Light-sensitivity. Bruno Schulz’s „Sklepy cynamonowe” as a subject of a Polish lesson Cover Image

Światłoczułość. „Sklepy cynamonowe” Brunona Schulza na lekcji języka polskiego
Light-sensitivity. Bruno Schulz’s „Sklepy cynamonowe” as a subject of a Polish lesson

Author(s): Małgorzata Wójcik-Dudek
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Education, Studies of Literature, Polish Literature, Culture and social structure , Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: Kabbala; „Sklepy cynamonowe”; Bruno Schulz; Jewish topics; the motif of light

Summary/Abstract: In the article, the Kabbalistic interpretation by Władysław Panas (contained in his treatise „Księga blasku” ‘The Book of Radiance’) of the titular short story from Bruno Schulz’s „Sklepy cynamonowe” (“The Cinnamon Shops”) was adapted by the author with a view to utilizing it during a Polish lesson. As the author of the article puts forward, the pivotal notion for the short story under analysis is the mysticism of light, the presence of which guarantees the world order. Interpreting “The Cinnamon Shops” in the context of Judaist topics, while leaving aside the contexts suggested by the literary history and biography, allows to indicate other, quite inspiring, interpretive possibilities. The latter convincingly reinforce Schulz’s exceptional place in the canon of Polish literature and, most of all, prove that his oeuvre still requires from the contemporary readers not only the skill of close reading, but also highly developed aesthetic sensitivity.

  • Issue Year: 2017
  • Issue No: 26
  • Page Range: 45-59
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: Polish