The librettos of Moniuszko’s operas and the European literary tradition: a comparative perspective on the opposition between serious drama and comedy

The aim of this study is to indicate several features of serious drama and comedy proper to Moniuszko’s operatic output and to describe them within the context of European points of reference (Pierre de Beaumarchais, Alfred de Musset, Jane Austen, Italian librettists). The network of generic and intertextual relationships shows that an important feature of Moniuszko librettos is not their supposed closure within the circle of national inspiration, but on the contrary – a seemingly insatiable openness to the most valuable areas of foreign legacies. The consistent comparison of comic and serious works in a single study also reveals an affinity between the issues at the heart of Moniuszko’s musical dramas, regardless of the tone of particular works. Moniuszko’s oeuvre, both in its comical and serious aspects, reflects, in different ways, one of the themes that has recurred in Europe after cataclysms, such as the holy wars of the Renaissance, the French Revolution (or the Partitions of Poland during the same period) and the conflicts of the twentieth century. One issue at the core of Polish opera turns out to be the disintegration of the social order and the transition to its opposite – the sudden or gradual, but ineluctable movement from harmony to confusion and violence-filled chaos. Halka and The Pariahforge models of a community based on the exploitation of the weak by the strong. Highlighted are instances of individuals refusing to conform to the anti-order. In the comic variant of Moniuszko’s output, meanwhile (The Haunted Manor, The Countess), the relationship between the order and its contradiction takes on the form of an unjustified renouncing of communal values. At the same time, the comparison between serious and comical works refutes the thesis that Moniuszko was an unequivocal eulogist of an ethics based on the unconditional belonging to a national community

“The Words of My Mouth Shall They Be, Yet the Will of the Greeks”. A Representation of the “Diplomatic Mission” in Act III of Troas by Łukasz Górnicki

The study is an analysis and interpretation of a scene from Łukasz Górnicki’s tragedy Troas (1589), a translation of Seneca’s Troades. A comparison to the original as well as the description of changes introduced by the translator serve to capture a special phenomenon of emphasising the analogy between Ulysses’s and a diplomat’s activity. Starting with the main character’s first line, the words: “durae minister sortis” were translated as “Ja, co poselstwo niosę”. The analysis of this issue shows that the role of Ulysses (who does not negotiate with a representative of a sovereign country, but with a captive woman) cannot be equated with the role of an ambassador. Conversely, it combines in itself the features characteristic of diplomatic staff of various ranks, including characters operating on the edge of the law. The consilium ascribed to Ulysses enables to explore the secret of Andromacha by observing physical symptoms of emotions. This makes it possible for Górnicki to define the main character’s ingenuity as “dowcip odwrócony na nice” which, irrespective of Seneca’s original, refers to the terminology used earlier in Dworzanin polski, where dowcip (wit) is the equivalent of ingegno. Among the ethical elements of Ulysses’s speeches one should name, above all, his desire to convince Andromacha to accept the Greek’s line of argumentation. This, in turn, provides good framework for parallelism with the New Testament (Lk 2:35). The last part of the work, devoted to pathos, addresses the problem of a mismatch between the role of Ulysses and diplomacy codes in Górnicki’s times. The main character does not limit himself to conducting well thought-out negotiations, but he also uses direct violence. Similar dissonance in character construction seems to make the representation of diplomatic practices in Górnicki’s translation a problematic task, given the socio-political tensions in Europe in the second half of sixteenth century

Pierre Dalicourt i Sekret opóźniania starości (1668). Zarys lektury w kontekście translatio studii [Pierre Dalicourt and Le secret de retarder la vieillesse (1668). Prolegomena to the lecture in the context of translatio studii]

In this article, an attempt is made to describe the way of ancient text elements in Frenchlanguage medical writing, prior to the publication of Dalicourt’s work. It enables to reconstruct three channels of antique medical knowledge transfer: physiological thought reflection (whose important documents in France are: the treatise On old age by Pierre du Lauriers and the textbook of surgery by Ambroise Paré), philosophical thought (Christian Neostoicism inspired by works of Seneca, Erasmus and Lipsius) and theology (which combines Judeo-Christian motifs with Greek-Roman ones through the Bible exegesis). Further, at the end of the work, a political dimension of Dalicourt’s discussion is signalled. The author, who dedicates his text to the chancellor Pierre Séguier, makes in a way reference to the antique discussions on gerontocracy

Adaptation strategies of Cornelian tragedies in the classical movement in Poland (18th and 19th century)

