Anti-Jesuit Discourse in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1576-1632):

What do Jesuits have in common with spiders, flies, chameleons, owls, hawks, or Sirens?

Discover the provocative arguments, tropes, and figures that pervaded the anti-Jesuit literature of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1576–1632). Anti-Jesuit Discourse in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth examines the structure and functions of these discursive elements, often reinforced by vivid metaphor, elaborate allegory, or malicious irony, through the lens of rhetorical strategies suitable for controversy, polemic, dispute, or parody. This dual focus, both structural and functional, enables the identification of the images, stereotypes, clichés, and legends associated with the Society of Jesus, many of which fueled and continue to fuel anti-Jesuit sentiment worldwide.

Author Biography

Wojciech Ryczek, Ph.D. (2013), is an assistant professor at the Jagiellonian University, Kraków. His research focuses on the history and theory of rhetoric, with a special regard to figuration, old Polish literature, and neo-Latin poetry. He has published extensively on literature in early modern Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.