Information on the thesis

The thesis presents Franko’s interpretation of the genesis, nature and the role of dream vision in the creative process of the artists. This paper also defines the place of the dream visions in the cultural concept of the scientist. For the first time the problem of dream visions poetics is systematically and comprehensively observed. The artistic features of dream visions, deliriums and hallucinations are traced in Ivan Franko’s prose. Examining historiography of the notion «dream vision», the author of the paper generalizes and summarizes different conceptions of the term within mythology, religion, world and Ukrainian literature. The first chapter presents a theoretical analysis of such notions as «oneirology», «oneiric literature», «dream vision», «delirium», «hallucination». It gives a wide range of interpretations the roles of dream visions (in the Old Testament, ancient and modern literature).The second chapter is focused on the investigation the function of the dream visions in the works of Franko. His fiction, literary and critical works, folklore publications, letters, memoirs of contemporaries are taken into account. The thesis stresses that Franko’s interest in folklore with its archetypes, as well as the biblical tradition, worldwide motifs and the author’s own dreams become main sources of dream visions and dream stories in artistic heritage of the writer.In the third chapter dream visions are determined as important means of psychological analysis in Ivan Franko’s prose. The author proposes a typology of dream visions, using various criteria, such as genesis, nature and the role of dream vision in the literary texts; their influence on the behavior, life choice of the character (shock-dreams and calm-dreams); their impact on the sensory-emotional state of the literary heroes. A description of dream visions gives the writer an opportunity to reveal the features of his heroes.The fourth chapter is focused on the functional and aesthetic nature of dream visions. The plot-compositional structure of literary dreams, main features of chronotopos (timespace properties), unconscious character’s states are characterized. The predominant dream topos (forest, river, field, green meadows, road) are defined. It is proved that in the early works by Ivan Franko the dream visions create an illusion of exclusivity, they also strengthen an effect of the fear, and give the impression of ornamentation. In the later prose of Franko the dream visions are closely connected with the psyche of the hero, they play the role of the psychological or symbolic details. In the early works Franko focuses his attention on the origin and the content of literary dream visions, their specific details («Petrii and Dovbuschuky»). In the later works dream visions of Franko’s heroes become more symbolic and emotionally saturated («Perekhresni stezhky» («The Cross-Paths»)). In some writings Franko combines these two aspects («Dla domashnoho ognyshcha»). So the author of the thesis concludes that dream visions of Franko’s heroes are multifunctional and quite versatile literary tools. Poetics and semantics of the vertical axis are highlighted. A wide range of images and symbols associated with the formation of the dream visions is described.

Key words: dream vision, delirium, hallucination, unconscious, art psychologism, symbol, image, time-space, topos, plot, composition.