Editorial

This issue is dedicated to the memory of Lucylla Pszczołowska (1924-2010), 
the recognised leader in Polish and comparative Slavic versification studies. 

Professor Pszczołowska was not just a researcher. Study of verse was her 
calling and mission, to which she committed her entire life. From 1952 until 
her retirement in 1995, Lucylla Pszczołowska worked at the Institute of Literary 
Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences. There she was an active participant 
in research projects initiated by Polish scholars Maria Renata Mayenowa and 
Maria Dłuska. Her works include the second volume of the encyclopaedia of 
versification, devoted to rhyme, and she was also one of the main contributors 
to the collective monograph on strophics.

From 1981 to 1993 she headed the Laboratory of Theoretical Poetics and 
Language of Literature where she widened the scope of versification studies 
even more by creating her own series of comparative Slavic metrics (Slowiańska 
metryka porównawcza). This was, however, not just a new book series, but a 
continuous project, which, in addition to Poles, attracted scholars from Czech 
Republic, Soviet Union (after its collapse – from Russia, Ukraine and Estonia), 
Bulgaria, Yugoslavia (after its breakup – from Serbia and Slovenia). Each vol-
ume in the series was preceded by workshops and conferences, and in many 
cases more than one conference. Nine issues have been published, devoted to 
topics such as the rhythmical lexicon of language and methods of its process-
ing, the syllabic structure of verse, the semantics of verse, verse in translation, 
sonnet, the fund of European metres in Slavic verse traditions, free verse, short 
verse metres, hexameter and ancient stanzas in Slavic poetry. An overview 
of the series is given in one of Professor Pszczołowska’s last papers, which is 
published in this volume in tribute to our late colleague. 

Two trends can be observed in the theoretical studies of verse. The first 
treats of verse as a linguistic phenomenon, and, accordingly, versification is 
treated as part of linguistics. In the Polish studies of verse the representative 
of this viewpoint was Maria Dłuska. The second trend approaches verse as an 
aesthetic or, more narrowly, a literary phenomenon: in accordance with this 
approach, versification is part of literary science. This trend was represented 
by Maria Renata Mayenowa. Pszczołowska synthesised these trends in her 
work. On the one hand, she was a very systematic, meticulous describer of the 
language of poetry, who stimulated further research of the linguistic aspects of 

Studia Metrica et Poetica 1.2, 2014, 7–8

doi: dx.doi.org/10.12697/smp.2014.1.2.01

dx.doi.org/10.12697/smp.2014.1.2.01


8 Mihhail Lotman, Igor Pilshchikov, Maria-Kristiina Lotman

Polish verse and other Slavic poetic traditions (compare the first two volumes 
of Slowiańska metryka porównawcza). On the other hand, her attention was 
focused on both literary approaches (see, for example, her study of Romanticist 
verse) and various non-Slavic traditions (for instance, classical prosody and 
even the common heritage of European verse), as well as literary contacts. 
Among her last works, her research on the relationship between Polish and 
Ukrainian verse stands out.

The scholarly legacy of Lucylla Pszczołowska is impressive both for its 
breadth and its depth. She was an outstanding scholar and a wonderful person 
whose life and work will continue to inspire many of her colleagues. 

Mihhail Lotman, Igor Pilshchikov, Maria-Kristiina Lotman