Papers by Maria Tarnogórska
Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis. Studia Poetica
Artykuł stanowi analizę praktyk czytelniczych stosowanych przez Wisławę Szymborską w ramach tak z... more Artykuł stanowi analizę praktyk czytelniczych stosowanych przez Wisławę Szymborską w ramach tak zwanych lektur nadobowiązkowych. Zgromadzony w obszernym tomie zbiór książkowych quasi-recenzji reprezentuje twórczość ludyczną, której źródłem jest właściwy poetce – miłośniczce kuriozów i nonsensowego humoru – zmysł dziwności. Celem lektury, obejmującej różnorodne pod względem tematycznym i gatunkowym teksty (podręcznik bukieciarstwa czy popularny poradnik Jak mieszkać wygodniej sąsiaduje tu z Próbami de Montaigne’a czy z Aforyzmami Nietzschego), jest zatem poszukiwanie w nich niezwykłych szczegółów, komicznych paradoksów czy zaskakujących faktów i zdarzeń. Czytaniu Szymborskiej, podporządkowanemu poetyce wyrafinowanej zabawy, wydaje się patronować zarówno idea dawnych gabinetów osobliwości, której odpowiednikiem w przypadku rzeczywistości książkowej staje się swoista, odzwierciedlająca kierunek lektury Bibliotheca Curiosa, jak i Tuwimowska zasada cicer cum caule, określająca podstawę s...
Zagadnienia Rodzajów Literackich, 2019
The aim of this article is to analyze Wisława Szymborska's literary works in order to demonstrate... more The aim of this article is to analyze Wisława Szymborska's literary works in order to demonstrate that her aphoristic style is one of the most striking elements of her texts. Szymborska's style is particularly notable in that it is ironically aphoristic, containing parody of typical aphoristic schemata, paradox and tautology. Through this style, her work not only enriches the traditional repertoire of the genre but seems also to justify an important feature of her writing: its philosophical and intellectual character often discerned by critics. As a consequence, quotes from her oeuvre frequently enter diverse anthologies of 'wise and funny thoughts' and collections of the so-called 'winged' words.
This article focuses on some typically Polish literary contexts fundamental for the intertextual ... more This article focuses on some typically Polish literary contexts fundamental for the intertextual humour of Zielona Gęś (The Green Goose, also known as The Smallest Theater in the World) by K.I. Gałczyński, a writer who helped create a new culture of laughter in post-war Poland. Gałczyński plays with the “sentimental romanticism” which perpetuated in native readers’ imaginations certain characteristic, emotionally marked spatial images, such as a landscape with a nightingale and the moon, as well as related standards of feeling nowadays regarded as emotional kitsch, seen in, for instance, banal lyricism represented by motifs of tears and tender hearts.maria.tarnogó[email protected] Tarnogórska, dr hab., kierownik Zakładu Teorii Literatury w Instytucie Filologii Polskiej Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego. Autorka dwóch monografii: Poemat międzywojenny. Studium z poetyki historycznej gatunku (1997) i Genus ludens. Limeryk w polskiej kulturze literackiej (2012). Główny przedmiot jej aktualn...
Italica Wratislaviensia, 2020
This article presents the comic images of Italy that transpire from Italy's representation in the... more This article presents the comic images of Italy that transpire from Italy's representation in the English-and Polish-language limerick. In accordance with the rules of the genre, Italy becomes a stage for nonsense characters and actions. The outlined literary motifs of Italy, a country normally connoting high civilisation and a historically rich culture, studied in Polish-and English-language authors, confirm the sophisticated nature of the genre, popular in intelligentsia circles. The article focuses on the following four areas: 1. the pioneering role of Edward Lear's A Book of Nonsense (1846), which, for the first time in limerick form, features names of Italian localities as well as the 'Italian' experiences of Lear himself, a landscape painter and English expatriate who was not only enchanted by Italy but was also a sensitive observer of the alien human 'habitat' created by locally cherished customs; 2. a humorously conceived 'map' of Italy to be crafted on the basis of representative collections and anthologies of limericks; 3. historical figures-especially those connected with the proud history of the Roman Empire, whose limerick image is far removed from its official textbook biographies; 4. the presence of contemporary Italian language (associated with musicality and elegance) and classical Latin (associated with high education) in the limerick narration, contrasting with the frequently bawdy content of the verse, which is a source of humour.
