Secrets, epiphanies and ellipses: The uses of silence in William Trevor’s selected stories

This essay discusses three different uses of silence in William Trevor’s short fiction. First of all, it focuses on how silence is deployed on the thematic level of his stories, particularly the ones that depict the estranging effects of secrecy on personal relationships. Second, the essay draws attention to the writer’s exploration of a decidedly more positive aspect of silence in many of his scenes of epiphany. In such scenes, silence is no longer associated with mendacious secrecy; quite the opposite, it becomes a precondition for glimpsing into the truth, allowing Trevor’s characters to experience moments of heightened awareness and insight. Third, the essay looks at how silence also manifests itself on the formal level of the stories, in the ellipses, understatements and gaps that riddle Trevor’s narratives. These three uses of silence − as a motif relating to the larger theme of secrecy and concealment, as an integral component of the scenes of epiphanic insight, and as a shorthand for Trevor’s elliptical narrative technique − are illustrated with examples from stories collected in After Rain (1996) and Cheating at Canasta (2007). Niniejszy artykuł poświęcony jest wykorzystaniu ciszy w opowiadaniach irlandzkiego pisarza Williama Trevora. W części pierwszej analizuje przykłady obsesyjnego wręcz skupienia autora na motywie tajemnicy i przemilczenia. W części drugiej zwraca uwagę na obecność ciszy w licznych u Trevora scenach epifanii. W scenach tych cisza nie kojarzy się już z akłamaniem i skrywanymi sekretami, ale ukazana jest pozytywnie, jako warunek umożliwiający postaciom wgląd w prawdę o sobie lub innych. Część trzecia skupia się z kolei na tych aspektach techniki narracyjnej pisarza, które mają swoje źródło w ciszy: elipsach, niedopowiedzeniach, lukach narracyjnych. Te trzy użycia ciszy − jako motywu związanego z tematem przemilczenia, jako stanowi pozwalającemu bohaterom na doświadczenie epifanii, wreszcie jako formalnemu elementowi narracji − zostaną zilustrowane przykładami z opowiadań opublikowanych w dwóch tomach: After Rain (1996) i Cheating at Canasta (2007)

Przełom czy kontynuacja? Słowacka myśl polityczna po roku 1867

The article focuses on two texts (Jozef Podhradský, The secret history of Pan-Slavism and Michal Miloslav Hodža Vieroslavín), that are located on the periphery of Slovak political thought, but they are a very significant testimony to the intersection of emancipation ideas in the period of dualistic monarchy. These important texts bring a proposal of various solutions to the arrangement of Slovak-Hungarian relations in the new situation after 1867. Unfortunately, one of them was not published at all (written by Hodža in 1867–1870), while the second one, published in Novi Sad in 1868, remained almost unnoticed.They show how close the idea of messianism was to Slovak thinkers at that time. (This particularly applies to M.M. Hodža). Under her influence, they present their visions of Europe and the monarchy. They also show the Slovaks as a chosen nation that will play a decisive role in the revive common Europe.The article focuses on two texts (Jozef Podhradský, The secret history of Pan-Slavism and Michal Miloslav Hodža Vieroslavín), that are located on the periphery of Slovak political thought, but they are a very significant testimony to the intersection of emancipation ideas in the period of dualistic monarchy. These important texts bring a proposal of various solutions to the arrangement of Slovak-Hungarian relations in the new situation after 1867. Unfortunately, one of them was not published at all (written by Hodža in 1867–1870), while the second one, published in Novi Sad in 1868, remained almost unnoticed.They show how close the idea of messianism was to Slovak thinkers at that time. (This particularly applies to M.M. Hodža). Under her influence, they present their visions of Europe and the monarchy. They also show the Slovaks as a chosen nation that will play a decisive role in the revive common Europe

La nation dans les conceptions messianiques de Michal Miloslav Hodža

Dans les années 1930, Milan Pišút (1908-1984) présenta « Slovenské iskrice » (L’étincelle slovaque, 1856), poème jusqu’alors inconnu de Samo Bohdan Hroboň (1820-1894), en le plaçant dans le contexte du messianisme. Le critique et historien de la littérature slovaque de renom voulait ainsi exprimer que le messianisme slovaque loin d’être un « extrémisme poétique » avait en réalité imprégné toute une génération et lui avait fourni un soutien spirituel fondamental à une époque de magyarisation a..

