Статтю присвячено лінгвокогнітивному аналізові афромериканської поезії з огляду на актуалізацію у ній символічного значення номінативних мовних одиниць на позначення рослин. Автором визначено поняття символу і окреслено його функції у поетичному дискурсі. Особливу увагу приділено вивченню когнітивного потенціалу символів у процесі репрезентації концепту ПРИРОДА на рівні віршованих творів.
The article provides the linguistic and cognitive analysis of the African-American poetry focusing on the realization of a symbolic meaning of the nominative linguistic units that denote plants on a text level. The author defines the notion of a symbol and outlines its main functions within the poetic discourse. It is stated that except of its primary function of representation, a symbol realizes the cognitive function, which is manifested by means of the reconstruction of the artistic reality presented in a poetic work, and by the production of new meanings that are created due to the complexity of content and thepolysemy of a symbol itself. The study of the cognitive potential of symbols within the representation of the concept NATURE on the level of poetic works is given special attention. It is proved that being one of the key mechanisms of the cultural me&mory in a text, symbols enable us to trace the relationships between nature and society, rooted into traditions and rituals of a certain community. The results of the research show that the linguistic units denoting plants that bear a symbolic meanin&g within the African-American culture, represent such constituent elements of the concept NATURE as DIVINITY, BEAUTY, MEMORY ABOUT THE PAST and POWER.