Norwid to the „Poet-of-the-Ruins” – without a letter. On the text of To Z. K.

Abstract

The article tries to revise the views that are established in the study of Norwid, the ones concerning the introduction to the poem Quidam, which was written in the form of a letter. Up till now – almost univocally – researchers have stated that this fragment of the poem is the poet’s real letter written to Zygmunt Krasiński. The present interpretation starts from the facts and editors’ findings, and finally it analyzes the text, taking into consideration the broad literary context, similar forms in works by Słowacki and Krasiński (the immediate addressee of this expression).