The Character and the Language. Based on the Example of Gustaw from the IVth Part of Adam Mickiewicz’s „Dziady”
Teresa Skubalanka
Abstract
The author deals with the analysis oflanguage phenomena which depend on the semi[1]otic roles played in the fourth part ofDziady by the main character ofthe work - Gustaw. He is a personality composed of various elements, which show their nature in the text in diverse ways, following the convention ofromantic poetics, particularly typical for a po[1]etic novel. The construction ofthe hero mirrors four main semiotic roles: those of a her[1]mit, a lover, a madman and a ghost. According to J. Kleiner it is only the role of a lover that is not a mask, a costume. The author ofthe article associates that function with the hermit, known from sentimental works. The juncture of the other roles determines the novel character of the drama, though the role of the lover seems really dominant. Due to its love themes, the style of Mickiewicz’s poetry includes many elements that are typical for Polish poetry in general, which come from the European cultural tradition. The work contains numerous comparisons serving as examples showing the historical continuity oflove vocabulary and phraseology. Linguistic links ofthe fourth part ofDzi[1]ady and erotic poetry tradition lie in the conceptual (connotational) fields oflove, inno[1]cence, ties, unity, service, lovers, unearthly beings, female beauty, kiss, parting, death, suicide, feelings that accompany love, symbolic gestures and intensification. When cre[1]ating the love language ofthe drama, the poet used the achievements ofhis predecessors in a selective manner. Thus, for example, the intensity ofthe feeling is characterised by the names of gestures and actions, and not just by an appropriate selection of epithets. The feelings depicted are also presented in a changing and graded manner. The alterna[1]tion of Gustaw’s utterances is one ofthe most typical features ofthe narrative in that part ofDziady. Gustaw’s madness has particularly strong influence on the linguistic shape of the work. The feature involves delexicalizations and dephraseologizations of e.g. the ex[1]pressions traditionally associated with the phraseology ofthe fire oflove. The most hid[1]den is the semiotic role of Gustaw as the ghost. Only the children, acting as a sort of a chorus commenting the character and actions of the hero, immediately recognise that role, which is so important for the ambiguous, mysterious cognitive structure ofMick[1]iewicz’s work.
Authors
Teresa SkubalankaStatistics
Downloads
License
1. Copyrights to published works are held by the University of Opole (to the collective work) and the Authors (to individual parts of the collective work that have an independent meaning).
2. Only previously undistributed works can be published in the scientific journal "Stylistics".
3. The University of Opole does not restrict the possibility of the author's further dissemination of his work on condition that the scientific journal "Stylistics" is indicated as the original place of publication and the consent of the University Publishing House.
4. Consent to the publication of the work in the scientific journal "Stylistics" is tantamount to granting the author a non-exclusive license to the University of Opole, including the right to use the work without territorial restrictions and time limits in the following fields of exploitation:
a) within the scope of recording and multiplication of the work - production of any number of copies of the work in whole or in part using a specified technique, including printing, reprography, magnetic recording and digital technique, introduction of the work into computer memory and computer networks,
b) within the scope of circulation of the original or copies on which the work has been recorded - circulation, lending or hiring of the original or copies,
c) within the scope of dissemination of the work in a manner other than specified in item 2 - making the work or its abstract available on the Internet by enabling the recipients to access the work on-line or enabling them to download the work to their own device that makes it possible to read it, placing the work in electronic databases that disseminate scientific works, including in particular the CEEOL database (Central and Eastern Online Libray) and the abstract in English in the CEJSH database (The Central Europaen Journal of Social Scienes and Humanites).
d) within the scope of creating and distributing dependent works created using the work - using them in the fields of exploitation specified in points 1-3.
5. The author is not entitled to compensation for granting the license to the work.
6. The author agrees that the University may grant further permission to use the work (sublicense) in the fields of exploitation specified in par. 2 paragraph 4.
7. The author agrees that, in connection with the distribution of the work, his or her personal information, that is, name, affiliation, and e-mail address, may be made public.
Most read articles by the same author(s)
- Teresa Skubalanka, Pragmatic conversational markers , Stylistyka: Vol. 25 (2016): Gajda i stylistyka
- TERESA SKUBALANKA, Język graffiti , Stylistyka: Vol. 8 (1999): Styl i gatunek - Стиль и жанр - Style and Genre
- Teresa Skubalanka, Antropomorfizacja w poetyckich opisach przyrody , Stylistyka: Vol. 18 (2009): Styl i kreatywność - Style and Creativity
- Teresa Skubalanka, Language Style of Zbigniew Herbert's Poetry , Stylistyka: Vol. 17 (2008): Znaczenie i styl
- Teresa Skubalanka, Allusion , Stylistyka: Vol. 15 (2006): Styl i kultura
- Teresa Skubalanka, Love Code Elements in the Lyrics of Halina Poświatowska , Stylistyka: Vol. 19 (2010): Style a media
- Teresa Skubalanka, Kategorie stylistyczne , Stylistyka: Vol. 16 (2007): Styl i czas - Style and Time
- Teresa Skubalanka, O gramatyce stylistycznej , Stylistyka: Vol. 21 (2012): Styl narodowy
- Teresa Skubalanka, O kilku problemach stylistyki historycznej , Stylistyka: Vol. 14 (2005): Stylistyka i Kożyna - Stylistics and Kozhina
- Teresa Skubalanka, Semantyka nastroju , Stylistyka: Vol. 20 (2011): Integracja w stylistyce - Integration in Stylistics