From the Profane to the Sacred: Prison-Space Transformations in G.G. Byron’s “The Prisoner of Chillon” and O. Wilde’s “The Ballad of Reading Gaol”

• Authors: Anna Kędra-Kardela , Aleksandra Kędzierska

Title variants

PL

Od profanum do sacrum. Transformacje przestrzeni więziennej w „Więźniu Czyllonu” G.G. Byrona i „Balladzie o więzieniu w Reading” O. Wilde’a

• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This study focuses on two prison poems: “The Prisoner of Chillon” by G.G. Byron and “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” by O. Wilde. It highlights the ordeal of the inmates with the emphasis on the change in their perception of the prison space. Based on M.-L. Ryan’s definition of story space, it is argued that the changing perception of space in the poems reflects the spiritual transformation the protagonists undergo. The experience of confinement leads, in the case of Byron’s protagonist, to the acceptance of prison life to the point of the dungeon becoming “a second home,” sacred to him as a site of his brothers’ burial. In Wilde’s poem incarceration has a transformative function, culminating in spiritual awakening and in the development of faith in Christ’s redemption. As a result of the change in both poems, prison becomes a space of prayer, turning thereby from the profane into the sacred.

PL

Artykuł poświęcony jest dwóm utworom o tematyce doświadczenia więziennego: „Więźniowi Czylonu” George’a Gordona Byrona i „Balladzie o więzieniu w Reading” Oskara Wilde’a. Wykorzystując pojęcie „przestrzeni fabuły” (story space) Marie-Laure Ryan, artykuł omawia utwory pod kątem ewolucji postrzegania więzienia, do jakiej dochodzi pod wpływem doświadczeń skazańców. Bohater Byrona, po wielu latach cierpień, zaczyna traktować loch jak swój drugi dom, uświęcony obecnością w nim grobów pochowanych tam braci. U Wilde’a także ma miejsce zmiana percepcji więzienia, będąca wynikiem duchowej przemiany, jaką przechodzą skazańcy. Cela—świat koszmaru, opresji więziennego życia—staje się miejscem modlitwy, umocnienia wiary. W obydwu utworach, można wnioskować, dochodzi do przemiany sfery profanum w sferę sacrum.

Keywords

EN

G.G. Byron; O. Wilde; “The Prisoner of Chillon”; “The Ballad of Reading Gaol”; prison space; the sacred; the profane

PL

G.G. Byron; „Więzień Czyllonu”; O. Wilde; „Ballada o więzieniu w Reading”; przestrzeń więzienna; sacrum; profanum

• Publisher: Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II. Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL
• Journal: Roczniki Humanistyczne
• Year: 2018
• Volume: 66
• Issue: 11: Anglica
• Pages: 149-164

Contributors

author

Anna Kędra-Kardela

• Wydział Humanistyczny, Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej w Lublinie

author

Aleksandra Kędzierska

• Wydział Humanistyczny, Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej w Lublinie

References

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Identifiers

DOI

10.18290/rh.2018.66.11-9