Idea epopei żałobnej. Późna twórczość Wincentego Pola w świetle „Pacholęcia hetmańskiego”

The author of the article presents the late work of Wincenty Pol in a new light, and his starting point is the forgotten poem Pacholę hetmańskie (Hetman’s Infant). He analyses the poet’s statements and compares them with the negative opinions of critics and modern researchers in order to prove that for Pol the work had a critical meaning in three dimensions: idealistic perception of art (and culture), the author’s search for a contemporary diarist epic poem, and his own attitude towards the newest tradition of the nation characterized by mourning of the past. Therefore, the article explains late works of Pol as well as introduces a forgotten part of metaliterary reflection of the 1860s.