Tragizm historii – tragizm człowieka. O „Demostenesie” Tadeusza Konczyńskiego
The Tragedy of History, the Tragedy of Man. On Tadeusz Konczyński’s “Demosthenes”

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this article is to present the importance of Indian inspirations in “Sita. Indyjski hymn miłości” (“Sita. The Indian Hymn of Love”) written by one of the most influential artists of Young Poland: Jan Kasprowicz. Sita was written on the basis of excerpts from “Ramayana” that were known in Poland at the end of nineteenth century, and thus it includes only some episodes described in the Indian epic. These episodes were reworked according to the aesthetic tendencies of Polish modernism. Such creative re-working of “Ramayana” has resulted in an original work, combining seemingly incompatible elements from two very different cultures. Sita has so far been read in one way only: as a drama about the redemptive power of love. This article argues that Kasprowicz’s drama has a much more pessimistic ending than it might appear at first.The article concerns the issue of tragedy of “Demosthenes”, a drama by Tadeusz Konczyński. The research consists in the analysis of the fate of the main character as an implementation of tragedy circumscribed in a specific vision of the past, as well as the issue of aesthetic implementation of tragedy. Further deliberations concern the implementation of the concept of the tragic hero, as well as the personal dimension of history. The category of the sublime and its position between ethics and aesthetics, as well as the role of myth in the process of universalising the past are reflected upon. The observations allow us to consider Konczyński’s work as the reconciliation of the Young Poland’s idea on historical drama with the tradition of ancient tragedy.

• Details
• Contents