„Myślałem, że padnę…” – piękno czy ironia? O poemacie „W Szwajcarii” Juliusza Słowackiego
“Methought I would die…” – beauty or irony? On “In Switzerland”, a Poem by Juliusz Słowacki

Summary/Abstract: The article handles the appearances of the motif of insects and bugs in Adam Mickiewicz’s “Dziady” (“The Forefathers”). The term “bug”, no longer used in contemporary animal taxonomy, is in this case meant to be understood both literally and figuratively. Therefore the “protagonists” of the article are not just “nameless” bugs or insects, devoid of typological and species affiliation, as such are not found in Mickiewicz’s work, but rather examples of specific animal species, particularly insects (e.g. furniture beetle, fireflies), frequently referred to by the heroes as “bugs”. The article demonstrates the axiological motivation for the insects’ presence in the play. The insects “participate” in the game between good and evil, truth and falsehood, freedom and dependence. They indicate the value of affection, love, suffering, defiance, and servility.Among Polish scholars Juliusz Słowacki’s “In Switzerland” has a reputation of a poem that is somewhat sentimental and trivial, at times even kitschy. This is due to the fact that the analysis has so far focused on the contents of the poem. However, the analysis of its linguistic layer allows us to put forward new conclusions and prove the presence of irony. It manifests itself, among others, in the rich intertextuality of the piece, the presence of disillusionment, a sort of naïve imagery. The poem is a work of contrasts, which can only be demonstrated through meticulous poetological analysis.

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