Zbigniew Herbert – twórca i źródło. Droga do źródła i źródło w wierszu "Ścieżka"

Abstract

What is the source for a poet and what would be the meanings hidden? Who is the creator in the works by Zbigniew Herbert, but especially in his poetry, and how to determine the creativity of his perception? In what way does he conceive the main features of philosophy and poetry? In the essay, the author reflects on these questions. He remarks that Herbert’s esthetic considerations and poems hide a certain vision of philosophy and poetry, which can be characterized by sourcefulness. Therefore, in order to better recognize this vision, he sketches a point of view, which he further calls sourceful. This point of view conveys an essential aspect of creator’s ability to undergo a certain change. The latter can be deemed a creative change as it primarily seems to constitute the central experience which in turn makes it possible for new values to come into being. However, how can we understand the aforementioned creative change? The essay consists of three parts. In the first part, the author’s question about the creator (composer) and the source leads towards the question about a task of philosophy and poetry, as well as to the question about the self-portrait of Herbert as the creator (composer). Several features of the creator (composer) can be easily found in his poetry; however, the most fundamental feature is undoubtedly his capability for creative change. In the second part, the author ponders over the philosophical character of Herbert’s poetry. He considers what philosophizing may be in poetry, as a “philosophical experience” and “primary reflection.” Moreover, he interprets the moniker ‘Mr Cogito,’ in which he discovers the self-portrait of the poet as the creator (composer), that is, one capable of creative change. In the third part, the author examines one of Herbert’ poems, The path, as a reflection over the creative way of the poet himself. This context brings forth the dilemma from the poem – namely whether to follow the path to the source or to the hill. Thus, the ultimate question of the poem relates to seeking the way out and finding something like a third way, as a new creative possibility. The dilemma of the source and the hill seems to demonstrate the dramatic dimension of the creative way and the main features of creative change, and the fear of it as well. For the experience of the creative change makes one vulnerable to the inevitability of suffering. In the conclusion the author states that the creative change takes place on the way to the source. The source appears to be the medium and the symbol of the change. The source is a vastly comprehensive symbol of the poetic creativity, encompassing: the longing, the quest, the aim, and the creative process. In a broad sense, the source may be the symbol of the creative change itself as the formation of both the creator himself and his work in the creative process.