ISTORIJSKO I AISTORIJSKO U PESNIČKIM PROSTORIMA TOMA POLINA

Abstract

Tom Paulin, one of the most prominent Ulster poets, the protagonist of the Ulster Renaissance, is chiefly known for his lifelong obsession with the history of his fatherland that is to be taken as the repository of various historical symbols. The appropriation of these symbols and their transformation lies in the core of Paulin’s poetic synthesis making him unsurpassed by his Irish fellow poets. Paulin’s poetic historicism provides an answer to the Irish conflict in the form of the protestant republic occupying the whole territory of Ireland and is embodied in Ulster Scots dialect that serves as an appropriate means for the revocation of the glorious past. The first of the analyzed poems promotes Herodotus’ view that the one who knows history is the only one who has a solution for the present time. The glorification of the old Irish heroes Ulster Calvinists definitely opens up the new perspectives for the future of Ireland. The second analyzed poem presents Paulin’s attempt to step out of the destructive flux of history so as to achieve a kind of primal happiness. The attempts proves impossible to carry out but it draws the attention to some profound issues of the philosophy of history. In spite of being accused of the excessive histori- cism Tom Paulin continues to search for the answers in history with the renewed efforts and for the benefit of all of his admirers.