Góry, Literatura, Kultura, 2017
Highlander jokes and so-called spirit of the highlandThe aim of this article is to examine the au... more Highlander jokes and so-called spirit of the highlandThe aim of this article is to examine the authenticity of popular ‘highlanders’ jokes’ published in many anthologies of humour as well as in separate dedicated volumes often termed ‘highlanders’ humour’ thus suggesting folkloristic sources of the texts. The analysis of representative examples shows that most jokes are thoroughly fictive constructions profiled as ethnic jokes without authentic origins. The anonymous sources of these jokes create them with two main qualities: 1. the tendency to use puns, black humour or even nonsense humour which contrasts with the rather realistic humour of folkloristic texts; 2. incorporating elements of modern reality such as technical gadgets comically incongruous in the context of the stereotypical image of highlanders’ culture. A true portrait of highlander culture, a quality of authentic folklore, is replaced by purely nominal ethnic characteristics, often added to primarily non- ethnic jok...
Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis. Studia Poetica, 1970
Wirtuozerskie umiejętności Stanisława Barańczaka, o których wielokrotnie pisano, komentując jego ... more Wirtuozerskie umiejętności Stanisława Barańczaka, o których wielokrotnie pisano, komentując jego twórczość literacką i translatorską, znajdują potwierdzenie również w sposobie posługiwania się przez niego dyskursem (quasi)naukowym, konstruowanym na potrzeby intelektualnej zabawy. Osobliwym tego przykładem jest „prywatna teoria gatunków” wyłożona w książce Pegaz zdębiał (I wyd. w 1995 r.), w odniesieniu do której formuła kuglarskiego seansu, oznaczająca pewną odmianę sztuki zręcznościowo- magicznej, stanowić może istotne narzędzie interpretacji. Stosowane przez Barańczaka efektowne techniki oddziaływania na wyobraźnię odbiorcy („żonglowanie” teoretycznymi pomysłami, triki służące budowaniu naukowej iluzji, użycie zaskakujących form obrazowania w charakterze budzących podziw rekwizytów, symulowanie obfitującego w dziwności spektaklu) tworzą atmosferę niezwykłości, typową dla prestidigitatorsko- iluzjonistycznych praktyk.
Zagadnienia Rodzajow Literackich, 2014
This article presents the work of Stanisław Barańczak as a spectacular example of using parody in... more This article presents the work of Stanisław Barańczak as a spectacular example of using parody in modern nonsense literature. In the case of Barańczak, broadly conceived parody turns out to be an omnipresent device that lends a distinctive and original character to his nonsense texts. The author's parodic play is based, on the one hand, on classic nonsense poetry of English literature (Edward Lear), an object of sophisticated rewriting in translation, and on the other hand, on the Polish literary canon easily recognizable by the educated reader. Thanks to this level of intertextuality, nonsense gains an intellectual form as well as an in-joke function. The special domain of Barańczak's work is nonsensical parody of academic discourse resulting in his 'private theory of literary genres' contained in Pegaz zdębiał (1995) and supplemented by a long register of newly invented nonsense genres ('mnemonic paraphrase' such as Hamlet's Soliloquy, its beginning lines successively following alphabetic order to facilitate role learning by actors or 'mankofon', a literary text free from 'difficult' sounds and meant for people with speech impediments). The proliferation and variety of parodic techniques in Barańczak's work leads to the conclusion that the definition of nonsense as a parody of sense finds a convincing confirmation in modern intellectual nonsense, being a remarkable variant of pure humorous intertextuality.
Bookbird: A Journal of International Children's Literature, 2015
This article presents a new phenomenon in the Polish limerick genre based on a geographically spe... more This article presents a new phenomenon in the Polish limerick genre based on a geographically specific topic. The Tatra mountains as a special subject make for a fresh approach to nonsense limericks, giving the genre an ethnic and subcultural background. The Tatra limericks create an odd and funny world inhabited by eccentric highlanders and visited by equally curious climbers and casual tourists. This nonsensical and humorous version of the Tatras stands in stark contrast to the highly romantic literary picture of the region, established and popularized by Romantic and Young Poland poetry.
