is reserved for sacred concepts, the lower-case rendering makes the action an intimate, private matter for the subject.
An extremely tense, rigid enjambment bordering on a lexical break: the particle б is separated from the verb with which it forms the subjunctive mood. This “actually interrupts the flow of the verse and its reading” [Hussein et al., 2018, p. 330]. The reader focuses on the very modality of desire or regret, while its object stays hidden behind the graphic boundary — an effect of intonational inhibition mirroring the indecision of a person who has experienced trauma.
The hyphenated neologism меж-поранень (between wounds) and minimalist punctuation create raw, “stripped-back” speech. Enjambment functions as a psychopoetic code for trauma, transforming linguistic innovation into a tool for profound empathy, where every graphic pause becomes a barrier the recipient's consciousness painfully overcomes.
Weak enjambment is characterised by a smooth, imperceptible transition between lines without disrupting intonational integrity. Unlike rejet or contre-rejet, it creates no pause or tension but ensures the continuity of meaning — acting as a mechanism of emotional inertia that lets the reader gently immerse themselves in poetic consciousness without “cognitive jolts.”
A break between the predicate group (малювали) and its object (мимовільності) is perceived not as a syntactic error but as a breathing space necessary for the image to unfold. This achieves a perfect balance between “movement and stillness” [Rastar, 2017, p. 83] and creates an effect of “diffused vision.”
Thanks to the absence of a sharp break, the reader remains in a state of “sustained perception,” where the emotional quality of the text arises not from conflict but from harmonious continuity.
The absence of end-of-line punctuation lets this be classified as a running line [Rastar, 2017, p. 85]. Meaning “slips” from the first line into the second, mimicking the process of falling asleep: the sounds of the real world (півні) gradually lose clarity and transform into images from the subconscious (сни).
Since syntax does not dictate a strict pause, the reader can independently regulate its duration, merging мовчання (silence) and поверхню снів (the surface of the dreams) into a single emotional horizon — transforming reading into co-creation of the liminal state between reality and illusion.
A weak enjambment here conveys emotion through structure rather than describing it, embodying Delente's concept of discourse unfolding as “a succession of take-offs and landings” [Delente, 2024, p. 61]. The line is the organising element, far more important than the sentence, allowing the author to “stretch out” the emotion of loss over time without a sharp conflict between metre and syntax.
Combined with the author's ellipsis, this creates a “psychological atmosphere of uncertainty” — the effect of “unspoken silence,” where each line is merely another step in the unfolding space of lyrical memory.
Across several texts — йому й наосліп знати / те, що приходить і проходить повз… (p. 35), годинник не любить чекати. йому навздогін / спішив… (p. 43), and окраєць хліба лишу на хустині / моїм усім тривогам непочатим… (p. 51) — the transition is a deliberate poetic “slip” that recreates involuntary inner thought.
The slight shift preserves the continuity of intonation and creates a semi-declarative tone of intimate conversation. Weak enjambment weaves the lines into a cohesive inner experience that mirrors the rhythm of mental life, activating the effects of “subdued emotion,” “complementing thought” and “aesthetic silence.”
Isolating enjambment sets a single word or short fragment apart as a separate line while retaining its syntactic dependence. It compels the reader to pause, to “hear” the word as an internal pause, an echo — the affective core of the poetic experience.
Placing the comparative particle неначе (as if) on a separate line creates an effect of “rhythmic rupture” that conveys extreme fragility. By breaking the phrase, the author gives speech the characteristics of laboured, interrupted breathing, where each неначе becomes a separate moment of hesitation.
The reader falls into a trap of “uncertainty,” as the comparative construction remains open-ended — a “rhythmic performance” in which the continuity of meaning struggles against the discontinuity of form [Tsur, Gafni, 2018, p. 10]. Ellipses and short sentences repeatedly interrupt the “forward acceleration strategy,” verbalising the fragility of human intention.
Moving прознавши (having learnt) into a separate short line transforms the grammatical unit into an independent object of reception: “the element appears detached so that it can be highlighted and brought into focus” [Delente, 2024, p. 55]. The act of realisation literally “hangs” in the moment.
This destruction of linear integrity forms a weak gestalt: the word ceases to be a mere link in a chain of actions and becomes a state that exists beyond time, encompassing both past experience and the present event — an existential revelation taking place “here and now” in the reader's mind.
Isolating the verb слухало (listening) animates nature itself: through the graphic emphasis the sun takes on the characteristics of a sentient being whose activity is centred on perception. The isolation compels the reader's mind to establish a state of complete silence and attention — a “mood pause” where the act of listening becomes more important than what is heard.
