EN
Wacław Borowy (1890-1950) and Władysław Tarnawski (1885-1951) are scholars whose paths to university positions were neither straight nor obvious. Their life paths hardly ever crossed and they were not de facto close collaborators. Still, they both showed a love of learning, especially of Polish and English literature, as well as diligence in performing academic and social duties. The English scholars (or, in their case, scholars qualified in Polish studies, but dealing professionally with English studies) who were part of the intellectual milieu of the time, perhaps never achieved remarkable worldwide recognition but through their hard work, research skills and a detailed analysis of examined issues tried to improve the research on the history of English literature. One needs to remember that English scholars at the time were in scarcity. Władysław Tarnawski and Wacław Borowy together with Roman Dyboski and Andrzej Tretiak formed the hard core.