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Gawęda () is a genre of Polish oral folklore, as well as an epic literary genre of works stylized as an oral tale, characterized by freedom of composition, rich in
digression Digression (''parékbasis'' in Greek, ''egressio'', ''digressio'' and ''excursion'' in Latin) is a section of a composition or speech that marks a temporary shift of subject; the digression ends when the writer or speaker returns to the main topic. ...
s, and written in language close to
colloquial Colloquialism (also called ''colloquial language'', ''colloquial speech'', ''everyday language'', or ''general parlance'') is the linguistic style used for casual and informal communication. It is the most common form of speech in conversation amo ...
language. The word literally means "oral tale".
Melchior Wańkowicz Melchior Wańkowicz (10 January 1892 – 10 September 1974) was a Polish army officer, popular writer, political journalist and publisher. He is most famous for his reporting for the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II and writin ...
is recognized as a 20th century representative of the ''gawęda'' style, as exemplified by his autobiographical coming of the age novel ''Tędy i owędy'' ("Here and There").


Gawęda szlachecka

During the
Romantic period Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...
, in the first half of the 19th century, the literary genre, the "''
szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...
'' ''gawęda''" ('' gawęda szlachecka'') developed. It told of the lives and manners of the nobility, affirming the Sarmatian world of values. The leading author in this genre was Henryk Rzewuski (''Pamiątki Soplicy''—Memoirs of Soplica, 1839–41). Other authors in this line included K. Gaszyński (''Kontuszowe pogadanki''—''
Kontusz A ''kontusz'' (, ; ; ; originally from , ) is a type of outer garment worn by the Hungarian and Polish–Lithuanian male nobility. It became popular in the 16th century and came to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth rule via Hungary from Tur ...
'' Chats), Władysław Syrokomla (''Urodzony Jan Dęboróg''—Jan Dęboróg),
Wincenty Pol Wincenty Pol (; 20 April 1807 – 2 December 1872) was a Polish poet and geographer. Life Pol was born in Lublin (then in Galicia), to Franz Pohl (or Poll), a German in the Austrian service, and his wife Eleonora Longchamps de Berier, from a ...
(''Wieczór przy kominku''—An Evening by the Fire), A. Gorczyński, K.W. Wójcicki, and Ignacy Chodźko (''Pamiętniki kwestarza''—Memoirs of a Collector for Charity). ''Gawęda'' elements may be found in works by
Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...
(''
Pan Tadeusz ''Pan Tadeusz'' (full title: ''Sir Thaddeus, or the Last Foray in Lithuania: A Nobility's Tale of the Years 1811–1812, in Twelve Books of Verse'') is an epic poem by the Polish people, Polish poet, writer, translator and philosopher Adam Micki ...
''), Juliusz Słowacki (''Preliminaria peregrynacji do Ziemi Świętej JO. księcia Radziwiłła Sierotki''—Preliminaries to the Peregrination to the Holy Land of Prince Radziwiłł the Orphan), and in
Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish epic writer. He is remembered for his historical novels, such as The Trilogy, the Trilogy series and especially ...
's ''
Trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...
''. The ''szlachta gawęda'' played a great role in the development of the Polish
historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...
."Gawęda," ''
Encyklopedia Polski This is a list of encyclopedias by language. Albanian Encyclopedias written in Albanian. * '' Albanian Encyclopedic Dictionary'' (): published by Academy of Sciences of Albania; ** First Edition (1985; ''FESH'') ** New Edition (2008/09; ''Botim ...
'' (Encyclopedia of Poland), p. 175.


See also

*
Saga Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...
*
Skaz Skaz ( rus, сказ, p=ˈskas) is a Russian oral form of narrative. The word comes from '' skazátʹ'', "to tell", and is also related to such words as ''rasskaz'', "short story" and ''skazka'', "fairy tale". The speech makes use of dialect and sl ...
, Russian oral tradition


Notes


References

*"Gawęda," ''Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN'' (PWN Universal Encyclopedia),
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
,
Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN (''Polish Scientific Publishers PWN''; until 1991 ''Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe'' - ''National Scientific Publishers PWN'', PWN) is a Polish book publisher, founded in 1951, when it split from the Wydawnictwa Szkolne i ...
, vol. 2, 1974, p. 26. *"Gawęda," ''
Encyklopedia Polski This is a list of encyclopedias by language. Albanian Encyclopedias written in Albanian. * '' Albanian Encyclopedic Dictionary'' (): published by Academy of Sciences of Albania; ** First Edition (1985; ''FESH'') ** New Edition (2008/09; ''Botim ...
'' (Encyclopedia of Poland),
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
, Wydawnictwo Ryszard Kluszczyński, 1996, , p. 175.


Further reading

*Krzysztof STĘPNIK
"Drobne formy narracyjne w literaturze krajowej (przyczynek genologiczny do gawędy wierszowanej)"
Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska. Sectio F, Humaniora VOL. XXXI, 14, 1976, 257-270 *Kardyni-Pelikánová, Krystyna
Wykorzystanie narracji oralnej ("gawęda", "hospodská historka") w kształtowaniu nowoczesnej prozy w polskiej i czeskiej literaturze
Sborník prací Filozofické fakulty brněnské univerzity. D, Řada literárněvědná. 1991, vol. 40, iss. D38, pp. 63-72 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaweda Polish literature Literary genres Oral literature