Leśmian before the Law. The value of life and the grandeur of law

Abstract

Essay writing by Bolesław Leśmian, a graduate of law, draws attention not only to the presence of the philosophical or sociological context but also the legal one while his poetry seems to be completely detached from legal practice. The issue of legal protection of values represented by life is depicted in the interpretation of two dissimilar poetic works, namely the ballad Asoka from the volume Łąka (The Meadow) and the poem starting with the words “Przez śnieżycę, co wyjąc powiększa przestworza” from Dziejba leśna (Forest Happenings). Aśoka, a monarch and lawmaker in ancient India, guaranteed it in his addresses. It paths the way to the spiritual for the hero of many legends. In the 20th century the value of human life is guarded by “a representative of law”, uniformed police officer whose very presence in the street prevents robbery. In both cases life is treated by Leśmian as the highest value motivated metaphysically, which opens the way for further reflections concerning the grandeur of law as understood by the poet as well as to the question whether the issue of connections between literature and law, already known from the research into the literary output of Franz Kafka, may help understand Bolesław Leśmian’s outlook on life.