Studia Językoznawcze

In this article an attempt has been made to discuss the astronomical-meteorological metaphors present in Sonety krymskie of Adam Mickiewicz and to determine their role in the construction of the depicted world of the sonnets. The description of the vocabulary and the stylistic tropes in the Mickiewicz’s poetry have already been the subject of several linguistic studies, however, the characteristics of the metaphors has not been done yet. Therefore, the subject of this essay can fill one of the niches which still exists in seemingly complete description of the poet’s language. In this work I adopt the definition of the metaphor discussed by Teresa Dobrzyńska (1994) and the elements of methodology proposed by Piotr Wróblewski (1998). The analysis demonstrates that the time and place of creating the poetry influenced the quality of metaphors and the thematic vocabulary utilized within them. The adaptation of the Mickiewicz’s poetic language is visible in the discussed examples. The imagery evoked by the metaphors excerpted from Sonety krymskie goes beyond the Polish cultural realities and refers to the then reality of the Crimean region. The use of the indicated metaphors serves to emphasize the exoticism and mystery of the Crimea. The performed analysis demonstrates that the metaphors allow to express what the poet was unable to name with single words, but wished to convey this image to the reader. The utilized metaphors will enable to manifest the emotions and experiences which accompanied Mickiewicz but were difficult to describe in a realistic convention.