Linguo-stylistic and meta-semantic representation of the Holocaust in the poetry of Paul Celan and Rose Ausländer

The research compares the textual-linguistic and meta-semantic components (themes, motifs, ideas) in the poetry of Paul Celan and Rose Ausländer used to represent genocide. The analysis focuses on Celan’s “Death Fugue” and the following poems by Ausländer: “So That No Light Would Be There to Love Us”, “Beyond the Bug”, and several untitled poems from the collection “I Am Still Playing”. The article conducts an analysis of, firstly, extralinguistic data and, secondly, linguistic material at the linguo-stylistic and meta-semantic levels. The research novelty lies in identifying the similarities and differences in the ideo-aesthetic means of representing genocide in the aforementioned works, as well as the factors determining their artistic originality. The study revealed that, conveying the image of the Holocaust as a consequence of Nazi crimes against humanity, both poets combine the uncombinable: art and barbarity (Ausländer identifies death with a director, while Celan – with a conductor). Textual-linguistic analysis revealed different poem structures (free verse used by Ausländer and a fugue imitation in works by Celan), as well as their dense metaphoric nature. Meta-semantic analysis showed that both poets use similar imagery to represent genocide: the centuries-long submissiveness of the Jewish people and their sacrificial role. The specific representation of the Holocaust in the analyzed works evokes a strong emotional response in the reader.