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Abstract: This article examines the creative potential of syntactic deviations in poetry on the example of the works of F. G. Klopstock, a poet of the second half of the 18th century, and Yoko Tawada, an author of the turn of the 21st century. Research methods. Elements of diachronic and comparative analysis are employed to analyze the poems and essays of Klopstock and Tawada: the focus is on the chronological nature of the legitimation of syntactic deviations and the present moment of the creative attitude to syntax. Klopstock, who postulated the necessity of linguistic deviations, stands at the origin of this phenomenon; and Tawada is a representative of postmodern exophony and fills up syntactic constructions with foreign cultural semantics. While the 18th-century German poet only just begins to discuss the creative potential of syntactic „incorrectnesses“, the 21st-century author uses them to unlock new meanings not inherent to native speakers. Irregular, “agitated” syntax is a distinguishing feature of Klopstock’s poetry. Research results. Klopstock was among the first to critically question the necessity of strict compliance with linguistic norms that had developed by the mid-18th century. In his essay „Grammatical Conversations“, he was the first to declare deliberate deviations from syntactic rules a legitimate poetic device, contrasting them with the rationalist view of language advocated by the critic J. C. Gottsched. Klopstock’s views subsequently exerted a significant influence on the development of free verse. In the 21st century, the Japanese writer Yoko Tawada reflects on the German language as a cultural phenomenon that shapes mentality. In her poetic essays “Adventures of German Grammar”, Tawada uses the absence of punctuation and free word order as an aesthetic device. Her texts unfold multifaceted layers of meaning and connect linguistic structures with cultural and social issues. Although Klopstock and Tawada’s artistic methods differ considerably, they function within a unified literary process in different contexts. Conclusion. The analysis of specific mechanisms of syntactic deautomatization reveals common structural and functional regularities in the poetry of Klopstock and Tawada that cannot be definitively perceived as false or unacceptable. Thus, the creative work of Klopstock and Tawada, belonging to different eras, illustrates the plasticity of language, and their innovative practices demonstrate the potential of artistic self-expression capable of transcending temporal and cultural boundaries.

About the author(s) :

Olga V. Pakhomova

HSE University (Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation)

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6058-2776

Vera G. Sibirtseva

HSE University (Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation)

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2559-2538

Publication Timeline:

Date of receipt: 28.03.2026; date of publication: 30.06.2026

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