Gray Eminences of Smuggling

The Semantics and Semiotics of Dedications in the Poems of Zbigniew Herbert (An Interpretative Perspective)

Abstract

In the essay on Zbigniew Herbert’s (1924–1998) poetic dedications, an attempt is made to establish a complete list of them (referring to predecessors who dealt with the subject, primarily Ryszard Krynicki and Maciej Urbanowski). Particularly interesting are those dedications in which the poet smuggles in information other than basic, i.e. concerning the direct addressee of the poem or  volume. Herbert’s dedicatory gestures are connected with the use of Aesopian language in “poor times” (ethics), but also often with a certain intended information surplus of a different type (aesthetics). This outstanding poetry has related applications (a marriage of ethics and aesthetics in immanent poetics): the dedication of The Power of Taste to Prof. Izydora Dąmbska can be cited as an example. The dedicatory gesture therefore means (semantics) and is sometimes a sign (semiotics), while the multitude and precision of Herbert’s attributions constantly prompt reflection: some of them have autodedicatory features, others fulfill special functions due to the circumstances of their creation. The sketch is, therefore, an attempt to name the broadly understood role of dedication in Herbert.