MELANCHOLIA, STARSZA SIOSTRA DEPRESJI, W UJĘCIU DIACHRONICZNYM: HISTORYCZNYM I WSPÓŁCZESNYM
MELANCHOLIA ('MELANCHOLY'), DEPRESSION'S OLDER SISTER: A DIACHRONIC PERSPECTIVE ON ITS HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND PRESENT-DAY USAGE
Author(s): Radosław PawelecSubject(s): History of ideas, Semantics, Polish Literature
Published by: Dom Wydawniczy ELIPSA
Keywords: melancholia ('melancholy') - depresja ('depression') - history of Polish language - evolution of concepts - Romanticism;
Summary/Abstract: This article explores the semantic evolution of the word melancholia ('melancholy') in the Polish language. Early studies of melancholy were predominantly medical in character, though they also exhibited a degree of interdisciplinarity. From the 19th century onwards, cultural and literary associations began to develop, accompanied by cognitive and aesthetic values, such as an expanded notion of 'seeing with the heart' and of beauty. In contemporary usage, melancholia functions only to a limited extent as a medical term, having largely been replaced by the broader and more precisely defined term depresja ('depression'). At the same time, melancholia has retained its primarily cultural dimension, along with strong literary connotations.
Journal: Poradnik Językowy
- Issue Year: 2026
- Issue No: 03
- Page Range: 75-99
- Page Count: 25
- Language: Polish