This article presents and analyses a striking similarity between Zielona Gęś (The Green Goose), a... more This article presents and analyses a striking similarity between Zielona Gęś (The Green Goose), a collection of short plays by Polish poet K. I. Gałczyński, published first in 1946−1950, and the BBC series Monty Python's Flying Circus broadcast in 1969−1974. Although Gałczyński and the British comedy group never met and while they belonged to different generations, they created similar humorous worlds often using the same literary motifs and cultural inspirations. The origin of the 'isomorphic' relation has to do with their similar intellectual backgrounds as well as connections to the English tradition of literary nonsense.
Białostockie Studia Literaturoznawcze
Zarówno zagadnienie przestrzeni komicznej, jak i poddanego komicznym deformacjom świata emocji na... more Zarówno zagadnienie przestrzeni komicznej, jak i poddanego komicznym deformacjom świata emocji należą bez wątpienia do najmniej rozpoznanych obszarów współczesnej refleksji humorologicznej. O ile zatem nietypowy wygląd postaci oraz odbiegający od normy styl jej zachowań traktowane są jako jedne z najbardziej podstawowych źródeł śmieszności, o tyle wykazujący podobne cechy kod przestrzenny, niejednokrotnie w równym stopniu eksponujący gatunkowe cechy przedstawienia, czyli-w tym wypadku-jego komediowy charakter, nie zyskał rangi odrębnego przedmiotu badań, mimo wyraźnych w ostatnich latach postępów poetyki "spacjalnej" 1. Tak zatem dostępna w katalogu bibliotecznym pod obiecującym tytułem Przestrzeń komiczna publikacja Karola Ferstera (pseud. Charlie) 2 to je-1 O popularności tej perspektywy badawczej świadczy cały szereg wydanych w ostatnich latach publikacji, podejmujących różne aspekty przestrzennej organizacji ludzkiego (w tymartystycznego) doświadczenia.
Białostockie Studia Literaturoznawcze
Zarówno zagadnienie przestrzeni komicznej, jak i poddanego komicznym deformacjom świata emocji na... more Zarówno zagadnienie przestrzeni komicznej, jak i poddanego komicznym deformacjom świata emocji należą bez wątpienia do najmniej rozpoznanych obszarów współczesnej refleksji humorologicznej. O ile zatem nietypowy wygląd postaci oraz odbiegający od normy styl jej zachowań traktowane są jako jedne z najbardziej podstawowych źródeł śmieszności, o tyle wykazujący podobne cechy kod przestrzenny, niejednokrotnie w równym stopniu eksponujący gatunkowe cechy przedstawienia, czyli-w tym wypadku-jego komediowy charakter, nie zyskał rangi odrębnego przedmiotu badań, mimo wyraźnych w ostatnich latach postępów poetyki "spacjalnej" 1. Tak zatem dostępna w katalogu bibliotecznym pod obiecującym tytułem Przestrzeń komiczna publikacja Karola Ferstera (pseud. Charlie) 2 to je-1 O popularności tej perspektywy badawczej świadczy cały szereg wydanych w ostatnich latach publikacji, podejmujących różne aspekty przestrzennej organizacji ludzkiego (w tymartystycznego) doświadczenia.
Zagadnienia Rodzajów Literackich, 2014
This article presents the work of Stanisław Barańczak as a spectacular example of using parody in... more This article presents the work of Stanisław Barańczak as a spectacular example of using parody in modern nonsense literature. In the case of Barańczak, broadly conceived parody turns out to be an omnipresent device that lends a distinctive and original character to his nonsense texts. The author's parodic play is based, on the one hand, on classic nonsense poetry of English literature (Edward Lear), an object of sophisticated rewriting in translation, and on the other hand, on the Polish literary canon easily recognizable by the educated reader. Thanks to this level of intertextuality, nonsense gains an intellectual form as well as an in-joke function. The special domain of Barańczak's work is nonsensical parody of academic discourse resulting in his 'private theory of literary genres' contained in Pegaz zdębiał (1995) and supplemented by a long register of newly invented nonsense genres ('mnemonic paraphrase' such as Hamlet's Soliloquy, its beginning lines successively following alphabetic order to facilitate role learning by actors or 'mankofon', a literary text free from 'difficult' sounds and meant for people with speech impediments). The proliferation and variety of parodic techniques in Barańczak's work leads to the conclusion that the definition of nonsense as a parody of sense finds a convincing confirmation in modern intellectual nonsense, being a remarkable variant of pure humorous intertextuality.
