"I pusto – smutno – tęskno – jak gdy szczęście minie” [”Empty – sad – homesick – when hapiness is gone”]. On comparisons in Maria [Mary] by Antoni Malczewski (a formal structure)

Joanna Ścibek

Uniwersytet w Białymstoku

Abstract

The poetic novel "Maria" [Mary] by Antoni Malczewski published in 1825 is an outstanding work which, according to some researchers, could initialize Polish Romantic literature on equal terms with two volumes of Poezje [Poems] by Adam Mickiewicz. An unquestionable value of Mary is its author’s mature artistic workshop revealed, among others, in a skillful use of linguistic and stylistic devices. The subject of this article is a description of non-graded comparative constructions occurring in A. Malczewski’s poem that are based on cultural associations. A formal side of these clues has been analyzed. The first part of the text depicts a degree of comparisons’ density in the work’s linguistic tissue, their distribution in the narration and dialogues and monologues as well as the dependence between linear extension of comparisons and the volume of the text occupied by them. Whereas the second part of the article is focused on the discussion of the structure of comparative constructions and their grammar characteristics.

Keywords:

"Maria" [Mary], Antoni Malczewski, comparison, formal structure, style