In the Forest of Words I Got Lost – About the Silence in the Poetry of Antonio Colinas and Zbigniew Herbert

Abstract

The aim of this comparative article is to present the similarity of the poetic concepts of Antonio Colinas and Zbigniew Herbert. The poets did not know each other, there are no traces of mutual influences to be found in their poetic output either, however, they both seemed to be equally connected with the Mediterranean culture. This article concentrates on the meaning of silence in their poetry seen as a necessary supplement to the art of words, hope for saving the sense from ambiguity and hubbub of words. The insufficiency of both the accessible language and silence inspired the poets to seek a form of expression that could satisfy human needs, “the unattainable language.” The search, between the word and silence, is manifested in the poetic works of Colinas and Herbert.

Keywords

• Antonio Colinas
• Zbigniew Herbert
• contemporary poetry
• comparative literature
• silence