Instytut Badań Literackich Polskiej Akademii Nauk

(Marian texts of “Songs Sung to Oneself" by Konstancja Benisławska vs. theological and literary tradition)

Year of publication: 2018
Page range: 17 (43-59)
Keywords: Konstancja Benisławska, 'Songs Sung to Oneself', Virgin Mary, theology, Polish Livonia
Author: Kamila Żukowska (University of Łódź)
 

Abstract

The article presents issues of the second part of Pieśni sobie śpiewane (‘Songs Sung to Oneself’), the only poetic volume by Konstancja Benisławska (1747-1806), a poet living in the former Polish Livonia area. I hope to prove that Marian poetry presented by Benisławska is an original phenomenon on the literary map of Poland of those times. Uniqueness of Marian texts of Pieśni sobie śpiewane, collected under the name of Pozdrowienie anielskie na pieśni rozłożone (‘An angel’s greeting divided into songs’), lies in its poetic interpretation of theological discussions of that time and in the original adaptation of Marian literary patterns. As a result, the poet creates a surprising image of Virgin Mary who is shown as an autonomous and causative figure, contrary to the official christocentric perspective in literature and theology.

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