My Homeland, or with Norwid about Polish culture for foreigners

Abstract

Cyprian Norwid’s poem My Homeland is a poetical definition of the home country, in which well-known and familiar aspects meet broader cultural dimensions: European and universal ones. The article is an attempt to present such an interpretation of the poem that can be a perfect point of departure for more profound presentations of Polish culture, especially to foreign recipients, or even may become the basis for the whole course comprising introduction into the history of our nation and the nation’s identity.

Following the stanzas of the poem the author of the article points to various dimensions of Polish culture indicated by Norwid’s metaphors and phrases that are rich in connotations, starting with the home landscape, through the descent of the nation, its history and customs, and ending with the values lying at the foundations of European culture and of the whole human civilisation. As a result an analytical-interpretative description is formed, which reveals the image of Poland that is contained in Norwid’s poem, is interesting as a poetical work and has many cultural aspects.