ON SEVERAL UNKNOWN OLD POLISH INTERLUDES

The article describes a collection of 24 prose interludes recorded in the Library of Lvov Academy of Sciences codex. One of the problems tackled in the paper is the interludes provenance. Originating most probably from the school circle (Jesuit or Piarist), they used commonplace anecdotes known from, e.g. popular theatre interludes. The article also analyses the plot of the interludes which, interestingly, is not their dominating element, as most of the texts resemble nonfictional dialogues. Accordingly, the paper analyses the verbal-linguistic level of the interludes and reviews the verse interpolations which diversify the interludes. Light is also shed on the comic-evoking manners: accumulation of preposterousness, absurd situations, and caricature-like exaggeration of anomalies, e.g. on the stylistic level.