„(…) należy ich wystawiać za wzór do naśladowania”. Postać aktora w Dziejach Teatru Narodowego Wojciecha Bogusławskiego

Abstract

The article discusses the problem of actor as a role model in the Enlightenment. Its purpose is to determine parenetical strategies in texts and statements referring to actors and theatre. The qualities of an actor as a role model are discussed in the context of Old Polish patterns and cultural conventions. The research material is Wojciech Bogusławski’s Dzieje Teatru Narodowego, including twelve biographies of the prominent Polish actors. The memoirs by the former director of the National Theatre are perceived as a text promoting role models, an affirmation of a concrete vision of the theatre and a ‘mirror’ of the life of the actor in the Poland of the Enlightenment period. The actor is seen as a model of patriot and citizen who serves his homeland and cultivates traditional values, which were the qualities promoted in those days. The analysed text shows the changes in the attitudes towards the actor The institutionaliaztion of the theatre and the Classicist theatrical doctrine contributed to the positive evaluation of the actor’s profession.