Pamięć i zapomnienie w poezji Maryli Wolskiej

The aim of this article is to identify and analyse the functioning of the literary topoi of memory and oblivion in Maryla Wolska’s poetry. Born with the gift of an extraordinarily active imagination, she grew up in a family with great traditions, a sense of patriotic duty and artistic connections. That is the reason why her biography and poetry are underpinned by a dense web of cultural and historical references. This study tries to link those literary hints and allusions – while paying due attention to both the meaning and their role in the of literary work – to the inner world of her feelings, beliefs, memories, as well as her understanding of art (as evinced by her use of synesthetic imagery) and mystery (her use of understatement). To describe and classify the various uses of the concepts of memory and oblivion the article draws on some elements of memory studies, i.e. the theories of Paul Ricoeur, Marianne Hirsch, Aleida Assmann and Astrid Erll