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The article present select theologically relevant statements from the book “Last Testament” of Benedict XVI and comment them in the context of his former theological works. With the reflections on the central place of the faith and on the Office of Peter as well as some eschatological thoughts is won a spiritual and theological testament of the great theologian and pope.
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The 9th issue of the magazine published by the Faculty of Languages, Nicolaus Copernicus University, i.e. “Litteraria Copernicana” is the subject of this review. The issue is entitled “The body in early modern Polish literature”. The informative value of this magazine mostly lies in the fact that early modern Polish literature has begun to be read in a manner that is characteristic of the contemporary humanities which are concerned with this peculiar topic of studies, i.e. the body.
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The author analyzes E.T.A. Hoffmann’s short story “Master Flea”, focusing mainly on the scene of the telescope duel between two biologists: Jan Swammerdam and Anton Leeuwenhoek. This scene triggers reflection on discovering the closeness between humans and insects – a closeness that became possible once man started to question the possibility of being different from animals. Even though Swammerdam equated human beings with insects, he never overcame the limitations of anatomic perception. It was only the generation of Romantics that discovered the similarity of fate between humans and insects – a similarity, as Maurice Maeterlinck called it, of “misery and greatness”. The author traces the evolution in the ways of perceiving insects and writing about them; an evolution which was initiated by Montaigne’s essay “Apology for Raymond Sebond” and later developed by E.T.A. Hoffmann, Henry David Thoreau and Maurice Maeterlinck.
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In contrast to written language, spoken utterances evince a much higher incidence of deictics, indefinite and pseudo-demonstrative pronouns, contact particles (phatic expressions), specific conjunctions and other connectives, interjections, fillers and hesitation sounds. Corpus-based data should make it possible to attempt a new typology of such expressions (of a broad category of “discourse markers”), independent of the traditional categorization of the parts of speech. The research of spoken Czech syntax must take into account these groups of lexical means that are innate to spoken discourse, i.e. this important area where lexis and syntax meet. Such words as the Czech jako, teda, jakoe, jakoby seem to be semantically vague or empty, but they have a special effect on the connectedness and cohesion of spoken discourse. Moreover, the syntax of spoken discourse has to be investigated in terms of its dialogic and processual nature, inevitably respecting the relationships between utterances and dialogue turns; that is why special attention must be given to “small words” employed at the beginning or end of various types of turns. Their participation in the turn-taking mechanismus, as well as other functions, demonstrates that the “small words” in most cases cannot be regarded as redundant expressions, and that they contribute to the style of spoken discourse.
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The article concentrates on the issues of the cycle of illustrations by Elwiro Michał Andriolli in Eliza Orzeszkowa’s Meir Ezofowicz as a work of art of the second half of the 19th century, an excellent inter-semiotic translation of literature into the “image rhetoric”, and an example of a turn in the artistic work style – from romanticism, preferred by the artist, to social realism. Wood engravings were made by the graphic artist with both artistry and kindliness towards the author and the subject matter of the novel. Andriolli’s thorough artistic interpretation fills in the book’s unsaid parts, highlights the meanings that the writer was not allowed to touch upon in the novel because of the censorship, e.g. he showed the centuries-old relationships between the Jews and the Polish in the context of the loss of statehood. In the cycle, the graphic artist recorded the collective portrait of the Jewish community, depicted their cultural richness and internal problems (concerning economy, religion and identity).
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„Mélanges francophones” est la revue du Centre de Recherches en Théorie et Pratique du Discours de l’Université „Dunărea de Jos” de Galaţi, Roumanie. Le 3e et le 4e numéros de cette revue réunissentt, en deux volumes, les Actes de la Conférence annuelle, « Journées de la francophonie », organisée cette fois-ci autour du thème Formes textuelles de la communication : de la production à la réception.
