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The aim of this paper is to present a profile of literary critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki (1920–2013), who lived on the borderland of three cultures: Polish, Jewish, and German. The paper attempts to reconstruct the main phases of Reich-Ranicki’s life in Poland, including an analysis of the critic’s interests and opinions about Polish literature, as well as his concept of a ‘spiritual homeland’. The status of M. Reich is studied in relation to the category of the alien commonly encountered in the discourse of the humanities. Reich’s strangeness is presented in three dimensions: space, culture and mentality. The paper also proves that it was the trauma of the Holocaust that had exerted the major impact on Reich-Ranicki’s personal memories and accounts.

The purpose of this paper is to present the description of Woland as one of the main characters of the novel by Bulgakov 'The Master and Margarita', after gaining experience connected with the work on a new translation of this book. The study was conducted on the basis of an in‑depth analysis of the text. The author distinguishes the roles in which Woland appears in relationships with other characters, as well as mental and physical transformations which he undergoes. A lot of remarks concern the changes in stylistic register of his utterances. Moreover, the analysis includes numerous names, which the narrator himself uses in reference to the character. Finally, analogies with other authors are presented (Goethe, Gogol, Poe). The paper is an attempt at reconstructing the viewpoint represented by Woland, including the multitude of elements referring to particular philosophical, political and ethical doctrines. It all leads to the conclusion that Bulgakov’s devil is a multidimensional and ambiguos character, which doesn’t conform to any traditions and explicit interpretations.

The author of the paper indicates several aspects which connect the texts describing the battle of Khotyn in 1673. Epical attempts at showing those events complied with the epical model known as ‘native heroicum’, which was popular on Polish lands in those days. According to this model, the primary rule of verismo was combined with attempts at making narration more attractive. Some of them have been described in this paper. Moreover, the author discussed the method of depicting Tatar‑Turkish armies in the works, paying attention to their abundance. The exemplary material was derived, above all, from voluminous poems by Jan Ślizień, Mateusz Kuligowski, Samuel Leszczyński and Zbigniew Morsztyn.

The paper is dedicated to the volume of poems by Jerzy Harasymowicz, entitled 'Banderia Prutenorum' (1976). The author explores the dependence of this volume on a work of the same title, which was released in mid-15th century through the initiative of Jan Długosz. The medieval manuscript contains illustrations and short descriptions of 56 Teutonic flags captured by Polish troops in the battle of Grunwald (1410). The author of these pictures was Stanisław Durink, while the descriptions were made by Jan Długosz, among other authors. Using the illustrations of Teutonic flags from the medieval model, Harasymowicz added his own poems, showing in bad light particular troops (flags) of the Teutonic Order, as well as their great defeat in the battle against Polish‑Lithuanian forces. The author of the paper analyses the ideological‑persuasive meaning of these poems, as well as their language and depiction.

The main purpose of the article is to present the literary output of Andrea Tompa, using her debut collection entitled Dom kata as an example. In her work, the Hungarian writer uses her creative potential connected with the experiences of growing up in a discriminated national minority in Romania in the 1980s. In the paper, I demonstrate how the history of the area and biography intertwine in the literary transformation of experience in a quasi‑autobiographical story about entering adulthood. In Andrea Tompa’s work, one can see how the geo‑cultural experience has an impact on both the way the story is constructed and the narrative strategies applied, as well as its influence on the reception of the work among readers. The trauma of the regime and exclusion associated with Romania in the second half of the 20th century is conveyed by means of a hybrid form and fragmented narratives. This unique combination that makes up the book of the Hungarian writer provides an inspiring material for literary research, both from the perspective of memory studies and the poetics of experience. As for the way of constructing the story, which is hard to categorize according to strict genre classifications, it only enlivens the reception.

The purpose ofthe paper is the interpretation of the novel Nad piękną modrą Dřevnicą by Antonin Bajaja in terms of the image of the Stalinist period in Czechoslovakia. The interpretive perspective has been determined by the theory of letter (Stefania Skwarczyńska and Anita Całek), the category of autobiographical memory, autobiographical place, as understood by Małgorzata Czermińska, as well as autotherapy through work with memory. By bringing back memories in the letters to his sister, the narrator updates the concept of his identity and reshapes his self­‑awareness, which was manipulated in his childhood by the communist propaganda. The mechanisms behind this propaganda are revealed years later by the protagonist­‑narrator. The schizophrenic type of life under communist rule has been illustrated by the example of the family and city Zlina/Gottwaldova.

In this paper, the Ukrainian trilogy by Józef Łobodowski has been interpreted as a historical novel, in which the described events took place in the Kuban region in the period between 1918 and 1922. The history of the Bolshevik revolution and the Civil War in the Caucasus area of Russia has been presented in a vivid story, which was inspired by the author’s personal experiences. The protagonist of the trilogy is the author’s own alter ego. The author’s participation in the discussed events significantly influenced the artistic form of the novel. The work possesses the features of a reportage novel, with its inherent verism, a trend towards a faithful depiction of life during the Russian Civil War, as well as elements of journalism that correspond to the writer’s journalistic activity. The reportage characteristics of the trilogy did not hinder the author from complying in his narration with the pattern of Sienkiewicz’s novel W pustyni i w puszczy (In Desert and Wilderness). In this way, the Ukrainian trilogy became a work with an original structure, in which the author also objectified his own emigrational experiences.

