The aim of the article is to highlight different forms of expression in ''Confiteor" by Antoni Szandlerowski (1878-1911). The work was published after the author's death in 1912. It contains the letters Szandlerowski sent to his beloved, Helena Beatus. Within it, he uses a wide array literary expression forms developed and used during the period of Młoda Polska; ''Confiteor" contains sublime emotional confessions and shows how fragile and even neurotic the represented love was. In his letters, Szandlerowski uses many exclamations and emphasizes his recognition of Beatus' virtues of spirit. The author is interested in symbolism and is strongly influenced by Near East mythology, ancient Greek culture, and by the early works of gnostic authors interpreting the Bible, let alone romantic poetry. He places a strong emphasis on the connection between him and Beatus and on how hard and complicated their love is.
The imagination of Antoni Szandlerowski in his collection of letters to Helena Beatus (Confiteor), his beloved one, is dominated by black. The aim of this article is to show that this colour plays a major role in Confiteor therefore it is used be the author most of the times. When he writes about how pure and beautiful Helena Beatus is, he uses metaphors such as: black dove, black iris, dark cloud, dark corridor. It shows how pessimistic about the future and how guilty about the love he felt Antoni Szandlerowski was. The internal conflict was caused by the will to fulfil as a lover and the duty to continue priestly services. Antoni Szandlerowski is full of doubts. He misses Helena Beatus and feels that he cannot be happy without her. On the other hand, he knows that they cannot make their desire to live side by side real. Since the world is a place of pain and misery where the love cannot thrive due to social norms, lovers can bind together only after death. This way of thinking led Szandlerowski to many neurological disorders, caused nightmares and a painful impression that the whole world around fades away. Szandlerowski uses symbols such as a black dove and a black iris to describe his beloved one and to show the dichotomy of his perception. Therefore love is the source of all the pain and suffering for him.
The author utilizes a fragment of the Żywot człowieka poczciwego (Cnota – wielka królowa) by Mikołaj Rej, to prove that the Polish author reinterpreted Seneca’s ideas and adapted them to be in harmony with Christian teaching. The author invokes, above all, the authority of Lucius Lipsius. By comparing particular fragments of Rej’s work to Myśli and Moral letters to Lucilius by Seneca he shows numerous similarities between the philosophical systems of these two authors. For example, finds correspondence in their attitudes to virtue, material goods, prudence, fame and truth. However, there are also differences, including Rej’s and Seneca’s opinion on suicide. Finally, the author analyzes the stylistic devices that enabled Rej to create a guide that promotes neo-stoic values.
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