Kult początku a fascynacje wieku dojrzałego w literaturze i muzyce

Abstract

The late style is notoriously difficult to define, since for some creators, it correlates with the final period of their artistic activity, while for others, it begins much earlier. However, in both cases, it comes to signify artistic maturity and the mastering of a certain “grammar of creation,” discussed by George Steiner in his book. This philosopher and literary critic, who was also an expert on music, made numerous attempts at discussing “the dusk of the artistic endeavour” before arriving at the conclusion that what is crucial is the “cult of the beginning,” the first notes of “the grammar of creation,” which function as an overture, marking the beginning of the work. It appears, then, that it is precisely in the “incipit” that the promise of the conclusion is located. The mature age can also manifest in the author’s mastery of their artistic craft. The article includes numerous examples of fascination with the late style in poetry (William Shakespeare, John Donne, William Blake, Reiner Maria Rilke, James Joyce, Seamus Heaney, Gerard Manley Hopkins), as well as music and art (Roger Scruton, George Steiner, James Joyce). Zbigniew Herbert, Alfred Tennyson or William Butler Yeats.