„It is an Image of Man. And of Dream and of a Sung Word”. On Józef Czechowicz's Oniric Poetry

Abstract

The essay is an attempt at a new approach to the problem of dream as a subject and as an inner organising principle of Czechowicz's lyrics. These aspects of dream contained in his poems are subjected to analysis that the lyrical ego pays special attention to. They include the course of particular stages of falling asleep, of sleep itself, of waking up, the principles and mechanisms directing the processes of dreaming and creating visions, nuances of dreams during deep sleep and in transitional states between sleep and wakefulness. Frequent references to psychoanalytic studies occur here. In the essay the problem is undertaken of verbalisation of the code and poetics used by dreams. The "speech" of dreams in Czechowicz's poems is considered in the light of the functioning of the oldest languages of the world, and then - in the aspect of justification of the use of poetic language and application of a conscious artistic creation.