Mickiewicz w szkole klasycznej?

Abstract

Adam Mickiewicz made his debut many times between 1817 and 1822: as a poem-writer and reviewer among the Philomaths; as a poet, critic, and a philologist for the literary audience. His first poetic book marks the date of exceptional importance in the history of Polish literature. This article is devoted to Zima miejska (City Winter), Mickiewicz’s press debut. The poem proved to be a considerable challenge even for prominent interpreters of Mickiewicz’s work (Borowy, Skwarczyńska, Kubacki or Zgorzelski). The scientific tradition consequently resulted in numerous divergent interpretations. The reading convention proposed here departs from the didactic understanding of the poem or from perceiving it as an “stylistic exercise” or a moral tale, to which the subject of the poem remains fully neutral. Mickiewicz uses a sophisticated game of subjects in his debut: a mask of parody, sarcasm, taunting and mockery, but avoids moralizing. The analysis of the way tradition functions in a literary piece (Wolter, Trembecki) calls into question the aesthetic and period-marking term coined by Wacław Borowy, namely “Mickiewicz in the classical school.” Mickiewicz had a short episode in the school of Voltaire, but ever since his literary debut he had been the master creating his own original poetic expression.