Powtórzenia i powroty : o dramaturgii Janusza Głowackiego

Abstract

This volume constitutes a monograph on the dramatic works of Janusz Głowacki, which discusses the author in the context of the history of drama in the 20th century, including references to the literary and theatrical traditions of the earlier centuries. The analysis and interpretation emphasise repetition as the primary category which characterises Głowacki’s poetics as well as his perception of the outside world. The first part of the monograph, entitled In the Net of Convention, describes Głowacki as a master of the dramatic and theatrical conventions, who uses forms widely recognised by the audiences and draws abundantly from popular literature as well as adapts his own works for different media. Towards the end of this part, the author discusses parody regarded as “differentiating repetition” which appears to manifest in Głowacki’s works in many different forms and on many different levels, as the author maintains a dialogue with other texts for more than the sole purpose of ridiculing the original. The second part of the monograph, entitled Literature and Identity, constitutes a reflection on four plays by Głowacki and is based upon two principles: firstly, the analysis regards intertextual poetics as Głowacki’s epistemology of sorts, which, through intertextual references to the canon of European drama, describes the contemporary milieu of the author with great precision and irony; secondly, the study validates a reading of Głowacki’s texts which assumes that they present a reflection on the nature of a fractured, wounded identity, both with regard to the dramatis personae as well as the “traces” of the author, hidden within his characters. The monograph, therefore, constitutes a study of the dramatic works of a famous writer whose works have served as the basis for numerous plays and films.