Marble tombstone. On two poems to Stanisława Hornowska

Abstract

The article is an attempt at the interpretation of two poems by C. Norwid: [“A Pani cóż ja powiem?... oto, że w tym życiu...”] – [What do I say to you, Lady?… that in this life…] and [„W komnacie, gdzie Stanisław święty zasnął w Bogu...”] – [In the room where St. Stanislaus fell asleep in God’s peace...]. It also clarifies the current state of knowledge about the addressee of both poems, Stanisława Hornowska, the poet’s cousin, and the circumstances in which both works were created. A significant part of this contribution is devoted to the Roman traces of St. Stanislaus Kostka and the places associated with his presence in the Eternal City, as well as the decor of those places which played an important role in the formation of Norwid’s image of St. Stanislaus. The last part of this article points to the perfectly visible tension between the static equilibrium of the real sculpture presenting the death of St. Stanislaus and the image of Tommaso Minardi hanging over it, titled Mary with Angels and Saints Waiting for the Soul of St. Stanislaus Kostka – and the dynamically constructed poetic vision.