The article presents the image of the East in historical novels by Kazimierz Korkozowicz, including the works of the author of Jeźdźcy apokalipsy (Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse), published in the period between 1970–1990. It refers the notion of the East to Eastern Europe and analysesthe use of historical‑philosophical myth of the East by the writer. The paper also includes the interpretation of the novel, using the category of culture as an ideology of social groups, bearing in mind the fact that culture, including literature, is a tool of ideological impact on society by means of Althusser’s ideological state apparatuses. It examines the cognitive capabilities of various literary methodologies towards analyzed works. It describes the profile of the author of Przyłbice i kaptury and refers to the ongoing discussion about his works.

Two books for children about the Great War will be discussed: Bohaterski miś [Heroic teddy bear] by Bronisława Ostrowska and Five Children on the Western Front by Kate Saunders. It will be a comparative analysis. The books differ in terms of national perspective (Polish and English), but also in the time of edition – just after the war and a hundred years later. Thus, Ostrowska’s memory about the war is her own memory, whereas Saunders’ writing can be called a postmemory narrative. The aim of the paper is to answer the questions: what is similar and what is different in the two selected children’s novels about the Great War? What are the ways of transmitting memory? What do the writers want to save for new generations?

The paper is devoted to the first and at the same time the most famous novel by Wacław Gąsiorowski – Huragan (Hurricane, 1901), which began the “Napoleonic Trilogy”. In the introduction, its origins and the history of reception have been presented, followed by: a literary image of the Napoleonic era and the world of heroes, with a particular emphasis on the figure of Joanna Żubrowa – a sergeant in the army of the Duchy of Warsaw, the first woman to be decorated with the Virtuti Militari Order. The patron and master of Gąsiorowski, who often referred to the model of a “cloak and sword novel”, was Henryk Sienkiewicz. However, Huragan, which can be situated between Trylogia and Popioły, also demonstrates Young Poland origins.

Zabawy mędrców – a novel by Antoni Godziemba Wysocki, a forgotten writer, an eccentric and intellectual from Lviv, was published in the interwar period and became a literary event. Reviewers unanimously emphasized his innovative approach to history. It was not the historical novel that readers were used to, both in terms of idea and form. Placing the action inside the Krakow Academy in the 16th century, at the turn of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, was supposed to demonstrate the pathology of education that was dominated by dogma and scholasticism against the background of the daily life of those days. In order to achieve that, the author allegedly worked on his book for over twenty years, thoroughly studying the sources: rare papers, manuscripts and numerous dissertations about the history of the Jagiellonian University. Consequently, a vivid (but strongly biased and clearly depreciating the Middle Ages) study of a few teachers came into life. The professors and bachelors, who had authentic prototypes, were shown through psychoanalytical examination in search of their complexes and personality disorders that limited their mental and didactic work. Wysocki’s work: cool, intellectual, and allusive, it was a unique but one‑sided presentation of Polish culture during the times of the last Jagiellon, but above all, it was a type of warning that concerned the condition and future of Polish education after gaining independence.

The paper presents the images of rural life in Subcarpathian regions of the 19th century Eastern Galicia, recorded in sociocultural, quasi‑chronicle, or memoir prose of Juliusz Turczyński (1833–1913). This gymnasium professor and a well‑known writer connected with Stanisławów achieved his greatest success as the author of novellas and short stories. His socio‑cultural, ethnographic and landscape sketches dedicated toHutsul Land, which record the traditional life ofthe region, disappearing because of modern trends, belong to the most important literary testimonies of life and mentality of the 19th century Carpathian Highlanders. His less popular, but equally interesting dramatized sociological studies, illustrate the situation of Eastern Galician village in the serfdom era that has recently passed. Turczyński’s prose, which is rather conventional and schematic in terms of artistic creation, combines the objective features of a document – the testimony of the mechanisms determining and destroying the life of a simple man – with the elements of didactic morality and parabolic vison of a lively character of the people, prone to fall, but also to convert.

The aim of the article is the presentation of some interesting and stimulating questions connected with the problem of eschatological codes in the Theatre of the Absurd. The main objective of this paper is to discuss the topos of Death in the Theatre of the Absurd. Because the subject has been underexplored so far, the author tries to triangulate the Theatre of the Absurd within the genre of drama first, and then moves on to the short reflection on chosen plays of Beckett and Ionesco, concentrating on the role that eschatological elements, funereal objects and eschatons play in them. The starting point of this paper could be called “eschatology of the Absurd” or “immortality deconstructed”. Meaninglessness, as the value of absolute meaning, the meaning (Sinn) and significance (Bedeutung) of Death in the Theatre of the Absurd, is also discussed. As a method of research, he proposes a short “collective phenomenological analysis”. To analyse the issue from a broad perspective, the author takes into account the relationships between the writers and their times, and refers to cultural sources, specifically the Paradox of Death in the Theatre –particularly in the Theatre of the Absurd.

