Questions tagged [polish-language]
Questions about works of literature that were originally written in the Polish language, regardless of whether they were written or published in Poland or elsewhere.
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What did Lem find in his game-theoretical analysis of the writings of Marquis de Sade?
According to Peter Swirski in Stanislaw Lem: Philosopher of the Future (Liverpool University Press, 2015; on Google Books; emphasis mine),
The author [Lem] himself eloquently argued on behalf of ...
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What aspects of Roman Ingarden's theory of literature does Stanisław Lem criticise and how?
According to the Wikipedia article on Stanisław Lem's The Philosophy of Chance,
Lem criticizes the contemporary literary theory, in particular, Roman Ingarden's Literary Work of Art, and proceeds ...
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Theme of ‘The Twenty-first Voyage of Ijon Tichy’ by Stanisław Lem
In ‘The Twenty-first Voyage of Ijon Tichy’ (1971) by Stanisław Lem, translated into English by Michael Kandel in The Star Diaries (1976), the space traveller Ijon Tichy lands on the planet of ...
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What part of the valley is the "mouth", in this passage from the Witcher series?
For visualization purposes I would like to know what part of the valley does the 'mouth' refer to in English.
Taken from Sapkowski's "The Lady Of The Lake":
it lay right beside the mouth of ...
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How long has Pan Tadeusz been compulsory reading in Polish schools?
Pan Tadeusz or Master Thaddeus, or the Last Foray in Lithuania: A Nobility's Tale of the Years 1811–1812, in Twelve Books of Verse is an epic poem by the Polish author Adam Mickiewicz (1798–1855), ...
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"You have to take pains so the goods won't go off" from The Witcher
I am reading The Witcher - The Tower of Swallow in English and I would like to know what the following phrase means:
He ordered the people who had gathered to bring him a sack of salt
and a keg of ...
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What is being satirized in Witold Gombrowicz's Trans-Atlantyk?
Trans-Atlantyk by Witold Gombrowicz is a satire of Polish identity. However, it is difficult to know what exactly is being satirized if you're not Polish, and not intimately acquainted with Polish ...
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Why is Szymborska's "Tarsier" sometimes written (in translation) with simplistic grammar?
Szymborska's poem "Tarsier" ("Tarsjusz" in the original Polish) has been translated, in a version that says "Translations and Comments by Magnus J. Krynski and Robert A. ...
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About Solaris translators Jasiensko (French), Kilmartin and Cox [closed]
I am looking for an account of, or historical information about: Jean-Michel Jasiensko's Polish-French translation of Solaris. Particularly, why did he vary the text?
Also, Joanna Kilmartin and Steve ...
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What is the origin of the name Nilfgaard?
The empire of Nilfgaard becomes very important in the Witcher saga starting from the end of Sword of Destiny and continuing through the novels starting with Blood of Elves. The name has always ...
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Who collected Dandilion's songs in written books?
The final chapter of Blood of Elves covers the beginning of Ciri's training with Yennefer, learning about magic but also many other things. One passage describes her reading, and I noticed the ...
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What real word is "havekar" alluding to?
During the 2nd chapter of Baptism Of Fire, Geralt and Dandelion come across a group of traders trying to sell Cahir to the Nilfgaardian army, who are introduced as "havekars", basically war profiteers ...
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English translation of The Promised Land by Władysław Reymont
Does The Promised Land by Władysław Reymont have an English translation?
I could not find it on Amazon. I am very naive about book shopping beyond Amazon and I could not find anything by Googling. ...
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Looking for an Aeschylus quote mistranslated from Polish
I am working through a book of poetry by Tadeusz Miciński, a Polish writer who was active toward the end of the 19th century. The book is called "W mroku gwiazd" or "In the Twilight of the Stars" and ...
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Is there any significance to the choice of similes for poetry in "Some Like Poetry"?
The poem "Some Like Poetry" by Polish writer Wislawa Szymborska is a musing lament about the unpopularity of poetry among the general population. The middle verse consists of a series of similes which ...
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Is Vilgefortz more than human?
In The Time of Contempt, when Geralt fights Vilgefortz on the isle of Thanedd, it is implied that Vilgefortz is not human, or at least not merely human (emphasis mine):
A few weeks later, having been ...
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What (and how) does Esterad Tissen know about Yennefer and Tannedd?
During Dijkstra's visit to Pont Vanis to see king Esterad, the former calls Yennefer a traitor, to which the king retorts that she's not, and that he can provide relevant proof.
How does king Esterad ...
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Why does "The Witcher" series, being mostly about shades of grey instead of black and white, have such an obviously evil antagonist?
It's a point that pops some what frequently in the series, that there's no real "good" and "evil" (or rather, that's Geralt's point of view), and there's only the "lesser evil", and the hardest part, ...
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In what sense will "nothing come of" Geralt and Yennefer's relationship?
At the end of "The Bounds of Reason", the first story in the collection Sword of Destiny, the second of the first two Witcher short story collections, we see the following exchange between ...
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Mathematics or gibberish? Understanding a description of an alien message in His Master's Voice
I'm reading the 1983 Michael Kandel translation of Stanislaw Lem's His Master's Voice. The plot revolves around a secret military project to decode an alien message. The main character is a ...
user111
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Understanding the use of the word "Negress" in the Kilmartin and Cox translation of Solaris
I just finished reading Kilmartin and Cox's translation of Stanislaw Lem's Solaris, and one particular passage stood out to me. I'm hesitant to ask a question about the Kilmartin and Cox translation, ...
user111
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How did The Witcher games affect the popularity of The Witcher books?
I often hear/read people saying that The Witcher books became popular because of the games, but I personally don't believe that.
Recently I heard an interview with the Brazilian translator of the ...
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Did Captain Pirx make a joke in base 13?
When Douglas Adams was asked whether he invented this question because six times nine is actually 54, which is 42 when written in base thirteen, he replied: “I may be a sorry case, but I don't write ...
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