O dwóch Mickiewiczowskich koncepcjach natchnienia

This article traces the evolution of Adam Mickiewicz’s concept of inspiration by focusing on his treatment of topoi associated with poetic fervour, in particular the topos of the Muses. This evolution takes him from one extreme to the other, ie. from a surge of activity to an expectant passivity, from pride to humility, from an assertion of the writer’s autonomy to an acquiescence in his total dependence. His early poems are founded on the rejection of the view that creative inspiration is a external force. This is later modulated into a Romantic assertion of the individual inner experience. Eventually, however, Mickiewicz gives up his radical individualism and insists that inspiration is set in motion by a transcendent force, implying that an inspired poet is God’s instrument.