Zofia and Władysław Jarema – the founders of the Groteska Theatre – from the beginning of their artitistic work in Krakow distanced themselves from perceiving the theatre of dolls as exclusively children-oriented. By gathering around themselves a group of distinguished artists, they consistently and reasonably built up the repertoire and Groteska stage for the adult audience. In their search, they included Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński, Sławomir Mrożek, and Tadeusz Różewicz. This paper is an attempt at analysing and reconstructing the performance of Kartoteka (a drama by Różewicz), which was staged in Groteska Theatre (interpretation by Zofia Jarema, stage design by Kazimierz Mikulski) a few months after its Warsaw preview in the Drama Theatre. The author of the paper also discusses the type of influence which this performance and the Jaremas’ activity in general had on the contemporary theatre of dolls.

The paper shows connections between Stanisław Tarnowski and Lucjan Rydel and his family. Tarnowski was a disciple of Józef Kremer, while Rydel was a pupil of Tarnowski. Kremer’s views on art, to some extent, shaped Tarnowski’s aesthetic thought, especially when it comes to the perception of beauty and creative act. Kremer accompanied Tarnowski at the beginning of his scientific career. Rydel used to attend Tarnowski’s speeches in his gymnasium period, and then as a student of the Jagiellonian University. He belonged to a narrow group of Young Poland writers, whose work was appreciated by the critic. He included papers about Rydel in Przegląd Polski. [78] Renata Stachura-Lupa In 1899 Tarnowski welcomed a debut volume by Rydel, appreciating his ‘inherent gift, acquired skill, good taste and musical ear, as well as playing with the difficulty of form,’ which contributed to ‘truly brilliant results.’ He praised the author for ‘his honest feelings’, at the same time noticing the dominance of sadness in his poetry, which was supposed to be typical of ‘young’ poetry, reflecting the depressing mood in the nation, caused by ‘the state of the motherland.’ In 1901 in Przegląd Polski he published a dissertation Nowe kierunki dramatu i „Zaczarowane koło” Lucjana Rydla, in which he made an ‘analysis’ of his disciple’s art. What he found particularly valuable was the method of presenting the countryside, which proved he was well-acquainted with its reality. However, it was only the trilogy Zygmunt August that he regarded as a masterpiece and ‘the best historical tragedy we’ve ever had’.

“To see Heaven praised by poets of the whole world, to see Italy” –Northern Italy, as described by Stanisław and Władysław Bełza Abstract Italian voyages of the 19th and 20th centuries have already been described many times. Thatis why this paper has been devoted to those accounts which so far have not been particularlypopular with literary historians, but are still worth mentioning: Z Wenecyi do Neapolu.Wrażenia z podróży by Władysław Bełza and Za Apeninami, Na lagunach, Obrazy i obrazkiWenecyi by Stanisław Bełza. The paper consists of two parts: the first one presents Veniceas seen by the above mentioned authors, while the second one, entitled Z Polski do ziemiwłoskiej, z ziemi włoskiej do Polski follows the Polish traces on foreign land. Voyages of theBełza brothers, just like romantic voyages had two routes: the first one led through theEuropean cultural heritage, while the other one followed the track of national memorabilia. Keywords: cultural heritage, travel, memories, patriotism

„Na nagłej i niespodziewanej sprężynie” – Makowskie bajki as a borderland of children poetry and the poetic myth of a child This paper reads Jerzy Ficowski’s Makowskie bajki, a poetry volume/series written under the influence of chosen Tadeusz Makowski’s paintings, as a separate work situated somewhere in the ‘borderland’ of children and adult literature, or as literature that does not clearly define its target. The main context for this interpretation of the cycle are mainly children poems by Ficowski. Some of his early poems from 1957–1974, especially the Zmierzch o świcie poem, are significant as sources of the artistic myth of a child, derived from the visions of Bruno Schulz and Witold Wojtkiewicz, visions troubling and extending beyond the children’s understanding. The paper examines the artistic consequences of the inspirations coming from both sides of this literary border. Key words: children literature; poetry for children; poetic myth; literary borderland; childhood; poetry series; Tadeusz Makowski;

This paper is an analysis of Hamlet gliwicki [eng. Gliwice Hamlet] (Messel 2008) by the Polish-German writer Peter Lachmann (b. 1935). The article presents the genesis of the drama inspired by the fate of a Wehrmacht soldier lost during the Battle of Stalingrad in January 1942. This is the writer’s father Ewald Lachmann. In addition to the parodic means used in the play, the intertextual links between Gliwice Hamlet and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet are discussed, as well as the topoi of Shakespearean tragedy interwoven with episodes from Lachmann’s biography and events from the history of Gliwice. The figure of Hamlet takes on the role of a mask and functions as a universal archetype behind which the play’s creator himself hides. The bilingualism of Peter – the play’s protagonist – and the overlapping of two identities, Polish and German, are examined in terms of a palimpsest. The analysis shows that Lachmann’s drama is characterised by the lack of a linear course of events and their anchoring in a fluid, liminal space-time. The protagonist’s identity transformations are accompanied by the transformation of his immediate environment, as the German city of Gleiwitz turns into the Polish city of Gliwice.

