Konotacje semantyczne srebra w poezji Marii Pawlikowskiej-Jasnorzewskiej

The purpose of this article is to analyse the semantic connotations of silver in the poetry of Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska. The research material includes 14 lexemes and their 108 occurrences in the text. In most cases, silver is used as a semantic determinant of the night; then, of the colour white, and occasionally, the colour grey. It holds numerous connotations deriving from references to metal (sparkle), moon and stars (death and night) and the colour white (innocence, holiness, virginity, and old age). In Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska’s poetry, silver represents the colour and shine of inanimate nature (it is stereotypically used to describe the Moon, stars and water, etc.); animate nature (fl ora and fauna); and extraterrestrial beings. Silver is also used to convey positive or negative connotations of the words it refers to.