Duties of Literature: On the Lectures of Polish Nobel Laureates (from Henryk Sienkiewicz to Olga Tokarczuk)

Abstract

The article is a reflection on the changes in the understanding of the tasks of Polish literature from the beginning of the 20th to the beginning of the 21st century. The observation is conducted on the examples of Nobel speeches by H. Sienkiewicz, W. S. Reymont, Cz. Miłosz, W. Szymborska and O. Tokarczuk, which are placed in the context of other self-commentary statements. The collected texts testify to the disappearance of thinking in terms of nation or community and the progressive individualization of the writer’s voice, which does not want to be an exponent of a general idea. The type of involvement in literature is also changing. Reading the Nobel speeches leads to the conclusion that the concepts of Polish writers illustrate the changes taking place in European culture. One of the most important is the departure from Christian roots in favor of secular humanism.