The hypnotic effect arises at the intersection of syntactic incompleteness and graphic isolation, identifying a “regional quality” of the whole fragment [Tsur, Gafni, 2018, p. 8]. Each word, left alone with a pause, becomes a portal into the work's profound psychological reality.
Isolation turns a list of adjectives into a series of distinct cognitive events. The words сліпий (blind) and посивілий (grey-haired) cease to be part of a familiar list and become independent units of experience; the reader processes each symptom separately, intensifying emotional disorientation. The fragmentation creates a weak gestalt in which the emotional content takes precedence over the logical sequence.
Elsewhere the same device serves anticipation as physical sensation — а сад / от-от / прозріє й полетить (p. 27) — and creates intimate discourse, as in і тільки тоді шепотілося / ненароком, / як пізні лелеки вертали… (p. 59), where ненароком (by chance) functions as an emotional bridge between inner and outer worlds.
Combined enjambment is a multi-layered structure that fuses several types of carryover — rejet, contre-rejet, isolating and weak — within a single syntactic situation. It intensifies the internal tension and polyphony of the lyrical consciousness and emphasises the fragmentation and plasticity of the poetic experience.
The poet combines a rejet, an isolated enjambment (the word хміль / hops on its own line) and a slight break after і час не час. This structure mimics the fluid flow of consciousness, where images of marsh, hops and time form not a logical sequence but an associative stream in which time dissolves and the lyrical subject dissolves into a prolonged journey into the depths of being.
Leaving the noun сни (dreams) at the edge of the line creates a transitional zone where the reader prepares to receive characteristics — yet meets a radical fragmentation of form. The isolation of тонкі, прозорі, тлінні embodies discourse unfolding as a succession of steps and pauses, each adjective an autonomous unit of interpretation.
The lower-case starts render the boundaries semantically permeable, capturing the nature of the dreamscape: the image is not whole but flickers and breaks into separate sensations. The conflict between metrical and syntactic units becomes the very form through which meaning is expressed — a strategy of “reflective whispering.”
The most striking feature is the breaking of the word сонцесхід (sunrise) into individual morphemes — сон, це, схід — a strict enjambment that “splits a word within a line” [Hussein et al., 2018, p. 330]. Each part is born in the lyrical subject's consciousness as a distinct flash of realisation, pieced together through three “pauses in processing.”
This forms an extremely weak gestalt that conveys the metaphor of immensity: the light of sunrise is so powerful that language cannot capture it whole, breaking it into fragments. Every hyphen between the syllables becomes a boundary between the darkness of night and the light of new awareness — verbalising a liminal state.
An initial rejet triggers a prospective phase of anticipation; the triple classification of adjectives — зрячих (the seeing), довершених (the perfect), інших (the other) — makes each line-word an autonomous cognitive event. Instead of a rapid enumeration, the reader experiences a series of pauses that enliven the discourse and avoid monotony.
The fragmentation mirrors the workings of memory, which reconstructs the past not as a coherent whole but by isolating key characteristics. Combined enjambment thus serves as a stylistic polyphony in which psycho-emotional states unfold like a mosaic of voices, shadows, memories and dreams — an aesthetic strategy for verbalising inner experience.
Syntactic carryover in Viktor Krupka's work emerges as a systematic cognitive-poetic strategy that models complex emotional and cognitive processes — moving from a formal description of metrical irregularity toward a tool for managing integrative processes in the recipient's consciousness.
The classification synthesises classical types (rejet, contre-rejet) and extended forms (weak, isolating, combined), playing a key role in deciphering the architectonics of modern free verse.
Weak enjambment ensures emotional inertia and continuity of inner monologue; the isolating type acts as a “cognitive pause” that sacralises lexemes; combined forms model a fragmented, post-traumatic consciousness.
Through “zones of expectation,” “phase shifts” and “weak gestalts,” the author transforms reading into an active process of co-creating meaning, where a syntactic break signals intense intellectual reflection.
Different types correlate with different modes of experience — from relative wholeness (weak) through intense concentration (isolating) to fragmentation and internal division (combined).
Enjambment in Axis functions as a means of verbalising “shadow” speech, enabling the conveyance of liminal states of being — from meditative reverie to existential insight. The developed framework enables us to consider syntactic innovations as a fundamental mechanism for the aesthetic organisation of experience, opening new perspectives for the psychostylistic analysis of contemporary poetry, where the interplay between the visual layout of the text, the author's punctuation and syntactic fragmentation shapes a new quality of poetic resonance.