Maciej Nawrocki

Itamar Even-Zohar’s theory of polysystems is based on connecting diverse semiotic phenomena (especially texts of culture of specific type) with a network of mutual relationships. By affecting each other, the individual systems created in this process constitute a polysystem – a heterogeneous model of culture, constructed accordingly to its components, with its center and periphery, repertoire and canon. Using this theory, the analysis of various elements of culture allows to build up broad socio-cultural perspectives, which in turn enable precise interpretation of particular texts. The methods offered by Even-Zohar find their use chiefly in describing and explaining cultural phenomena of large scale – the fundamental transformations of polysystems, canonic shifts etc. However, the author of this theory notes the possibility of dividing the systems into smaller, isomorphic particles, within which similar processes may occur. My attempt at the analysis of the influence of William Carlos Williams’ poetry on Julia Hartwig’s works is a result of this possibility; in this essay I try to demonstrate the functionality of the use of the polysystem theory and its concepts in case of a relationship specified in such a way. Through my research I was able to prove that William Carlos Williams’ position in the literary polysystem of Julia Hartwig was dynamic and to distinguish three different turning points, which constitute the overall trajectory of this movement, which I support by using multiple examples from different fields of Hartwig’s literary activity.

The study analyses several selected poetic works by Jan Kunowski (ca. 1592–1654) related to the city of Smolensk and the war between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Muscovy (1632–1634), also referred to as the Smolensk War. Using this case study, the author presents the Smolensk’s place in the political awareness of the contemporary Polish nobility and discusses some themes exploited by modern propaganda devoted to this event.
Having a general sketch of the “myth of Smolensk” (that is the Polish narrative on this city before the war) as the starting point allows a deepened interpretation of Kunowski’s poems concerning the conflict alone, in which the representation of the city and the topics used by the poet change substantially. Thanks to individual interpretations the author exposes characteristic crucial points of the narrative and demonstrates how they work on two levels: of the propaganda and the myth.