On the Kinds and Functions of Biblical Signals in Karol Wojtyła’s Poetry: A Reconaissance

Zofia ZARĘBIANKA

Katedra Historii Literatury Polskiej XX Wieku, Wydział Polonistyki, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, ul. Gołębia 16-18 30-007 Cracow, Poland| , Poland

Abstract

The article comprises a typology of the Biblical signals present in Karol Wojtyła’s poetic oeuvre. It also describes the artistic means used in his poetry in order to spell out these signals in the particular poetic texts. It has been demonstrated that the Biblical motifs present in Wojtyła’s poems are not direct, rather, they mastermind the reading of a particular text, providing a situational, contextual or image-like background, enabling the identification of Biblical signs in the lyrical discourse. The obviousness of Biblical inspiration for Karol Wojtyła’s poetic texts, once confronted with a weak representation of the full-scale Biblical motifs in his poetry, produces a specific tension, which is a significant element of Karol Wojtyła’s poetic diction. It results, on the one hand, in the universality of the message of his poetry and, on the other, in the creation of a double addressee of his poems and in the potential for their sense being read on many various levels.

Translated by Dorota Chabrajska