NORWID’S CONCEPT OF LITERARY ORIGINALITY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE HISTORY OF POETICS

“Orginalność jest to s u m i e n n o ś ć w o b l i c z u ź r ó d e ł” (“Originality is conscientiousness in confrontation with sources.”).1 We know this Norwid phrase very well. It has been so popular that it has almost become a proverb. Norwid scholars refer to it, its seductive accuracy excites enthusiasts of Polish poetry, and students of Polish departments learn it by heart before the exam in Romantic literature. And this is hardly surprising—Norwid managed to convey an original thought in a brilliant phrase, which justly became a part of the canon of epigrams of Polish culture. And since this process has been accomplished, we have allowed it to shine in glory and we have been using it for our purposes, kindled and immobilized it, so that it could become understood automatically, so that is could become every-day and ordinary. Thanks to us, Cyprian Norwid would not have to complain about the murky nature of his language—after all, we have lit in front of him not a candle, but a powerful searchlight, and with it we are ready to light even the dimmest corners of his poetic world. Blinded by this light, he would have to realize straight away that he is surrounded by people