A biblical parable reverberating in the poem Podwaliny [Foundations] by Leopold Staff (archaic functions of the narrative text and its topical application)

Abstract

Podwaliny [Foundations], the poem written by Leopold Staff right after the war and carrying traces of a profound trauma, takes advantage of the motifs drawn from the biblical parable of good and bad construction practices (Gospel According to St Matthew, 7:24–27). In her interpretation of the poem, the author analyses the way(s) in which the biblical paradigm has been transformed, and the consequences of this procedure. Use is made of the opinions of the scholars who have reconstructed the primary function of parabolic stories, having identified in them the original forms of thinking which preceded the evolvement of abstract concepts encoding qualities.