From the 1840’s to the end of the 19th century more than twenty editions of Polish translations of texts by Saint Teresa of Ávila, as well as the ones attributed to her, were released. It was attempted to popularise her works, information about her life and thought, as well as the cult of her, knowledge about Christian mysticism and the revival of religious life. Two important bibliographies presenting the reception of Teresa in Poland: one by Stefania Ciesielska-Borkowska (1939) and the other one by Benignus Wanat (1972) require complementing and corrections, which should find reflection in contemporary editions and catalogues. The paper presents all the editions of works by Teresa (fragments, all works, collections of works, as well as paraphrases), released in Polish in the 19th-century books and periodicals. It corrects the mistakes in bibliographical descriptions, which result from mistakes in the publications themselves, as well as errors in attribution. It refers to the authorship of anonymous translations and their undetermined bases, it characterises briefly the environments in which Saint Teresa’s works were translated and published. It presents the religious, literary, social and scientific purposes accompanying the texts by Teresa, as well as translation, editorial and ideological assumptions. It shows the editions of Saint Teresa’s texts in translations or paraphrases by: Sebastian Nucerin, Ignacy Hołowiński, Nina Łuszczewska, Eleonora Ziemięcka, Michał Bohusz Szyszko, Eleonora z Paprockich Szemiothowa, Zygmunt Krasiński, Lucjan Siemieński, Ignacy Domeyko, Karmela Wiktima od Jezusa (Amalia Zenopolska), Tadeusz Miciński, Henryk Piotr Kossowski, as well as anonymous translators.

The paper presents Adam Bełcikowski’s study about 'Os Lusíadas 'by Luis Vaz de Camões. Bełcikowski’s text was issued in „Nowa Reforma” in Krakow (1891, nos. 26–27, 29–32, 35–37), soon after the release of the translation of 'The Lusiads' into Polish by Zofia Trzeszczkowska (Adam M-ski) on the Polish book market. The critic made an attempt at familiarising the Polish reader with the poem, indicating its ideological-artistic value.

Catholic religion presents an ambivalent attitude towards the body: it adores the tormented and resurrected body of Christ, but rejects human physicality, regarding it as a cause and consequence of sin. Such conviction led to imposing numerous restrictions on almost all life spheres of priests, nuns and monks. They cannot get around, get dressed or decide about their activities and relationships freely. They subject their bodies to mortification, vowing celibacy and sexual abstinence. However, a desire to marginalise the physical sphere of human life, which was rooted in the Church, has produced the opposite result. As a consequence, the body became the centre of interest not only for clergymen and believers, but also writers, poets and artists from different countries and periods. The paper focuses on the literature of Spanish‑speaking countries, searching for references to the methods of bodily discipline among clergymen and consecrated people. The abundance and variety of presented examples point to the fact that this topic is worth of interest and a deeper analysis.

The paper contains an analysis and interpretation of essays by Bolesław Leśmian from 1915 to 1916, published in Myśl Polska in the section ‘Intermedia rybałtowskie’. These texts, which concern literary life, are considered in reference to the tradition of minstrel literature and against the background of war changes and cultural diagnoses. This perspective makes it possible to perceive Leśmian not only as an insightful diagnostician, who is familiar with philosophical‑cultural issues (which has been proved by researchers), but also a critic of contemporary times and change initiator, who was able to recognise his own situation and literary identity against a broad sociological‑cultural background, and took an effort in order to change his own position and some rules which were relevant in the Polish literary field.

Sermons of Reverend Janusz Stanisław Pasierb have a distinct literary character. This may be due to the fact that the preacher was both a poet and essayist. The first part of the paper contains a methodological reflection on literariness, with particular emphasis on the location of the sermon as a specific genre of expression in relation to other forms of literary expression. In the further part of the text, the style and composition of sermons of Reverend Pasierb and their relationship with the poetry of this author are examined. Also, homilies from the funerals of art people are presented – in these works Pasierb contained a particularly large literary component. Reverend Pasierb is fully aware of what the art of word is, including the preacher’s word. He works towards a greater linguistic reflection, drawing artistic attention to the style of preaching. His preaching, with a metaphysical depth and clearly eschatological perspective, and at the same time adding value to worldliness, often tends to an essay and meditation. We are dealing with the individualization of a preacher’s message and a partial remodelling of a typical preacher’s formula.

