Akatysty polskie Symeona z Połocka

Barbara Kozak

Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski w Olsztynie

Abstrakt

Simeon Polotski is very interesting as an individuality and writer. His creative work and lifestyle provoked a lot of contrary opinions. Some condemned him, others admired him. Never­ theless, it is useful to remember that Polotski left a huge poetic heritage, the close study of which has not been made of up to nowadays. It happened because of the fact that he was appreciated as the writer who had no readers. Generally he wrote for the royal family, which limited mainly the spreading of his books, and after the poet’s death all his books were banned by the Church. Among the numerous works by Simeon Polotski Akapist do Pana Naszego Jezusa Chrystusa and Akapist Najświętszej Pannie written in Polish attract our attention and witness that the Polish culture which he knew very well influenced the young poet a lot. One of the authors he read was Jan Kochanowski whose Psalter Rhymed he quoted. But these acathistuses are not just the translations but above all pieces of art. They have their own structure, composition, stylistic and linguistic devices. Keeping mainly the traditional form of the mass, Simeon enriches it, makes it more poetic, gives it baroque colouring. It is to be noted that Polotski has a very emotional attitude to Jesus and God’s Mother which is clearly visible in the vivid forms of address. The acathistus had been changing in due course, it had been readjusted and was not well preserved in the original and clear form to the present day. That is why the poetic version of Simeon Polotski appears to be a very important evidence, which has kept the curtain phase of the development of this genre.