Zagadnienia Rodzajów Literackich, 2019
The aim of this article is to analyze Wisława Szymborska's literary works in order to demonstrate... more The aim of this article is to analyze Wisława Szymborska's literary works in order to demonstrate that her aphoristic style is one of the most striking elements of her texts. Szymborska's style is particularly notable in that it is ironically aphoristic, containing parody of typical aphoristic schemata, paradox and tautology. Through this style, her work not only enriches the traditional repertoire of the genre but seems also to justify an important feature of her writing: its philosophical and intellectual character often discerned by critics. As a consequence, quotes from her oeuvre frequently enter diverse anthologies of 'wise and funny thoughts' and collections of the so-called 'winged' words.
Góry - Literatura - Kultura, 2016
The aim of this article is to examine the authenticity of popular ‘highlanders’ jokes’ published ... more The aim of this article is to examine the authenticity of popular ‘highlanders’ jokes’ published in many anthologies of humour as well as in separate dedicated volumes often termed ‘highland-ers’ humour’ thus suggesting folkloristic sources of the texts. The analysis of representative ex-amples shows that most jokes are thoroughly fictive constructions profiled as ethnic jokes without authentic origins. The anonymous sources of these jokes create them with two main qualities: 1.the tendency to use puns, black humour or even nonsense humour which contrasts with the rather realistic humour of folkloristic texts; 2. incorporating elements of modern reality such as technical gadgets comically incongruous in the context of the stereotypical image of highlanders’ culture. A true portrait of highlander culture, a quality of authentic folklore, is replaced by purely nominal ethnic characteristics, often added to primarily non- ethnic jokes, implying that the ethnic joke is more funny than the same joke without such an ethnic characteristic (for instance, a joke about Scottish avarice is deemed more funny than the same joke about a non-descript miser).
Góry - Literatura - Kultura, 2013
This article presents a new phenomenon in the Polish limerick genre based on a geographically spe... more This article presents a new phenomenon in the Polish limerick genre based on a geographically specific topic. The Tatra mountains as a special subject make for a fresh approach to nonsense limericks, giving the genre an ethnic and subcultural background. The Tatra limericks create an odd and funny world inhabited by eccentric highlanders and visited by equally curious climbers and casual tourists. This nonsensical and humorous version of the Tatras stands in stark contrast to the highly romantic literary picture of the region, established and popularized by Romantic and Young Poland poetry.
Zagadnienia Rodzajów Literackich, 2016
This article presents and analyses a striking similarity between Zielona Gęś (The Green Goose), a... more This article presents and analyses a striking similarity between Zielona Gęś (The Green Goose), a collection of short plays by Polish poet K. I. Gałczyński, published first in 1946−1950, and the BBC series Monty Python's Flying Circus broadcast in 1969−1974. Although Gałczyński and the British comedy group never met and while they belonged to different generations, they created similar humorous worlds often using the same literary motifs and cultural inspirations. The origin of the 'isomorphic' relation has to do with their similar intellectual backgrounds as well as connections to the English tradition of literary nonsense.
Italica Wratislaviensia, 2020
This article presents the comic images of Italy that transpire from Italy's representation in the... more This article presents the comic images of Italy that transpire from Italy's representation in the English-and Polish-language limerick. In accordance with the rules of the genre, Italy becomes a stage for nonsense characters and actions. The outlined literary motifs of Italy, a country normally connoting high civilisation and a historically rich culture, studied in Polish-and English-language authors, confirm the sophisticated nature of the genre, popular in intelligentsia circles. The article focuses on the following four areas: 1. the pioneering role of Edward Lear's A Book of Nonsense (1846), which, for the first time in limerick form, features names of Italian localities as well as the 'Italian' experiences of Lear himself, a landscape painter and English expatriate who was not only enchanted by Italy but was also a sensitive observer of the alien human 'habitat' created by locally cherished customs; 2. a humorously conceived 'map' of Italy to be crafted on the basis of representative collections and anthologies of limericks; 3. historical figures-especially those connected with the proud history of the Roman Empire, whose limerick image is far removed from its official textbook biographies; 4. the presence of contemporary Italian language (associated with musicality and elegance) and classical Latin (associated with high education) in the limerick narration, contrasting with the frequently bawdy content of the verse, which is a source of humour.