The study discusses general rules of transforming Pierre Corneille’s texts in the transposition process, so as to fit the linguistic and cultural context of Polish classicism. The analysis concerns translations and adaptations following the first reception period of Corneille’s works in seventeenth-century Poland. These include: “Otto” by Stanisław Konarski, “Herakliusz” by Tomasz Aleksandrowicz from the years 1744-1749 (the second Polish reception period of Corneille’s works), “Cynna” by Franciszek Godlewski, as well as “Cynna” and “Horacjusze” by Ludwik Osiński from the years 1802-1808 (the third reception period). In the 18th century, the strategy of emphasizing didactic elements of texts is dominant. In 19th century, the authors strengthen suspense and the element of surprise; Aleksandrowicz uses prose and Osiński simplifies classical rhetoric. All of the translators share the ambition of enriching the Polish language and creating the tragic canon.41212513911Studia Romanica Posnaniensi

Le personnage théâtral dans les approches « poétique » et « pratique » du texte dramatique à l'époque classique en France

The idea of the dramatis persona posited by the first French theatre theorists of the Richelieu circle, Jean Chapelain and Jules de la Mesnardiere, emerges as a quite literał implementation of the Aristotelian concepts unfolded in the sixth and fifteenth chapter of his Poetics. In a later period, the third of the aforementioned group of authors, François Hédelin d’Aubignac, dismisses the Aristotelian categories, erecting his theory upon the elements adopted from the Roman theory of rhetoric. The analysis of the Persona in classical drama theory allows to reconstruct the relation between these two 17th century dramatic approaches. The former is the traditional perspective relying on the postulations of the Aristotelian theory. The latter, which is a practical grasp, is new to the 17th century’s dramatic mindset, and was formulated by abbé d’Aubignac. Whereas the axis of poetics is the structural analysis of a work of art, it is the functioning of that work of art in the theatrical process of communication between the stage and the audience that remains the core interest of the practical approach. In this process, the rhetorical effect of presence of the dramatis persona should by created in the imagination of the spectator-auditor. The subject of analysis is common to both perspectives and the discrepancies concem merely aspects of its description. Therefore poetics and practice are neither competitive nor mutually exclusive, but can both legitimately coexist in the description of the very same work of art.The idea of the dramatis persona posited by the first French theatre theorists of the Richelieu circle, Jean Chapelain and Jules de la Mesnardiere, emerges as a quite literał implementation of the Aristotelian concepts unfolded in the sixth and fifteenth chapter of his Poetics. In a later period, the third of the aforementioned group of authors, François Hédelin d’Aubignac, dismisses the Aristotelian categories, erecting his theory upon the elements adopted from the Roman theory of rhetoric. The analysis of the Persona in classical drama theory allows to reconstruct the relation between these two 17th century dramatic approaches. The former is the traditional perspective relying on the postulations of the Aristotelian theory. The latter, which is a practical grasp, is new to the 17th century’s dramatic mindset, and was formulated by abbé d’Aubignac. Whereas the axis of poetics is the structural analysis of a work of art, it is the functioning of that work of art in the theatrical process of communication between the stage and the audience that remains the core interest of the practical approach. In this process, the rhetorical effect of presence of the dramatis persona should by created in the imagination of the spectator-auditor. The subject of analysis is common to both perspectives and the discrepancies concem merely aspects of its description. Therefore poetics and practice are neither competitive nor mutually exclusive, but can both legitimately coexist in the description of the very same work of art

La Pitié (1803) et La Conversation (1812) de Jacques Delille par rapport aux recherches sur la voix humaine et la parole

The studies of Jacques Delille’s work put an emphasis on the relations between a group of poetic texts (L’homme des champs, L’Imagination, Les Trois Règnes de la nature) and their scientific intertexts. The aim of this paper is to study the scientific connotations of lesser known poems, stressing the problem of the physiological and anatomical reflections on the human voice and the speech. Is there a relation between Delille’s observations on the voice (La Pitié, p. 40, 151-152 ; La Conversation, p. 141-142, 146-147) and the terminology used by physicians or philosophers of his time? What is the impact of Rousseau’s Essai sur l’origine des langues on Delille? Is it inspiring to use the medical distinction between the physiology and the pathology to understand Delilles’s conception of the human voice?The studies of Jacques Delille’s work put an emphasis on the relations between a group of poetic texts (L’homme des champs, L’Imagination, Les Trois Règnes de la nature) and their scientific intertexts. The aim of this paper is to study the scientific connotations of lesser known poems, stressing the problem of the physiological and anatomical reflections on the human voice and the speech. Is there a relation between Delille’s observations on the voice (La Pitié, p. 40, 151-152 ; La Conversation, p. 141-142, 146-147) and the terminology used by physicians or philosophers of his time? What is the impact of Rousseau’s Essai sur l’origine des langues on Delille? Is it inspiring to use the medical distinction between the physiology and the pathology to understand Delilles’s conception of the human voice