Pole leksykalno-semantyczne nazw kolorów jako obiekt przekładu (na przykładzie utworu „Pan Tadeusz” Adama Mickiewicza i jego tłumaczenia na język rosyjski Światosława Świackiego)

The present article analyzes the translation of the lexical and semantical field of color-naming (on the basis of Adam Mickiewicz’s Pan Tadeusz and its Russian translation by Światosław Świacki). The analysis focuses on the contexts in which the words denoting the semantics of colors function. The lexical and semantic field of color-naming has been characterized and divided into sub-fields (representatives sub-fields for chromatic and achromatic colors have been distiguished as well as the color-naming words have been divided according parts of speech). The main part of the paper  is devoted to the analysis of translating tools used by Światosław Świacki in order  to refelct the semantics of colors in the translation.The present article analyzes the translation of the lexical and semantical field of color-naming (on the basis of Adam Mickiewicz’s Pan Tadeusz and its Russian translation by Światosław Świacki). The analysis focuses on the contexts in which the words denoting the semantics of colors function. The lexical and semantic field of color-naming has been characterized and divided into sub-fields (representatives sub-fields for chromatic and achromatic colors have been distiguished as well as the color-naming words have been divided according parts of speech). The main part of the paper  is devoted to the analysis of translating tools used by Światosław Świacki in order  to refelct the semantics of colors in the translation

Analysis of Destructive Processes in Unloaded Early-age Concrete with the Acoustic Emission Method

AbstractThe study presents the analysis of destructive processes that occur in early-age concrete with the use of the IADP method of acoustic emission signal analysis. The tests were conducted for concrete specimens made with basalt aggregate, which was cured at a constant temperature of 22° C, but were different with respect to cement class, admixtures used and the curing methods. Three classes of AE signals were identified. The signals were generated by destructive processes related mainly to concrete shrinkage due to water evaporation and described as: microcracks at the aggregate – cement paste interface, microcracks in the cement paste, and the formation of microcracks on concrete surface. It was shown that the IADP method could be used to identify and evaluate the destructive processes that develop in early-age concrete

Practices of Planetary Relationality in Colum McCann’s Apeirogon

For a number of critics, what we are witnessing in postmillennial Anglophone fiction is an attempt to do away with postmodern posturings of ironic distance and ethical non-commitment, and a renewed interest in questions of authenticity, empathy, responsibility and solidarity. According to Christian Moraru, one of the keenest chroniclers of contemporary culture, the shift is rooted in an understanding of the world as an interconnected system of relationality, which the critic discusses under the headings of cosmodernism and planetarity. Moraru locates the premise of this evolving cultural project in its ethical call for “a new togetherness, for a solidarity across political, ethnic, racial, religious, and other boundaries” (Cosmodernism 5), but recognizes it as leaving its imprint on the aesthetic and thematic choices made by contemporary authors. The aim of the paper is to analyze Colum McCann’s 2020 novel, Apeirogon, as indebted to this planetary vision of relationality. In particular, my intention is to trace the impact of this mindset on the narrative structure and the imaginary of the novel

Zaplecze inwencyjne Spitamegeranomachii Jana Achacego Kmity

This paper offers a detailed analysis “Spitamegeranomachia” by Jan Achacy Kmita on the backgroundof his work and in the broader context of the inventio-doctrine of the Polish Renaissance.The first Polish mock-heroic poem is presented in the light of the Renaissance receptionof ancient literature, culture of translation in this time period, and historical and political writing.The main inspirations of the poem’s author are presented. They include: “Iliad” by Homeras a model of an epic and the source of the geranomachia motif; Pliny the Elder’s “Historia naturalis”,from which the characteristics of the Pygmies, cranes, and fantastic semi-human creatureswere drawn; and events from Polish history – mostly the Muscovy campaigns of StephenBáthory, which the poet recorded in the poem through numerous allusions

