"Ja" Świetlickiego

Abstract

The book presents interrelations among Marcin Świetlicki’s works, which focus on three main themes: authenticity, romanticism and (ir)religiousness. The author does not address final versions of the poet’s works exclusively, but she analyses first editions of his particular collections. The individual volumes and poems distinguish senses, figures and categories which may be combined into a coherent whole. In the first chapter, poems published originally in three volumes: Cold Countries: poems of 1980–1990 [Zimne kraje: wiersze 1980–1990] (1992), Cold Countries 2 (1995), Cold Countries 3 (1997) were subjected to analysis. Modifications introduced by Świetlicki in these poems, the poems’ new sense and evolving programme were also addressed in the book. In the second chapter, the emphasis is put on references to the Romantic period that interweave poems of the author of Schism [Schizma]. It is also a reminiscence, continuation and completion of the formerly expressed criticism. In this chapter, the writings of the author of Third Half [Trzecia połowa] were interpreted in the contexts of: metamorphosis of the lyrical “I” (a deserted lover); love (sensual and romantic) as well as phantom, spectre and living ghost figures. In the third part of the book, Świetlicki’s (ir)religiousness is pondered upon. The title of this chapter illustrates the poet’s difficulty in determining his attitude towards religious and transcendental values. In this poetry, religion is rather of ordinary nature, often contradicting the existence of any sanctity. The sacred exists only in the profane sphere. This chapter leads to the last part of the book which revolves around the image of „God Almighty” – silent, presenting his silence in various forms – emerging from Świetlicki’s poems. All the thematic fields are concatenated by the common title: Świetlicki’s lyrical “I”. Through interpretation, the book catalogues and organises various aspects and indentities of the lyrical “I” that emerge from the poems of the author of Cold Countries. The lyrical “I” is often multiplied, riven, immersed in being incomplete, being constantly on the way – not stopping and thus, not being able to define himself, to determine his one, definite and solid “I”.