Wilk i jego metamorfozy w folklorze polskim

Abstract

As in many cultures from around the world, in Polish culture the wolf has a particular position, visible in its continual and long-standing presence in the huge range of myths, legends, stories, tales, poems, reliefs and images. The trope of the wolf is found in proverbs, adages, language constructions, heraldry and vexillology, which causes the author to propose the thesis that Canis lupus is one of the more interesting loci communes of the common imaginary, where lykos and anthropos meet. In the idea of the wolf the acts of hostility, extermination and fear are linked with respect, awe and fascination. Presenting a synthesis of concepts by many researchers of symbolic and cultural role of the wolf, such as Malinowski, Bystroń, Uspieński, Kopaliński, Bettleheim and Fromm, the author investigates the metamorphosis of the trope in Polish folklore. Analysing folk tales, spells, fairy tales, joke, anecdotes, songs and prayer books, the author demonstrates that the longevity and constant presence of the motif of the wolf comes from its role and function as an ideogram (similarly to the mantis, described by Robert Callois) for the untamed and instinctual side of human nature.