The article makes an attempt to redefi ne the scope and kind of inspirations exerted by F.R. Chateaubriand’s René on the works of Juliusz Słowacki. The author analyzes Słowacki’s literary dialogue with the French poet’s work in his output from 1832–1835: An Hour of Thought, Kordian, Horsztyński. She also enters a polemic with Władysław Folkierski’s thesis on the Renéic origin of the Arab.