The following paper is dedicated to the work by Jerzy Harasymowicz: 'Lisowczycy czyli rozpędzona korona polska czyli pułkownik Lisowski lub o nim summa zachwytów i krytyk gorących bezstronnego świadka ze siebie i z historii pełnymi garściami brane na co słowo poetyckie daje skromny sługa pióra rymopis'. It is set against the background of the stages of the poet’s creative work. It is placed in a broad context of social processes which took place in Poland in the second half of the 20th century. The author takes a stand in the discussion on the methods of poetic cognition. He makes an updated interpretation of historical references found in Harasymowicz’s work.

The paper is dedicated to recognising Sarmatian motifs in poetic collections of Jerzy Harasymowicz. The analysis of selected works proves that the poet had an excellent preparation for interpreting old literature. Poems written by Harasymowicz are the evidence of both his familiarity with aesthetic conventions of the Baroque period and his knowledge of historical themes of the 17th century. Historism was treated by the writer as a reservoir of motifs and characters, which were a point of reference for the diagnosis of the current political situation in the 70s of the last century.

The paper is not only an attempt at reconstructing the literary legend of Mikołaj Potocki, a governor from Kaniów, but also a story about the helplessness of the Polish 19th‑century writers against the crazy magnate, his legend and Sarmatism, which he represented. Works by Kraszewski, Groza, Grabowski, Jankowski and many other authors, which are dedicated to Mikołaj Potocki, seem to be an interesting testimony of the 19th‑century writers’ struggle with the tradition of their ancestors (not always obvious and accepted). They also make it possible to formulate a thesis about the 19th‑century retouch of pre‑Enlightenment noble culture (rejecting cruelty as a component of knightly identity of noble culture and eliminating characters evoking confusion from among the pantheon of ancestors, for example those described as tricksters by anthropologists).

In this paper, the author reconstructs a critical‑literary discussion, which took place in 1888 after the release of the monograph devoted to Jan Kochanowski by Stanisław Tarnowski. It was an attempt at combining previous findings on the biography and work of the Renaissance poet. Reading the most important critical statements evoked by Tarnowski’s book made it possible to characterise an important state of research into Kochanowski’s work and indicate essential problematic issues (religious matters, ‘the Ronsard question’, the case of Kochanowski’s artistic creativity, assessing the advancement of knowledge about his works), which in the 19th century were regarded as arguable, unresolved or demanding a particular cognitive effort. The authors in those days, thanks to their joint effort, managed to determine the scope of issues which would be investigated by researchers in the following years.

The paper is an attempt at showing – through the prism of autobiographical reflection – the location of tradition, as understood by Wilhelmina Zyndram‑Kościałkowska (1844–1926), a translator, writer and literary critic. The notion of location is understood by the author as a particular, restricted, time‑spatial reservoir of meanings, perceived in a broader perspective, that is as a component of a larger whole. The location of tradition is a segment and stage concerning a problem residuum of meanings in culture and history, as well as in the history of thought, which has been located in the space of individual biography of Kościałkowska, constructed with an old hand of the writer and placed as a component of diagnoses in her contemporaneity. The research material includes manuscripts (notebooks with memories and other types of autobiographical archives), deposited in the Lithuanian State Historical Archives in Vilnius (Lietuvos Valstybės Istorijos Archyvas). The author shows various ways of conducting dialogue by the critic with the old tradition (history, politics, culture, portraits of people, literature, art, family history) and the meaning of the location of tradition in the process of recording oneself and one’s contemporaneity by Kościałkowska.

The purpose of this paper is the analysis of the shortest songs from Jan Kochanowski’s collection Pieśni. These include a petrarchist Pieśń II 21, and above all, four horatian‑origin works Pieśń: I 11 (Stronisz przede mną, Neto nietykana), II 7 (Słońce pali, a ziemia idzie w popiół prawie), II 16 (Nic po tych zbytnich potrawach…) and II 23 (Nie zawżdy, piękna Zofija…). Following a short review of previous attempts at classifying Kochanowski’s Pieśni, which were made by Polish scholars, as well as considering other options of categorising lyrical songs, the author indicated the contexts of particular works, described their rhetorics and emphasised the mastery of the poet, which is manifested through the construction of such sophisticated forms. A song, under Kochanowski’s pen, became a brief but comprehensive genre. It comprised solemnity and joy, elegiac mood and frivolous joke.

The following paper is dedicated to the topic of biblical motifs in Francesco Petrarca’s letters, which belong to an ubi leones sphere in historical literary research both in Poland and the whole of Europe. If we are to believe the modest and critical confessions made by Petrarca in his writings, the author of Canzoniere was rather slow in realising the importance of an in‑depth study of the Bible, and he regarded the awareness of this ignorance as gross negligence (damnosa tarditas), which made him blind for the inestimable value of the holy books. References to various biblical passus and pericopes in Familiares and Seniles are rarely used by Petrarca as purely elocutive ornaments or testimonies of his erudition, more frequently playing the role in the area of inventionis of an epistolary structure. From among all the biblical books, Petrarca most frequently and most willingly reached in his letters for The Book of Psalms, which he used (like Saint Augustine) in a very specific argumentation as an authoritative testimony of sapiential character. Biblical characters and motifs, as well as ‘winged words’, derived from prophetic books, the Gospels and Saint Paul’s letters are often found in Petrarca’s letters, which are deeply imbued with thoughts on ultimate matters, painful struggles with one’s own weaknesses, and a dramatical relationship between man and God.

