"Bo na tym świecie Śmierć wszystko zmiecie..." : tragiczny wymiar maskarad w wybranych utworach literatury romantyzmu

Abstract

According to Mikhail Bakhtin, in Romanticism the ludic element of the mask blurs. The mask gains a number of new meanings, at the same time losing its associations with rebirth, characteristic of folk culture, and acquiring a new, gloomy expression. This article traces this gloomy and tragic aspect of masquerades as presented in Romanic literature. The analysis is based on three texts: Mikhail Lermontov’s Masquerade, Juliusz Słowacki’s Jan Bielecki and Antoni Malczewski’s Maria. The motif of masquerade, present in all three works, is discussed both from the perspective of the theory of literature and with reference to the cultural contexts of the mask.