Crippled song. Ręka by Bolesław Leśmian within the context of expressionistic poetry

Abstract

The analysis of Leśmian’s poem Ręka (from the collection of poems entitled Łąka, 1920) leads to distinguishing certain features of the poem that make a connection of the poem with literary expressionism feasible. The above similarities can be testified not only by distinct macabre motifs but also a very peculiar way the narrator constructs his narrative that can be concluded as an attempt at establishing a particular bond between the protagonist and the reader. Works written by the Poznań based expressionists Stanisław Kubicki and Józef Wittlin provide the appropriate context for the poem