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Rubina looks at the unpredictable and difficult every-day reality of “Russian Israel” in the 90s from the perspective of Jewish tradition, culture and religion. She creates an image full of equal amounts of both comedy, irony and even grotesque and philosophical and religious thoughts. The novel develops the idea of the destiny of the Jewish people and the unity of Jews with their own land. The novel’s characters are not looking for their own identity — they know very well who they are and where they belong. The background of the novel are descriptions of the regional political and religious conflicts as well as realities (including geographical and topographical) of Israel and faithfully reproduced cultural climate.
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Polemicising with Maria A. Potocka’s view, the author reflects on the problem of mask and facial expression in the life and work of S.I. Witkiewicz. They appear here as an expression of philosophy of man, a specific feature of the personality of the author of Szewcy [The Shoemakers] whose whole life, artistic and philosophical activity was marked by “facial expression”. The article also reminds the unusually important texts of Stefan Szuman, Witkacy’s friend, who points to the essence of Witkacy’s portraits. The last question discussed in this article is the problem of ascribing to Witkacy of the authorship of most of the photographs in which he is presented (since they are a documentation of his artistic creations) while actually the authors of these photographs are a dozen or so photographer friends of Witkacy.
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The article is devoted to the relationship between the Sebyła family and music. The text touches upon issues such as the value of music in their everyday life and the presence of various aspects of music in the writings of Sabina and Władysław, dating back primarily to the 1920s and 1930s, but including also the times of the German-Soviet occupation. The source material for these musings on the topic can be found in the poetry of Władysław Sebyła, particularly his Song of the Rat Catcher, as well as his wife’s biographical writings, which serve at the same time as an excellent source of insight into the history of the epoch. These issues are situated within the context of axiology, which has been recently approached by, among others, Pascal Quignard and Zbigniew Herbert, in order to formulate questions regarding the “inhuman” face of music, which emerges in times of social catastrophe.
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The article focuses on the media transformation of literary works. B. Jasieński’s futurist poem Marsz, published in the interwar period in printed form, recently underwent a multimedia adaptation. The author analyzes the mutations the literary text underwent in interpretation and significance when expressed in the new creative forms of contemporary multimedia “language”. The analysis of the formal structure and of several, sometimes small semantic elements, shows the different way of understanding the poem as expressed through new multimedia means. The futurist poem Marsz has been read as an ironical poem, totally contradicting its original literal meaning. The second part of the article examines a digital version of the poem, which again changes its original meaning. At this moment in time, the relationship between the textuality and virtuality of poetry (and literature in general) constitutes the main space where art “happens” and manifests itself. Thus, the discussion over the digital version of Jasieński’s poem leads to some general considerations about contemporary theory of image and its anthropological expressions.
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The present essay is an attempt at an attentive, micrological glance at the poet’sworks, compiled in the volume entitled Wiersze zebrane (Cracow 2006, p. 5–494). The rhetorical figures mentioned in the title concern two syntactic constructions: zeugma – e.g. „czołgi, co łamią śmieszne szlabany i zasady” (sampled in Wiersze zebrane, p. 244), and syllepsis – e.g. the writing on the pub wall: „Piwa i pacierza nie odmawiam”. (M.M. Hurley, D.C. Dennett, R.B. Adams, Jr.: Filozofia dowcipu. Humor jako siła napędowa umysłu. Transl. R. Śmietana. Cracow 2016, p. 233). I come to the conclusion that zeugmas occur already in the first volume of Barańczak (Korekta twarzy [Facial Corrections]), glowing and ruffling (cf. Wiersze, p. 487), up to the last one (Chirurgiczna precyzja [Surgical Precision]). Syllepis is much more infrequent, as it consists in a very sophisticated word‑play (in the aforementioned example‑the ambiguity of the verb „odmawiać” [„to deny”]).I assume that Barańczak’s inspiration – apart from the influence of English metaphysicalpoets translated by him, and also of such great authors like Brodski and Mandelsztam ‑might have been (familiar to him from his early readings), the poem by Miłosz entitled Świty (The Dawns), which begins with such an ambiguous couplet: „Wysoki był dom. W ciemności pełzł (emphasis mine) wielki mur // nad szelest liści u klonów, nad zamęt pośpiesznych nóg”. I think that the young poet was captivated and incited (to action) by the phrase „pełzł wielki mur”, which may signify both the wall fading, going pale (as the night fades away), as well as its moving and crawling. The micrology, therefore, focuses also on words that conceal the abundance of associations, characteristic for the homonyms of the Polish language.
