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PL

Letter from Irena Sławińska written 23.02.1958

Lublin, 23/2/58

 

Most Honourable Professor,

                I, too, greatly regret that there was no chance to talk in Cracow, but time was so tight with papers and discussion! ‒I’m providing the bibliographic data for my paper: ‘Issues in studies of the language of drama’, Roczniki Humanistyczne [Humanist annals], 1953: 1955, Vol. IV, issue 1, pp. 25‒60, Academic Soc. C.U.L. [Catholic University of Lublin], Historical-Philological Department. Truly, I considered this statement to be very weak ‒ I give more consideration to the last essay, ‘On the conversations in the third part of Dziady [Forefathers]’, Lublin 1952.

                It so happens that I, too, am sending something to Pamiętniki Teatr [Theatre diary] ‒ the Polish version of the Heidelberg paper ‘Chief problems of the structure of drama’, in which I wanted to refer to your thesis from the lecture at CUL, ‘On the language of a theatrical work’. Probably your study will appear first, in light of which I will have to change the text of that note somewhat. In any case, I wanted to give it to you, in case you want to decide whether it can be left in this version:

                ‘Prof. Roman Ingarden, in his lecture ‘On the language of a theatrical work’ (December 1955, Lublin, CUL), the specificity [O1] of this language explained the dual function that it fulfils: it is a way for characters to learn more about one another, but as well a way to communicate with the audience. Character issues are meant to provide the audience with the exposition of all information required for full reception of the work that is not transmitted by extra-verbal means. From these two functions, all results in terms of structure are derived’.

I would be very grateful for a word or two in reply.

                               With expressions of the greatest respect and cordial greetings

Irena Sławińska

I am sincerely happy to see that Studies in Aesthetics has finally come out ‒ and so nice!

[O1]Chyba czegoś brakuje, np. Ingarden … states that the specificity of this language … [?]