Secret Rooms, Locked Doors and Hidden Stories: Retelling “Bluebeard” as a Holocaust Narrative in Michèle Roberts’s "Ignorance"

One of the most grisly European fairy tales, “Bluebeard” is also a story that has proved immensely productive, spawning numerous variants, adaptations and rewritings. This essay offers a reading of Michèle Roberts’s Ignorance (2012) as one such retelling. Roberts employs “Bluebeard” to construct a story that utilises the format of a dual coming-of-age novel but is gradually revealed as a Holocaust narrative. Set in a provincial town in Vichy France, Ignorance makes repeated use of “Bluebeard” motifs to explore the complicity of individuals in Nazi crimes against their Jewish neighbours. Featuring secret rooms, forbidden chambers, locked doors and embedded narratives, the novel tells the story of Jeanne Nérin as she comes to terms with her Jewish identity and accepts her responsibilities as a Holocaust survivor. This account is complemented by several other stories, the most important of which is that of Jeanne’s childhood companion, Marie-Angèle, whose Bildung ends in emotional and ethical failure. Fascinated with the life of bourgeois comfort and respectability, Marie-Angèle embraces what Nancy Tuana describes as “wilful ignorance,” and becomes increasingly complicit in the acts of injustice, exploitation and crime she witnesses.

„Spitamegeranomachia” Jana Achacego Kmity - edycja księgi pierwszej

The study is an attempt of a contemporary edition of the the first volume of “Spitamegeranomachia” by Jan Achacy Kmita (the second volume in preparation). It is related to the article Zaplecze inwencyjne „Spitamegeranomachii” Jana Achacego Kmity (The base for the ingeniousness of Jan Achacy Kmita’s “Spitamegeranomachia”) which may be regarded as an introduction into the current edition. Published in 1595, “Spitamegeranomachia” is the first Polish heroicomical poem which has been so far republished only once in 1897 in the collection of J. Stoka, M. Pudłowskiego i J.A. Kmity powieści wierszowane 1564–1610 (The verse-written stories by J. Stok, M. Pudłowski and J.A. Kmita (1564-1610). This Edition duplicated certain errors from the original publishing and apart from a glossary it offered no other explanations necessary in the case of a work having such a great number of allusions (paradoxographic, literature-historical and political references). This study aims at preparation of a modern transcription and, first of all, generation of a wider editing comment which would take into account numerous sources of the author’s invention. The issue is comprised of a short introduction, source description (original printing of 1595), critical apparatus and rules of transcription for the whole work, transcription of the dedication poem and the first volume of the narrative poem, as well as further explanations

Spitamegeranomachia Jana Achacego Kmity – edycja księgi drugiej

The study is an attempt of a contemporary edition of the second volume of “Spitamegeranomachia” by Jan Achacy Kmita. The edition of the first volume, also published in the Journal, was comprised of a source description (original printing of 1595), critical apparatus and rules of transcription for the whole work. Both papers are related to the article Zaplecze inwencyjne „Spitamegeranomachii” Jana Achacego Kmity (The base for the ingeniousness of Jan Achacy Kmita’s “Spitamegeranomachia”) which may be regarded as an introduction into the entire edition. The sixteenth-century “Spitamegeranomachia” is the first Polish heroicomical poem which has been so far republished only once in 1897 ( in the collection of J. Stoka, M. Pudłowskiego i J.A.Kmity powieści wierszowane 1564–1610 (The verse-written stories by J. Stok, M. Pudłowski and J.A. Kmita 1564-1610). This Edition duplicated certain errors from the original publishing and apart from a glossary it offered no other explanations necessary in the case of a work having such a great number of allusions (paradoxographic, literature-historical and political references). The study aims at preparation of a modern transcription and, first of all, generation of a wider editing comment which would take into account numerous sources of the author’s invention