Obraz industrialnej Anglii w poemacie Tomasza Augusta Olizarowskiego Duch Byrona w Westminsterze

Abstract

The article provides an interpretation of the poem by Tomasz August Olizarowski, entitled Duch Byrona w Westminsterze [The Ghost of Byron in Westminster], that was published in 1843, during the poet’s stay in London. The inspiration for the poem was the fact that the bust of Lord Byron was not accepted to be placed at the Poets’ Corner in Westminster. This event became the pretext for a lyrical homage to the master of T.A.O. that Byron was, alongside Mickiewicz, but also for an extremely critical judgment of industrial England. The work is written in form of a monologue of the ghost of Lord Byron who visits the Westminster Abbey, addressed to the contemporaries. The romantic ideas of freedom, equality, and love, postulated by the author of Giaour, are confronted with the world of the Western civilization, which is driven only by money, business, and greed. Ultimately, the author presents a horrifying image not only of the capital city of the Empire, but of the whole England as a place that is soulless, hypocritical, and full of hubris. In the subsequent years, Olizarowski will support his opinion about the West that was outlined in the poem. This is proven by his late work of 1866, entitled Car-dziewica. Powieść tatarska [The Virgin Tzar. A Tartarian Novel].