Published : 2025-06-27

“Light of all ages, holy Jesus, / be refreshment to Your pilgrim!” Reflections on the Dangers of Travel in Sebastian Grabowiecki’s Poetry

Katarzyna Kaczor-Scheitler

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3955-138X

Abstract

This article examines selected poems from Sebastian Grabowiecki’s One Hundred Spiritual Rhymes, interpreted within the framework of earthly pilgrimage and the perils of travel. The analysis commences with the concept of the transience and fragility of human existence as discussed in the Bible, the writings of Christian and ancient thinkers, and Polish Baroque poetry. Particular attention will be paid to the dangers of this journey, stemming primarily from the sense of sin, and to the destiny of humankind expelled from Paradise. It will be argued that through Christ, humanity is granted knowledge of the direction of its pilgrimage – the Kingdom of Heaven lost due to original sin. Furthermore, the article offers commentary on the poetic devices in One Hundred Spiritual Rhymes, including nautical metaphors, parallels, punchlines, allegories and symbols of divine grace, descriptions of states of internal torment, and visions of the abyss separating humanity from God. These devices are characteristic of early Baroque poetry.

Keywords:

Sebastian Grabowiecki, Spiritual Rhymes, homo viator, nautical metaphors, sonnet, poetry of the Polish baroque



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Kaczor-Scheitler, K. (2025). “Light of all ages, holy Jesus, / be refreshment to Your pilgrim!” Reflections on the Dangers of Travel in Sebastian Grabowiecki’s Poetry. Facta Simonidis, 18(1), 253–274. https://doi.org/10.56583/fs.2749

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Akademia Zamojska
ul. Pereca 2, 22-400 Zamość
tel. 84 638 34 44
fax 84 638 35 00
e-mail: rektorat@akademiazamojska.edu.pl
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