Cykl urbanistyczny w poezji pozytywistycznej

Abstract

The article is a survey of Polish lyrical 'urban cycles' written in the second half of the 19th century. The dominant genres within this category may be divided into 'minimal' and 'short' cycles exploiting varieties of motives. The urban theme mirrors social, existential, cultural and national problems. The emergence of the genre was determined by rapid development of the press, especially in Warsaw. It was not only a medium between poetry and its readers, but also a workplace for the majority of urban poets. The most prominent of the urban poets of the period are Aleksander Michaux and Wiktor Gomulicki. Michaux is the author of the first Polish poetic urban cycle ('Cobble Photos') published in 'Kurier Warszawski' in 1869. Wiktor Gomulicki is known for the greatest number of urban cycles. The quantity of the urban cyeles in Poland corresponds with their high artistic value.