Norwid’s insects. The last of the fables, or on the beauty of existence

This article offers an interpretation of one of Norwid’s late works: Ostatnia z bajek [The Last of the Fables]. The starting point for this specific reading is the question regarding the image and meaning of the insects invoked in this work as well as the lyrical dimension of this fairy-tale-like fable. The article reveals the impact of Romantic entomology as well as specific passages from Zygmunt Krasiński’s Nie-Boska Komedia [The Un-Divine Comedy] on the ways in which Norwid develops an image of the world as a place where humans co-exist with other beings and experience the painful loss of the bond with these fellow creatures. Lyricism and subjectivity in Ostatnia z bajek are rooted in the author’s contemplative attitude towards broadly understood reality. This raises the question posed in the title – one regarding the beauty of existence – which defines the main theme of Norwid’s lyrical fable.