POEZJA PASYJNA SYMEONA Z POŁOCKA

Passion poetry plays an important part in the early creative work of Symeon of Polotsk. Visions of Christ’s suffering sparkle in his poems with baroque ornaments - sophisticated symbo- lism and exquisite metaphors structured on contrast. Describing last hours of Christ before the crucifixion, Symeon does not run from vivid, naturalist imagery, full of cruelty and pain. The suffering does not belittle Jesus, on the contrary, in the eyes of Symeon it makes Him more powerful, the true Lord of all creation. The most characteristic for this series of poems is their emotional flavour. Symeon is very personal in these works. He does not scare from using a strong, graphic language that should engage all senses of the reader, even bring him/her to tears. Filled with imagery, the passion poetry of Symeon is designed to resonate with the inner world of the reader and induce mystical experiences. To that end Symeon uses the brutality of Christ’s suffering and other sophisticated literary concepts.