O czym mówiłyby Muzy, gdyby mówić mogły

The goal of the article is to discuss the latest book of Magdalena Siwiec, entitled Romantyczne koncepcje poezji. Poeta i Muza – relacja w stanie kryzysu (Alfred de Musset i Juliusz Słowacki) [Romantic concepts of poetry. The poet and the Muse – a relation in crisis (Alfred de Musset and Juliusz Słowacki)]. The book has a comparative approach and consists of two parts. In the first, theoretical part, the author poses questions about the logic of development of Romanticism in Poland and France, about Romantic generations, contemporary theories of poetry and the crisis that affected the age. Against this historically determined background, the author presents the changes in the topics of the Muses. In the second part, where an analytical approach dominates, Magdalena Siwiec presents various facets of the topos in Musset’s and Słowacki’s works. Both parts correspond perfectly with each other. The Cracovian critic demonstrates again her interpretative talent and introduces an excellent example of an academic synthesis of the Romanticism, both in Poland and France.