On Zbigniew Herbert’s Poem “Substancja” (Substance) in the Context of Philosophical Definitions of the Term and the Work “Naród” (Nation) as well as Fragments of Czesław Miłosz’s “Traktat poetycki” (Poetic Treatise)

Abstract

The article attempts to reread Zbigniew Herbert’s work Substancja (Substance). Considerations taking  into account the extensive literature on the subject and previous interpretative findings shift the axis of the discourse. On the one hand, they focus on the differently defined concepts of substance and nation, showing the semantic consequences of adopting different interpretations. On the other hand, the article is comparative in nature and proposes a reading of Herbert’s poem in the context of several poems by Czesław Miłosz, primarily the work Naród (Nation) and a fragment of the Traktat poetycki (Poetic Treatise). The text also refers to the Notepad. Pennsylvania as an argument for Miłosz’s critical attitude to national issues. The article’s conclusion does not bring a sharp solution to the differences in the approach of the two poets to the problem of understanding the essence of the nation, pointing to both similarities and dissimilarities.