Białostockie Studia Literaturoznawcze, 2019
This article focuses on some typically Polish literary contexts fundamental for the intertextual ... more This article focuses on some typically Polish literary contexts fundamental for the intertextual humour of Zielona Gęś (The Green Goose, also known as The Smallest Theater in the World) by K.I. Gałczyński, a writer who helped create a new culture of laughter in post-war Poland. Gałczyński plays with the “sentimental romanticism” which perpetuated in native readers’ imaginations certain characteristic, emotionally marked spatial images, such as a landscape with a nightingale and the moon, as well as related standards of feeling nowadays regarded as emotional kitsch, seen in, for instance, banal lyricism represented by motifs of tears and tender hearts.
Books by Maria Tarnogórska
Acta Universitatis Wratislaviensis, 2012
The aim of this monograph is to present the most important generic variants of the limerick in Po... more The aim of this monograph is to present the most important generic variants of the limerick in Polish literature from the 1930s until the beginning of the twenty-first century. While the origins of the genre are English and the genre relies heavily on the English sense of humour — as displayed in the introductory chapters of the book — some Polish writers have created highly original limericks and made this form popular among their reading public.
The history of the limerick in Polish literature begins in the period between the two World Wars with translations of anonymous English limericks by Janusz Minkiewicz published in the humorous-satirical magazine Szpilki. Undoubtedly, the main problem with the generic transfer was that Polish literature did not have this kind of nonsense humour tradition. Probably because of this, the first ‘complete’ Polish limerick collection of Minkiewicz and Julian Tuwim (also announced in Szpilki) — was combined with a nonsensical narrative commentary to heighten the effect of playfulness and resistance to a common sense interpretation. The limerick ‘with a commentary’ can therefore be considered a typical Polish variant of the genre and an attempt to initiate a domestic generic
tradition. In comparison with English limericks, another phenomenon of this tradition turned out to be an enormous wealth of comic rhymes based on the infl ected structure of the Polish language.
The post-war period has shown a sustained interest in the genre, prolifi cally generating various generic styles. The leading position in the process of the assimilation of the genre is occupied by the magazines which not only publish the texts of many limerists, but also familiarize the readers with the kind of humour rooted in the world of nonsense. The literary competitions organized by their editors have established the Polish limerick fi rmly within popular entertainment.
The sources of the originality of Polish limericks are also individual poetics invented by famous authors. They developed their own aesthetics which have a paradigmatic function giving inspiration to other writers. There are three such individual variants:
1. Maciej Słomczyński’s (translator of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) obscene parody of the nonsensical world from Edward Lear’s A Book of Nonsense: decent eccentricity is replaced by odd sexuality. One of the striking characteristics of this generic style is a refined intellectual wit
which provides a marked humorous contrast to the profane subject of the text.
2. Wisława Szymborska’s (Nobel prize winner) vers de société linked to the former tradition of drawing-room literature promoting an elegance of style and formal perfection. Szymborska, known in her private life as a wag and a lover of practical jokes, has inspired the imagination of many limerists and become a comic verse hero.
3. Stanisław Barańczak’s sophisticated version of the limerick which represents a self-conscious stage in the development of the genre. The author, famous as a translator of English and American light verse and professor of literature at the University of California, Berkeley, is the
inventor of many ‘subgenres’ of the limerick which are examples of metaliterary play. A significant feature of Barańczak’s generic style is forced rhymes founded in unusual and exceptionally rare word connections.
A considerable variant of the Polish post-war limerick is also flourishing in academic folklore which has a particularly strong tradition at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Its distinguishing characteristics are a parody of academic discourse and often obscenity as a form of ‘powerful’ expression contrasting with the highly abstract and intellectual speech of science.
In the 1970s the limerick initiated its active presence in children’s magazines. In comparison with Lear’s classic model appealing to children as well as to adults certain Polish texts create an infantile version of the limerick addressed to a narrower audience of children alone. Educational
aims such as learning the alphabet, or themes such as school, or employing a child protagonist are examples of how it has been adapted to the world of young readers.