Le cosmopolitisme et l’étrangéisation : Anna Nakwaska (1781-1851) et les géographies de la littérature polonaise d’expression francophone

The studies on Polish francophone literature put an emphasis on a selected group of authors (Potocki, Mickiewicz, Krasiński) and on some literary genres (diary and travelogue). The aim of this paper is to study the work of a lesser-known feminine writer, Anna Nakwaska, member of cosmopolitan literary milieu and author of several short stories and novels, written in French. Applying selected concepts of spatial literary studies, the first part of the article proposes to perceive the publishing strategies of Nakwaska as a tool for introducing Polish feminine literature in a broader European context. In the second place, the study of some Nakwaska’s short stories show her interest for a literary presentation of several geographical problems, including demography (put in the context of antisemitism) and regional ecology. The use of Polish toponymy brings a foreignization of the francophone fiction.The studies on Polish francophone literature put an emphasis on a selected group of authors (Potocki, Mickiewicz, Krasiński) and on some literary genres (diary and travelogue). The aim of this paper is to study the work of a lesser-known feminine writer, Anna Nakwaska, member of cosmopolitan literary milieu and author of several short stories and novels, written in French. Applying selected concepts of spatial literary studies, the first part of the article proposes to perceive the publishing strategies of Nakwaska as a tool for introducing Polish feminine literature in a broader European context. In the second place, the study of some Nakwaska’s short stories show her interest for a literary presentation of several geographical problems, including demography (put in the context of antisemitism) and regional ecology. The use of Polish toponymy brings a foreignization of the francophone fiction

Językowe obrazowanie w klasycystycznej poetyce dramatu we Francji na przykładzie Praktyki teatru François Hédelina d'Aubignac (1657)

The Linguistic Imaging in the Classical Poetics of Drama in France Illustrated with an Example of La Pratique du Théâtre by François Hédelin d’Aubignac (1657)Linguistic imaging in old literature is the subject of many studies, among which we list books recently released in Poland by Barbara Niebelska-Rajca (“Enargeia” i “energeia” w teoriach literackich renesansu i baroku, Warszawa 2012) or by Roman Krzywy (Wędrówki z Mnemosyne: stadium o topice dawnego podróżopisarstwa, Warszawa 2013). These studies, however, either gloss over the problem of linguistic imaging in drama, or treat drama as a marginal province of this phenomenon. Among texts devoted to drama and theatre (e.g. Françoise Siguret, L’Oeil surpris, Paris 1993; Emmanuelle Hénin, Ut pictura teatrum, Genève 2003), relatively little space is dedicated to the question of how drama theoreticians look upon linguistic imaging. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to fill this gap in the research to date. It presents an analysis of those parts of La Pratique du Théâtre (Paris 1657), a treatise by François Hédelin d’Aubignac (1604–1676), that concern description and imaging. The first part of the paper focuses on showing the tension intrinsic to d’Aubignac’s reflection on the place of descriptions in drama. While this 17th-century theoretician calls for permeating the text of a drama with utterances of a descriptive character, he also warns against excessive elaboration of such parts, as they could harm the dramatic action. The aim of further parts of the study is to reconstruct the basic ways of relieving this tension as proposed in La Pratique du Théâtre. In the second part of the paper, the author distinguishes three fundamental forms of imaging words discussed in d’Aubignac’s treatise: narration, description and pathetic speech. They appear to be three paradigmatic structures that focus on a broader spectrum of issues related to linguistic imaging in classical drama. At the same time, the theoretician’s reflection contains a distinct valorization of conciseness, thanks to which a limited number of short utterances perform as many functions as possible (namely, they are a description of a thing or event, and convey an expression of emotions at the same time). Further in the paper, the author concentrates on how to put together dramatic descriptions and a character’s mental life. Embedded both in a situation as well as in a character’s mind state, and expressed using appropriate linguistic figures, images have several functions: not only does their pictorial dimension allow the audience to reconstruct certain elements of the narrative world, but they also express the characters’ emotions and thoughts, thus facilitating understanding of the dramatis personae and plot. In this, d’Aubignac combines his reflection on dramatic description with some aspects of the rhetorical theory of figures, also elaborated on in La Pratique du Théâtre. Following Cicero and Quintilian, d’Aubignac says that figures have an expressive function too. Their presence in the descriptive parts of drama is, therefore, inscribed in the strategy of creating a character. Regardless of its specific function, the illustrative ability of dramatic language comes from the rhetorical theory of evidentia. To support this hypothesis the author analyses analogies between part of La Pratique du Théâtre containing a description of a ransacked city, and a fragment of Institutio oratoria, where a similar image illustrates Quintilian’s deliberations on evidentia. Dramatic texts must simultaneously comply with rhetorical criteria (they must convey enough information about various circumstances of the action) as well as dramatic criteria (they must be concise and embedded in the characters’ mental lives). Hence achieving a technically spotless merger of descriptive parts into the tissue of a drama seems to be nearly impossible. This proves that, despite its normative character, one of the fundamental assumptions of classical theory of drama is the acceptance of tiny compositional imperfections, given that they appear in a structure whose general silhouette remains in keeping with the requirement of rational poetics

