Wyrazić niewyrażalne – język miłości w Rozmowach listownych Wojciecha Stanisława Chrościńskiego

In analyzing Rozmowy listowne by W. S. Chrościński (1695), a translation of Ovid’s Heroides, the author seeks to present the ways in which the translator captured a wide range of love-related emotions in a compilation of imaginary letters by mythological characters. To match the artistic quality of the original, the translator reached for the centuries-old European literary tradition. He creatively employed the universal language-of-love convention which abounds with metaphors. His imagery caters to the tastes and literary habits of the Polish Baroque readers. In exploring the emotions of the main characters, Chrościński avoided monotony by the skillful and frequent use of synonyms. His work gained immense popularity in the 18th century – it inspired Aleksander Paweł Zatorski to write the first Polish romance in the form of letters.