This paper presents the period of artistic activity of Waldemar Krygier in Nowa Huta. Krygier was a director and manager of the Ludowy Theatre from 1971–1974 and before that time he founded a famous student’s theatre, Studio 38, and also cooperated with Jerzy Grotowski. The author briefly analyses those performances by Krygier which became interesting for theatre critics, especially Biesy – his greatest theatrical achievement. As a manager and director, he ambitiously searched for the repertoire. During his term, the stage Nurt 71 was created – an interesting niche initiative.

Lidia Zamkow, a great individual in the theatre, a hero of numerous press arguments in the 60s and 70s of the 20th century, is mainly remembered as a shocking stage arranger with innovative ideas. Classics (Sophocles, Euripides, Shakespeare, Gorki, Dostoyevsky, Wyspiański) and contemporary period (Wiszniewski, Kafka, Brecht, Durrenmatt, Mrożek), were crucial for her achievements as a director. However, she was underappreciated as an actress with a few brilliant roles. Little did one realize how great her influence was on actorship, both as a director and an actress. This paper is an attempt at filling this gap; the author discusses some statements, which could be regarded as Zamkow’s aesthetic credo; she describes the characters played by Zamkow (especially Medea from the performance in the Kameralny Theatre); different critical opinions, as well as fragments of letters from the artist to actors, which show her skills. She was a rebellious, but curious and meticulous observer of Brecht’s work. By modifying the rules of epic play, she worked out her own methods of building roles. Distance and expression, elements of realism and symbolism, irony and pathos created in them a harmonious combination, against the contrasts which separated them.

Artistic activity at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries resulted not only in the development of literature and art, but also functional art and crafts, e.g. graphics and book decoration. Apart from artistic press, it was clearly visible in the phenomenon of the so-called beautiful book. The most distinguished artists of that period: Stanisław Wyspiański, Jan Bukowski, Antoni Procajłowicz – designed covers, vignettes and decorations of the best-known literary works. Lucjan Rydel, who found himself among those artists, was a friend of Wyspiański and cooperated with him, which meant that their first joint works heralded the discussed phenomenon at the Vistula River. This big event was the publication of Rydel’s translation of Iliada with the pictures and illustrations by Wyspiański, who also decorated Rydels’ volumes of poetry, using floral motifs, which were typical in his later work. Also other artists in their ornaments have tried to refer to the motifs which were dominant in Rydel’s works. Thanks to this practice, some editions of dramas (1902, designed by A. Procajłowicz) and Bajka o Kasi i królewiczu (1904, designed by S. Dębicki) should be regarded as the most renowned works of the ‘beautiful book’ trend, not only in Poland, but also in East-Central Europe. This paper focuses on the most representative ‘beautiful books’, based on Lucjan Rydel’s works from the period 1896–1911.

The paper presents an early literary critical reception of 'Zygmunt August', a trilogy by Lucjan Rydel. The analysis includes, above all, reviews whose subject is a literary work as whole, rather than its particular sections. It has been proven that critical remarks on Rydel’s work could be included in the discussion on the possibilities and needs of the Polish historical drama. The most essential problems of the text revolve around the difficulties connected with finding the right assessment and description criteria of Rydel’s work by professional readers. They were situated either against the pattern of national drama, or it was qualified as a popular drama. Some crucial discrepancies related to ‘measure,’ according to which Rydel’s work should be evaluated, also appeared, depending on whether it was treated as a drama or ‘performance.’

Three one-act plays – 'The Elevator', 'The Rebellion' and 'The Freud' – written by Wiesław Gorecki are analysed in the paper. These plays were premiered in 1934 by a theatre group Mikroscena, founded by Tadeusz Kudliński. In my opinion, Wiesław Gorecki’s dramas are examples of modern aesthetics (as defined by Richard Sheppard). We can read these works as a poetic drama ('The Elevator'), the Ibsenesque psychological theatre ('The Fraud') and a game with scenic illusion in the style of Pirandello ('The Rebellion'). Finally, I created a new term for Goreckis’ plays: 'miniature, light and bourgeois modernism'.

This paper is dedicated to the theatrical novel by Tadeusz Kudliński 'Świętokradca' (1947), in which a fictional dialogue between the author of the novel and the performance concept of Shakespeare’s 'Hamlet' by Juliusz Osterwa is being held. Analysis of the novel, in which a metatextual frame is included as well, is confronted with earlier considerations of Wanda Świątkowska, who had conducted a close analysis of Juliusz Osterwa’s 'Hamlet', considering his personal and professional relationship with Tadeusz Kudliński, too. The novel 'Świętokradca' released in the year of Osterwa’s death, not only provides another interpretation of Hamlet, but also makes an attempt to combine both Kudliński’s and Osterwa’s concepts.

