Gawęda

Gawęda (Polish pronunciation: [ɡaˈvɛnda]) is a genre of Polish oral folklore, as well as an epic literary genre of works stylized as an oral tale, characterized by freedom of composition, rich in digressions, and written in language close to colloquial language.^[1] The word literally means "oral tale".

Melchior Wańkowicz is recognized as a 20th century representative of the gawęda style, as exemplified by his autobiographical coming of the age novel Tędy i owędy ("Here and There").^[2]^[3]^[4]

Gawęda szlachecka

During the Romantic period, in the first half of the 19th century, the literary genre, the "szlachta gawęda" (gawęda szlachecka) developed. It told of the lives and manners of the nobility, affirming the Sarmatian world of values. The leading author in this genre was Henryk Rzewuski (Pamiątki Soplicy—Memoirs of Soplica, 1839–41). Other authors in this line included K. Gaszyński (Kontuszowe pogadanki—Kontusz Chats), Władysław Syrokomla (Urodzony Jan Dęboróg—Jan Dęboróg), Wincenty Pol (Wieczór przy kominku—An Evening by the Fire), A. Gorczyński, K.W. Wójcicki, and Ignacy Chodźko (Pamiętniki kwestarza—Memoirs of a Collector for Charity).^[5]^[6]

Gawęda elements may be found in works by Adam Mickiewicz (Pan Tadeusz), Juliusz Słowacki (Preliminaria peregrynacji do Ziemi Świętej JO. księcia Radziwiłła Sierotki—Preliminaries to the Peregrination to the Holy Land of Prince Radziwiłł the Orphan),^[7] and in Henryk Sienkiewicz's Trilogy. The szlachta gawęda played a great role in the development of the Polish historical novel.^[8]

Notes

^ "Gawęda," Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN (PWN Universal Encyclopedia), vol. 2, 1974, p. 26.
^ „Tędy i owędy” – streszczenie książki
^ Ewa Tierling-Śledź, Gawęda (autobiograficzna)
^ "Gawęda," Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN (PWN Universal Encyclopedia), vol. 2, 1974, p. 26.
^ "Gawęda," Encyklopedia Polski (Encyclopedia of Poland), p. 175.
^ "Gawęda," Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN (PWN Universal Encyclopedia), vol. 2, 1974, p. 26.
^ "Gawęda," Encyklopedia Polski (Encyclopedia of Poland), p. 175.
^ "Gawęda," Encyklopedia Polski (Encyclopedia of Poland), p. 175.

References

"Gawęda," Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN (PWN Universal Encyclopedia), Warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, vol. 2, 1974, p. 26.
"Gawęda," Encyklopedia Polski (Encyclopedia of Poland), Kraków, Wydawnictwo Ryszard Kluszczyński, 1996, ISBN 83-86328-60-6, p. 175.

v t e Narrative
Character	Antagonist Archenemy Character arc Character flaw Characterization Confidant Deuteragonist False protagonist Focal character Foil Gothic double Hamartia Hero Anti Byronic Tragic Narrator Protagonist Stock character Straight man Supporting character Title character Tritagonist Villain
Plot	Ab ovo Action Backstory Origin story Chekhov's gun Cliché Cliffhanger Conflict Deus ex machina Dialogue Dramatic structure Eucatastrophe Foreshadowing Flashback Flashforward Frame story In medias res Kishōtenketsu MacGuffin Pace Plot device Plot twist Poetic justice Red herring Reveal Self-insertion Shaggy dog story Stereotype Story arc Story within a story Subplot Suspense Trope
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Structure	Act Act structure Three-act structure Freytag's Pyramid Exposition/Protasis Rising action/Epitasis Climax/Peripeteia Falling action/Catastasis Denouement/Catastrophe Linear narrative Nonlinear narrative films television series Premise Types of fiction with multiple endings
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Narration	Diegesis First-person Second-person Third-person Third-person omniscient narrative Subjectivity Unreliable narrator Multiple narrators Stream of consciousness Stream of unconsciousness
Tense	Past Present Future
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Gawęda

Gawęda szlachecka

See also

Notes

References

Further reading