The article deals with the symbolic meaning of figure 4 in Khayyam’s poetry.

Эта статья касается символического значения числа „четыре” в поэзии Ома- ра Хайяма

Forgotten symbol. Changes of legal status of the  Banner of the Republic of Poland

The Banner of the Republic of Poland established in August 1919 was asignated to the Chief of State and afterwards to the President of the Republic of Poland. It was also used during momentous state ceremonies. The Banner of the Republic of Poland established on the 27th December 1927 was used exclusively by the President of the Republic of Poland – with the exception of the funeral of Józef Piłsudski when it covered the marshal’s coffin. The banner was taken away to London in 1939 by President Ignacy Mościcki. It was used by the emigre presidents between 1945 and 1990. It was conveyed to President Lech Wałęsa on the 22nd December 1990 by the last emigre president, Ryszard Kaczorowski. Under the communist regime in Poland the flag of the head of the state was used. It was a banner based on the banner of 1927, though without a crown on eagle’s head. It was introduced without any legal regulations. During President Bolesław Bierut’s term of Office it flew over his headquarter. It was officially abolished in 1955, though later on it was used by the prime minister and by the president of the State Council in the 60’s. In post-communist Poland a new flag was established, the present pattern of the coat of arms is consistent with that of 1989, though the crown was returned to the eagle’s head. Similar alterations affected the military flags and other special flags. One of the special flags is the Pennant of the President of the Republic of Poland, the pattern of which was defined in January 1996.

The main objective of my dissertation is to introduce the assumptions of the Jungian depth psychology to the bibliotherapeutic process. Bibliotherapy as an interdisciplinary method using psychology and literary studies enriched with the theory of integral psychology formulates a new theoretical perspective and constitutes a proposal of a holistic view of bibliotherapy. The extension of the theoretical basis of bibliotherapy will help to augment the therapeutic effect, activate unawareness (the sphere neglected in school education), and strengthen psyche. Integral bibliotherapy will create conditions to expand the dialogue between the rational side and unaware one, and it will contribute to a positive stimulation of the integration processes. Providing archetypal patterns reflecting the rules of life in culture, and drawing attention to the regulatory role of literary works, will enrich both the intellectual and spiritual side of the development of the participant of the bibliotherapeutic process. Archetypal content present in literary texts studied by the participant according to the bibliotherapeutic procedure will achieve an integral orientation focused on the humanistic dimension of existence.

Does the Wawel Dragon prefer sushi? The semiosphere of the vision of a multicultural city in the 21st century in the artistic works of school students from Krakow

In this text, a semiotic perspective was used to analyze the artistic works of students from Krakow schools submitted to the competition entitled “A multicultural city in the 21st century”. Assuming that the condition for the semiotics of the city are social processes leading to the recognition of objects in urban space as signs, the text is aimed to answer the question: what signs and codes constitute the semiosphere of works taking part in the competition? The analysis shows that the participants creatively used signs rooted in the tradition of Krakow, modifying their meaning by placing them in new syntagmatic systems with signs from other cultural codes. These works also show that the impact of cultural interactions is related to an exchange of signs and the dynamic process of reassigning their meanings. They also illustrate other sociocultural mechanisms taking place in the conditions of multi – and interculturalism. One of them is the simple multiplication of various “cultural packages”, and another – the diverse and dynamic interactions and the interweaving of the multiple elements that make up the entire intercultural space.

The paper is an analysis of The Childhood of Jesus by J.M. Coetzee as seen from the perspective of cultural studies. Treated as a document of culture, it depicts recent changes in Western civilization, particularly in such spheres as religion as and philosophy (specifically axiology and epistemology). The pseudoapocryphal character of Coetzee’s novel provokes one to giving consideration to the attitude western culture has towards its own roots and towards the role the source myths and religious symbols play in it, that is to the shape of the cultural identity of contemporary West. The picture which emerges from the analysis is a culture threatened with ‘amnesia’. It is, however, a erverse picture since it has been painted with the use of the symbol which is “present in absence”.

The in-Depth Work With Mythonyms (on The Basis of Literary Works of the School Program for 10th Grade)

Not common and not widespread in literary texts, such as anthroponymic or toponymic names, but quit functionally important can be considered mythonyms. Their role is revealed in the study of genre and stylistic features of some works of art of the school curriculum in Ukrainian literature for senior classes and worldviews of individual characters of those texts. The in-depth study of mythological artistic onyms is essential for tenth-grades. On the example of two works – Mykhailo Kotsyubynsky’s novel “Shadows og Forgotten Ancestors” and Lesya Ukrainka’s drama-extravaganza ‘Forest Song” – 10th grades can explore the role of the mythological names as one of the features of the drama genre, neo-romanticism style and ideology of cosmocentrism and paganism. That is why mythonyms need to be studied in depth within the genre, structural-stylistic and ideational-conceptual areas of research of a work of art. Like names of toponymic origin, mythological names combine both traditional etymological meanings and author’s additional meanings, which are valuable only in the context of a particular literary work. However, such names can often be symbolic. For example, Mavka is the heroine of Lesya Ukrainka’s neo-romantic drama-extravaganza “Forest Song”. The article outlines the optimal approach to the study of literary texts of the school curriculum in Ukrainian literature for 10th grade on the basis of genre, stylistic and ideological and conceptual analysis with in-depth study of mythological names. The paper identifies and proposes the basic requirements for the topics and objectives of the lessons devoted to the study of literary texts through involvement in the analysis of mythological names. The algorithm for constructing educational situations has been developed, the content of which corresponds to the proper names of methological characters and the author’s meanings contained in them.

Symbols of suffering and mourning rituals in contemporary political space

The death of a loved one results in manifestations of suffering, mourning, and finally post-mortem and funeral ceremonies. The departure of people who were key figures and influenced the political space brings with it a whole spectrum of symbols, signs and rituals of mourning in this space. In the history of the Third Polish Republic, Poles experienced a number of sad moments related to the deaths of less and more significant figures in the world of politics. The departure of John Paul II, all those who died in the Smolensk catastrophe, the assassination of President Paweł Adamowicz, the deaths of the founding fathers of the Third Republic: Tadeusz Mazowiecki and Jacek Kuroń, Władysław Bartoszewski, Andrzej Chodubski, who was so close to the University of Gdańsk environment, and many others, are just some of the great world of politics and political science. The symbols of suffering and rituals of mourning that accompanied their farewells were, among other things, an expression of our culture, also political.