What is Pijaństwo by Ignacy Krasicki about? Cover Image

O czym jest Pijaństwo Ignacego Krasickiego?
What is Pijaństwo by Ignacy Krasicki about?

Author(s): Roman Dąbrowski
Subject(s): Literary Texts
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: satire; drunkenness; dialogue; monologue; comedy; rhetorics; language

Summary/Abstract: The article makes an attempt to show various options of interpretation of Ignacy Krasicki’s satirePijaństwo [Drunkenness]. The point of departure is a thorough analysis of the work, leading us to a conclusion that it has a many-sided sense. It concerns not only the eponymous phenomenon of abuse of spiritsbut also a psychological mechanism of justification of our own behaviours considered as negative, as well as the ineffectiveness of persuasion. It turns out that the characters indialogue actually deliver separate monologues, and the poet does not identify himself clearly with any of them, as he does not accept authoritative moralizing which takes heed neitherofspecific circumstances of the criticized phenomenon nor of the receiver’s viewpoint and opinions. An importantrole in the satire under discussion is also played by the category of comedy. The article also shows the relationship between the subject matter of Pijaństwo and the entire cycle of satiresby Krasicki, as well as some of his other works (particularly fables).

  • Issue Year: 11/2014
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 1-14
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: Polish