O antologizowaniu w drugiej połowie XIX wieku (na marginesie antologii Władysława Bełzy)
On Anthologizing in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century: In the Margin of Władysław Bełza’s Anthologies

Summary/Abstract: The paper presents the condition of anthology in Poland in the second half of the 19th century. The author analyses the understanding of the role of an anthologist and the dependencies between the shape of the 19th-century anthology and sociopolitical conditions which imposed patriotic and educational responsibilities on literature and its publishers. The consequence of this approach was, among others, the fact that an anthology fell into the category of books setting general standards with an assigned role of ‘an auxiliary collection for the history of literature’ which explains the historical and literary processes by means of literary texts complemented by appropriate remarks. The approach followed by Władysław Bełza realised a model where anthology reinforced the sense of national affiliation by indicating the works, which were crucial in the Polish culture. Moreover, it familiarised the reader with the history and promoted the program of Polish positivists, e.g. the policy of assimilation of Jewish minority in Poland. The actual practice surpassed the theoretical awareness of the genre, which at that time was rather poor. When publishing anthologies, Bełza faced dilemmas which other anthologists experienced as well − firstly, he selected the main criterion according to which he organized the whole, and then the authors and texts. Despite being an anthologist, he did not comment his choices or the role he attributed to anthology, yet his contribution to the development of anthology market in Poland as well as the studies of the phenomenon of anthologizing seems invaluable.

• Details
• Contents