In the circle of literary influences – poetic inspirations of Jan Brzechwa

The article concerns the poetic inspiration of Jan Brzechwa. The author points out three main trends of the poet’s inspiration: the poets of Young Poland, Skamander’s poetry, and the poems of his cousin Bolesław Leśmian.

The author recalls numerous opinions of researchers who found connections between the poetry of Brzechwa and the works of the Young Poland authors. Similarities between the works of Brzechwa and L. Staff, J. Kasprowicz and K. Przerwa-Tetmajer are indicated. In addition, the author of the article revises the view of researchers on the subject of combining the name Brzechwa with poetry from the Skamander circle. He notices the similarities in the works of Brzechwa and the poems of the “Big Five”, however, he states that the model of poetry disseminated by Skamander has become a universally applicable model of the Polish poem. The similarity can be seen in the fascination with Piłsudski’s person about the use of classical forms of poems – elegy, dithyramb or song.

The article also indicates a different way of imaging, describing emotions, and discussing themes by Jan Brzechwa from the Skamander. The poet, describing the existing reality, does not use colloquialisms or colloquial speech, rather describes the moods that accompany him.

Author’s commentary on the influence of Skamander’s poets on Brzechwa is summarized by the statement that Brzechwa may have been fashioned on the Skamander model of the poem, but he also tried to remain faithful to the poets whom he admired because of their poetic talent. And create your poems in the same spirit.