Obsesja śmierci w twórczości Augusta Antoniego Jakubowskiego i Heinricha von Kleista

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to show the work of two romantic authors, namely Heinrich von Kleist and August Antoni Jakubowski. They were not only fascinated by death, but they also died at a young age. By analyzing their biographies, poetry and letters I will present utterly different perceptions of death. Kleist, for instance, longed for it like the sick long for a cure. He perceived death as the beginning of a big adventure, in which he was to be accompanied by Henrietta. They found common ground thanks to a paradoxical decision of dying, not living, together. In addition, I will also discuss the less known work of Jakubowski, the illegitimate son of Antoni Malczewski. He committed suicide at the age of 21, while being on exile in America, right after the November Uprising. Furthermore, I will touch upon his autobiographical poems, in which one can notice his maturation towards death as liberation from a foreign world, without hope of coming back to his homeland. This poetry is a testimony of growing depression and misery, while the motif of death becomes the author’s obsession.