Appetite for a masterpiece in Polish literary criticism after 1945 (Kijowski - Burek - Wencel)

The paper deals with the concept of the work of art in Polish literary criticism of the last fi fty years. The focus of analyses and comparison are three major books of literary criticism: Andrzej Kijowski Arcydzieło nieznane (1964), Tomasz Burek Dalej aktualne (1973) and Wojciech Wencel Przepis na arcydzieło (2003). The category of a masterpiece recurs in the authors’ writings as a key critical metaphor setting the model of perfect literature (art) which is postulated, required and yet defi ned in negative terms (‘absence’, ‘incompleteness’, ‘unreadiness’). Thus, a masterpiece is a critical project extrapolated to the future or the past and, at the same time, a measure applied to the contemporary literature and the contemporary reader. Kijowski, Burek and Wencel in their search for masterpieces differ in their conception of the criteria required for an artwork to be a masterpiece. However, this presentation proves that appetite for a masterpiece is a major ‘myth’ of Polish literary criticism.