My city
you will get to know the poetic images of WarsawWarsaw
you will interpret the poem of K.I. Gałczyński
you will identify the contrast as a poetic measure and give its examples
Write down the names of your three favourite cities. Next to each name, add an important, interesting, unique place or event that you associate with the citycity.
The city attracts people. It offers a wide range of cinemas, theatres and galleries. It can be considered as a recognised space, but at the same time anonymous. It leads passers‑by along the elegant streets and scares them with its dark corners. The city is attractive but also terrifying And what are the cities you find interesting? What impresses you in urban environment and what deters you from it?
Today we are talking about Warsaw – both old and modern. What do you associate this city with?
Read the poem by Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński. Pay attention to the date of the creation of the work. What is happening in Warsaw at that time?
Does the speaker in the poem like the changes taking place in Warsaw?
What does the lyrical subject want to persuade the reader to? Answer using quotations from the poem.
Stare miastoJest w Warszawie Stare Miasto,
gdzie od rana kielnia stuka,
Stare Miasto – tak się zowie,
a po warszawsku – Starówka.Gdy przyjedziesz na wycieczkę
do Warszawy, mój kolego,
wybierz się na Stare Miasto,
tuż nad Wisłą, niedaleko.Zobaczysz, jak słońce błyszczy
na wieżyczkach, na dachówkach.
Kiedyś mury te wróg zniszczył;
lecz znów stoją. Jest Starówka!Znów po Rynku Staromiejskim
strojne w pozłociste blaski
spaceruje sobie stadko
srebrnych gołębi warszawskich.A od samego świtania,
ledwo słońce się ukaże,
na wysokich rusztowaniach
freski malują malarze.I na ścianach kamieniczek
powstają pod pędzlem wartkim
różne piękne malowidła:
skrzypce, śpiewające ptaki,owoce, z liści girlandy,
księżyc, co się z nieba zwiesza...
Bo piękna była Starówka,
a będzie jeszcze piękniejsza.1953
Source: Stare miasto, [w:] Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński, Wybór poezji, Wrocław 1982.
Combine the following terms in pairs with opposite meanings.
beautiful, ornamented tenement houses, „piękna Starówka", vibrant metropolis, safety, happiness, peace, modern communication arteries, order, carefree walks and blissful peace
| chaos | |
| sadness | |
| destroyed streets | |
| raids and bombings | |
| ruins | |
| fear | |
| death | |
| war | |
| „mury te wróg zniszczył” |
Find on the Internet and listen to the song Sen o Warszawie by Czesław Niemen and answer the questions:
What feelings does Warsaw, depicted in the song, evoke? How is it presented?
From what perspective does the lyrical ego tell the story of the city?
What does the author of the song encourage the listener to?
Compare the poem of Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński Stare Miasto with the song Sen o Warszawie. Indicate similarities in the way the image of the city is shown. Which image of Warsaw is not mentioned in both texts?
IdealisationIdealisation is imagining or presenting something as much better than it really is.
In your opinion, are the images of Warsaw presented in the poem of Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński Stare Miasto and the song Sen o Warszawie idealised? Justify your opinion.
Keywords
little homeland, local patriotism, city, memories, idealisation
Glossary
mała ojczyzna
patriotyzm lokalny
miasto
Warszawa
stolica
zabytek
zamek
pałac
wspomnienia
dzieciństwo
idealizacja
chaos
ład
metropolia
destrukcja
ornamenty
zgliszcza
wojna
pokój
powstanie
odbudowa