Wypisy z ksiąg użytecznych, acz melancholijnych

The article is an attempt of a comparative theoretical reflection on melancholy, showing how this theme exists in the literature of different nations. The considerations were included in the form of “excerpts” on the model of the Czeslaw Milosz’s work Excerpts from Useful Tomes. Each excerpt is preceded by a brief interpretive-informing comment, which just throws light on the text and gives voice to the poems themselves. Due to the specifics of this form of expression, only poetic texts were included in the area of research. The aim of this article is to draw attention to the omnipresence of melancholy and show different varieties of melancholy writing taking into account the convergences and divergences in the poetic representations of this theme in the world literature.