Carotenoid Accumulation by Carrot Storage Roots in Relation to Nitrogen Fertilization Level

The accumulation of carotenoid compounds in carrot (Daucus carota L.) roots of five cultivars, in relation to different nitrogen fertilization levels was investigated. The experiment was carried out at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences. Carrot cultivars ‘Karotan’ F1, ‘Trafford’ F1, ‘Krakow’ F1, ‘Komarno’ F1 and ‘HY 7842’ were used in the study. Nitrogen fertilization was applied as urea form, in doses ranging from 0 to 120 kg N ha–1, and on two terms: pre-sowing and in the middle of the growing season. The carrot seeds were sown at the beginning of May and the roots were harvested in mid-October at maturity. Total carotenoids and β-carotene contents in the carrot roots were determined after the harvest by means of the standard spectrophotometric method. CIE L*a*b* colour parameters of the roots and the juice, as well as dry matter in the roots were determined. Results of the experiment showed that carotenoid accumulation in the roots was significantly affected by carrot genotype. ‘HY7842’ carrot showed the highest accumulation of total carotenoids and β-carotene. Nitrogen in the rates applied, did not significantly influence carotenoid content in the roots. Moderate correlation between carotenoid content and colour a* parameter (redness intensity) of the roots and the juice was found

«The Bourgeois Gentleman», or the Aestheticisation of Social Frustration and Its Transhistorical Applications (1670–2022)

Artykuł dotyczy komedii Molière’a Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (Mieszczanin szlachcicem) z 1670 roku i wybranych aspektów jej dramatoznawczej i artystycznej recepcji. Tok wywodu organizują dwa zagadnienia: możliwości interpretacji społecznych sensów utworu i wyzwania poetyki comédie-ballet dla tłumaczy i inscenizatorów. Autor przedstawia stan badań nad tematyzowanym w Mieszczaninie obrazem niemożliwego awansu klasowego i wskazuje nowy kierunek interpretacji tego problemu, odwołując się do kategorii zaczerpniętych z socjologicznej teorii Pierre’a Bourdieu. Omawia także sposoby podejścia do charakterystycznych dla tej sztuki strukturalnych elementów komediobaletu w jej adaptacjach, tłumaczeniach i inscenizacjach (teatr stanisławowski, Jerzy Gruza, Jerzy Stuhr, Benjamin Lazar). Stawia tezę, że oba wątki ujęte w perspektywie transhistorycznej ilustrują to samo zjawisko: w dotychczasowej pracy interpretacyjnej i praktykach scenicznych narosłych wokół Mieszczanina szlachcicem aktualność odkrywana jest nie poprzez uwspółcześnienia czy wydobywanie nowych sensów, ale dzięki refleksji nad historycznymi uwarunkowaniami kultury czasów Molière’a.This article concerns Molière’s 1670 comedy Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (The Bourgeois Gentleman) and selected aspects of its scholarly and artistic reception. The argument is organised around two problems: the possibility of interpreting the social meanings of the work and the challenges that comédie-ballet poetics poses to translators and theater-makers. The author presents an overview of research on the image of impossible class advancement as thematized in The Bourgeois Gentleman and indicates a new interpretive direction, referring to categories drawn from the sociological theory of Pierre Bourdieu. He also discusses how the structural elements of comédie-ballet characteristic of Molière’s play have been approached in its Polish adaptations, translations, and stagings (18th-century court theater, Jerzy Gruza, Jerzy Stuhr, Benjamin Lazar). He argues that taken from a transhistorical perspective, both the interpretative work and stage practices concerning The Bourgeois Gentleman illustrate the same phenomenon: the play’s relevance is discovered not through modernization or revealing new meanings, but rather thanks to a reflection on the historical conditions of culture in Molière’s time