Literary historian among the genres of speech

The case of Stanisław Pigoń

Abstract

The article concerns Stanisław Pigoń's research on the "living word" of Adam Mickiewicz. The subject of the reflection are two volumes of Mickiewicz's "Complete Works", published in 1933, including "Speeches" and "Conversations" of the poet. First of all, the method of scientific procedure used by Pigoń was mainly interpreted. This issue was placed in the context of his concept of the history of literature and of the twentieth-century research on the oral aspects of literature. Both volumes published by the scholar deserve to be recalled and appreciated, as they are original Polish contribution to this area of scientific reflection. They also allow us to look at the culture of the Romantic era through the prism of forms and functions of orality and enrich our knowledge about personality of Mickiewicz.