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Mr. Cogito Mr. Cogito is a character created by Zbigniew Herbert, a Polish poet and essayist. He first appears in a poem entitled "The Envoy of Mr. Cogito" ("Przesłanie Pana Cogito") published in 1973. Initially Mr. Cogito was an Everyman, a universal element of humanity sharing his opinions on various aspects of life and existence. However, the more he says, the more disembodied he appears, and becomes transformed into an ethical symbol and a metaphor of the tough choices we have to make between good and evil. The character's name originates from Descartes' famous phrase, "Cogito ergo sum." Mr. Cogito appears in the following books of poetry by Herbert: * ''Mr. Cogito'' (1974) * ''Report From A Besieged City and Other Poems'' (1983) * ''Elegy for the Departure'' (1990) * ''Rovigo'' (1992) * ''Epilogue to a Storm'' (1998) ==''Mr. Cogito''== "Mr. Cogito" is a book of poems by Zbigniew Herbert. First published in 1974, the first mention of its possible release dates back to 1969.〔Bohdan Urbanowski, ''Poeta, czyli człowiek zwielokrotniony. Szkice o Zbigniewie Herbercie''. POLWEN, Radom 2004. s. 362〕 Four years later, in January 1973, the Catholic weekly "Tygodnik Powszechny" published to great popular acclaim one poem from the planned volume, the iconic "Przesłanie Pana Cogito" ("The Message of Mr. Cogito"). The collection ultimately consisted of 40 poems, which build up the drama around its single main character, Mr. Cogito. Mr. Cogito, who is involved in all the monologues and dialogues in the book, invites a range of various interpretations, including cultural and historical ones. True to the Cartesian overtones of his name, Mr. Cogito often reflects on life and the world, providing the reader with the thoughtful statements. Coming from an Everyman, they attain a range of universal meanings. The first poem in the collection is entitled "Pan Cogito obserwuje w lustrze swoją twarz" ("Mr Cogito Looks At His Face In A Mirror"). A poem about aging, it poses questions about the limits of individual freedom. The second, "O dwu nogach Pana Cogito" ("On Mr. Cogito's Two Legs") concerns the duality of human personality. The third, "Pan Cogito a perła" ("Mr. Cogito And A Pearl") – an unrhymed narrative of a pearl stuck in Mr. Cogito's shoe, treated as a metaphor of having to face life's adversities. The next poems – "Pan Cogito myśli o powrocie do rodzinnego miasta" ("Mr. Cogito Considers Returning to His Native Town"), "Pan Cogito rozmyśla o cierpieniu" ("Mr. Cogito Meditates on Suffering") and "Przepaść Pana Cogito" ("The Abyss of Mr. Cogito") depict Mr. Cogito confronting various existential dilemmas. Existential problems are a presence throughout the collection, appearing in the following texts: "Pan Cogito a myśl czysta" ("Mr. Cogito and Pure Thought"), "Pan Cogito czyta gazetę" ("Mr. Cogito Reads A Newspaper"), "Pan Cogito a ruch myśli" (" Mr. Cogito and the Motion of Thought"), "Domy przedmieścia" ("Houses On The Outskirts Of The City"), "Alienacje Pana Cogito" ("Mr. Cogito's Alienations"), "Pan Cogito obserwuje zmarłego przyjaciela" ("Mr. Cogito Watches a Deceased Friend"), "Późnojesienny wiersz Pana Cogito przeznaczony dla kobiecych pism" ("Mr. Cogito's Late Autumn Poem For Women's Magazines"), "Pan Cogito rozważa różnice między głosem ludzkim a głosem przyrody" ("Mr. Cogito Considers the Difference Between the Human Voice And The Voice of Nature"), "Pan Cogito biada nad małością snów" (Mr. Cogito Laments On The Pettiness of Dreams"), "Pan Cogito a poeta w pewnym wieku" ("Mr. Cogito And A Poet Of A Certain Age"), "Pan Cogito a pop" ("Mr Cogito And Pop Music"), "Pan Cogito o magii" ("Mr. Cogito On Magic"), "Pan Cogito spotyka w Luwrze posążek Wielkiej Matki" ("Mr. Cogito Encounters A Figurine Of The Great Mother In The Louvre"), "Pan Cogito opowiada o kuszeniu Spinozy" ("Mr. Cogito Narrates The Temptation Of Spinoza"), "Pan Cogito otrzymuje czasem dziwne listy" ("Mr Cogito Occasionally Receives Strange Letters"), "Rozmyślania Pana Cogito o odkupieniu" ("Mr Cogito's Meditations On Redemption"), "Pan Cogito szuka rady" ("Mr. Cogito Seeks Advice"), "Gra Pana Cogito" ("Mr. Cogito's Game"), "Co myśli Pan Cogito o piekle" ("What Mr. Cogito Thinks About Hell"), "Pan Cogito o postawie wyprostowanej" ("Mr Cogito On The Upright Position"), "Przesłanie Pana Cogito" ("The Message of Mr Cogito").〔Zbigniew Herbert, ''Mr. Cogito (Modern European Poetry)''. Ecco, 1995〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mr. Cogito」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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