Wojny z oddali : "W imię Ojca" Kazimierza Wierzyńskiego

Abstract

In the article Wars from Afar. “W imię Ojca” by Kazimierz Wierzyński the poem — written by the poet in exile — undergoes an in-depth analysis and interpretation. In the initial part of his deliberation, the author of the article examines semantic possibilities of W imię Ojca [In the Name of the Father] — restitution of tradition, reinterpretation of symbols, intertextual contexts. The poem turns out to be the poet’s bitter settlement with the romantic manner of poetizing, historiosophical interpretation of the order of history, and an array of archaic characters. However, in his poem of prayerlike character, Wierzyński shows the way to discovering good solutions that can lead along three routes: the land variant — the American dream of an expatriate; the history variant — an affirmative reiteration of Józef Piłsudski’s poetical phrases; the religion variant — kenosis as solace. The author of Krzyże i miecze [Crosses and Swords] treads these routes and returns to the sources of peace, soothes his mind and emotions, which at the beginning of the text were brought by him to the highest registers of bitterness, despair, and melancholy.