Zbigniew Herbert's “Letters to the Muse” as an Example of a Coherent Construction Based on Dialogue

Abstract

The article is a linguistic analysis „Letters to Muse” by Zbigniew Herbert. It shows typical elements for this kind of genre and also individual features. Text exposes character of the letter as an act of speech which is autonomical in its structure. Article discusses coherence of the letter begining from layont going through the delamination and ending „lexical equivalent punctuation”.

Author shows paradox as a specific reveal of the letters. Autonomous and coherent inside is also unindependent creation – link of dialogue, replica which takes out with natural surroundings other one. They are connection with sequence of correspondence. This language dependence realizes itself through a group of questions, imperatives, thematic-rhematic structures, indexes, limited definition nominal group, indirect speech, and other.

The language of „Letters to Muse” shows a specific relation between sender and receiver. In the article the author takes notice of characteristic feature of this genre, which is „strong feeling for the receiver”, „Siamese connection” of the sender and addressee's personalities in the letter area. The partner of this dialogue has a function of text creation. The addressee is also main factor that determines the content and the formal side of the letter, although the inner dialogue of the letter sometimes comes from expressive function realised on its field and the receiver is only a pretext for showing that expressivenes.