GREAT SADNESS IN SAMUEL TWARDOWSKI'S EPIC MIRROR. 'WLADYSLAW IV' AS A LITERARY TESTIMONY OF THE RECEPTION OF HISTORICAL EVENTS

The article presents a picture of the historical events as reflected in Samuel Twardowski's biographical epic story 'Wladyslaw IV' (1649). The poet was one of the most outstanding representatives of the Polish gentry type of epic story and the author of long historical epics: 'Important Mission..' and 'Civil War ...'. The paper analyses the artistic principles and the modes shaping the nation's history of the Polish-Russian wars waged at the beginning of 17th century which served the poet as an important background to picture the future Polish ruler. In Twardowski's works we also notice different methods of heroization and fictionalization which aim, on the one hand, to present the history from the point of view of the country's 'raison d'état', and on the other hand, to view history as a complex of examples to support moral didactics. The article shows how Twardowski achieves the goals.