The article is an attempt at analysing ‘Falcon’ hymns dated to the period before 1918. Some research difficulties (lack of research papers, chronological expansiveness, or mass culture affiliation) have been pointed out. Not only the role of a song-book is highlighted (in its numerous editions), but also other forms of those publications (i.e. in the Gymnastic Hand- book ”Falcon”), as well as the activity of impressive music societies in that period. Questions are asked about: the role and aim of those hymns; connections with the ideology of the Gymnastic Society ‘Falcon’; connections with national hymns, or the type of affiliation. The author mentions numerous examples of hyms, which have been present in Polish music tradition ever since.

The first part of the paper is dedicated to Wincenty Pol’s occasional poems, dedicated to poets and poetry, and on that basis, it is possible to reconstruct the author’s perception of the situation of poets and poetry, as well as their role in society deprived of political identity. The second area of discussion are Pol’s works, which are addressed to scholars and, at the same time, emphasise the significance of their activity for the spiritual condition of the Poles, and indicate the originality of the poet’s (and an active researcher’s) reflections in relation to individual and collective research initiatives.

The paper is dedicated to two soldiers’ songs from the second half of 1917, written in the atmosphere of rebellion of the Polish Legions against the Central Powers. The turning point in the history of Polish military units during the First World War, which was caused by the so-called Oath crisis, for the demilitarised and interned soldiers, was the time of fighting by means of word, rather than weapon. However, they manifested their pride and perseverance of the Polish soldier, using mockery. Occasional poetic works – Dziadowska pieśń żałobna o odwrocie legionów spod Warszawy and Santa Lucia – shaped the independence ethos on the basis of a solid foundation of folklore and literary tradition (using e.g. the convention of ‘a beggar’s song’ and ‘a news story’). Arrogance and an ironic attitude, expressed in songs, conceal the real tragic situation of the soldiers – who were deprived of the chance to serve the Nation for being disobedient towards the German army. Szczypiorno and Beniaminów – places to which they were interned – are elevated to the rank of symbols of defiance and contempt for the invaders and constitute a significant element of the legend surrounding Piłsudski’s Legions.

The following paper is a recollection of a series of articles by Tadeusz Kudliński, published in ”Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny” (1936–37). “Teatralne mielizny” were very popular with readers, especially young playwrights, supported by the critic. The articles written by the Cracow „teatrał” (theatre man) aroused a heated discussion in the press, and the initiative to create Studio 39 can be regarded as its aftermath. Contrary to previous assurances concerning the final conclusion of the ”sandback” dispute, Kudliński took up the topic again nine months after the publication of the last part of the series, and his text “Przemówił dziad do obrazu” provoked the response by Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński. Thus, the whole discussion on the articles, as well as the theatre initiative brought to life by their soul, ends with three polemical texts, published in press, whose main character has, unexpectedly, become the hero of an old Polish proverb.

This paper is an attempt at interpreting Wincenty Pol’s poetry, popularised in the form songs. Like most Romantic writers, the author of Pieśń o ziemi naszej regarded music as a unique dis-cipline of asemantic art, i.e. the one which goes beyond popular means of communication and capturing reality in a much deeper way than linguistic articulation. He believed that music is capable of expressing the essence of irrational and abstract phenomena: idealism, spirituality and transcendence; but – as a Romantic writer – he was also aware that art should, above all, reflect emotions accompanying human existence: love, loneliness, closeness, separation, suffering, joy and tears - as an emotional reaction to being moved. Some of his poems were included in Polish culture thanks to compositions by Fryderyk Chopin (performed, among others, by Delfina Potocka), Ignacy Komorowski, Julian Kapliński, Bolesław Dembiński, Adam Mũnchheimer and other composers. The popularity of those songs is the evidence that both folklore inspirations and accompanying historical circumstances recorded them in the na-tional song-book. They represent a typical model of ‘Romantic thinking’ and prove that the ‘Lied’ genre is treated as a return to the origins of culture, thus being an excellent example of lyrical miniatures, which can be fully interpreted by means of vocal realisation.

The paper presents the work of Jan Lorentowicz Polska pieśń niepodległa, published before Poland regained its independence (fragments published in 1915/1916 (no. 1–2), a separate publication of the whole – 1917). This work is among those texts written by Lorentowicz which have been forgotten. Nevertheless, it is the evidence of the critic’s erudition, literateness and passion for patriotic poetry, as well as a depiction of social mood during the Great War. According to Lorentowicz, an independence song is inspired by collective experiences – of servitude, conspiracy and national liberation uprisings – shared by subsequent generations of Polish poets and poetry readers. It is a testimony of an ‘irrepressible’ Polish spirit, the faith of the nation in regaining independence and existing against all odds; it is also a record of its fight and martyrdom.

