On the multiplied spectacle in Tyrtej–Za kulisami by Cyprian Norwid

Abstract

The main object of analysis in this article is the doubly understood category of theatricality that organizes Norwid’s reflection in a dramatic diptych called Tyrtej–Za kulisami. The present study study shows the influence of Norwid’s contacts with the scene on the shaping of theatricality in the examined plays. The poet recorded his theatrical experience in his critical writings and artistic pieces he conveyed it in his paintings and designs. The article presents two proposals of reading theatrical plays. The first assumes that the described events are realistically motivated because they take place in the space of the 19th century theatres of Warsaw and other European countries. The second proposal involves interpretation of metaphorical and parabolic senses inscribed in the diptych, with special emphasis on the extracts of Dedykacja.