A separate variant of the genre is satire, with limericks engaged in politics and providing commentaries on current events. Most often they use sarcastic conventional humour and, through an application of nonsense elements, they tend to unmask the absurdity of existing reality.
The final chapter discusses some innovations in the limerick form and topics as observed in the recent period literature. Equipped with characteristics of Internet blog poetics or generic contaminations (such as the clerihew and the rondo) or doing a humorous version of the town legend, they tend to make the genre more dynamic and experiment with its boundaries.
The wide repertoire of limericks in Polish literature and the role of the great Polish writers in starting and establishing this generic tradition demonstrate that humorous verse has grown in Poland into an important branch of literature which resists simple labelling as second class poetry. Masters of limerick invented not only a special kind of language suitable for a ludic and comic purpose, but also contributed significantly to the exploration of the field of nonsense probing it for new literary ideas.
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Papers by Maria Tarnogórska
Books by Maria Tarnogórska
The history of the limerick in Polish literature begins in the period between the two World Wars with translations of anonymous English limericks by Janusz Minkiewicz published in the humorous-satirical magazine Szpilki. Undoubtedly, the main problem with the generic transfer was that Polish literature did not have this kind of nonsense humour tradition. Probably because of this, the first ‘complete’ Polish limerick collection of Minkiewicz and Julian Tuwim (also announced in Szpilki) — was combined with a nonsensical narrative commentary to heighten the effect of playfulness and resistance to a common sense interpretation. The limerick ‘with a commentary’ can therefore be considered a typical Polish variant of the genre and an attempt to initiate a domestic generic
tradition. In comparison with English limericks, another phenomenon of this tradition turned out to be an enormous wealth of comic rhymes based on the infl ected structure of the Polish language.
The post-war period has shown a sustained interest in the genre, prolifi cally generating various generic styles. The leading position in the process of the assimilation of the genre is occupied by the magazines which not only publish the texts of many limerists, but also familiarize the readers with the kind of humour rooted in the world of nonsense. The literary competitions organized by their editors have established the Polish limerick fi rmly within popular entertainment.
The sources of the originality of Polish limericks are also individual poetics invented by famous authors. They developed their own aesthetics which have a paradigmatic function giving inspiration to other writers. There are three such individual variants:
1. Maciej Słomczyński’s (translator of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) obscene parody of the nonsensical world from Edward Lear’s A Book of Nonsense: decent eccentricity is replaced by odd sexuality. One of the striking characteristics of this generic style is a refined intellectual wit
which provides a marked humorous contrast to the profane subject of the text.
2. Wisława Szymborska’s (Nobel prize winner) vers de société linked to the former tradition of drawing-room literature promoting an elegance of style and formal perfection. Szymborska, known in her private life as a wag and a lover of practical jokes, has inspired the imagination of many limerists and become a comic verse hero.
3. Stanisław Barańczak’s sophisticated version of the limerick which represents a self-conscious stage in the development of the genre. The author, famous as a translator of English and American light verse and professor of literature at the University of California, Berkeley, is the
inventor of many ‘subgenres’ of the limerick which are examples of metaliterary play. A significant feature of Barańczak’s generic style is forced rhymes founded in unusual and exceptionally rare word connections.
A considerable variant of the Polish post-war limerick is also flourishing in academic folklore which has a particularly strong tradition at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Its distinguishing characteristics are a parody of academic discourse and often obscenity as a form of ‘powerful’ expression contrasting with the highly abstract and intellectual speech of science.
In the 1970s the limerick initiated its active presence in children’s magazines. In comparison with Lear’s classic model appealing to children as well as to adults certain Polish texts create an infantile version of the limerick addressed to a narrower audience of children alone. Educational
aims such as learning the alphabet, or themes such as school, or employing a child protagonist are examples of how it has been adapted to the world of young readers.
A separate variant of the genre is satire, with limericks engaged in politics and providing commentaries on current events. Most often they use sarcastic conventional humour and, through an application of nonsense elements, they tend to unmask the absurdity of existing reality.