“Cyganie polscy” and “Cyganie na Polskich drogach”. Comparing three editions of Jerzy Ficowski’s book The paper attempts at comparing three editions of Jerzy Ficowski’s book: “Cyganie polscy” and “Cyganie na Polskich drogach” (published in 1965 and 1985). The main focus of the analysis is differences in the content of all three editions. Three main areas of content changes were identified: content removed, editing and stylistic changes, and content added (supplemented). Polish-Roma dictionary found in each edition was also analyzed. Key words: Gypsies; J. Ficowski; Cyganie na Polskich drogach; comparison;

The onymic world in the Andrzej Sapkowski’s saga of the Witcher, translated into Italian Abstract The paper presents the results of the analysis of the names in Italian translation of AndrzejSapkowski’s fantasy saga series about The Witcher, and the video game inspired by it. The author of the article distinguishes tendencies in the applied translation mechanismsappropriate for the literary and video game space. He discusses the representative rangesof names associated with characters, places, and other objects individually identified in TheWitcher’s story. He also details the motivation for the translation and unsuccessful choicesthat affect some of the translations of The Witcher’s onymy into Italian. Keywords: Andrzej Sapkowski, fantasy, The Witcher, onymy, literary onomastics, translation

Italy in perspective of Dickens and the 19th century Polish writers Abstract The paper analyzes the way Italy is presented in Dickens’, Kremer’s and Kraszewski’stravelogues and works. They sometimes construct their image of Italy from differentperspectives applying various types of texts and stylistic devices. Special attention was givento similarities and differences between three images of Italy in the 19th century literature.Theoretical aspects of Grand Tour and Dickens’ travel to Italy are shortly discussed. Keywords: Pictures from Italy, Charles Dickens, Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, Józef Kremer,travelogues, pictures of Italy

Finding the “common language of fire”: Jerzy Ficowski on Jewish mysticism (prolegomena) This article is an attempt to outline the relationship between the work of Jerzy Ficowski and the Jewish mystical thought that was brought in this paper to a kabbalistic element – a synthesis of components considered basic for two great currents of the non-orthodox Judaism: Kabbalah and Hasidism. At the level of content they consist of the motifs of the Book, Word and Letter, Angels and Light, the messianic topos of the Just, cosmogonic and eschatological myths, as well as specific, non-linear recognition of time – which are strongly present in the poetry of the author of the Regions of the Great Heresy. At the level of structure there are noticeable the emanation model and the duality of language and imagination, of matter and spirituality – diametrically different elements, yet gravitating toward the ultimate unity. The text, containing references to translation and “Schulzian” output of Jerzy Ficowski, is focused on his poetry and is an introduction to its aspectual monograph. Key words: contemporary Polish poetry; Jerzy Ficowski; Jewish mysticism; Kabbalah; Hasidism;

Warsaw Uprising and Durchgangslager 121 in Pruszków as seen by deported citizens. Individual experiences vs contemporary public history Warsaw Uprising 70th anniversary is a time to remember that the events which took place in 1944 should be considered in full context, without skipping any aspects. So far forgotten were the civilians of the Warsaw uprising and what happened to them; however their fate did not stop at the signing of capitulation. What people mainly remember from the Warsaw uprising is Durchgangslager 121 in Pruszków, the transition camp to which all the inhabitants of the burning capital city were sent. This paper presents and analyzes sample protocols, relationships, testimonies, memories and documented and archived diaries since August 1944 to today. The image emerging from them, even though the facts, people and events concur, isn’t a homogeneous one. It’s composed of many bits of memories – individual memories, collective memory, childhood memories, or the memories of the residents of particular neighborhoods in Warsaw. What characterizes these documents? When did they appear? What makes war narratives created over the period of 70 years different? How is the third generation’s contemporary collective memory being shaped? The attempt to answer these questions is the starting point for future large-scale interdisciplinary researches. Key words: The Warsaw uprising; deportation of the people of Warsaw; transition camp Durchgangslager (Dulag) 121 in Pruszków; historical memory; war memories;

Lexemes "war", "battle" and their use in the modern russian language The notion of “war” plays a crucial role in Russian linguistic worldview. On the basis of the material analyzed, one can observe that the concept of “war” represents a complex mental product which is reflected in various types of linguistic units. The purpose of cognitive interpretation of “war” is presenting how the conceptualizer formulates such a fragment of reality. Semantic fields of the analyzed concept as used in everyday contexts constitute the theme of the paper. Material used was extracted from Russian dictionaries with explainations and confronted with everyday use of given lexis in war literature and periodicals. In recent years, the notion of Chechen War became strongly lexicalized. One can observe certain regularities conntected with describing the concept. The neutral lexeme “war” in specific conditions is subsituted with a softer linguistic sign of “battle”. The latter may have positive connotations if we consider righteous cause and ultimate values. Key words: war; fight; conceptualization; concept; lexem; lingwistic picture of the world;