ABSTRACT

Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz who is acknowledged as one of the outstanding representative of Polish literature in the 20th century lived between the dates 24 February 1885 – 18 September 1939. The originality of his style continues to arouse interest on literary historians and critics. Witkiewicz advocated the idea that an artwork should give the person the opportunity for self-realization making him feel of the mystery of existence. The theory which was created by him in order to understand the essence and meaning of the artwork is named the theory of “Pure form”. The artworks created by the theory of pure form are given original meaning by each person. By his works he drew attention to the sense of alienation which comes to a person due to the loss personal reality, power of imagination and creative thinking and to the mechanized human communities which have been formed as a result of this situation. He tried to enlighten the possible outcomes of the cultural degeneration which has waited for Poland as a result of negative impact of European culture and ignore of the self values.

Keywords: Poland, , alienation, pure form, Witkacy, zakopane style