Od katastrofizmu do pesymizmu. Śmierć i sacrum w poezji Stanisława Piętaka

Abstract

Stanisław Piętak’s poems are full of sadness and dark feelings. Poet was under the influence of the atmosphere of time between two world wars, which was reflected in Polish literature, especially as the catastrophism. Fatalistic conception of human fate in his poetry rises from influence of Romanticism and Decadence, too. On the other hand, Piętak was eradicated from his folk heritage. Arcadia of childhood seems irretrievably lost; that’s why poet was demonstrating nostalgia for death more and more. However, Piętak belonged to the informal poetry group around Józef Czechowicz, young poet was under the great influence of his master’s works. In Piętak’s poems appeared obsession of death, typical for their literature way of presentation of reality and revealing non-material sphere. Pietak’s poetry is searching of sacrum and absent God. His lyrics and poems are a testimony to premonition of his own death and the quasiapocalyptic destruction of the world and human culture. In the article we make an attempt to explain poetic images of this prophecies with relation to the definition of catastrophism in Polish literature. In the text there are subjected to interpretation some representative poems, in which motifs relating to unreality could be found, for example: images of sky, symbolic representation of colours and flowers, guests from the other world, etc. Piętak’s supplementary notes and commentaries were used to prove author’s spiritual condition over consecutive periods of his life and work. Analyses of selected poems from three last volumes of poetry show an evolution of Piętak’s philosophy of literature.