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The article constitutes a commentary on Władysław Sebyła’s Koncert egotyczny (An egotistical Concert. A Meditative Poem). The poet, who assumes a metapoetic stance,expresses the moods as well as the existential and ideological problems of the early 20th century, such as the need for a stable ideology and canon of values. In his attempt to answer the problems of the 20th century man, Sebyła identifies two major cognitive stances: “naming” and “seeking.” “Seeking” becomes for him a certain primary rule of existence and an important element of his creative work at the same time. It could be also understood in terms of a skeptical stance, embodied by the character of Hamlet (and St. Thomas Aquinas).
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The purpose of this thesis is to present, discuss and interpret the thanatological motifs and themes in William Blake’s poem “Vala, or the Four Zoas”, regarded as crucial in understanding his extraordinary vision of the world, the concept of "The Fall" and salvation. The analysis comprises the following ideas and characters of Blake’s mythology: “Eternal Death”, symbolizing dying and the watery kingdom of Tharmas, “ressurection in death”, dissolution of Four Zoas and separation from their female Emanations. The article was enriched with illustrations by William Blake depicting various images of death with the refer-ence to his literary works such as: “For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise” or “Jerusalem. The Emanation of the Giant Albion”.
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Shakespeare appears to be one of the most intensely studied authors exemplifying mutual influence of literature and science. Significantly enough, astronomical references deserve a particular attention due to the spectacular change of paradigm resulting from the replacement of the concept of the geocentric cosmos with the concept of the heliocentric universe. Starting from some general remarks concerning the methodological assumptions of such analyses and the specificity of Shakespeare canon, the paper offers an in-depth study of Anthony and Cleopatra as one of the most representative plays with regard to the number, suggestiveness and interpretative potential of astronomical references. The paper exemplifies the way in which the play combines traditional astronomical and astrological allusions with some unconventional images, usually featuring imaginative hyperboles, which inscribe the fate and feelings of the characters into a cosmic framework. These references repeatedly trigger some fascinating and yet risky interpretations which strive to present Shakespeare as part of the scientific revolution of the age. Refraining from any value judgment, the paper highlights the overall importance of reading Renaissance literature, and Shakespeare in particular, against the background of the history of science in a way which allows for precise identification of contemporary sources of astronomical knowledge as well as for the reconstruction of the actual paths of dissemination of such ideas.
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The main motif of this issue of Schulz/Forum is Schulz’s presence in the world. The author himself made an effort to become known outside the Polish language, however, only after his death artists, translators, critics, and researchers made him a world-famous writer. He became a property of everyone – with all its good and bad consequences.
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In her analysis of Kazimierz Brandys’s novels the author focuses on war and wartime as experience and “non-experience” in the perspective of Polish heroic myth and anti-civilian paradigm. In Polish culture romantic and heroic paradigm has substantial influence on the form of masculinity. Experience in this article is a metaphor, which includes participation in a war as a soldier. “Non-experience” in this perspective situates men on the margins of heroic culture. It further shows limitations of heroic culture and revises heroic tradition.
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The article discusses the functions, meanings and motives of body in Adam Ważyk’s writings, revising the existing convictions about its solely textual character connected with awareness (or imagery) and constructivist nature. Reconstructing this Ważyk’s symbolic figure as based on biographical and memorial contexts, the paper attempts to embody the poet and to show the way in which the theme presence/absence of the body mirror Ważyk’s poetical and literary-critical reflections. The author’s considerations focus on Ważyk’s post-war creativity and its processual character, and aims at presenting somaticity as a vital, though carefully hidden, element in the process of transforming one’s own life into literature.
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