The final chapter discusses some innovations in the limerick form and topics as observed in the recent period literature. Equipped with characteristics of Internet blog poetics or generic contaminations (such as the clerihew and the rondo) or doing a humorous version of the town legend, they tend to make the genre more dynamic and experiment with its boundaries.
The wide repertoire of limericks in Polish literature and the role of the great Polish writers in starting and establishing this generic tradition demonstrate that humorous verse has grown in Poland into an important branch of literature which resists simple labelling as second class poetry. Masters of limerick invented not only a special kind of language suitable for a ludic and comic purpose, but also contributed significantly to the exploration of the field of nonsense probing it for new literary ideas.
The history of the limerick in Polish literature begins in the period between the two World Wars with translations of anonymous English limericks by Janusz Minkiewicz published in the humorous-satirical magazine Szpilki. Undoubtedly, the main problem with the generic transfer was that Polish literature did not have this kind of nonsense humour tradition. Probably because of this, the first ‘complete’ Polish limerick collection of Minkiewicz and Julian Tuwim (also announced in Szpilki) — was combined with a nonsensical narrative commentary to heighten the effect of playfulness and resistance to a common sense interpretation. The limerick ‘with a commentary’ can therefore be considered a typical Polish variant of the genre and an attempt to initiate a domestic generic
tradition. In comparison with English limericks, another phenomenon of this tradition turned out to be an enormous wealth of comic rhymes based on the infl ected structure of the Polish language.
The post-war period has shown a sustained interest in the genre, prolifi cally generating various generic styles. The leading position in the process of the assimilation of the genre is occupied by the magazines which not only publish the texts of many limerists, but also familiarize the readers with the kind of humour rooted in the world of nonsense. The literary competitions organized by their editors have established the Polish limerick fi rmly within popular entertainment.
The sources of the originality of Polish limericks are also individual poetics invented by famous authors. They developed their own aesthetics which have a paradigmatic function giving inspiration to other writers. There are three such individual variants:
1. Maciej Słomczyński’s (translator of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) obscene parody of the nonsensical world from Edward Lear’s A Book of Nonsense: decent eccentricity is replaced by odd sexuality. One of the striking characteristics of this generic style is a refined intellectual wit
which provides a marked humorous contrast to the profane subject of the text.
2. Wisława Szymborska’s (Nobel prize winner) vers de société linked to the former tradition of drawing-room literature promoting an elegance of style and formal perfection. Szymborska, known in her private life as a wag and a lover of practical jokes, has inspired the imagination of many limerists and become a comic verse hero.
3. Stanisław Barańczak’s sophisticated version of the limerick which represents a self-conscious stage in the development of the genre. The author, famous as a translator of English and American light verse and professor of literature at the University of California, Berkeley, is the
inventor of many ‘subgenres’ of the limerick which are examples of metaliterary play. A significant feature of Barańczak’s generic style is forced rhymes founded in unusual and exceptionally rare word connections.
A considerable variant of the Polish post-war limerick is also flourishing in academic folklore which has a particularly strong tradition at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Its distinguishing characteristics are a parody of academic discourse and often obscenity as a form of ‘powerful’ expression contrasting with the highly abstract and intellectual speech of science.
In the 1970s the limerick initiated its active presence in children’s magazines. In comparison with Lear’s classic model appealing to children as well as to adults certain Polish texts create an infantile version of the limerick addressed to a narrower audience of children alone. Educational
aims such as learning the alphabet, or themes such as school, or employing a child protagonist are examples of how it has been adapted to the world of young readers.
A separate variant of the genre is satire, with limericks engaged in politics and providing commentaries on current events. Most often they use sarcastic conventional humour and, through an application of nonsense elements, they tend to unmask the absurdity of existing reality.
The final chapter discusses some innovations in the limerick form and topics as observed in the recent period literature. Equipped with characteristics of Internet blog poetics or generic contaminations (such as the clerihew and the rondo) or doing a humorous version of the town legend, they tend to make the genre more dynamic and experiment with its boundaries.
The wide repertoire of limericks in Polish literature and the role of the great Polish writers in starting and establishing this generic tradition demonstrate that humorous verse has grown in Poland into an important branch of literature which resists simple labelling as second class poetry. Masters of limerick invented not only a special kind of language suitable for a ludic and comic purpose, but also contributed significantly to the exploration of the field of nonsense probing it for new literary ideas.