L’opposizione Pirandelliana Vita–Forma in Żeglarz di Jerzy Szaniawski
The Pirandellian opposition between life and form in The Sailor by Jerzy Szaniawski

Summary/Abstract: The Sailor, one of the more important works of Jerzy Szaniawski, has been regarded by the critics as dealing with the issues of truth and legend. The aim of the paper is to present a new interpretation of the play and to show that the key problem addressed by the playwright is the conflict between Form and Life, which is considered by numerous critics to be the quintessence of the so-called philosophy of Luigi Pirandello. The similarities between the theatres of both playwrights have been frequently, albeit in rather general terms, pinpointed by critics. Therefore, it is worth examining The Sailor in the context of works by the Sicilian author. The study indicates that Szaniawski’s play contains numerous elements vital in Pirandello’s works, such as: the problem of the relativity of truth, the impossibility to define a human personality, the confinement of an individual into a form as a consequence of judgements by others, and – most importantly – the conflict between Form and Life, and their mutual relations, all of which let us claim that The Sailor is close to Pirandello’s works.

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