On mock heroism in "The voyage to the Holy Land from Naples" by Juliusz Słowacki

The starting point of the considerations which constitute the core of the article is the similarity between two genres: mock heroic poem and digressive poem. As mock heroic category is vital for the former, the question is whether it plays a part in the latter. The aim of this article is to scrutinise this issue on the basis of The voyage to the Holy Land from Naples by J. Słowacki. The focus is put on those fragments of the poem in which mock heroic category manifests itself clearly. The poet`s stance on the evoked conventional elements of epic tradition, such as invocation to Muse, introduction or Homeric simile, and their place in the poem is crucial. The presented analyses in the article lead to a conclusion that in a Romantic digressive poem, mock heroism functions as a subject of ironical poet`s play, who in this way demonstrates the power of his talent.