World-creating. Solar and lunar motifs in children’s poetry by Jerzy Ficowski Cover Image

Światostwórstwo. Motywy solarne i lunarne w dziecięcej poezji Jerzego Ficowskiego
World-creating. Solar and lunar motifs in children’s poetry by Jerzy Ficowski

Author(s): Joanna Armatowska
Subject(s): Customs / Folklore, Studies of Literature, Polish Literature, Sociology of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Komisji Edukacji Narodowej w Krakowie
Keywords: About Swaróg Swarożyc; children’s poetry; children’s imagination; Slavonic mythology; proto-Slavicism; sun; moon;

Summary/Abstract: The subject of inquiries in this sketch is an ancient Slavonic fairy tale About Swaróg Swarożyc by Jerzy Ficowski – a work directed to the youngest readers, which the author describes as a theogonical poem. It launches two main interpretative contexts. The first is the specifics of children’s literature, in particular the role of the child as an active recipient of poetry in which the metaphor gains an advantage over morality. The second one – a look at Ficowski’s childhood artwork of solar and lunar motifs through the prism of pre-Slavic beliefs. In the mythological Slavonic pantheon, it was the mentioned in the title Swaróg, the god of the sun and the fire, who occupied the highest position, at the same time ruling life-giving force and deadly power. The author shows how this heterogeneous, dissonant world of the poet reveals a subjective approach to children, treating them as an equal literary readers.

  • Issue Year: 2016
  • Issue No: 16
  • Page Range: 240-249
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: Polish
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