Incredible spelling. Doubtful blasphemy and god

Abstract

After Władysław Broniewski’s death, Mieczysław Grydzewski focussed on, in his opinion, the controversial spelling of the word “bóg” (god) in the poem Zagłębie Dąbrowskie with which Polish readers were very much familiar. The poet stated his non-religious views long before his début. Throughout his literary career he consistently applied the all-lower case spelling of the word “bóg” (god). His motivation was not to act against the established principles but despite the spelling rules that existed in Polish. His intention was not to be blasphemous but to exclude himself from the oppressive principle that considered the existence of a monotheistic “god” as something certain and indisputable. In the years after the watershed year of 1989 some editors and researchers even considered Broniewski’s spelling of the word as something imposed by the Stalinist and communist censorship and thus tried to amend it.