Space in literature. Changes in space representation exemplified in the work of Bolesław Leśmian, Julian Przyboś and Stanisław Barańczak

The text proposes an analysis of the poetry of Bolesław Leśmian, Julian Przyboś and Stanisław Barańczak using a concept whereby space in poems is treated as an analogy to space in reality. The paper takes into consideration various perspectives connected with space, especially the difference between ‘space’ and ‘place’ and the most important oppositions like open space vs. closed space, village vs. city and, moreover, natural space and space which is reconstructed by human activity. In current sociological analyses of human experiences of space, especially natural space, the problem of subjective perception is one of the main issues. Macnaghten and Urry claim that there is not one nature but many alternative natures. More attention is paid to the theories that focus on ‘place’ or ‘point’, not on ‘space’. The aim of presenting the poetry of the three Polish poets mentioned above is to show how space is categorized by the subject. Three ways of space focalization show us that the perspective of the subject is connected with the metaphysical theories of those poets. The most important conclusion of the article is that there is no space without the imagination and memory of the subject